Using a bjd to store something?

My condolences. It is very kind of you to fulfill your wife’s last wish.

This is the link to view the Model F body on Dollmore website

Dollmore.net :: Everything for Doll & more

As you can see, the best places are definitely the head and the torso. However, I think they’re a bit small to hold her whole remains. If you just want to put part of her remains in the doll, bagging it in fine sealed bags as you stated should not be a problem. Hope this info helps.

 

My deep condolences.
There are some strings going through the inside of the body. They will be need to be taken into consideration because they take some place inside and they have tension and "working" a little bit if you move the doll. There is still place inside the body. I think it is possible.

 

I am so very sorry for your loss, but what a beautiful way to memorialize your beloved wife. Unfortunately, I have to agree with @quinnien - this doll will almost certainly be too small to encase her entire remains (although I think that even being able to do it partially is a lovely idea). Unlike a plastic doll such as a Barbie, the resin walls are quite thick and do not leave a great deal of room inside. Coupled with the heavy elastic that runs through the body, you can probably only fit two or three small bags inside, with another small one in the head. You might have better luck with a Dollmore Trinity, but sadly, those are prohibitively costly.

 

I'm not sure about this body, but some BJD's torsos are closed on the top with only one or two holes for the strings. The top part is usually glued on, so it should be possible to removed it (somehow), but it needs to be taken into consideration as well.

 

Sorry for your loss.
I'm a bit odd myself in that I someday want my remains stored with in a few my own beloved fave dolls.
So I have put thought into the hows of this, and with some SD sized dolls there is enough room in the chest they could hold small containers/bags that in turn would hold the remains themselves. (sealed of course.)

I have a dollmore Model Bella doll and if the bodies of their models has not changed much over the years, then I think you could put at least some of her remains inside. You might not be able to fit all of the remains in one doll sadly, but even just some of them is still the tribute she wanted. I wish you the best luck with this, it's sad and beautiful what you are trying to do for your wife.

 

I'm so sorry for your loss. I think you are doing something beautiful for her, and even if the doll can't hold all of the remains, maybe there is a special place that she loved where you can place the rest... My father wanted to be placed in several locations, but it's such a personal choice...

 

I have a doll taken apart as i'm working on it. This is what it looks like inside-

Inside the head you have the back of the eyes and and S hook. The chest piece have both the leg and arm elastic in it. The largest space would be in the torso piece and you just have the leg elastic running through it (this doll has a glued in piece closing it off so can't show what it looks like inside).

From previous experience of dealing with ashes, they do fill a good sized tub so agreeing with everyone here that you will only be able to put a small amount inside. I don't know if it might be of help but I remember hearing that there was some companies that offer a service where they create a synthetic 'diamond' from people's ashes. I have no idea the costs and what size stones they can create but maybe might be worth taking a look at as condensing the ashes into something smaller and solid would make it easier to put into a doll. Of course it depends on your wife's wishes and what she specifically wanted.

 

I think the diamond idea is pretty interesting and worth consideration. Such diamonds could be put in custom made eyes, so they would be visible all the time.

 

Ooo, I have read about this as well - ashes into 'gemstones'! That's a brilliant idea for consolidating a loved one's remains into a more compact and potentially lovely form...easily fitting into a BJD. @DizzyDarling, do you think that your wife might have approved? Nell's size would no longer be an issue, and your dear one would be fully located in her final, beautiful resting place.

 

I am also sorry for your loss. I would have two suggestions. One is the idea of ashes being turned into ten stones would definitely be a great idea. Second would be if doll is strictly for ashes then consider removing strings on head and torso, except arms and legs. The the legs elastic so legs aren't floppy and add small have of ashes and glue torso and head together. Then at least you have ashes not being possibly damaged inside. But I really do think the gem stones for eyes is the best idea.

good luck, and my thoughts are with you.

 

Sorry for your loss but I'm glad for you that you had a life with such an interesting woman. I wish you luck with your project.

I'm wondering if a small ammount of ashes in a container like the plastic capsules that go inside a kinder egg (but more secure, that's glued screwed or soldered shut) inside a doll torso would work... these might be made in a good size for geo-caching perhaps? I know everyone has suggested putting ashes in a little plastic bag, and if a doll's body was solid with no elastic that would be good but I'm imagining elastic catching the edge of a bag in the joint channels once or twice, ripping and spilling, the thought gives me anxiety though I doubt it would happen unless there was frequent posing. I can't say what dolls torsos would be good for this though as I have MSDs which are probably too small. I do know they make TINY geo-cashing capsules because I went geocashing once, those would fit in a head even of an MSD and could be puttied in like eyes to not rattle. But this would only acomodate a tiny ammount of ashes.

S hooks are historical as far as I know from before magnetic headcaps were popular they attached to a loop there. So if the head was a good place but the large hook was a problem, I imagine a smaller loop of metal could be substituted... so long as it was big enough to hold the head on.

 

As I set off my own curiosity about it, I did a little research. It seems that the smallest stone starts at 2-3K depending on what country you're in so it is expensive and the service is only available in certain countries. But if you are someone with the money and a company available you could do something like get the stone coloured red and cut in a heart design which would be fun to put in a doll body. But I think we're getting a little off the original topic with that

 

I suspected the diamond thing would be very expensive. If that kind of budget is available, large 1/2 scale dolls like Dollmore Trinity or AoD 90cm might be in budget instead. But then they would also take up a lot more space which may be a factor. I'm not sure how much space is available inside those dolls because I don't have one, but if you made a request for owner pics in Reference subforums, some people might be able to measure for you.

(oh but now re-reading I see OP has a specific doll in mind already)

 

Converting the doll into a storage container is going to cost you, either be it the funding to buy a doll large enough, or the ability for the doll to move. Most dolls require the string to go from the legs to the head, I am not familiar with how Dollmore strings, but seeing as you state you want the doll to sit down and stand up, this seems like you will need the strings through the torso to do so. I know someone mentioned gluing the torso and the head together, but unless the doll has independently strung legs (like Luts for example) you will still need to have a string running through the doll that will rub when you make her stand/sit. Not counting the fact that the arms are usually strung through the torso/chest as well. You could probably fuse the doll's upper chest and stomach/torso area together, but depending on how they are made she might not be able to sit without having some sort of back support, but this would require you to make a new support system for the strings, one for the legs and one for the arms that are separate from how it looks like they are normally strung.

I know others have talked about getting the ashes pressed into diamonds, but have you looked into getting them cast within resin? My first thought was to see if someone would cast some of the ashes into resin for you (or if you are crafty to learn to do it yourself) and then find a way to put that resin inside of your doll through modification/replacing parts with the ash-filled resin casts.

I'm not sure your talents/financial capabilities or just how much of your wife's ashes need to go into the doll in order to work, so beyond this I'm not sure what else to add that everyone else hasn't covered.

 

My deep condoleances.

I am not a modder, so everything I say is to take with extreme caution, but I think it may be possible to carve the inside of the doll to get more space? It would make it more fragile though.

It doesn't fit with the original idea, but how about having a fairly big diamond made from ashes to place in place of the heart of the doll? You may not be able to "cram" as much of her ashes, but I think it has the symbolism and there are no risk of leakage.

I will think about it and post it again if I have other ideas.

 

Oh dear, then I guess the jewel idea is out of the question, considering the cost of each one. In your position, I would probably save up and buy a Dollmore Trinity, which has more room inside. As for removing anything to make more room, I suppose that you could glue all of the joints and the neck/head, making her upper half virtually immobile, and then string her legs from one heel, up the leg channel, across the the hip, and then down the other leg channel to the other heel. I've never seen it done because posability is generally a major factor in BJDs, but with a little effort it may be possible. It would definitely be a project to glue her in a way that makes her seem naturally posed, though; these dolls rely on the elastic for a reason.

I'm just going to add one note that's off the subject a bit. Forgive me if you are already aware of this, but if you're not, I just want you to know that direct sunlight will lead to rapid discoloration of these dolls. Since obviously you will want her out in the open and not in a darkened closet, just be sure to place her somewhere with as little sunlight as possible, such as a more shadowed area of the room that gets most of its light from a lamp.

 

I'm so sorry for your loss.

As others have said, there is no way all of the remains will fit inside a doll, but you could do a small amount. I would recommend putting a baggie inside the doll's head, as there would be much less friction and tension to possibly tear a bag and you wouldn't have to mod anything or sacrifice poseability. The diamond/gemstone idea for eyes is a beautiful (but pricey) suggestion. There are many artists on Etsy who deal with cremains, making paperweights, beads and many other beautiful things for very reasonable prices. Maybe you could have some beads made into jewelry for the doll to wear, or to put in her head? Searching "cremation glass" will bring up many options.