Hey everyone! I was excited to show you a couple of dolls I bought used from a fellow collector. However one of them, this Clawdeen, was in no shape to be displayed. She had a common MH problem - missing both hands and a forearm. In this post I'll show you my cheap solution for it.
I forgot to take a before picture - everything went straight to the sink for a good wash first. You can see part of the disaster from the seller's photo above. The doll showed little signs of play besides the missing limbs and accessories, the outfit was in good condition, even with the choker and belt still attached with plastic ties. The hair was a dishevelled sticky gel helmet that had to be tamed ASAP.
But I digress.
I said I'll tell you how to fix missing arms/hands in the cheapest possible way. Here's how:
1. Go to Aliexpress/eBay/Wish and look for these fake bodies:
You may not find them searching for "Monster High". Mine were called something like "monster demon doll body", if I added "high" they did not appear in the results. Put a price filter to get items under 5$. They can cost under 3$ if you catch a sale, and they are cheaper in the app. Oh, and I got mine from this store.
2. Get the spider one:
They all cost the same or very close, but with this you get three pairs with fun gestures to choose from! Granted, they aren't perfect, some fingers are too skinny and the material is rubbery, but they serve the purpose.
3. Wait for it to arrive.
4. BAM, gloved hands! Because they are shiny, the new hands/arms totally look like vinyl gloves.
You can get a pair (but just one) of matching hands for certain characters if you buy one of the other fake body options, but for grey, purple and other uncommon colours this is an easy universal solution. IF the doll can pull off this style XD I actually bought the spider, as well as colour #7, for spare J-Doll hands, but this is a story for another post.
* * *
Okay, in my case I had an extra step before the BAM. This also happens often - the forearm peg was broken and stuck in the joint. Trying to pull it out is useless, better to drill a new hole straight through it. Tape around the arm to avoid cracks and drill carefully. I used a tiny hand drill with increasingly thicker bits, but an electric one works as well. The fake body peg may be different from the original, drill for the correct size.
And this is it!
What do you think of my repair? I think the gloves suit Clawdeen and I'm glad to have this version of her in my collection!
Blackkitty (^^)~
She looks great. This is an excellent idea. This is what I'm going to do from now on.
ReplyDeleteAwesome, I'm happy to help (^^)~
DeleteFirst and foremost, it's always good to see a post from you BlackKitty. And secondly....even though I do not collect MH dolls, I do love long sleeved gloves and that is a wonderful tip on how to get gloved hands in a snap!
ReplyDeleteThank you! If only there were similar options for other types of dolls!
DeleteI didn't doubt other people had thought of that! Cheapness is the mother of invention :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a great idea and the gloves totally suit her! Also I love how much more natural her hair looks now. ^__^
ReplyDeleteHow did I miss your comment for over a year T_T
DeleteI put these arms on the masquerade Clawdeen with furry sleeves from eBay and gave this one the green fingerless gloves. I'm missing the funky gestures but they suit her look better.
It's actually a good idea. Also, if you can't find a colour that suits you, you can always paint them with multi surface paint.
ReplyDeleteThat's true, I've thought of that! In this case, I want to leave them black.
DeleteGreat job! It's nice to be able to repair a doll, especially at a low cost! If you have a 3D printer available to you anywhere near you, enterprising designers are also coming up with prints for missing doll pieces, such as this joint for the MH wrist. In my area, 3D printers are available to the public at a large university, and at the main Cleveland Public Libary.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have public 3D printers yet, but thanks for the link. Perhaps other readers will find it useful. Our MH secondary market is basically inexistent, so it's unlikely I'll find more of them second hand that will need serious repairs. It's good to have many options in case I do though :)
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