How to change hand parts for 1/3 scale dolls

Is there a trick to this? I just bought spare hand parts (Obitsu Body 50) for my 1/3 scale doll and the holes are too small to fit over the connectors.

The original hands that came with the doll fit over the stubs if I push, but the stubs are as big as the entire base of the spare hand parts. Do they just need to be stretched? Do I need to apply heat (e.g. with a hair dryer, etc.)?

Original hand on arm connector

Spare hand on arm connector

Comparison of holes (right and center are new spare hands)

From what I’ve gathered, it’s common to need to use heat to get on obitsu hands, though tbh, I would be tempted to try to sand that narrow one a bit wider 

11 hours ago, abs2891 said:

From what I’ve gathered, it’s common to need to use heat to get on obitsu hands, though tbh, I would be tempted to try to sand that narrow one a bit wider 

I tried stretching them by rotating them on the flat stubs, but still couldn’t get them to go over the base.

Might try using heat if that’s the way it’s commonly done, I just don’t want them to melt 😰

Don't worry, my fingers melt before vynil fusion point XD.

Anyway, yes, hair dryer is the way, no fear.

6 hours ago, Testament said:

Don't worry, my fingers melt before vynil fusion point XD.

Anyway, yes, hair dryer is the way, no fear.

That’s good to know. Will try that later!

The opening in the wrist end of Obitsu option hands can very wildly in size so a hair dryer is highly recommended.

If you find yourself changing hands frequently it is advisable to purchase an extra pair (or more) of the wrist joint parts. Once the hands are on the wrist joint changing the hands by swapping wrist joints is a breeze compared to swapping the hand vinyls on and off of the wrist joints. There is also much less chance of breakage.

12 hours ago, K-2 said:

The opening in the wrist end of Obitsu option hands can very wildly in size so a hair dryer is highly recommended.

If you find yourself changing hands frequently it is advisable to purchase an extra pair (or more) of the wrist joint parts. Once the hands are on the wrist joint changing the hands by swapping wrist joints is a breeze compared to swapping the hand vinyls on and off of the wrist joints. There is also much less chance of breakage.

Still wasn’t able to get them fully onto the wrist joint even with the hair dryer method. I heated them up, stretched them open and tried to have them cool down while stretched out to make things easier afterward, but the holes just close back up after you take them off.

I’ve kind of given up and will probably order Angelphilia spare hand parts since they have nail polish on the tips and the wrist openings are wider.

That’s a smart idea about the extra wrist joints! I would do it for all my spare hands if I could actually get them over the nubs, but a pair of spare wrist joints is like ¥1700, which is really excessive for such a small item and for how many I’d need for all the hand parts. It’s still a really great idea and I’d do it in a heartbeat if they were much cheaper though.

4 minutes ago, ragnamuffin said:

Still wasn’t able to get them fully onto the wrist joint even with the hair dryer method. I heated them up, stretched them open and tried to have them cool down while stretched out to make things easier afterward, but the holes just close back up after you take them off.

I’ve kind of given up and will probably order Angelphilia spare hand parts since they have nail polish on the tips and the wrist openings are wider.

That’s a smart idea about the extra wrist joints! I would do it for all my spare hands if I could actually get them over the nubs, but a pair of spare wrist joints is like ¥1700, which is really excessive for such a small item and for how many I’d need for all the hand parts. It’s still a really great idea and I’d do it in a heartbeat if they were much cheaper though.

The Obitsu hands are the same molds used for AP, Azone and others except for some proprietary hand versions. With all the heating and cooling of their metal molds there has no doubt been some deformation in the molds over time. Also the slush molding process does guarantee an identical wall thickness for each part cast. The hole size can also vary by who trims off the flash after molding. It's a very labor intensive process unlike injection molding of the hard plastic skeletal parts.

You can also try taking a new xacto knife blade and trim away some of the thickness inside of the hole, without shortening the hand.

Don't be afraid to really heat those hand parts (not the wrist of other joint parts) up to where you need gloves to hold them. They can take it. Another heating method used is to immerse the soft vinyl part in boiling water. I have done this and can verify the parts are not deformed by this level of heat. Just don't set them on the bottom of the pot where they will come into contact with the pot and heat source. Hang the hand part on a wire hook. Other larger "tube" shaped parts can be suspended on strings.

And of course, use appropriate hand protection when handling hot vinyl parts.

7 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

Still wasn’t able to get them fully onto the wrist joint even with the hair dryer method. I heated them up, stretched them open and tried to have them cool down while stretched out to make things easier afterward, but the holes just close back up after you take them off.

No, no, you must heat the hand and insert the wrist while it's still hot AND soft.

9 hours ago, K-2 said:

The Obitsu hands are the same molds used for AP, Azone and others except for some proprietary hand versions.

Actually they’re a bit different—the AP hand parts closer to DD/SD hand parts than the original Obitsu optional sets. This website has a nice comparison of the differences:

オビツ50のハンドパーツを追加してみた

Thank you for explaining how to soften the hand parts in such detail. I had read about the boiling method on some Japanese websites and was a bit skeptical, but it’s good to know that you’ve tried it yourself and that the plastic is really durable. I’ve been considering the X-Acto knife route, but scared of messing it up.

3 hours ago, Testament said:

No, no, you must heat the hand and insert the wrist while it's still hot AND soft.

Oh I did that too, but still couldn’t get them over the nubs. Maybe they weren’t hot enough? A couple of Japanese websites said to heat them for 20-30 seconds, but that wasn’t enough, so I tried heating them for 30-40 seconds each. Couldn’t get them fully onto the wrist, but I was able to stretch them open quite a bit, so I thought I’d do it slowly in small steps, but the plastic shrinks back to normal size after they cool down.