Questions about PiccoNeemo P!

Progress update!

I just sprayed matte Mr. Super Clear and am letting her dry. I'm... happy with how she looks, I think, but my only nitpick is the cutouts around the decals being visible. :< Is there maybe a way to reduce that? The OB head decal guide recommends spraying clear, letting that dry, and then spraying matte, but I already sprayed matte, so maybe it's too late?

Not sure how to reduce visibility of the cutouts, maybe another round of matte spray? But she looks good and I’m glad you were able to salvage the head!

6 hours ago, bloodpine said:

I think, but my only nitpick is the cutouts around the decals being visible. :< Is there maybe a way to reduce that? The OB head decal guide recommends spraying clear, letting that dry, and then spraying matte, but I already sprayed matte, so maybe it's too late?

Usually people will apply several coats of clear coat and sand away the clear coat, probably using 800 grit. So that the decal will blend in without a harsh edge around the decal.

16 hours ago, XOHimitsuOX said:

Usually people will apply several coats of clear coat and sand away the clear coat, probably using 800 grit. So that the decal will blend in without a harsh edge around the decal.

Hmm, I took some 800 grit just now and tried to carefully sand away the edges but it seemed to be visibly removing material from the doll head and removing the blush, so now I'm scared to keep going. Do people usually do this and then run another layer of clear coat? I'm tempted to just leave it, the edges aren't totally gone but after the matte coats died they did become less noticeable. If nothing else it's probably something I can easily photoshop out after future photoshoots?

Welp, back with another progress update:

I've decided the decal edges are fine, they're barely noticeable irl/even in pictures at this point.

I tried on the wig and it's sliding all over the place without the silicone cap, so I guess I'll keep waiting for that item to come in before continuing. =P

As a side note, I'm realizing I don't know anything about styling her wig, and now I feel silly. I've got one of those Azone doll combs but I'm not sure how to use it other than just... comb her hair? (Lol, can you tell someone grew up not playing with dolls... 😭) If I could even get her hairstyle to just mimic the product photo on Dollce for her wig I think I'd be happy! Does anyone have any advice regarding that?

Edited November 18, 2023 by bloodpine

3 hours ago, bloodpine said:

As a side note, I'm realizing I don't know anything about styling her wig, and now I feel silly. I've got one of those Azone doll combs but I'm not sure how to use it other than just... comb her hair? (Lol, can you tell someone grew up not playing with dolls... 😭) If I could even get her hairstyle to just mimic the product photo on Dollce for her wig I think I'd be happy! Does anyone have any advice regarding that?

If it’s just the bangs you want to mimic, they probably use Azone Doll Oil Mist, which is literally just rebranded Aerobon.

Azone posted some videos on Twitter here, here and here showing how to style the hair and what products were used. They make it look a lot easier than it is and I’ve never been completely satisfied with my attempts at replicating them, but they should give you an idea of how to go about it. I recommend putting a piece of saran wrap in between the face and hair while doing this.

You can probably find something similar stateside if you look for wig oil solutions that don’t leave a residue. Another alternative is Dollfie Water Wax, but I’ve never used it so you might want to read the forums a bit more for more info.

5 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

If it’s just the bangs you want to mimic, they probably use Azone Doll Oil Mist, which is literally just rebranded Aerobon.

Azone posted some videos on Twitter here, here and here showing how to style the hair and what products were used. They make it look a lot easier than it is and I’ve never been completely satisfied with my attempts at replicating them, but they should give you an idea of how to go about it. I recommend putting a piece of saran wrap in between the face and hair while doing this.

You can probably find something similar stateside if you look for wig oil solutions that don’t leave a residue. Another alternative is Dollfie Water Wax, but I’ve never used it so you might want to read the forums a bit more for more info.

Ah wow, had no idea how much went into styling the hair! Do you think Volks' Oil Spray would do the trick?

Also, it turns out the silicone wig cap was delivered today, so I went ahead and finished putting her together! Here she is in all her messy-haired glory:

Of course, I noticed all this time later (after completing the head and everything) that one of her eye decals is misaligned 🤦 Lmao. I'm trying my best to ignore it but it's eating at my OCD, so I may order some spare heads and give the faceup another try sometime 😅

 

Congrats on your doll, she’s adorable 🥰 

30 minutes ago, bloodpine said:

Ah wow, had no idea how much went into styling the hair! Do you think Volks' Oil Spray would do the trick?

I’ve never used any of Volks’ styling products, but based on the description, the Wig Mist sounds more like the Azone product I mentioned (the part about drying firmer and not sticky), but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to pick up both. You might also be able to find some reviews here on the forums if you poke around a bit.

Hmm, so for giggles I tried to see if I could get the Azone Doll Oil Mist shipped over to the USA but every shipping proxy service I used denied the order. It seems the oils in it are prohibited for international shipping or something? Odd, lol. Anyway, from there I decided to just try the Volks products instead, so I got those on order! Excited to try them out ^^

Edited November 22, 2023 by bloodpine

Japan Post lists non-mailable articles here. They probably thought it was flammable or had compressed gas in it, but from everything I’ve read neither of those things are true. Anyway, curious to hear how to Volks products work out!

Hello! Back with... not really an update, but some questions I guess. : P My Volks hair products arrived but I haven't really used them yet, as I've been obsessing over getting the faceup done right. With err, minimal success. You can see in the picture below:

I ordered a spare OB head just to see if I could correct my mistake with the eye decals but I'm still not happy with how it looks. I am just awful with waterslide decals unfortunately ;_;

I'm wondering if I could fill that gap above the eyeholes with makeup or paint or something, though? I've seen faceup artists on Twitter mention using Liquitex acrylic paints. Would it be possible to get something like that on order and try to carefully fix my mistakes? Or do you think I'd be risking making it look worse? : P I don't have much experience with acrylics so I'm worried about getting on over my head if I try something new...

I think I'll keep an eye out for any pre-made heads that go up on booth or Yahoo JP auctions, but if I can salvage these heads that would be even better!

Have you sealed it already? If not, maybe you can use water to remove the decals?

16 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

Have you sealed it already? If not, maybe you can use water to remove the decals?

They're both sealed unfortunately! I do have 1 extra OB head with decals if I wanted to go for a third attempt (lol), but I'm kind of hesitant.

17 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

Have you sealed it already? If not, maybe you can use water to remove the decals?

They're both sealed unfortunately! I do have 1 extra OB head with decals if I wanted to go for a third attempt (lol), but I'm kind of hesitant.

 

EDIT!: So sorry, looks like my internet crapped out and I posted this reply twice. =_= Not sure if you can delete a post.

Edited December 5, 2023 by bloodpine

I'm back with an update! I ended up getting a custom pre-made head off of Yahoo JP Auctions, and finished "building" her today! I'm super happy with her, she's nearly there!

The next hurdle is styling the wig though, oh man. I put the Volks hair products to the test and I think I get the general idea, but I have so many questions... I just can't get her hair to look the way I want it to. Does anyone have tips for styling wigs? : P

I struggled a lot with achieving any kind of symmetry, getting anything to stay in place, or even just figuring out how to get Mimi herself (that's her name) to stay still while working on her hair. Despite the silicone cap the wig seemed to shift around a lot while styling so I had to start over a few times (and I think in the end it's off-center anyway? D:) I also couldn't really figure out how to cover her face with saran wrap (it just kept falling off) so I risked it and just applied the products without doing so, which was kinda freaky. Another frustration is that, especially with long hair like this, putting on her a stand kind of ruins the hair in the back, too, so I'm not sure what to do about that.

It might warrant a thread of its own, but I figured I'd ask for wig styling advice here just in case anyone stumbles across/is still reading this. I am now mystified by doll wigs lol, I'm wondering how everyone on Twitter keeps their dolls' hair looking so pristine and groomed! Or is it maybe easier to manage with bigger dolls? Or maybe the particular wig I got is just hard to work with?

20 minutes ago, bloodpine said:

The next hurdle is styling the wig though, oh man. I put the Volks hair products to the test and I think I get the general idea, but I have so many questions... I just can't get her hair to look the way I want it to. Does anyone have tips for styling wigs? : P

Congrats on the custom head! It’s super cute and looks like it retains the vibe of the ones you made.

For your wig, there’s a few things. First is that if the silicone cap has little spikes on top (to grip the wig), she’s always going to look a little cone-headed. It’s the nature of the beast. 🙁

One way to combat this a bit is to pull the bangs/fringe down further than normal when you put the wig on, and adjust it by pulling gently on the back of the wig.

Actually, how are you putting it on? I always line the center/top of the wig up with the doll’s nose, then push the wig onto the doll’s forehead and hold it with one hand. Then I grab the inside of the back of the wig cap with my other hand (I just use my index finger) and pull it over the back of the doll’s head. After that you can adjust, although it is harder to adjust with a silicone cap underneath.

For styling, I think part of the problem is that the doll’s hair is pulled back in the pic you linked. It looks like it’s in a bun, but it might just be a low ponytail. So your wig is never going to look like that unless you tie it up in the back.

For the bangs/fringe, you apply a heavy layer of wig oil mist (or whichever styling product you’re using) with a Q-tip, comb it, put it into the position you want, and then leave it to set. I can’t remember how long it takes, but I would say 10-15 min. After that you can’t touch it or it’ll come undone and you’ll have to do it all over again 😕

Bigger dolls are indeed easier to manage in terms of adjusting the wig and styling it 😅

9 hours ago, bloodpine said:

I am now mystified by doll wigs lol, I'm wondering how everyone on Twitter keeps their dolls' hair looking so pristine and groomed! Or is it maybe easier to manage with bigger dolls? Or maybe the particular wig I got is just hard to work with?

My doll also uses a Dollce small wig. They're indeed very fiddly - it took me a few days' experimentation to find the best style for it. Ragnamuffin's advice is good.

Also, don't be afraid to snip the elastic if the wig is a bit too small. The wig I got was labelled 4.5 inches but needed to be cut to actually fit a doll head of that size. From the picture, it looks like yours is too small to fit over both the head and the silicone cap.

17 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

Congrats on the custom head! It’s super cute and looks like it retains the vibe of the ones you made.

Thanks so much! The auction was nerve-wracking but anticlimactic, I kinda bid on it just for fun but I was super happy to actually win it in the end!

Anyhoo, I wanted to say thanks to both of you @ragnamuffin and @meteorite for your advice, it helped a lot. She's finally looking good now, I think!

17 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

For styling, I think part of the problem is that the doll’s hair is pulled back in the pic you linked. It looks like it’s in a bun, but it might just be a low ponytail. So your wig is never going to look like that unless you tie it up in the back.

This was spot-on and I feel like a dummy for not realizing it, lmao. Thank you for pointing it out! The picture I linked was the product picture for the wig and it was a little misleading because you're right, the doll in that picture is wearing a headpiece that her hair is pulled through and it's probably tied in the back. I realized after reading your post that I was supposed to actually be modeling her hair like this and it made more sense.

What also weirdly helped, is that when I ordered my wig I accidentally put it an order for 2 of them, so I had a spare laying around. I kinda obliterated the first wig trying all the hair products (lol), so I swapped it for this other one I had laying around and it seems to sit on her head a lot more snug than the first one. I suppose since the wigs are hand-made there's sometimes tolerance/fit issues, as no two of them are the same. Either way this time after getting it on I only applied a tiny amount of Volks Oil Spray to reduce the frizz and now she's looking quite nice!.

I will say, ruining that first wig with all the Volks hair products ended up being a way for me to learn how they work and what to use them for, so it wasn't a null experience. : P

8 hours ago, meteorite said:

My doll also uses a Dollce small wig. They're indeed very fiddly - it took me a few days' experimentation to find the best style for it.

This checks out! I was wondering if I was doing something wrong, but the second wig went on a lot easier.

 

I think I can consider the "build" complete now, so thanks to everyone who helped me out along the way! I might return to this thread if a catastrophe arises but I learned a lot here. Next stop is to get her some cuter outfits, me thinks 👀 She does have a bit of the "cone head" effect @ragnamuffin mentioned due to the wig cap, so I'm wondering if a hat might be able to hide that a little bit 😛

She looks great! Glad you were able to get her to look the way you wanted.

4 hours ago, bloodpine said:

I kinda obliterated the first wig trying all the hair products

As long as it’s just styling products and not, like, entire wefts falling out, you can probably salvage it by giving it a good wash and leaving it out to air dry. I know you’re probably content with the one she’s wearing, but you did spend money on it, so you could keep it as a spare just in case.

On 12/16/2023 at 6:13 PM, ragnamuffin said:

She looks great! Glad you were able to get her to look the way you wanted.

As long as it’s just styling products and not, like, entire wefts falling out, you can probably salvage it by giving it a good wash and leaving it out to air dry. I know you’re probably content with the one she’s wearing, but you did spend money on it, so you could keep it as a spare just in case.

Thanks for the advice, I decided to give it a wash. Hopefully it will dry as good as new. 🧐

I have a couple of Lil' Fairies but I mostly collect the Pureneemo anime characters.

Just a warning that the Sugar Cups are insanely popular and highly addictive. They are quite pricey but do come with a lot of outfits and accessories.

I just unboxed Pureneemo Asuna Titania and it was a nice reminder that in the old days they came with a tonne of different hands.

2 hours ago, Xiongmao said:

I have a couple of Lil' Fairies but I mostly collect the Pureneemo anime characters.

Just a warning that the Sugar Cups are insanely popular and highly addictive. They are quite pricey but do come with a lot of outfits and accessories.

I just unboxed Pureneemo Asuna Titania and it was a nice reminder that in the old days they came with a tonne of different hands.

Sugar Cups are kinda my holy grail lol! I hope to get my hands on one some day, I built my little Mimi here on a Picco P body because I wanted a Sugar Cups doll so bad, haha. I think they only sell a few of them a year and they seem hard to get your hands on, but maybe I'm wrong?

Pureneemos are real cute! I saw a bunch of them on display when I visited the Azone label shops in Japan and it made me super curious!