miko89 Posted December 4, 2014 Hi everyone! Currently I'm working on my own face up customization. But for next year, I plan to mod DD head on my own, because I really want to have this one look I dream of. I need to know : What is the equipment to be use during the face mod. Example I want to mod a DH-01 head and want to make this open mouth? *if there's picture include will be great!* Answers are appreciated ! facebook | flickr| deviantArt | Face-up Service is CLOSE Wishlist : DD Chihaya Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chien Posted December 4, 2014 That's a beautiful custom-- by BittersCat from this auction, right? Looks like the artist opened the DDH-01's eyes up to the crease, then sanded down the lower face. They then carved a mouth and smoothed it. It looks like they didn't sand down the lower face as much as Totechi usually does, which left them room to carve out a mouth. To do such a mod, you could use a sharp carving knife (like the ceramic one Volks sells or an exacto knife), dremel, and sand paper. The rest is just patience and skill. You could also build a mouth up by sanding down the face smoothly and then using epoxy clay to sculpt the mouth and smooth it up to the nose. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miko89 Posted December 5, 2014 That's a beautiful custom-- by BittersCat from this auction, right? Looks like the artist opened the DDH-01's eyes up to the crease, then sanded down the lower face. They then carved a mouth and smoothed it. It looks like they didn't sand down the lower face as much as Totechi usually does, which left them room to carve out a mouth. To do such a mod, you could use a sharp carving knife (like the ceramic one Volks sells or an exacto knife), dremel, and sand paper. The rest is just patience and skill. You could also build a mouth up by sanding down the face smoothly and then using epoxy clay to sculpt the mouth and smooth it up to the nose. Thank you for your reply! Currently I have an exacto knife, I heard about needle files, but Dremel is new. To be honest, I have no idea how to use the needle files and Dremel equipment is bit pricey to start with + I have no experience using one. I decided will use sandpapers, needle files and exacto knife. Will it be enough if I'm about to shape the face and eye hole? My mission is to carve this kind of mouth : Things that confuse me is , 1. Does the open mouth need to be cut until hole then add expoxy to shape the inside OR just sand it down until it has the right shape? 2. Which grid of sand papers suitable to use on which part? I saw this post in this forum too : viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2448 Should I talk there? facebook | flickr| deviantArt | Face-up Service is CLOSE Wishlist : DD Chihaya Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chien Posted December 5, 2014 A lot of it is patience and skill-- so a dremel is not necessary, it just makes the process faster. I don't use a dremel myself, so I usually sand for a few hours while watching TV lol. The needle files are really good for smoothing out the inner eye rims after you open the eyes. They are also good for shaping the nose after you have reduced it. You can make the mouth both of the ways you describe-- it depends on how you want the profile of the face to look. For sandpaper, you want the final texture of the head to match the grit of the sand paper. Start rough (400 grit) and work you up to 2000+ grit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yukamina Posted December 5, 2014 There's no need to worry about a dremel... like you said it's pricey, not necessary, and personally, I wouldn't want to use a power tool on a delicate project like modding a doll face >_< I also wouldn't recommend adding clay for anything except the inside of the mouth, the difference in appearance between the vinyl and the epoxy clay is hard to avoid... My Etsy Shop ~~~ My DeviantArt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sklurk Posted December 6, 2014 From experience dealing with other hobbies and materials, depending on how deep you want to go you can start with a pilot hole with the dremel.. it will make things a lot easier to cut from said hole. However, it's very easy to get carried away with a power tool... even at low speeds, catching an edge and having the tool or head buck out of position or slipping could mean really bad things. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miko89 Posted December 6, 2014 400 is the coarse one eh.. sorry I'm not used with sandpaper with different grits, I only know sandpaper is just brown colour which I use in wood craft during school I'll start next year April perhaps as i'm ordering heads from friend that travel to Japan. The open mouth is kinda scary ( as my reference picture) , I have no idea how to sand it off without cutting hole. I wish I have someone near to demonstrate me how the modding works.. going YOLO is so risky as I only gain experience after that xD I might go with expoxy on the mouth part From experience dealing with other hobbies and materials, depending on how deep you want to go you can start with a pilot hole with the dremel.. it will make things a lot easier to cut from said hole. However, it's very easy to get carried away with a power tool... even at low speeds, catching an edge and having the tool or head buck out of position or slipping could mean really bad things. Reading this made me scared. xD Deep focus then as yJA artist surely using this machine.. facebook | flickr| deviantArt | Face-up Service is CLOSE Wishlist : DD Chihaya Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
needsmorelace Posted December 6, 2014 For a drill, try a Pin-vice. It's manual, usually comes with alternate drill bits, and fairly inexpensive. Not too sure where to find them, but I got mine at a hobby shop for tabletop games. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miko89 Posted December 6, 2014 For a drill, try a Pin-vice. It's manual, usually comes with alternate drill bits, and fairly inexpensive. Not too sure where to find them, but I got mine at a hobby shop for tabletop games. looks like something inside my dad's tool box. Might look around hardware shop! facebook | flickr| deviantArt | Face-up Service is CLOSE Wishlist : DD Chihaya Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
atomicwombat Posted December 11, 2014 I'm really tempted to mod a hdd-01 head myself. I hope you post updates! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miko89 Posted December 12, 2014 I'm really tempted to mod a hdd-01 head myself. I hope you post updates! prolly on middle of the next year ^^ i will update result facebook | flickr| deviantArt | Face-up Service is CLOSE Wishlist : DD Chihaya Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
babytarragon Posted May 29, 2015 Have you started this yet?? I'm also wanting to do any open mouth mod on my Mikuru, I want her to have a more open smile I'm also wondering whether to go all the way through then make an epoxy inner mouth or not. With the Dremel I suppose it will be easier to make it "flat" inside. Anyway I don't get her from Jezatron until next week so can't start. If anyone has any tips or inspiration pics please share Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miko89 Posted August 14, 2016 This is so old post but I just made my first move, I modded manually to open eye holes for DDH-06 close eyes type. I did it manually by not using any machine, e.g Dremel. Just knife and sandpapers. I learned a lot from the experience. Who knows next is my DDH-01. facebook | flickr| deviantArt | Face-up Service is CLOSE Wishlist : DD Chihaya Share this post Link to post Share on other sites