Fixing of loose neck articulations

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siliconefun
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Fixing of loose neck articulations

Post by siliconefun »

Hi again,
For first, everything's gone well and Mia's still in best condition :multi: .

What happened?
A few weeks after her arrival in July I noticed that her head moved downward when posing the doll in lying position.
The neck hinge for forward/backward articulation gets loosened and some head poses were still impossible :| Looked like a very exhausted and fatigue girl after 8 weeks in the Spa 8)

Coincidence?
The same arrived at Dees Man's sweet Dee and his post and the replies were a great help on how to resolve this problem.
A recently posted picture from Thelord001 of the upper skeleton construction lifted the secret and the location of the loosen hinge.
DSCF8666.jpg
Here's a drawing who explains this:
Drawing neck skeleton.jpg
The surgery
Yesterday morning I prepared all tools required to make this surgery and after undressing Mia the camera was ready to capture this event.
Here're the tools we used:
DSC02086.jpg
Note: the Superglue and the tape shown weren't used.

Instead of making much photos I decided to catch the most with the camera: 3 batches of silicone were made to perform 3 repairs.
- The scar from the hinge surgery cut
- The torn neck close-up
- A small hole on the right elbow
Each mixing glass bowl was lettered to control the cure process of the residues. After a few hours the curing started which results a good mixed batch.
DSC02112.JPG
The result
Afternoon I will remove the staples and pictures of the accomplished mission follows 8)
Mia must now patience only 10 hours (of 24 :whistle: ) and she gets a nice present :mrgreen:

Before leaving I would say great thanks to:
Nescio50, Dees Man, Thelord001, and all the other TDF members who posted very useful hints to achieve this successful repair.

:D - SF -

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siliconefun
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Re: Fixing of loose neck articulations

Post by siliconefun »

Hi again,
The surgery was a full success!
The staples were removed (was really wondered, the fine pin holes are self healing and invisible 8O ) and the scar is nearly invisible. The silicone cured-out, the surface is slightly sticky but I wait with the powdering.
Will post some pics later as I'm busy this afternoon.

:D - SF -

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Re: Fixing of loose neck articulations

Post by deerman »

All's well that ends well. :D and from looking at Mia's shoot it did :)

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Re: Fixing of loose neck articulations

Post by siliconefun »

deerman wrote:All's well that ends well. :D and from looking at Mia's shoot it did :)
Hi deerman,
A nice phrase :thumbs_up: and more nicely that she's in good health again :multi:

:D - SF -

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Re: Fixing of loose neck articulations

Post by siliconefun »

Hi again,
Here I present you the final result from the surgery and how it looks:
Drawing1.jpg
Drawing2.jpg
Drawing3.jpg
Comment:
On her right armpit I need to do a small refill but that's for another day. It's time to tidy up the mess on my workbench and to enjoy Mia .
I'm very happy with this result and for repairs I only recommend the pre-colored silicone from the 4woods repair kit as this gives the best finish.
Probably other surgeries may occur over time as the friction points on the hinges are predestinated to get loosen after several years and use of the doll. That's life.

:D - SF -

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Re: Fixing of loose neck articulations

Post by Nescio50 »

You really did a great job :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up:

Mia should be so happy :D

:glou:

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Re: Fixing of loose neck articulations

Post by siliconefun »

Nescio50 wrote:You really did a great job :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up:

Mia should be so happy :D

:glou:
Hi Nescio50,
This great job I've done = That's the result of all your precious help and hints provided here.
Mia is very happy and received a nice present from me => story comes tomorrow :!: :!:

Thanks very much for this help,

- SF & Mia -

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Re: Fixing of loose neck articulations

Post by Nescio50 »

siliconefun wrote:Hi Nescio50,
This great job I've done = That's the result of all your precious help and hints provided here.
Well, you did the job better than I did :wink:

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Re: Fixing of loose neck articulations

Post by siliconefun »

Nescio50 wrote:
siliconefun wrote:Hi Nescio50,
This great job I've done = That's the result of all your precious help and hints provided here.
Well, you did the job better than I did :wink:
?????
Wow.
Everything starts with a good sharp knife, the trick with the soapy water lube (very simple, very effective) and that the blade reaches soon the parts of the skeleton.
Was surprised with the hole on the elbow who I dabbed the surface with a wet cloth to achieve the skin texture, it works well!!!
Wish I have had this experience for the knee surgery. I was too biased to make a good job and it turned to the worst job :shakefist:
This surgery was a challenge to make things better, hopefully it's done.

:D - SF -

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Re: Fixing of loose neck articulations

Post by Mellzor »

Very clear, im sure this will come in handy some day
thanks for the vid ! done like a pro

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Re: Fixing of loose neck articulations

Post by siliconefun »

Mellzor wrote:Very clear, im sure this will come in handy some day
thanks for the vid ! done like a pro
Hi Mellzor,
It's for sure better when you never need a tutorial for making a repair on a doll but with all precaution they're fragile and they worn out by using them.
Hope the video can help making repairs easier, when not, TDF is a treasure of useful hints and tricks. It's priceless!!!

Thanks for watching :wink:

:D - SF -

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Re: Fixing of loose neck articulations

Post by Dees Man »

That's a magnificent job Guy. It's almost invisible. When I saw you didn't start the cut from the top, I wondered why I had. I had seen the picture of the skeleton, but I really didn't know where everything was. More to learn.

Again, well done

DM

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Re: Fixing of loose neck articulations

Post by siliconefun »

Dees Man wrote:That's a magnificent job Guy. It's almost invisible. When I saw you didn't start the cut from the top, I wondered why I had. I had seen the picture of the skeleton, but I really didn't know where everything was. More to learn.

Again, well done

DM
Hi Dees Man,
There's another way to fix it, cutting the neck on both sides along the mold seem. Disadvantage: it's a deeper cut and it's hard to access (2 EA of 13 mm socket with extension).
The every last step on my cut can be done by mixing a diluted batch (white spirit works well for diluting & cleaning) and to dab silicone in a thin layer with a fine sponge over the seem.
When powdered the shine disappears soon.
It's like you said, it's covered under the wig so it's not worth the effort.
Good news when you want to remove the Superglue on the outside texture: http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/how-to-r ... and-vinyl/
I often remove Superglue with acetone (Superglue is a kind of plastic) and I think it does not damage the silicone. Disadvantage: evaporates fast and vapors.

:D - SF -

The all best is that our ladies have a fixed neck and that enjoys so much :multi:

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Re: Fixing of loose neck articulations

Post by Dees Man »

Hi Guy,

I think I will leave her neck alone for a while other than kiss it and tell her she's better now. If this has loosened in 4 1/2 months, it will probably loosen again.Next time I will be more prepared to deal with it and will fix what I did this time. Maybe put nyloc nuts on too.

I'm amazed at what I've learnt about dolls in this short time.

I don't know if anyone noticed, but I changed to senior member a couple of days ago. I know it's only 200 posts, but I'm proud of it. Woo Hoo!

DM

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Re: Fixing of loose neck articulations

Post by siliconefun »

Dees Man wrote:Hi Guy,

I think I will leave her neck alone for a while other than kiss it and tell her she's better now. If this has loosened in 4 1/2 months, it will probably loosen again.Next time I will be more prepared to deal with it and will fix what I did this time. Maybe put nyloc nuts on too.

I'm amazed at what I've learnt about dolls in this short time.

I don't know if anyone noticed, but I changed to senior member a couple of days ago. I know it's only 200 posts, but I'm proud of it. Woo Hoo!

DM
Hi Dees Man,
Congratz to your senior member promotion... and to the 200.....211th post :glou:

:thumbs_up: - SF -

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