Vintage doll wig replacement, part 2

More than a month ago, I blogged about replacing the wig on one of my 8-inch Ginger dolls. Here at last is the rest of the story, as well as a few pictures.

As you'll remember, she wasn't the prettiest doll starting out — her crazy wig inspired me to nickname her Medusa. So I took the wig off of another Ginger doll with a walking post that was broken beyond repair.

Once I had the new wig in place (all of this is described in detail in the other post), I tied a ribbon around her head to keep the cheesecloth wig cap flush against her head while the glue dried. (I don't recomend fast-drying glue unless it's something that is reversible — too easy to make mistakes. Better to learn patience!)

After about 24 hours, I took the ribbon off. Although I had rebraided the wig before switching it, I did have do a little restyling after transferring it. Once the braids were how I wanted them, I put an extra spot of glue on each of side above the ear, so that the hair alongside her face stayed down instead of peeling up and making her look funny. That meant putting the ribbon back on again, of course.

When I took the ribbon off for the final time, I was duly impressed with my own work. Because I'd done such a thorough job of removing the evidence of glue and hair from the original wig, it's not immediately obvious that the wig is a replacement.

I also found her an outfit that I thought appropriate: #666 from the 1955 catalog. I bought the dress separately, so the yellow taffeta fat pants, yellow rayon socks, and white shoes are all appropriate vintage replacements. I'm still missing the hat, which I believe should be a lacy-looking white hat.

A lot of doll collectors shy away from dolls with replaced wigs, but I think the key is finding an appropriate vintage replacements. Most modern replacement wigs will be glaringly obvious, but you can easily find an appropriate vintage replacement by buying a parts doll with a good wig.

Of course, replacing the wig does affect the value — my doll might be worth more than she was with a Medusa wig, but not by much, and definitely not as much as if it were her original wig. Therefore, I don't necessarily recommend doing this on a doll you plan to sell; but if it's just a doll you plan to display and enjoy, I think you'll be pleased with the results.

Catching up

A friend scolded me lately for not having updated my blog lately, so I have to apologize — I've been extremely busy lately with work and my other hobbies, which involve enjoying the nice springtime weather.

However, today I bit the bullet and took a whole bunch of really great pictures, so you can expect new posts again! I'm especially excited about these pictures, because I've put together a new backdrop and studio setup, and I'm extraordinarily pleased with the results.

Check back soon for updates and more eye candy!

Vintage doll wig replacement, part 1

A couple weekends ago I did my first wig replacement on a vintage doll.

I had two Ginger/clone dolls: one doll with a broken neck but a good wig, and another with a great body, great face paint, but Medusa hair.

Photo by dallcm

Getting the bad wig off of the good doll was pretty easy, because the only thing I had to worry about was holding her head still so that I wouldn't break her walking post. Once the wig was off, I used my favorite doll cleaner to remove all of the glue residue. It took a little elbow grease, but the cleaner removed the glue!

Taking off the other doll's wig was a little trickier, as I had to be careful not to damage it. Luckily it is a genuine Cosmopolitan Ginger wig, with a full fabric cap (as opposed to the clone wigs, which generally just had a strip of fabric under the stitched part). I was therefore able to just focus on working the cheesecloth fabric away from the head. I didn't use water or doll cleaner to loosen it, just carefully worked the tip of a spoon under the fabric and avoided tearing it as much as possible.

Once I got the wig off, I put it on the other doll's now-shiny bald head, and moved it around a bunch to see how it looked in various positions. Once I had decided how I was going to position the wig, I had my husband hold the doll while I did a "practice run" without glue. I wanted to be certain I got it right the first time!

Finally I was ready to glue the wig on. I applied Tacky Glue directly to the inside of the wig — a circle all around the outer edge, a line of glue down the stitching for the part, and a little squiggle on each side of the part. I wanted to be sure I used plenty of glue, but I also had to be sure I didn't overglue.

When I put the wig on, I positioned it and then held it tight with my fingers for several minutes. When I was confident that it was starting to set, I tied a ribbon around the doll's head to keep the wig in place.

Stay tuned for the unveiling — my next post will address restyling her hair and putting the finishing touches on the replacement wig!

Doll cleaning and a mystery doll

It always amazes me how much you can transform some dolls with just a little cleaning. This doll — a little mystery doll that I haven't yet identified — was so dirty that it actually affected whether I liked her, and as a result I was planning on selling her. But then I decided to clean her up first, and guess what? It turns out I like her after all!

In this picture, you can see how dirty her face was before — and how clean and pretty a little doll cleaner made it. The darker half of her face is not in shadow or Photoshopped — it's dirty! Amazing, isn't it?

Now to explain the mystery. This little strung 8-inch toddler doll is clearly made using the same mold as the medium- and large-eyed Gingers and clones. She is also dressed exactly like Carol Sue, a strung clone that used the Ginger body. However, she is made of a much lighter plastic, her eyes are different, and she is stamped on her back with:

A 175

A.T.C.

MADE IN HONG KONG

So who is she? I have no idea. Maybe someday I'll be able to find out. But at least she is clean now!

Waste not, want not

Even doll collectors can benefit from the wisdom of "Waste not, want not."

The other day I was trying to decide what to do with my extra Frontier Girl Ginger from my Disney dolls display. I have two of these dolls, but the other one is mint in box so I haven't displayed her before. However, she has blond braids just like my new Davy Crockett doll, so I decided to put her into the display.

I was planning to sell my extra Frontier Girl. I even took pictures and wrote out the description for the listing, but I started having major second thoughts. Even though this Ginger doll's hair is down, her face coloring is gorgeous. Really, her hair being down is her only flaw.

After some agonizing indecision over whether I ought to be selling her, it occurred to me that I have several Ginger outfits just waiting for a doll to wear them. Rather than selling this doll and then spending more on a new doll with mint hair, why not just redress her in one of them? Even if I decide to put a different doll in the dress later, at least I will get some more enjoyment out of her — and get a great outfit on a doll.

I will keep her original Frontier Girl outfit, of course, in case I decide to redress her in it — or even sell her — at a later date. In the meantime, she looks darling in the outfit, and I am very happy with my decision!

Rags to riches, part 2

One of my favorite parts of complete a project doll is finding the correct clothes and accessories to complete the doll, as I did with the Davy Crockett doll that is now in my display of 1950s Disney dolls.

My last post about this doll demonstrated how much a doll can be transformed by cleaning and restyling its hair. But that transformation is not complete until the doll has appropriate clothing, too.

I actually did not intend the Davy Crockett outfit for this doll when I first saw it — I just knew that I wanted the outfit. A couple of days later, I restyled this doll's hair, and knew then that she would be perfect for the outfit.

The outfit was boxed — in the wrong box, but as I discovered when I got the outfit, it had probably never been on a doll. It was therefore very stiff, as the suede material they used didn't really age very well. I steamed the outfit to make it flexible enough to get on my doll, but even so, it took a lot of coaxing. Now that it's on, I am never going to take it off!

The outfit is great — it includes the suede fringed skirt and top, red suede boots, a red belt, "saddle bags" to hang on the belt, and of course a darling rabbit fur "coonskin" hat with a little "tail." The outfit also has the rifle, which I was thrilled about, of course!

Even with her pale face and rebraided hair, this outfit transforms this little Ginger from a six-dollar doll into one of the sought-after Disney Gingers. I'm very proud to have uncovered this little diamond in the rough!

Rags to riches, part 1

My "Ginger as Davy Crockett" or "Pioneer Girl" (depending on which Cosmopolitan catalog you are looking at) is a true rags to riches story as far as dolls go, as I noted in my post about my 1950s Disney dolls display.

When I got her, I had no idea she would become one of my favorite dolls overnight. A friend of mine, who also collects Ginger dolls, sent me the auction on eBay (thanks, Regitze!). She didn't look like much, and wasn't identified as Ginger, but I decided to take a chance and bid on her anyway. I ended up winning her for $6.50.

Photo by hytenjr

When I got her, I was delighted to find that her hair is parted for pigtails. That made me happy because I can easily restyle pigtails. Ginger's hard rolled flip, though, is difficult to duplicate. I've done it once and will probably never try it again, it was so frustrating!

Restyling her hair was one of the doll projects I worked on a little more than a week ago. I was able to fairly easily repart the hair. I also found that the hair was still a little crimped from the original braids, which made it easier to rebraid it.

I also cleaned her up a little bit, as she had some play soil on her, especially on her face.

In my next post I'll talk about finding her an appropriate outfit to complete her transformation!