Saturday 17 July 2021

How to improve a neck joint

Hi everyone! The past year has pushed the limits of my ability to use the unusable and make do with cheap things. In this quick post I will show you how I add up and down movement to a neck joint that only provides rotation.

For this example I am using aliexpress Barbie clone bodies with 12 points of articulation and a neck stump that looks like a, um, thick mushroom. The same method will work for fixing bodies with a missing or broken neck anchor. 

These photos were taken a while ago in my old setup before my homemade craft board cracked, so I apologize for the glare.

The main materials and tools for this project are:

  • saw or craft knife
  • small drill (heated needle supposedly works too)
  • sanding tool, sandpaper or file
  • various rustproof wires 
  • wire cutters
If you don't have a neck anchor, a plastic button that fits snugly inside the head will do the job.

The first step with a body like this is to cut the top part that looks like a mushroom cap and save it to make the anchor. I used a small saw.


In this picture you can see my first mistake. I hurried to cut off the whole top, but it should have been like this:


If you wish to save the top (1), it's easier to cut it first, then cut at the bottom of the narrow part (2) and discard it. However, you can get a button of the same diameter and just cut the whole top off.

This body is hollow inside. If yours is not, you will need something like a dremel tool to scoop out enough to make room for the parts we'll add next.

I used an electric nail tool to smooth the edges and make them round like a Barbie neck. We need round edges for the head to glide nicely in every direction.


Neck joints have a horizontal plastic beam inside, hugged by a ring to which the anchor is connected. I can't make the beam both invisible and secure, but it's barely visible at the end. I'm making it out of hard 22ga aluminium wire. Earring wires or paperclips should work too. I used a hand drill to drill holes on the side seams, not far from the top. If the plastic looks fragile, wrap it in tape before drilling/piercing.


Make sure the wire fits snugly.


Before you glue the beam in, prepare the anchor. I took the top I cut off at the beginning and drilled two larger holes in it that could fit a twist wire I had lying around. If you're using a button for the anchor, skip this step.


The wire that loops around the beam should be strong, but more flexible. I chose a twist tie. Floral stem wire would have been my next choice. A length of about 10 cm/4" is enough. Fold it in half and insert it with the fold inside the neck.


Now you can insert the beam so that it goes above the loop, holding it in place. I don't have a picture of this step, but if the folded wire is now connected to the body, you did it right. Twist the folded wire a couple of times. Now that the anchor loop is trapped, go ahead and clip the excess beam on both sides and you can add glue if you're worried it may slip. The folded wire should move around the beam freely. Thread the anchor/button onto the ends of the anchor wire.


If possible, use a reference body with a proper neck joint to check how high the anchor needs to be. Twist below the anchor to adjust that hight, then twist above to complete the anchor. Clip the excess and you're done!


We went from a stiff neck stump to a joint that allows head movement in every direction.


The anchor I made in this example has some imperfections. First, it is a bit too high. To avoid this, check against a reference body and don't be afraid to twist the wire tightly - it should hold. Second, the beam wire sticks out a bit. My wire cutters don't cut flush with the surface, so what I should have done was pull the beam until one end was a tiny bit inside the neck, cut the other as short as I could and push the stump back in with a toothpick. Here is Kayla demonstrating a more extreme pose:


I like the added posing potential of this type of neck joint, which I made on at least four bodies. All are holding up well. Under normal circumstances, the holes on the side of the neck aren't even visible, like on Dawn here, who will get a separate makeover story in a longer post...


I hope you liked this tutorial! Let me know if you have questions and suggestions. Do you modify your doll's joints? I think the neck is the easiest since it's hidden, but other joints can be fixed too - you can check my wrist repair here.

(^^)~
Blackkitty

12 comments:

  1. Oh, I love that so much, what a smart idea! Will so try this too, thanks lots for sharing! ♡♡♡♡♡ (And great to see you posting again ^__^)

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    1. Let me know how it goes! It's actually thanks to your action-Elsa hybrid that I dug these out of storage to write the post.

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  2. I'm not much into frankendolly, so I don't really alter my dolls joints. I do have a few MTM dolls with stiff elbows that need some loosening. It's not broken, just really hard. I know this could be easily fixed, I just need to take the time to do so.

    Glad to see that you're blogging again.

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    1. I don't care about rebodying dolls for articulation, but I got into the habit of looking for interesting or old heads on Aliexpress, and I have some from my friend. So I just have far more heads than bodies, and the best (and cheapest) way to restore the balance is to get them headless clones or broken bodies. Some improvements are easier than others, and the neck joint is one of the easiest, that's why I do it.
      Thanks for taking the time to read my post even though you probably don't need this information. Btw, for stiff joints a short soak in hot water while tea is brewing should get things started. I hope you are getting settled in your new place so you can enjoy your dolls more. We moved last year, it just turns one's whole life upside down.

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  3. Thank you for the tutorial! This may expand the range of dolls that I can buy for rebodying. I hope that you're doing well; I'm looking forward to seeing more about Dawn.

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    1. I'm glad you liked it! These bodies are pretty decent from the neck down. Some are thinner, but I'd just anchor the beam with superglue on the inside to make it sturdy.
      I'm doing well, though I should really carve out some time to write longer makeover posts. I'm beginning to forget how I do things when I don't write them down.

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  4. Good idea... and I second dragoness, nice to see you blogging again.

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  5. Wow, this is such a nice idea, and doesn't seem too hard to execute - thanks for the great tutorial! I think I'll have to try this out on a doll or two whose neck joint only turns. I wish there was a way to add neck movement to Pullip T3 bodies too - my Hestias and T3 J-dolls would benefit from it SO much (the T3 J-dolls look especially stiff next to the T4s whose necks move more freely), but these girls would have to have their heads cracked open to even get to the neck joint, and with this risk added, the stiffness suddenly doesn't bother me *that* much :3

    I don't think I've ever modified doll joints - I did repair a neck once, but that doesn't really qualify as modification, and I did some light sanding once or twice when excess/too bulky plastic seems to have limited joint rotation, but nothing beyond this. I'm more of a rebodier, I think. Thinking of this, I did modify doll heads a few times to fit a new body (or to fit their actual bodies better - like adding some hot glue around a neck peg to make it bulkier and thus stop the doll's head from bobbling). I have an old doll whose articulation is very limited, and I did plan to try adding joints to her limbs (I was planning to buy peg-type joints for this), but in the end I always stepped back, not wanting to chop her original body up. I'm still on the lookout for a replacement body for her - she's a less common size, represents a child, and has a rather pinkish skintone that nothing I came across has ever matched so far, so I'm not really holding my breath, but I do keep my eyes open.

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    1. Oh, tell me about those j-doll heads! Even after a successful rebody that seam looks butchered, but the risk of an unsuccessful head cracking must be at least 50%. I adjust the torso joint to make them look up or down and try not to touch them afterwards. I do pop off their arms and knees freely for repair. Luckily with their elaborate outfits limbs can go missing for months without anyone noticing. I have a big batch to fix with epoxy putty, maybe I'll write about that too. I prefer fixing things because replacing them is more wasteful and often not much easier. I hope you find a body for your child doll. Maybe you can dye one.

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  6. Wow that was so so useful! You explain everything in detail and the photos make it even more interesting to understand! I was looking for something like this! I want to ask you something if you don't mind...does this kind of joint let the head moves and title in every direction? I've seen dolls that have a different joint uhm it's like a long thing XD made to move barbies have that...do you by any chance know the different between these ones with the ones that look like what you made? :)
    Thank you so much for what you shared again!

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    1. I'm glad you liked the tutorial! Yes, the head can move in every direction - I should add more photos that demonstrate that. The mechanism of the DIY joint is exactly the same as in MTM Barbies (on the right in my first photo). The difference is that my pin is visible and theirs is molded inside the neck. I'm not sure what the long thing on top is for, maybe it reaches the top of the head and prevents setting it too low on the neck? The two downwards prongs are to prevent children from decapitating the dolls. I cut those things when I remove the head to make future body swapping easier, and sometimes I cut the long thing too, if it's covered in glue. I haven't noticed any difference in the way the joint moves.

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    2. Thank you so so much!!! <3
      You really helped me a lot! Keep up the amazing job! <3

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