Strung Vinyl?

[ghostdollie]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply! I have used wooden balls for joints before on other projects, but I must admit I haven't used calipers to measure. Why didn't I think of this?! I will certainly share my progress if I cobble together a body. I've even researched companies which rotocast vinyl from original sculpts, but the cost is prohibitive. I have used Fantasydoll in China to cast a resin head of mine, but small run resin casting is much less expensive. I guess that's why so few little bjd companies offer vinyl!

[jemlovecraft]

Whoops, thanks zirconmermaid! I completely forgot DM had two sizes of FMDs... I just knew one of them came in both vinyl and resin.

For torso support, you could look at an opened-up Obitsu/Parabox hybrid and do something similar to that. A single-piece torso would be easiest, since you need multiple rigid parts on the inside, but there are probably ways to make the interior more flexible while retaining the structural strength... it might need jointing, though.

[Siead]

maybe if you used a small bit of plumbing pipe in the torso and the connector part that matches in the hips. the two parts would fit together well, and still be able to turn and pop up. possibly.

damn, now i just wanna make a pipe creature. lol.

[jemlovecraft]

I was thinking the same, Siead. If you make the tubing wide enough, it would also make a good stringing channel for the arm elastics. I see a lot of those bendy but sturdy PVC pipes around--maybe use that where you want the doll to bend? It would make them sturdy enough standing, especially at that size, but bend when needed.

[zirconmermaid]

I almost forgot about an actual stung vinyl! And I own two of them! Customhouse, now known as Aidolls, not the same as the little ai dolls on the forum right now, made strung vinyl in YoSD and MSD. I don't think they make them anymore, but you might find one on the aftermarket. There was an MSD boy, and the YoSd. The joints are harder vinyl, and they limbs and torso are heavier than Obitsu vinyl. More like the older Obitsu. If you do convert an Obitsu, try to get hold of an older three part body, plus the legs and arms from a ball joint body. I think that would actually work well!