AboutMarilyn B. Hughes Expertise I can answer some questions about assembling and wigging 1/12th scale dolls from kits and dressing said dolls along with sites to aquire them. Ladies are the area I focus on. I also know of sites or tutorials for accessories, wigging, and other supplies. Also if I don't know the answer I may be able to find it for you. My area is porcelain dolls, or dolls made from Flumo/Li-qua-che, and some polymer clay dolls made from push molds.
Experience I'm still an amateur but have been putting together miniature 1/12th scale porcelain doll kits for a couple of years. Ladies are the area I focus on. I cannot string dolls as I use glue and pipecleaners and most of my dressing is done with glue not sewing due to the size (5-1/2") of the doll. I do not paint the faces as I purchase them pre-painted.
Education/Credentials I have taken many on-line classes in assembling, wigging, and dressing 1/12th scale dolls. I have no formal education in this field and DO NOT profess to be an expert.
Question could you please tell me what to use to remove the wig of my doll, and what to use to glue together a piece that broke under the wig. I'm going to try to remove the wig and glue the top of the head that broke. Hopefully it won't be to big of a deal because it's under the wig and won't be noticeable........Please help me I am trying to do this myself........Thank you for any help you can give me.
Answer Since you don't mention the size of the doll, I'm not sure if any of this will help, but I'll try. First, my apologies for taking so long. I've not been answering (or even looking at) personal mail for several weeks due to work and personal commitments.
Depending on what was used to attach the wig, you can try heat (if a hot glue was used & the doll is not plastic), alcohol with a high percentage (may take awhile to dissolve the glue and only if you doll is porcelain). Sometimes, depending on the glue, you can just gently tease it off. That's the method I prefer and what I've done with my miniature dolls when I want a new hairstyle (I use Aileens Tacky or The Ultimate glues to attach hair).
As to the piece that broke on the dolls head, once again, if it is porcelain, you can use Zap-A-Gap (in the green bottle). I have found this to be THE best glue for putting porcelain pieces back together. And believe me, I've had LOTS of experience with this. Put it on both pieces, and press together, holding for 35 seconds or so. Once it has set, I always take a toothpick and brush some on each side of the break. Since this is on a head, you may only be able to put some on the topside of the crack. This just adds strength. The wig should hide the break (which should be almost invisible anyway if it was a clean break) easily. Just make sure if you every sell the doll, you note that there was a break on the top of the head, but that it was repaired. I do this with the miniature dolls I sell, and I have sold them before even though I told them something had been broken and I glued it back. Fingers are really bad about breaking off when working with the miniature dolls like I do.
I hope this helps. Currently, I work exclusively with 1/12th scale porcelain dolls.
Marilyn
