Some Obitsu customizing newb questions (hair/clothes)...

[SetsunaKou]

Ack! I'm so sorry! I didn't even think about the code names being the only ones on the charts! Forgive me!

Anyway, the 'Sh" (Skinhead) heads are all Volks and the NGG (Neo Goh Guy) and the Neo-Guy, and the DP (Dollfie Plus) are also Volks heads.
The ones that say 'OB' are all Obitsu and the 'NDR' are 'Noix De Rome' which has pretty much suspended its 1/6 business and are just selling the remainder of what stock they have left.

Hope that helps! Please feel free to ask any more questions!

Oh, you might want to visit:

http://www.volksusa.com
http://www.volks.co.jp

Volks doesn't really sell the 'skinheads' anymore but some do come with bodies already and others are sold as 'custom hair heads' with hair already rooted in the heads.

If you need any help in navigating their sites, let us know and we'll be happy to help!

:hugs:

Setsuna

PS Just saw your PM and will check the links you sent within a day or so. (Have company over right now----gomen ne!) ^^

[MeltedCaramel]

Haha, there is nothing to forgive!!! You're so sweet for posting the information at all!! This post, may many a doll-customizer-in-training find it, will help so many people!! THIS was the kind of post I was looking for when I started finding myself interested in the hobby. Informative, helpful, and cheerful!

Also, tea tree oil (for taking off faceups)? That's a new one, but there's plenty around the house!!

Looking forward to your PM later! <3

[Android raptor]

You can actually get pretty good, gravity-defying animu hair with boil perming alone. Basically, you boil (or just heat up, since if you're working with nylon or acetate hair you don't want the water to be boiling since it'll fry the hair) some water, dump it on the doll in the direction you want the hair to go, rinse with cold water, and let it dry. It's the same technique used to style wigs. That's how I got my Ghinius to go from a pre-rooted Obitsu W-03 with long, straight hair to the stupid scene kid/80's woman thing he's supposed to have, and Jiri to get... whatever the hell you'd call that thing, for instance.

Even dolls you want to have straight flat hair are good to boil perm since it help the hair stay down.

[MeltedCaramel]

Hmnnn, I've heard of the boil perm method before, but it seems to give the more gravity-defying styles a bit of a....finger in a light socket look? You've managed to make it work out quite well by your dollies (love the faceups on both of them BTW!) but for characters like say....I don't know, I'll pick a hard one, say:

Shark from Yu-gi-oh! ZEXAL, that hair is so rigid-straight and at such odd angles that it would be almost impossible (unless someone knows a boil-hairstyle expert) to get that type of hold with boiling alone, in my admittedly untested opinion.

DO you think boiling could work on such complex hairstyles like this?

[SetsunaKou]

We always use the boil method first to get the overall form of the hairstyle but then finish it up with the Got2B spray or gel if it's something like that. Just to keep the 'points' together, etc.
We even have to use clothespins on some hairstyles (mainly from YGO) to get the 'stairwell' points on many of the charas from that series. ^^

But yes, AndroidRaptor is right in that boil perming works wonders on most hairstyling----it's just the extreme ones that require a little extra help. ^^

[Android raptor]

Possibly, at least of you're using nylon since it holds styles much better than saran. You can actually style nylon with room temperature water, just dump it on and let it dry completely. Same with acetate. I don't know of any of the other hair types as I have yet to work with them.

If the dolls you've seen that were boil permed look fried, the water used on them was probably too hot. Saran is really the only fiber you want to actually boil, like I said you can actually do nylon and acetate with room temperature water as long as you let it dry completely.

Thanks btw. Ghinius's faceup isn't my work, but the hair is entirely something i managed to fart out.

[MeltedCaramel]

Hmnnn, how would you boil something crazy like say Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho, just a full scale dump upside down and then tease the result into points with styling gel? Hrrrmm, what is a standard Obitsu's hair made out of, Saran or nylon? I never really see what kind of synthetic fiber is being used, just that it's synthetic.

[Android raptor]

Basically yeah, that's how you'd style something like that. As for hair fibers, Obitsu pre-rooted are saran, but you can buy other kinds from places like Dollyhair and what not.

[MeltedCaramel]

Now I want to make a Hiei doll simply to full-out dunk a doll upside down in a pot on the stove and when a terrified family member comes in, haughtily reply "I'm making art."

[DollyKim]

I've microwaved a mug of water and got enough heat for a boil perm. Don't fill the mug all the way, stick it on a towel or in the sink incase the water flows over and dip the hair in. You can use straws for curlers. To get crimps try small braids. I've twisted locks in to buns and got wild stick out hair on a Barbie.

The Dolly Hair saran is very responsive to styling, just holding it or putting it up can shape the hair. The nylon takes a bit more effort. Some times all you need is hot water from the sink to get a gentle style.