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uberwekkness posted:This may have been missed before, but is there a good alternative to Mr. Super Clear, for faceups? I've been using my brother's Warhammer 40k dullcoat spray. I think you can get it on Amazon.
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Nov 25, 2012 16:08
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I've heard mixed reviews about all the alternatives, but MSC darkens with age and looks really ick after a few years. I own a can of MSC but I don't do faceups. I'd test out different fixatives if I was going to, on headcaps.
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Nov 25, 2012 17:05
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Avalinka posted:
I had some hair looked on one of my werecat twins.  I have no idea how to fix it, and ended up just cutting it. Sorry. =\Some commissions I've gotten done!  IMAG0965 by A Humfleet, on Flickr  IMAG0969 by A Humfleet, on Flickr And two personal projects:  IMAG0986 by A Humfleet, on Flickr - sunsweet rooted the hair in this one! I just styled it and did the face!  IMAG0923 by A Humfleet, on Flickr And THIS ONE is for sale on my etsy:  IMAG0944 by A Humfleet, on Flickr Etsy link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/115174620/ooak-abbey-bominable-monster-high-custom moonsour fucked around with this message at 08:24 on Nov 27, 2012 |
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Nov 27, 2012 08:18
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Okay, I need help from people who know more about BJD than I do. Sometime in the future when I have spare cash again, I'm looking to buy this doll body. However, I hate how the company's heads look on it. I need something less child-like, and a bit more proportional to he rest of the body. Any ideas?
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Nov 28, 2012 01:26
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Well, I tried looking for a head at around that size doll (it looks like that one is 21cm with the head). Unfortunately, most dolls at this size have big heads and babyish faces, so it’s difficult to find one that isn’t too childish looking! The best thing I could find that isn’t too childish looking is probably something like this head. Of course, that head isn’t sold separately on its own, and it is for a 25cm doll, so I’m not sure how well it would mix with that cherish doll body. It’s pretty hard to tell what heads would fit on that body because I can’t find the neck size for the body on that site anywhere. Just wondering, is the cheaper price the only reason you’re buying that body? Or do you actually like the body? If it’s just because of price, sometimes you can find really good second-hand deals pop up now and again. Good luck finding a head for that doll! 
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Dec 3, 2012 19:49
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I'm trying to find a more "mature" doll in the 23cm-27cm range that isn't a "fashion" doll. So less Obitsu/MH/Barbieish and more like that Cherish Doll I posted. Of course the price helps for my broke-rear end self.  I'm also tempted to get this doll from JunkySpot. Catte! 
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Dec 3, 2012 22:07
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Orientdolls (Hong etc.) are excellent dolls and look mature for their size. I have one of every basic make (one of them is the vamp version though).
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Dec 3, 2012 23:07
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Is there some place that still sells Orientdolls? It looks like Leekeworld aren't selling them (or any dolls at all) anymore, and google doesn't seem to help.
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Dec 4, 2012 05:54
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According to the wiki, Orientdoll closed back in 2008. Looks like you'll have to try seeing if someone is willing to sell theirs if you want one.
Dorky fucked around with this message at 21:28 on Dec 4, 2012 |
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Dec 4, 2012 21:25
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I have really enjoyed reading this thread. My daughter is 10 and loves dolls, including Monster High. I would love to get her some this Christmas, including a kit and a custom torso from someone that makes them. I sew and I think that making clothes would be a good activity for the two of us to do together. The quandary is that we stopped getting Monster High dolls shortly after they came out because some were extremely fragile. Can anyone tell me if the quality has improved? Thank you for any information any of you can provide. If there are any suggestions for other inexpensive dolls that are similar, I would also appreciate it. She loves to dress her dolls, but she is not ready for anything too elaborate or expensive.
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Dec 8, 2012 23:37
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Wandering Knitter posted:I'm trying to find a more "mature" doll in the 23cm-27cm range that isn't a "fashion" doll. So less Obitsu/MH/Barbieish and more like that Cherish Doll I posted. Of course the price helps for my broke-rear end self. Hrm. You could try the 27cm Planetdoll girls. Or the 29cm Saintbloom girls. Or the 29cm Momocolor girls. All of these have more mature bodies and faces without being too fashion doll-y.
Casca fucked around with this message at 00:09 on Dec 9, 2012 |
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Dec 9, 2012 00:06
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Casca posted:Hrm. You could try the 27cm Planetdoll girls. Or the 29cm Saintbloom girls. Or the 29cm Momocolor girls. All of these have more mature bodies and faces without being too fashion doll-y. Oh man, I really like those Monocolor dolls! Though the face is still just a little too big and kiddy. I guess the search continues. 
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Dec 9, 2012 00:27
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Casca posted:Hrm. You could try the 27cm Planetdoll girls. Or the 29cm Saintbloom girls. Or the 29cm Momocolor girls. All of these have more mature bodies and faces without being too fashion doll-y. Those saintbloom dolls are really cute! I really like Charlie and Charlotte; their faces remind me of Volks Kun, which was on my wishlist for the longest time, but ultimately the price for one was too much. I like the smaller size too, and apparently they can wear Whose That Girl clothing. Uh oh  Dorky posted:According to the wiki, Orientdoll closed back in 2008. Looks like you'll have to try seeing if someone is willing to sell theirs if you want one. Thanks! I had looked them up after Pick's post, since I kinda wanted to buy an Il back in the day, though I don't know if I still want one enough to look on the secondary market. My DoA account is still active, but it's been so long since I actually posted anything with it that I don't even know if I can use the marketplace or not. Ehh. Also, that wiki is really handy! The things you miss after not being involved in the hobby for a few years.
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Dec 9, 2012 01:56
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MalaInSe posted:I have really enjoyed reading this thread. My daughter is 10 and loves dolls, including Monster High. I would love to get her some this Christmas, including a kit and a custom torso from someone that makes them. I sew and I think that making clothes would be a good activity for the two of us to do together. The quandary is that we stopped getting Monster High dolls shortly after they came out because some were extremely fragile. Can anyone tell me if the quality has improved? I like the Liv dolls. Their wigs are removable/interchangeable and they can share some clothing with Blythe. With some surgery, their eyes can be repositioned or even changed. They are discontinued now, so they are a little harder to find. Look at Tuesday Morning, Big Lots, and other liquidation/overstock stores. One of the swimsuit dolls will run about $5-8 and I've found the Target exclusive dance dolls for $10 at Big Lots. The sleepover and regular dance dolls are missing some of the joints of the earlier dolls; still cute, just something to be aware of.
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Dec 9, 2012 02:02
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Small update on my current incoming doll situation. 5Star estimated 8-10 weeks for production and delivery, but we're coming to the end of week 11. Luckily, Denver Doll Emporium is a really lovely dealer and they responded to my request for a status update within a day. They didn't really have a concrete answer, but they apologized and they've emailed 5Star for me. I'm really glad they're so attentive.  Still, the waiting is so difficult now that it's late.
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Dec 9, 2012 02:47
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Wandering Knitter posted:Oh man, I really like those Monocolor dolls! Though the face is still just a little too big and kiddy. I guess the search continues. Let me see- there's also Sugarble's Sugarsleek lines. Both lines are 26cm but the head sizes are different. And on the cheap end of the spectrum Bobobie and Resinsoul have 27cm dolls with more mature proportions than Yo-SD usually have. Those are all the dolls I know of that are proportioned that way. The rest are more Barbie proportioned like Soom Minigems and Limhwa Toyous.
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Dec 9, 2012 03:33
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harmless_fun posted:I like the Liv dolls. Thanks. I'll see if I can find one. vv Thank you, sunsweet. That is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. MalaInSe fucked around with this message at 18:07 on Dec 9, 2012 |
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Dec 9, 2012 07:12
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MalaInSe posted:I have really enjoyed reading this thread. My daughter is 10 and loves dolls, including Monster High. I would love to get her some this Christmas, including a kit and a custom torso from someone that makes them. I sew and I think that making clothes would be a good activity for the two of us to do together. The quandary is that we stopped getting Monster High dolls shortly after they came out because some were extremely fragile. Can anyone tell me if the quality has improved? From what I've noticed with my recent purchases, the overall quality of the line is on a bit of a decline -- it's a bit harder to find a doll now with a properly painted face as well as a full head of hair. They are built a bit more sturdy these days than they used to be, at least. The legs used to be held in place with elastic, but now they're held in with a plastic rod. The hands are harder to pull out of the arms, and the lower arms stay in the doll reasonably well. The dolls in the Create-a-Monster kits are usually fairly good and sturdy due to the nature of their design. They're made to come together and pull apart fairly easily, but they won't fall apart during simple play (unless your child were to violently throw it against the wall or something). The thing about them is that the wigs that come with them are notoriously poor quality. In my experience, the basic versions of the main character dolls (the ones that come with little pets) are usually the best quality versions of each doll, as far as hair and face-ups are concerned. I haven't noticed a difference in body sturdiness between the budget dolls and the more spendy ones.
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Dec 9, 2012 16:52
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So after coming to terms with never finding a 'mature' head for a 27cm doll Junkyspot just stocked Apple Resin heads. They're supposed to be for Obitsu but God drat the Biki one is exactly what I've been looking for:  Of course now I'm torn between the Momo body and the Cherish Doll body.
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Dec 11, 2012 00:46
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sunsweet posted:In my experience, the basic versions of the main character dolls (the ones that come with little pets) are usually the best quality versions of each doll, as far as hair and face-ups are concerned. I haven't noticed a difference in body sturdiness between the budget dolls and the more spendy ones. Unfortunately, the basic versions of many of the dolls have become rare enough that at the moment, you're simply not going to find one for a reasonable price. re-release the basics mattel 
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Dec 11, 2012 19:25
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tFUCKINGmesis posted:Unfortunately, the basic versions of many of the dolls have become rare enough that at the moment, you're simply not going to find one for a reasonable price. I think they slowly are! They re-released Draculaura, at least. Too bad everyone wants Ghoulia, Clawdeen, and Lagoona.   As for giving a 10 year old one, most of the dolls are fine as long as the kid doesn't usually try to remove limbs. The ones to look out for with small parts are Lagoona (the fins on her legs are removable) and Ghoulia's glasses. Some types of necklaces on the dolls also come off easily, as well, but loose ones come with a plastic band holding it down. moonsour fucked around with this message at 01:06 on Dec 12, 2012 |
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Dec 12, 2012 01:03
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tFUCKINGmesis posted:Unfortunately, the basic versions of many of the dolls have become rare enough that at the moment, you're simply not going to find one for a reasonable price. Sometimes I find old basics at my Walmart; it's like they find old Draculauras or whatever in the warehouse every so often and put them out on the shelves. I managed to find a basic Abbey last week. I'm sure it's different depending on your area and how frequently they go through their inventory. Then again, to this day I have still never seen Toralei in person, so some dolls are more rare than others.
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Dec 13, 2012 04:03
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^^^^^ Is Toralei really rare or something? I have one sitting in my closet that I picked up from Walmart last year on a whim. I'd had vague notions of sending her off to be customized but never got round to it.Clockwork Eggplant posted:Thanks! I had looked them up after Pick's post, since I kinda wanted to buy an Il back in the day, though I don't know if I still want one enough to look on the secondary market. My DoA account is still active, but it's been so long since I actually posted anything with it that I don't even know if I can use the marketplace or not. Ehh. If you don't mind larger dolls go take a look at Migidoll. Migi is the same person who sculpted Tae and Il for Orientdoll and her newer 63cm boys are very similar stylistically. Right now everything is out of stock but I think she's in-between ordering periods. Casca fucked around with this message at 04:40 on Dec 13, 2012 |
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Dec 13, 2012 04:37
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Casca posted:Is Toralei really rare or something? I have one sitting in my closet that I picked up from Walmart last year on a whim. I'd had vague notions of sending her off to be customized but never got round to it. There weren't too many of her made -- she's not quite the rarest Monster High doll, but a new one in the box usually goes for at least twice the original retail cost of $20 if you look on eBay. She goes for $113 on amazon, which is just insane. From what I've observed, they tend to make a lot of certain dolls and not very many of other dolls. Basically all of the male dolls are harder to find, for this reason. Spectra, Abbey, CA Cupid, and Toralei were all notoriously hard to find when they first came out. They've made more of the others since then (other versions at the very least), but there's only been the one release of Toralei.
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Dec 13, 2012 04:51
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Thank you for the tip on the Liv dolls. We found some at a Ross, and my daughter loves the look of them, but not the specific ones they had. She wanted one that "looks like it is in high school." I was able to pick up two on amazon for a reasonable price (School's Out Hayden and Sophie), and I'm getting some extra wigs on Ebay. I have a lot of Barbie clothes patterns, so I figure I can customize some patterns to use with the dolls when they get here. She was really excited because of the joints (she's seen nice BJDs and really wants one some day), so I think think these will be great starter dolls. If anyone else is looking, Toys-R-Us still has some of the swimsuit and dance versions on the website, and they're on clearance. I really appreciate the guidance. The sprog doesn't know for sure she's getting them, but she immediately put them on her list when she got home. Any ideas on shoes? I understand that Barbie shoes won't fit, and it looks like the accessories are harder to get than the dolls themselves at this point. Edit: Found a couple of good deals on accessories on Ebay. I would still love to hear of alternate sources, if there are any. I know there are some artists that do custom shoes for other dolls. MalaInSe fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Dec 16, 2012 |
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Dec 16, 2012 04:59
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Check Etsy. There are several vendors doing custom Monster High shoes on Etsy.
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Dec 16, 2012 07:15
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I've found that Toys R Us will occasionally offer a free accessory pack with Liv purchase. Also, outfits and wig packs are on clearance at Target. The hard part is actually finding any in stock still. Check clearance sections everywhere; as recent as two months ago, I found a first edition Sophie at Walmart. I have an extensive doll collection and I will try some shoes out tomorrow. I'm thinking that Jenny and Momoko shoes will work, but they can be pricey. I picked up some Stardoll outfits on clearance at Walmart and I think they might work (I've seen them marked $11 and $7). Perhaps the Disney VIP shoes will work? Definitely try Etsy as Arsenic Lupin has suggested; glittery shoes are awesome!
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Dec 16, 2012 08:00
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My very first BJD is finally on its way to my house from Denver!  I'll be sure to post some photos when it arrives, though I may be out of town on that day. Still, as soon as possible.
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Dec 16, 2012 16:52
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Liv shoe report Disney VIP: only had one pair, but they fit Liv perfectly. VIP feet are unjointed and molded for high heels. They have outfit packs that include 2 pairs of shoes. Stardoll: tried two pairs from fashion pack. Fit well, but some styles may look awkward since the shoes ride up a little further on Liv legs. Jenny/Blythe/Momoko: little bit too small, but could work if open toe with loose/no/cut shoe back. Probably best to try the really squishy platforms or fabric laceups. Also, Target had earlier this year an exclusive outfit set for Liv (may have been two). It contained two pairs of shoes, a wig, a purse, and three outfits. It didn't go over too well because the outfits were just leftover separates and leftover fabric (not cool like the vintage Barbie "variations").
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Dec 16, 2012 21:31
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So I sorta forgot that my doll meet-up is having a Christmas Tea Party this wensday. I have three days to do a face up and make a christmas outfit for my Pukifee. PANIC TIME 
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Dec 16, 2012 23:48
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Does anyone have any clothes by Freedom Teller? Are they any good? My EID man has lacked pants since 2009.
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Dec 17, 2012 07:26
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My dollshe boy has also lacked pants, mostly because I got sucked into Monster High and haven't been spit back out again. Speaking of which... I think I successfully imitated the factory paint style and really like this one!  IMAG1144 by A Humfleet, on Flickr moonsour fucked around with this message at 21:35 on Dec 21, 2012 |
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Dec 21, 2012 09:55
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That's a really nice face-up! It looks a lot like how the factory would do it, but a little less over-the-top. In other news, my first doll finally arrived and I'm already making clothes for her.  I went with default face-up because I have no idea what I'm doing with that. It's very nice!  I also ordered a wig and leggings from DDE. The shirt/negligee thing seems to have been included for free from 5 Star Doll.  I made her some pajamas today. They're fastened with snaps, and I glued some buttons onto the front for effect (thanks to advice from folks in this thread!). For my first try making doll clothes, I'm pleased some of the only major issues are the armhole size and slightly messy sewing.
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Dec 23, 2012 02:37
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If anyone actually decides to reroot any Monster High dolls (or any other dolls), you should know that dollyhair has become very, very unreliable in a short amount of time. Starting at around the end of November, orders have been shorted or shipped to the wrong places, and there has been zero e-mail response from dollyhair. I myself had one hank of hair completely left out of my last order. The order before that, I paid for a medium-length hank and received a short-length hank instead. They also combined shipping on two of my orders without refunding the difference to me. So! Here are some alternatives that are hopefully more reliable. I have yet to order from any of these, but I plan on trying them all out soon. http://www.restoredoll.com/ -- Restoredoll is dollyhair's main US-based competitor, and "katsilk" is just saran hair. http://www.mylittlecustoms.com/ -- My Little Customs is UK-based, but they do offer worldwide shipping. http://retrodollsus.weebly.com/ -- Retro Dolls US is a much smaller operation than any of the others, but their prices are comparable to dollyhair. I have to express how disappointed I am with dollyhair's sudden decline. I've been ordering from them for months, and I've never had an issue. Tina, the owner, has been quite friendly in the past and quick to respond to my e-mails. I'm not sure what happened, exactly. The handwriting on the bags of hair changed right around when all of these issues started, so it would seem that they had a new hire. A new hire that apparently destroyed their business 
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Dec 27, 2012 16:24
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What is the best kind of hair to use for rerooting dolls like Monster Highs, anyway? I've been googling around a little and people do not seem to like kanekalon very much. I'm also hearing good things about saran in general, but I feel like I can't be sure. All that I'm going to be doing with the reroot I have planned is braids and Anime Bangs of some description.
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Dec 27, 2012 21:01
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tFUCKINGmesis posted:What is the best kind of hair to use for rerooting dolls like Monster Highs, anyway? I've been googling around a little and people do not seem to like kanekalon very much. I'm also hearing good things about saran in general, but I feel like I can't be sure. I've only ever used saran hair, and I like it fine. It's soft, withstands very hot water (which is kind of essential if you're going to set a really permanent part), and styles easily. I don't personally know what the issue would be with doll-grade kanekalon. At any rate, saran is really easy to work with, and it looks in scale with the doll. Mattel uses both saran and kanekalon on Monster High dolls -- for example, Lagoona has saran hair and Spectra/Ghoulia both have kanekalon.
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Dec 27, 2012 22:40
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Okay, I'm doing my first face up on my BJD using soft pastels and I have a question. How the hell do you do eyebrows and eyelashes without it looking like crap? The rest of the face-up looks fine, but no matter what I do the eyelashes and eyebrows just look like some three year old drew on my doll's face. 
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Jan 2, 2013 01:19
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Are you using paints or watercolor pencils for them? If pencils, make sure they are super sharp, and keep some references of how you want things to look close at hand, either pictures of faceups you like or photos of real eyebrows or whatever. If you're painting, do a bunch of practice/warm-up strokes on a piece of paper right before you start to paint on the doll. Make sure to lift the bush off of the resin towards the end of your stroke, in order to get that tapered line that looks so nice. Here's a guide on brush control (geared towards comics-style inking) that explains brush-handling with images better than I can. If you want to practice on a 3D object, you could try painting a bunch of eyebrows and eyelashes on a hard boiled egg, or do some warmup strokes on the inside of your doll's headcap before wiping them off with a wet cloth. For eyebrows, one thing I did that helped me a lot the last time I did a faceup was to draw out their overall shape on a couple of pieces of masking tape, then carefully cut them out with an exacto knife, making a stencil. I then stuck them on the doll's faceplate and then brushed the pastels inside the stencil until I got it as dark as I wanted. Depending on the overall look you want for your doll you might be able to just leave them like that without having to paint/draw on individual hairs. All that said, I'm speaking as someone who hasn't done very many faceups, and hasn't done one for a long time, so take my advice with as much salt as needed. 
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Jan 2, 2013 04:54
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So is it one hank of hair for one doll head, or what? The reroot I'm planning needs multiple colors anyway, but I've been curious.
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Jan 2, 2013 12:56
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uberwekkness posted:So is it one hank of hair for one doll head, or what? The reroot I'm planning needs multiple colors anyway, but I've been curious. Each website sells a different amount of hair per hank, so I can only speak to what dollyhair sold. With them, one hank would get you fairly decent coverage on a Monster High doll (provided you're doing a simple part), but if you wanted a thick head of hair, you would definitely need to get a second hank and use part of that. The next time I get some hair, I'm ordering from restoredoll. I have read that restoredoll gives you more hair per hank.
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Jan 2, 2013 15:32
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