The urge to "rescue" a doll

I purchased a modded Volks old skin F-05 head. Originally a sleeping head, the previous owner tried to open the eyes. The original head would not have been easy to mod because there are no actual eyewells and only solid resin. But they had attempted and it's not in the best of shape but I didn't want the head to be discarded just because it's older and poorly modded. While I'm not a skilled modifier, I managed to fill the eyewells in with miliput to resemble its original state. The head does not match the skin tone of any modern body unfortunately. I hope to get a faceup to color match the head to a body I own and to breathe new life back into it! I love sleeping heads and hope this head can be revived after a much needed faceup!

 

I don’t look around for dolls to restore, but if I encountered one locally (which would only happened if someone I knew pointed out the listing to me), I might not be able to resist trying some restoration. Not sure why these are my conditions, maybe I have too many hobbies lol

That aside, I began to love Volks Shinshiya/F-12 after seeing a thread on here ages ago where someone restored a heavily damaged one. That doll had been a wreck! The restoration had been really lovely, but the sculpt was not very popular and people were pretty vocal about not liking it or thinking she looked creepy. The restored doll had already been sold, but yea, it was a damaged doll that sparked me wanting to rescue this sculpt.

Eventually a different (and not damaged lol) F-12 popped up on the MP and I got her. Even though she had been well cared for by all prior owners (I’m the 4th I think) she had always felt like a bit of a rescue to me because of that first Shinshiya I saw. I love her so much.

 

This is actually very sweet! I too love the older sculpts and have found they're less popular these days. Trends come and go. I love that seeing someone else's dedication to restoring a doll inspired you to find beauty in the same sculpt and eventually owning that doll.

 

aww thanks

And same, I really miss the style of BJDs from like 15-20 years ago. I was away from the hobby for a long while and it’s surprising to me to see how popular realistic looking sculpts are now. You’re right though, trends come and go for sure

 

I originally got in to this hobby because I loved the idea of being able to customize these insanely detailed figures.
I love dolls that are damaged, or have strange aesthetics. I get to modify them guilt free. It just feels good owning them.

 

A didn't think I would be making an update but here I am! I recently discovered Volks does a parts exchange for a fee! And my modded F-05 head qualifies! So I'll be sending it in as well as a 2005 Four Sister head I've been holding onto. Since I have a 2024 body I shouldn't have any issues with color matching once the heads are exchanged! I'm so happy!

 

I wasn’t familiar with this sculpt, what a cutie!

Glad to hear that Volks has a fix for you.

 

It is the old sleeping four sisters head! I believe it's F-03 now but even that is also discontinued. I love asleep or dreamy sculpts and having held onto this head for over a decade (hoping to fix her) it's such a relief to finally have a solution. Also what an awesome service!

 

If I had the skills to do so, I would try to "rescue" the doll.