LifeDoll Body & HoneyDolls Head - Any Repair Suggestions

r4m · Post by **r4m** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:18 am

Hi,
I made a repair to my doll, but I am not completely satisfied with the results. Before the repair, her head fell off with any movement. Now it stays in place when supported, but no more girl on top. If anyone has a better idea of how to secure her head to her body, I would appreciate the help.
I first posted this in the "Lifedoll Ai F Pure body and the Honeydoll Aki head the best?" thread:

....The place to start is to describe how the neck and head are attached. The top of the neck is rounded like a used pencil eraser, with an anchor hole in the top. The head has a matching indentation with a metal rod and a screw-on plastic tip. The tip must be forced into the anchor hole, and then acts as an anchor to keep them together. I hope that makes sense, as I do not have a camera available (I borrowed my RGs for the album). Basically, it is a ball and socket joint.

From this point on, I am making an educated guess (I have a BS in engineering). Much of the head's weight is supported by the silicone to silicone contact of the head and neck. I think the head indentation in the HoneyDolls head is shallower than the indentation in the LifeDolls head. Consequently, the previous owner could not get them to mate, even though he modified the head's metal rod and tip to match that used by LifeDoll. He chose to trim silicone from the neck. Rather than keep the rounded pencil eraser shape, he cut the neck so that the top is flat, resulting in very little silicone to silicone contact between the head and neck. A couple of months after she arrived, the weight of the head stretched the silicone anchor hole enough that the head started falling off at inopportune moments.

Surprisingly, I got around to my repair faster than I usually do. I guess Aki inspires me! The operation was mostly successful, but not perfect.

To start, I wrapped her neck with cling wrap to catch extra silicone. I also wrapped cling wrap around the bottom of her head, including the rod and tip. I put a tube about the size of the rod in the anchor hole to keep it clear, and then applied a layer of clear silicone about 1/4 inch thick to her neck, which tapered to nothing at the edges. I let it cure for 24 hours and applied a second coat of silicone in approximately the shape her neck should have been, but slightly larger. Then I removed the tube and installed her head, making sure it was completely seated. A few large globs of silicone oozed out from in between the head and neck, so I removed them with a paper towel. Once the excess was cleared away, I removed the head but left the head cling wrap in place. After a few hours I removed the cling wrap and then let it cure for another day.

My assumption that the neck anchor was failing due to the removed silicone was correct. The repaired connection is not strong, but her head does not fall off every few seconds anymore. Unfortunately, the neck anchor hole is still stretched, so I don't think her head will ever be as secure as it was designed. The added silicone-to-rod and silicone-to-silicone contact between the head and neck make her usable in most of the ways she was when I got her.

The other shortcoming of the repair is that some of the "oozing" silicone bled onto her neck. Apparently, I suck at applying cling wrap. ....

Thanks for your time.
r4m

Mechwizard · Post by **Mechwizard** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:28 am

r4m

Do you have any pics, maybe take some of the problem area. It's hard to visualize a fix for this and I'm not familiar with the Japanese dolls. If she were a RealDoll, then a knife, screwdriver and spanner usually solves most problems.

Do the manufacturers have any pics of the neck joint on their sites? I understand its two manufacturers involved.

Keithallen · Post by **Keithallen** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:53 am

Yes, detailed pics are needed, r4m. By reading what you quoted, I can guess what the trouble might be, but until we can see for sure, any advice may or may not be usefull.

r4m · Post by **r4m** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:58 pm

OK. I'll take some pics with my phone and check the mfg websites. I am pretty sure LifeDoll does not have pics of the neck joint, but I don't know about HoneyDolls.

artist69 · Post by **artist69** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 12:03 am

hi R4m

I will wait to see the pics first..sounds like some custom work was done here to adapt the head to the Lifedoll.Something failed in the process.I know the lifedoll originall joint was a threaded stainless rod and you just twist and spin the head on down. Was it your doll that had material cut away to accept the head?

r4m · Post by **r4m** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:39 am

Hi,
I posted picks of the head and neck in Aki's album, http://www.dollalbum.com/dollgallery/th ... album=2290.

I'll go check the mfg sites for original pictures of the connectors.

Hi Artist69 - Yes. The original owner modified the head connector (added LifeDoll rod and tip) and neck silicone (removed at least 1/2 inch and cut it flat). Here is what I had to say about that in an earlier thread:

...the previous owner could not get them to mate, .... He chose to trim silicone from the neck. Rather than keep the rounded pencil eraser shape, he cut the neck so that the top is flat, resulting in very little silicone to silicone contact between the head and neck. A couple of months after she arrived, the weight of the head stretched the silicone anchor hole enough that the head started falling off at inopportune moments.
.... I also recommend that you do not remove any silicone from the neck. If at all possible, make the rod and plastic tip longer instead. .... If you must remove silicone, remove it from the head and try to mirror the shape of the neck. That way you can use the body with the many lovely LifeDoll heads. Note: The body (483,800JPY) costs 5.75x more than the head (84,000JPY), so modifying the head is also less fiscally risky than trimming silicone from the neck.

Hey Artist69 - Do you have any pics of Miho's lovely neck and anchor hole? If you don't, that's cool. I do not recommend you disconnect them unless you have to. Repeated use could stretch the anchor. Because Aki is oral capable, I disconnected her head often for cleanup.

Siliconeismylife · Post by **Siliconeismylife** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:49 am

I read this thread, and I'm guessing you used a one-component tube of silicone (RTV-1) that can be purchased at a local retailer. This product uses moisture in the air to cure, and can only be applied in a thin layer, or moisture can't get to the material to cure it. That may not be an issue in your situation, but it is very difficult to bond anything to already-cured silicone, so don't be surprised if your repair material doesn't last forever. You may have to repeat the repair from time to time if the RTV-1 starts peeling away from the doll.
Aside from these concerns, I'm glad to hear that you found a decent solution to the problem.

r4m · Post by **r4m** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:51 am

Hi,
Nothing on the LifeDoll site, but there are a few pictures on the HoneyDolls site. http://www.honeydolls.jp/en/feature/joint.html
The whole page is about using their head on other manufacturer's bodies.

r4m · Post by **r4m** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:55 am

I have been mulling a few options over. Unless I get a better suggestion from some member with experience, I think I am going to add some less elastic pieces to the neck hole.

If I can find a thick rubber washer that in the correct size, I will install it just above the original anchor. I also think I will cut a small piece of PVC tubing, and install that on top of the washer. With only silicone, the hole stretches due to the weight of the head. My hope is the washer and tube will resist the weight of the head and result in a more secure joint.

Any thoughts?

Mechwizard · Post by **Mechwizard** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 6:04 am

r4m

I've been looking over the pics and links and it's damn hard to suggest a fix that will suit, especially as I'm not familiar with the dolls involved and that the neck had been modified by the previous owner. I can see that the ball would always try to pull out and the rubber washer has a lot of merit so long as you can fix it securely. I'm not sure about the pvc, but if its only siliconed in then it shouldn't be too hard to remove if it doesn't work out.

Does anyone have one of these dolls in Australia? Anyone?

If I could see it I'd have a better idea of what to suggest.

Post by **titman** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 7:11 am

r4m wrote:I have been mulling a few options over. Unless I get a better suggestion from some member with experience, I think I am going to add some less elastic pieces to the neck hole.

If I can find a thick rubber washer that in the correct size, I will install it just above the original anchor. I also think I will cut a small piece of PVC tubing, and install that on top of the washer. With only silicone, the hole stretches due to the weight of the head. My hope is the washer and tube will resist the weight of the head and result in a more secure joint.

Any thoughts?

r4m

Use the head's indentation as a mold. Turn it upside down, Get some silicon (smooth-on ecoflex or any RTV) fill up the indentation and let it cure. before you do that make sure you have release agent applied. After it cured remove from the indentation and glue it to the neck. Then you'll have good support between the head and the neck. It should work. Hope this can help

Titman