Essential BJD kit

This is a good idea! It's nice to have a standard kit. But acetone is a no-no! It's okay on some resins but will melt others. Rubbing alcohol or Windsor & Newton Brush cleaner is much better.

Hmmm... I would add a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to this. It's good for stains. I wish I'd gotten one sooner.
A hemostat is the tool that's helped me most in restringing. And they're like three dollars.
And a carry bag is good! It doesn't have to be a special doll one, necessarily, but something to keep them in safely if you want to haul them around. I use a vinyl overnight bag my grandpa gave me. It holds two SDs, and is pretty regular-looking, for those days when I want to pass as normal.

 

I think at the very most basic (like, what I might put into a "BJD starter kit" if I were to make one), I'd say a basic wig, basic eyes, some eye putty, one outfit, and a blanket/pillow to carry the doll in... everything past that becomes extra stuff to me, since you can get a doll with a faceup, you probably won't need the elastic or restringer right away (unless you are like me and accidentally kill the elastic within twenty minutes of getting your first doll... oops.)

Hm. Maybe I'll create a variation on this for conventions, since more and more have a booth selling naked, bald dollies...

 

Hot glue gun, magic eraser, silicone earplugs (for use as eye putty) and a camera are the things I must have.

...and my portable sewing kit. XD Because my boys CONSTANTLY need more clothes.

vicemage, I bet if you put something together like that for cons it would sell. I know I certainly didn't have the basics I needed when I bought my first doll...

 

I have a toothbrush and a spray bottle of hair spray (Pantene Pro-V Style is the kind I use) I keep with me when I am going to take photos. A clean toothbrush is a great doll brush (I saw this mentioned in a thread here once and it really is true) and the hair spray is great for taming the hair. I just take the wig off, dip the brush in and shake off the extra hair spray liquid then brush the hair. If I am not to worried about fly aways then I just make sure the toothbrush has been washed, so its not stiff, and use it as a normal brush. ^^ I plan on bringing it to A-Kon so I can keep his hair nice and neat.

Strong string of some sort and a pen is all I use for re-stringing. Even a necklace sometimes if I don't have a good strong string. ^^;;; though I always freak out if the chain and resin make any noise (never been any damage but its a scary sound!)

A nice white cloth could be useful to, if you need to get something off or want something to put your dolly on that won't get it dirty. I usually put Lestat on a white washcloth or towel when I re-string, since I don't have a table to work with and I don't want him laying out in my dark blanket. XD And its good to wipe away messes that don't require any real cleaning.

Um, yeah, think that's it. Extra batteries for camera is a must to, of course, and for a carrier I have in the past just used a big old bag purse my mom doesn't use anymore. It might be no good if your in a crowded place you might get bumped but if your just walking down to the park or something, its a nice to just slip dolly in, with supplies, and pull dolly out at location.

 

I second the Mr Clean, in fact buy several! Also make sure you have a dark place to keep them - I suggest keeping the default box if you get one. Also essential I think is a face protector - since you may want to send your doll to a pen pal, take them somewhere or get a new face-up. HMmmmm also a doll carrier - anykind of bag that will work, so you can take them out for photoshoots and meets. Andd...... underwear! Especially if you have a girl.. I put my girl in short dresses...

 

Face covers are another thing I'd add, in case yours doesn't come with one/gets lost/broken etc...

Things I think are important are: Windsor & Newton brush cleaner, magic eraser, stringing tool, head stringing tool, ceramic knife (for removing seam lines etc...), super fine sandpaper (hobby fine, like 1400 grit), kneadable eraser (to use as eye putty), MSC or, my fave, ZM UV Cut spray, and a doll stand. hehe You can make things like wig stands yourself using foam and balsa wood and you can even make a doll form from your doll if you happen to have a nice outfit you want to keep in good shape. Though really, you can just keep it in a plastic bag, nicely folded.

Um, so, wow, that's a lot, but I think it's all worth it. You can also get those craft bags to keep small things in, like eyes, barrettes etc...

 

My Essentials box has everything in one place. Because I'm one of those people who, if we can't find exactly what we need on the first try as soon as we reach for it, flies into a screaming rage. And then we feel like idiots, as the dolls stare calmly and blankly back at us. So it's easier just to keep everything in a box that's exactly arm's-reach distance from the couch where I take all my photos.

It's all essential, because I insist on having the right tool for every job every time. The moment that any one of these items go missing, there's 100% chance that I'll suddenly need that item right away. So I leave nothing to chance. ^.^ If I'm at someone else's home or on the road, fine, I can easily operate with less; but when I'm working at home, why suffer?

• Head-removing hook
• Hemostats
• Eye putty (assorted types, to cope with assorted kinds of eyes)
• Restringing tools, MSD & SD sizes
• Cleaning-sponges
• Cotton pads & swabs
• Packet of sponge-tipped eye makeup applicators (Wet them & use them to clean dust off eyeballs, quick lint/smudge cleanup on faces, etc.; leave them dry for applying pastel blush on faceups; a billion uses around the house)
• Wig-trimming scissors
• Tiny silicone hair-elastics & regular sized rubber-bands
• Hairspray
• Wig-oil spray
• Water wax
• Two toothbrushes: One for fur hair, one for fiber hair
• Any small round-headed stick-shaped object, for poking at eye putty
• Tiny crochet hook from a hair-frosting kit (as a buttonhook for tiny DollHeart buttons)
• Tiny latch-hook (for putting on coats over long sleeves)
• Needle-nose offset tweezers (for everything related to eyelashes and/or lint)
• Shoehorn: I don't know if it has a name, but it's the plastic brush-head remover that comes with the Oral-B Cross Action Power Toothbrush. I've never seen anything else that was so perfectly shaped & sized to be a doll shoehorn. (There are some boots that will not come off without it!)
• Doublestick tape
• White glue
• Toothpicks
• Hot glue gun & refill sticks

It's a smaller box than it sounds! ^^ None of these things is physically huge.

But for meetups & conventions, the Travelling Essentials Kit is stripped down to:

• One toothbrush and/or comb
• Mini bottles of wig-oil spray & hairspray (only if it's a fiber wig; for fur, no need!)
• One sponge-tip eye makeup applicator
• One small chunk of cleaning sponge
• Shoehorn, if there will be any outfit-changes at all
• Extra piece of bubblewrap
• Extra rubber band
• 3 tiny hair-elastics

The carrying-bags all already contain multiple face-bubbles, extra swaths of bubble-wrap, & extra rubber bands. Gotta be ready to jet on a moment's notice, after all. ;D

The Faceup Essentials box is separate: I store them in the little Volks starter-kit boxes they came with. Sealant spray, acrylic thinner & retarder, 90% isopropyl alcohol, pointy swabs, tiny brushes, chalk pastels, acrylic paints, white glue, offset tweezers, toothpicks.

 

I have a little cosmetic bag with my basics to carry to meetups in it. It has

• Hemostats
• Magic Eraser
• Piece of Ribbon, rolled up and bound with a long twist-tie (this is my re-stringing kit)
• Single-use superglue in a plastic case
• Hot glue gun (for sueding, because when I go to family holidays I end up working on my cousin's dolls)

I keep faceup protectors, extra eye putty, elastic (sometimes) and rubber bands in my doll carrier.

If I'm just taking a doll somewhere for the day though, I usually just stick the ribbon/twist tie and a chunk of magic eraser in it's head and go.

I have a drawer at home with more stuff in it, but for traveling I just grab the bag and whatever's in it and the carrier is more than enough.

The faceup stuff is all separate, in a rubbermaid tote with a handle. I wouldn't take that anywhere unless I was sure I'd be doing faceups, as I've got my respirator, portable Ott light, pastels, MSC, acrylics, W&N, etc. in it.

 

Hm, this is all good info to keep in mind! It'll be helpful for putting together a dollie 'travel kit', I'm sure.

=^__^=
Anneko

 

Isn't it? XD I wish I still had the thread that mentioned it! It had lots of good tips on hair care products and styling.

 

@nekonezumi and disco biscuit, I'm very strongly thinking about it... I have an event coming up and I think the doll-sales ladies have been at it a few times. They do sell the dolls with eyes and sell wigs additionally, but I think a set of a simple outfit, a travel blanket, a magic eraser, and maybe a fur wig might not be a bad "starter" setup for people to get going. Maybe give them a card with some "helpful resources," too. I've just seen so many poor little bald and naked resinkids wandering the conventions...

 

Yup, the earplugs work better than any actual putty I've been sent so far. ^_^ And yes, the hot glue is for sueding. Two of my dolls are hot glue sueded and it works fantastically.

 

Well I only have 2 BJDs and one of them doesn't take eyes(DD) the other(Unoa Sist) already came with them and a way to hold them in. I haven't bought extra eyes, yet.

For me the essentials right now are:

~ Acetone(doesn't smudge & stain like non-acetone polish remover does on me)
~ Acrylic paints
~ Paint brushes
~ Cotton swabs & balls
~ Tooth picks
~ Chalk pastels
~ Sealant
~ Aleene's tacky glue(or equivilent white glue)
~ My DIY skills(sewing, painting, wig-making)
~ Wire to help restring

ETA: Spray bottle with fabric softener & water! Great for taming tangles and doesn't damage fake hair!

That's all I can think of right now.

^_^

 

Well, I guess everyone has their own view on what is essential to them.
So here's the list of those BJD related tools I actually use most, the ones I would consider essential to me. As you can see they don't include any face-up tools as I usually don't change the face-ups on my dolls too often, these are just things that are useful for the general doll maintenance.

- head removing hook
- stringing tool
- white colored eye putty
- face masks
- magic eraser
- hot glue + gun
- spare elastics/s-hooks
- wig stopper
- comb

 

Possibly a silly question that occured to me: where do you get the extra face protectors? If your doll doesn't come with one, or if you would just like to have several for safety's sake? Do you just request one frome the company?

 

You can buy facebubbles from some companies on their websites.... if you feel like paying for them... Volks sells them, of course...

Or, you can go to 7-Eleven and steal a handful of domed Slurpee lids. They're flimsier, but they don't cost four bucks apiece. ^^

 

Ah! Thanks! *makes note*

 

For minis I find I really like Dollmore's faceup protectors. They are deep enough they don't rest on the doll's nose and rub it, and they're super cheap. I've not tried other sizes though.