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| Obitsu neck and Mattel Harry neck |
Several years ago, I bought an Obitsu male teen body to make Julian (Harry) an articulated teen. Unfortunately, I encountered two problems. First: although both Julian and the Obitsu teen body are pale, they are different pale shades. Julian has a pinkish tint to his pale complexion; the Obitsu body, an ivory tint. Not an insurmountable problem once he is dressed. But the second problem is that the necks are not readily compatible. Julian has what I think of as a cookie jar top style head/neck topping a stump neck base/body. The Obitsu body has a slender neck with a toggle to hold the head. That's the real problem: the head/neck variation.
If I remove Julian's head only, it is wider than the Obitsu neck so it would wobble around the toggle. If I glued his head to the toggle, he could not turn his head. A possible solution would involve doll surgery. I could cut Julian's head and most of his neck from his body, fit that head/neck over the Obitsu neck and glue it in place. So Harry would be able to turn his head. But would there be a gap and how to fill that smoothly? Also, that would leave the original Harry Potter body useless except for doll limb retrieval. Hmmm ...
Why bother? Well, I would like to have a more limber Julian. And the Obitsu body feels lost without a head. Every body needs a head, right? See the Obitsu body's moves in the following photos. There needs to be a head atop that body.
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| Obitsu Male Teen Body Mattel Harry Potter |
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| Obitsu body and Mattel Harry size comparison |
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| Obitsu body and Mattel Harry rear |
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| Obitsu seated |
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| Obitsu pulls in right leg |
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| Obitsu extends right leg |
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| Obitsu lifts left leg |
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| Obitsu knees up |
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| Obitsu knees down |
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| Obitsu right arm bent |
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| Obitsu left arm detail |
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| Obitsu falls back |
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| Obitsu crawls |
Okay, you might find the Obitsu body a little delicate. A little on the frail side - compared to Julian's (Harry's) original Mattel body. Sigh. But it is fun to pose him. And since Julian has lost his wizard background and become a mere Muggle, surely he deserves some compensation. Like a limber body that he can dance in.
So, if you have any advice or know someone who could offer some advice, do please share solutions. Help make a head and a body connection.
14 comments:
Have you tried sun-bleaching Harry?
Basically you put the doll in a sunny spot near a window, and, well, leave it there for a few weeks.
I'm not an expert on the process, but from what I've seen it seems to work pretty well. I know vintage MLP doll collectors often sun-bleach pony bodies to match heads. It can turn the vinyl quite a few noticeable shades lighter. It works better on red and pink tones (I guess the dye breaks down faster?)
Check with Roxanne. I think she swapped a different Harry to an Obitsu body. Good luck. I need to add Harry to my collection.
You could always put Julian on a different body. I know I know you want the Obitsu..lol. You can always try cutting away at his nick and make him more like the newer dolls. You can use tape to make the neck piece that goes into the head thicker to keep it from wobbling
I was recently thinking of doing something similar (ken head on obitsu). This forum thread might be of use: http://milkshakemelody.com/figurvore/index.php?topic=2197.0 Not sure if it would work if the neck is too thin, though (that's why I shelved my project). If it's just the toggle that's too small there's always a way around it (I used a plastic pencil cap once).
Thanks for that tip, Forsythia! I've heard of sun-tea, but not sun-bleached dolls. Neat tip. Wonder if it would work for some of my vinyl Barbies. There are variations in the suntanned Mattel doll bodies that might benefit from this treatment ....
Thanks, Vanessa. I remember now that she did have a Harry that she swapped onto an Obitsu body.
I like my Julian (Harry); he has a smirky face. He'd be fun to have in your collection ;-)
Dear Dollz4Moi,
NNnnnnnnnnoooooooooooo! IwannauseObitsubody,IwannauseObitsubody, IwannauseObitsubody ... huff. Temper tantrums are tiresome for adults. How do kids get the energy to do them?
Okay, returning to my normal age, I thank you for the neck cutting and the tape wrapping suggestions ;-)
Thanks, Anderson's All-Purpose! That's a great tutorial; I'm going to add the link to my follow-up post.I like the idea of using a plastic pencil cap, too. I might have to widen the neck ...
You know I have nothing to add, but just wanted to say that body can make some cool poses!
Hi Muff! Aw, no suggestions? Okey doke, glad you witnessed the coolness that is the Obitsu body ;-)
Isn't it a cool body, the Obitsu? I had fun playing with it, and I can be lazy about posing. I'm glad that I got him years ago. Roxanne has a younger male Obitsu body.
I've used the tips in that thread (like cutting down the neck to look like a Harley Davidson ken neck on the head) to put a vintage Ken repro on an Obitsu body and while there was some gapping it is a passable hybrid lol. Instead of putty or whatever I just wrapped a LOT of masking tape on the neck knob until it snuggly fit inside my doll's head. I also stuffed the head with plastic bags to stop the head from sinking onto his shoulders lol.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kd_230692/8241104053
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kd_230692/13718754414
Thanks for sharing those tips, Jawn Pickles! Now to get some masking tape and plastic bags ;-)
BTW, I LOVE your repaints and re-bodied figures - especially your Allans. They look so cool. Allans with Attitudes, lol.
The Obitsu is such a cool body! My Harry is the younger version by Mattel, and when I switched the neck connector on the Obitsu body, the head fit without an issue (although his neck does look very slender). The only suggestion that I have for eliminating the wobble of putting the larger head on the smaller neck is to do something similar to what I did when I rebodied Tariq. Go to my Doll Head Removal page and look towards the bottom for Tariq, and see how I used a flat washer from a tub & shower repair kit, and a plastic grape to eliminate the wobble. Tariq still has a gap between his head and neck, though, which is why he wears a turtleneck. Good luck with Julian (Harry)!
Thanks, Roxanne! I'll review your suggestions and see what works best for the Julian (Harry) and the Obitsu body matchup ;-)
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