I titled that post assuming that y'all remember who Xenia is. Y'all DO remember Xenia, right? My
18-inch My Twinn with
brown eyes that turned purple?
LOL, okay, maybe not, as it's been awhile since I tinkered with my 18-inchers. But y'all, I have a conundrum. These American Girl-sized models didn't come out until extremely late in My Twinn's time of existence, and as a result they all suffer from quality issues like vinyl that's not as nice as the vinyl of the older dolls, and eyes that cloud up and change color at the drop of a hat. My Xenia used to have very pretty brown eyes, for example...
...but now they're...grape juice-colored!
It's possible to switch these eyes out, and indeed I pulled poor Xenia's eyelashes off with that very intention, which didn't help her appearance much (LOL). The eyelashes were squashed anyway due to my own stupidity, so no great loss. But anyway, Miss Emily did eye swaps for her smaller dolls and
they look pretty darn good. Unfortunately, Miss Emily also ran into some problems with another of her more modern dolls, a 23-inch girl named
Leora. When she heated up Leora's head and popped out her eyes, the edges of the sockets began to crack. The damage looks like it can be stabilized and concealed, but that left me concerned for Xenia's well-being. Miss Emily is not too attached to Leora as far as I can tell, and at the end of her post she was debating whether to just get rid of Leora's head or scrap the project altogether (which I voted against, LOL again).
Therein lies the problem. For I am quite attached to Xenia, homely as she may be. My mother, who is a sounding board for all my dolly woes, told me that she likes Xenia's eyes the way they are on the grounds that they make her look unique. I can't argue with that, but I've also got these.
I am DYING to see what Xenia would look like with green eyes! Maybe they'll bring her face to life and she'll give her older cousin
Rael some competition in terms of looks. As she is right now Xenia can't hold a candle to Rael.
Miss Emily didn't have an ounce of trouble with her smaller dolls so that makes me optimistic. Maybe poor Lenora just isn't aging well? Even though her head is clearly not a Denver head it's still older than Xenia's head is, so maybe that factored into those cracks. And maybe Lenora was just unlucky. I dunno.
I'll end the post by reiterating the title question: what should I do for Xenia? Should I just repaint her eyebrows and replace her eyelashes, or should I attempt the swap? Her original eyes will likely be damaged to the
point of know return during the extraction process, so I can't try both options, nor do I want to lest I damage the vinyl. And damage to the vinyl is the whole reason why I'm wavering in the first place! What say y'all? Swap Xenia's eyes or leave her the way she is? Feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Hugs, kisses, and pizza,
RagingMoon1987
I don't have any advice for you about Xenia, sorry! But I came across this video, and thought of you, with your love for Takara dolls and Japan in general. You have to put up with some Ariana Grande, but the rest of it is too cute not to watch.
ReplyDeleteLOL, at least you're honest about poor Xenia! I have a short-term solution figured out while I'm trying to stop being a Libra and decide already. As to the video, that was adorable! Makes me wonder how Licca would look in a "Single Ladies" parody? Thanks for the share; I do love stuff like that.
DeleteThat's a really hard one. I think I'd want to try some photoshop first, just to get an idea of what the potential outcome scenarios would look like. Personally, I'd be really hesitant about experimenting on a doll that I was especially attached to, at least without practicing on some similarly-constructed heads to get my confidence way, way up first.
ReplyDeleteYou speak wisely, of course. I never even considered Photoshop, so that will have to be done. I also agree with the idea of practicing on another head, but I hate the thought of trashing another head just for practice sake! Still, it's a good idea and I may have to do just that for the sake of practice.
DeleteSwap her eyes! I am dying to see what she would look like as well, LOL. But I certain understand your reservations as you don't want to cause damage. This is coming from someone who has had 3 AG dolls to custom since 2015 and I still haven't done anything with them, haha. If you do swap her eyes, I am sure they will look so pretty against her black hair!
ReplyDeleteLOL, that's the idea! I thought she'd look a little more exotic with black hair and green eyes. Presto mentioned a good point though, that I should practice the technique first with a similar doll. I hate to junk up another head, but that may be what it comes to. I've got a short-term solution in the making, though; my mother suggested tinted sunglasses, so that's what I'm gonna do for now.
Deleteis it possible to paint over the purple eyes?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure! I've considered it, though.
Delete