Stabilizer & Joint Issues (Resin)

[Neko Sandy]

I wasn't really happy when my new 70 cm Yue from Dollzone popped the main stabilizer he had in his chest. It left him with a permanent slouch and a tendency to bite anyone who tried to fix said slouch. Kiki-chan was visiting when it happened and the two of us tried several things to re-affix the stabilizer in place (including hot glue and zap-a-gap) but none of them could hold very long against the tension of the doll's stringing. (He came to me from Dollzone strung REALLY tight and I think that might have contributed to the stabilizer popping in the first place.) I don't know what Dollzone used to affix that piece, but it wasn't like anything we could get our hands on that summer so I set the doll aside for a while until I could think of a better way to fix the stabilizer.

Recently, when I was moving my brood I found that another one of my dolls has developed a similar problem. The doll in question is a completely different than critter than the Yue, though. He's a 60 cm (barely, dude's small!) AngelRegion Tanning Kai who wasn't in the best shape when he came to me, but the abuse was mostly to the poor thing's face and not his body. Apparently, though, whatever AngelRegion used to fix the top of his leg (think hipish) to the thigh (why they needed two pieces when it's a non-moving joint is beyond me) has come apart as well. Also, unlike the Yue, he has never been tightly strung and is cuddly, floppy guy.

So this leads me to think maybe the pieces coming loose might be more common than I thought and not just a slight flaw/weakness in the new Dollzone body. Has anyone else had a problem like this? If so, how did you fix/deal with it? Below are some pics of the joints in question to help out.


Dollzone Yue 70cm, new body (unless they have put out another new body in the time I've been away X.x):





AngelRegion Tanning Kai 60 cm:









Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[EAB]

There is a product called Durham's rock hard putty. It comes in a powder form that you mix with water. You can get it at hardware stores, and it's cheap. It doesn't shrink when dry and is extremely durable. I used to use it when I made porcelain dolls to set the hooks in joints, so it has to be able to take tension, which it does very well. Some of the dolls I used it in are over 20 years old, and it hasn't cracked, flaked, or loosened.
If I were going to replace that broken piece, that's what I'd use. You could fill the broken gap with it. It dries to a sort of cornmeal color, but you won't see it, or you could paint it to match.

[K2!]

There has been an ongoing issue with Durham's and several lawsuits contending that the talc, the primary ingredient in Durham's, has abnormally high levels of asbestos. The arguments are very technical and deal with the nature of what is an asbestiform fibers and whether or not some of the minerals in their talc are asbestiform. Regardless of the asbestos issue, talc dust is dangerous when inhaled as outlined in the Durham's Rock Hard Water Puddy Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) http://www.chemcas.com/msds112/cas/124/14807-96-6.asp. Precautions should be taken (dust mask, good ventilation) to avoid breathing and spreading this dust when mixing, sanding, drilling, etc. this product.

[Neko Sandy]

Thanks for the suggestion, EAB and the follow up warning, K2! I'm pretty surprised they can market something with that much...crude...in it, but then again, a lot of art products are unfortunately not very good for your body to be around. It's really sad.

I'm not sure putty is the way I want to go, though. It might work for the torso joint, but I think it would be too bulky for the leg joint. Neither joint is broken--they have just come apart so anything that is too thick would just cause the joint not to sit right and, I would guess, increase the chance of the joint coming apart again. Of course, I have almost no experience with putties so I could be wrong.

When I can get my hands on some more zap-a-gap I want to try it on the leg joint since there's not really any tension there like in the torso joint, but since that's going to be a little bit, I thought I would see if there were any other options I could try. Please keep them coming!

[Resu]

I don't have any suggestions, but I have a feeling that's the same reason why my old Boy&Girl body suddenly started having a permanent slouch. I had no idea that little piece in the torso was supposed to be attached and not free floating.

[Neko Sandy]

While I'm sad to hear someone else has had this issue, I'm also glad to know I'm not the only one. I don't have a B&G, but I would guess the piece works the same as the one in my Dollzone and it was DEFINITELY attached when I got him. Poor Kiki-chan got a nasty surprise when it popped loose while she was using him to mock up some clothing patterns. X.x

[Greyhaunt]

Not to pimp other forums, but have you tried over in Den of Angels? If you go into their workshop and post your question and pics in their Customization and Maintenance area you may have better luck - just because there are SOOOOO many more members there Heck, you may even find it's already come up there - you never know

[K2!]

I am relatively unfamiliar with the actual workings of resin dolls so I can't in good conscious offer a solution. However I have worked with resin garage kits so I am familiar with the material. You might want to look into Gorilla Glue brand super glue (http://www.gorillaglue.com/glues/superglue/index.aspx) or even the regular Gorilla Glue (http://www.gorillaglue.com/glues/gorillaglue/index.aspx). The GG super glue is very tough, gap filling and offers some impact resistance. The regular GG is an expanding urethane type adhesive so precautions should be taken to protect areas surrounding the glue joint. It is very strong and good for gluing dissimilar materials, too.

[Neko Sandy]

Greyhaunt: I haven't tried DOA yet, though I should. (But, but, they is scarrrrry! *hides*) Posting would mean trying to remember my login and password though, so I might just browse first. At least I know which forum to start in thanks to you. DOA is sooo big I can never figure out where to begin looking for anything.

K2: GorillaGlue, now there is a name I haven't heard in a while. Thanks for the links--that might just be what I'm looking for! It would definitely be worth a try, anyway, as long as it's safe for resin which I'm going to guess it is, since you didn't mention having any issues with the resin kits you used it on. Or is dollie resin a lot different from the kit resin? I really don't know anything about those kinds of kits. X.x

[K2!]

GorillaGlue, now there is a name I haven't heard in a while. Thanks for the links--that might just be what I'm looking for! It would definitely be worth a try, anyway, as long as it's safe for resin which I'm going to guess it is, since you didn't mention having any issues with the resin kits you used it on. Or is dollie resin a lot different from the kit resin? I really don't know anything about those kinds of kits. X.x

I'm sure garage kit resin is not exactly the same as BJD resin. Garage kit resin varies widely in quality, but the better quality GK resins seem to have a very similar appearance and similar "working" (sanding, cutting, drilling, etc.) characteristics as BJD resins.
The regular Gorilla Glue does expand as it cures and can fill gaps (good!) and ooze out of joints on to finished surfaces (bad!), so be careful where you use it so as not to get any oozing out on your doll's exterior.