Taking Dolls out in the cold/heat?

Heat can speed up yellowing, so I wouldn't leave her in it, but briefly is probably fine. Cold should be fine, especially just for a photoshoot. There are tons of awesome out-in-the-snow photoshoots all over the galleries.

 

I've live in the Florida and I've taken my dolls out all the time in extreme heat. Though I do make the effort to stay in the shade if there is any.

 

Heat isn't good for them and cold will make them brittle.

 

Cold should be fine, it won't hurt them. Heat isn't the best for them but won't hurt them either as long as you don't have them out in bright sunlight and high heat for long periods of time.

 

Sorry, I dont want to jack your thread, but I've had some weather questions myself. I was always curious if the cold would bother dolls, but more specifically the snow! I've seen so many pics of dolls playing in the snow, and completely covered with the stuff! Isn't the water bad for your dolls? I imagine some of them must be soaked after some of the shoots I've sen, and it always seemed to me that water + faceup = bad news.

 

It wouldn't do as much harm as you might think. Water actually shouldn't hurt a well-sealed faceup, but for a doll that's been out in snow or water and gotten soaked, you'd want to take it apart and let it dry thoroughly. For one that's just had snow or water on it but hasn't gotten soaked, drying it off well will be enough.

 

A little water, certainly when the snow doesn't even melt, is unlikely to hurt anything unless it isn't dried off once you go back inside. You can see pictures of dolls in water, taking baths, in snow, in the rain, etc. The faceup doesn't come off THAT easily.

I do believe the extreme cold will make dolls more prone to cracking IF put under some sort of stress, like being dropped, but won't make your doll instantly shatter or anything.

 

A well sealed faceup has nothing to fear from water. I've washed them with soap under running water before with no effect. (I'm not recommending that - I did it because I was about to enhance the faceup and didn't mind if I had to wipe it - but it did NO damage.) Just don't let the strings get soaked and then sit inside the doll and mold.

 

The only issue with water is that you want to make sure the string is dry. Otherwise it could grow mildew, and that's gross.

As for the cold, I've heard that resin could get more brittle while it's cold, but I don't think it has the sort of long term effects that heat has.

 

I've taken my dolls out in sub zero temperatures many times. It's had no effect whatsoever. Also your dolls strings probably wont get wet from being in the snow since a doll doesn't have body heat to melt it into water. You can just brush the snow off the doll before you go inside.

 

Winters here are bitter cold, about -40 to -45 degrees Celsius is possible. On Jan 1st 2009, I took my boy Nanjou Isao, a 2004 doll in his original Volks faceup outside in -25 to -30 degrees C after a snow storm. I deeply regret what I did. Isao said sternly that if truly I love him, I will not let him suffer such cold. I am being selfish, all I wanted was a cheap shot! If I do not bring him inside quickly, something very bad will happen to his strings and hooks. I quickly took him inside. His faceup is still perfect, sealant was not broken. I feel very bad and guilty. He's right, I'm cheap. Here's a photo I took of him "The Meaning of Cold", many people think it's awesome but the photo was taken under very stressful circumstances. It was so cold, his face turned blue....the reflection of light from the snow after a snow storm. I am sorry. won't do it again for the life of me.

 

I left my doll out in the cold all night. It was -30 Celsius and she sat in a car for 8 hours because I forgot to take her inside. Me and my husband were traveling across the US in February trying to get from Vancouver to Montreal.

She was fine when I checked on her. Yea, kind of frozen but she never chipped or anything.

 

hope nobody minds if i resurrect this thread, but i have a question that ties in so it seemed to make more sense to add it than start a new one.

we are unseasonably cold here in for march, -20's celsius still with no end in sight when we should be closer to zero. (i looked up the rough equivalent in fahrenheit and we are hovering between -10 to -15 instead of +30ish) aslan is late this year. on the plus side we have some gorgeous snow with more expected so i wanted to try some outdoor shots. do i need to take any special precautions to prevent chipping/ or cracking? like letting her warm up when i come in before i move her. or does it matter?

 

It's actually the negative digits you have to worry about with cold. I don't know that there is anything to help prevent it other than the least exposure the better off you are.

 

I'm not sure how the cold or heat effects dolls in the long run if they're just in a room with such temperatures but I have this feelings that heat would cause them to yellow faster. ^^;

I do know from experience that cold (and not even extreme cold) isnt good when traveling with dolls.
I was traveling with one of my boys last week in probably 35 or so degree weather and his finger snapped while he was in his carrier. D; I've always packed him to meets(for 3 years now) and this has never happened until now. I was careless and didnt take extra precaution in the cold. *sigh*

So long story short I think its best to be careful with your dolls in the cold as I believe it weakens the resin. ^^: