Nearly two years ago, Fashion Madness Rock Star Kenya, upgraded or downgraded to Close-up Adele's body. Adele, having arrived with black stains on her arms, swapped bodies with Rock Star Kenya. That process was written about here and here.
The plastic in the neck area of Kenya's new-to-her body was fragile and had already cracked. Last week additional pieces cracked away after Kenya suffered a fall, making the neck even shorter than it was initially. For Kenya's head to remain on the body, the neck needed lengthening.
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| Kenya's head rests on the new cone-shaped neck, which, in this image, needs to be painted to match the body color. |
Kenya's head now rests nicely on the cone-shaped neck. Since I did not glue the head in place, it can be turned left or right, if desired.
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| Kenya poses with confidence, knowing her head will remain in place on her new, extended neck that has been painted to match her body. |
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| Wooden Pull-String Santa with missing foot |
While molding with clay, I also repaired the foot of a wooden pull-string Santa that I usually hang on an interior doorknob at Christmas time. This year, I hung him on an exterior doorknob. After a few days, I discovered Santa lying on the porch missing one foot. Whether he fell off or someone removed him and dropped him onto the porch remains a mystery. I can't imagine that happening, but you just never know.
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| The new foot I sculpted for Santa is shown above; it has been partially painted in the second image. I clipped a clothespin to the end while painting the exposed area. The foot was left clamped in the clothespin while it dried. (The cracks are there because I did not take time to smooth the clay while sculpting.) |
Santa now has a new foot and is ready to hang on an interior door this December or whenever I choose to incorporate him into the Christmas decorations.
dbg
Great job on the repairs! Kenya looks beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Roxanne!
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ReplyDeleteThis was good info! I have several bodies of older dolls whose neck crumbled when removing the head (yes, even with using heat and gentle handling). This is good information to have if I ever decide to repair them!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you found this post helpful, Phyllis. I purchased the air-dry modeling clay in the craft section at Walmart.
DeleteOther things I have attempted with the clay include high-heel shoes -- failed miserably to get a matching pair, but I know it's doable. I just need to keep practicing.
dbg
What an interesting way to salvage that kind of neck issue - thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, jSarie!
Deletedbg
Great surgery, Kenya looks lovely (and she's wearing a fabulous outfit!) and Santa will be very happy with a new foot :-).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Night Owl. This air drying clay is my favorite sculpting medium, even if my creations are a little odd looking. Practice makes perfect.
Deletedbg
The neck surgery procedure looks like it could be very helpful for repairing other dolls or facilitating head swaps. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Paulette! Are you using air dry clay to make the dolls you've made or is baking required?
Deletedbg
Great job Dr. Debbie on the surgery (repairs). Lol! I have never rebodied a FR doll. I am too nervous to do so for some reason. Great post. I feel like I will know what to do if it ever happens.
ReplyDeleteRebodying is one of my least favorite things to do, GG. I was forced to do this one because of the stained FR body. Even with less expensive dolls, I am very apprehensive about rebodying. As a child, rebodying was part of Barbie/Ideal fashion doll play, when all I had to do was pop a head off one body and place it on another without an interfering neck prong, never knowing what size prong is underneath or what else will be required to remove the head without damaging either the head or body.
DeleteToday's neck prongs are such an annoyance! Who needs them anyway?
:-)
dbg
What a neat neck idea! Every time I break a neck I just salvage the limbs and chuck the body. Now there's an alternative!
ReplyDeleteYes, an inexpensive alternative, too, Muff.
DeleteThe possibilities are endless with air clay. Just love that no baking is involved!
dbg
That a cool solutions. I think Kenya is very happy with it. I wonder what ever happen to Santa's shoe? I might of fell off and went unnoticed.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think it did fall off, because after discovering the missing foot, the other foot/shoe fell off, while he was in my hand. I glued that one back on.
Deletedbg
I always love when you get crafty. Great fixes for both.
ReplyDelete