Fantasy Color Doll Bodies?

Heeelp what do I do with this little man!!!

I managed to snag a 1/6 head that is pitch black vinyl. Great, because I have a character it would fit for perfectly! Bad, because now I have no idea what body to give him without dyeing. Any ideas, or is dyeing my best bet? And if so, what bodies take dye well?

Product photo to illustrate. No clue how I'm gonna photograph this guy.

I know Obitsu makes the Obitsu 11 body in pure black, if that suits you. (There's one on my shelf right now.) However, I'm not sure where you could go to buy one. I see them on Mandarake sometimes, but that's the extent of my knowledge.

That's good to know! Unfortunately, Ob11 is waaaay too tiny for a 1/6 head.

Honestly since you're going for pitch black and not a super specific shade, I think that'll be really easy to do with dye (which might be your only option here unfortunately!) Plus that gives you some room to get the ideal body shape for your character ^_^

3 hours ago, uoub said:

Honestly since you're going for pitch black and not a super specific shade, I think that'll be really easy to do with dye (which might be your only option here unfortunately!) Plus that gives you some room to get the ideal body shape for your character ^_^

I've never actually dyed a doll before, it's a bit intimidating....but I'll look into it!

Ack, my bad! Somehow I managed to completely forget that OB11 is 1/12, not 1/6. Sorry about that.

Looks like Obitsu did make a muscular male body in black plastic... in 2010. Long since discontinued. YMY doesn't seem to do black, either. I'm also thinking that dye may be the way to go.

Piccodo have made black bodies, but I'm not sure if they're the right size for you. This one is from their Piccodo10 range: https://www.hlj.com/piccodo-series-body10-deformed-doll-body-pic-d002pb-pure-black-gns81268

There are some great dyeing groups on facebook with loads of info. I've seen people dye vinyl before. Here are some things I've learned from others that I don't generally see posted everywhere:

You can easily dye doll parts on a pan on the stove, however make sure your pan is enamel or the right type of metal, or your doll will end up a strange colour. Most people use Rit Dyemore or IDye Poly. If you are using a powder dye, you have to be mindful that lumps of powder on the surface of the water will stain your doll unevenly, so you have to fish those out, if you can't get them to completely dissolve. Also, some people have found that the longer you leave the doll in the water, the more even the colour will be. Washing the doll upon removal from the dye bath will also do a lot to remove uneven dye, streaks, marks etc. And finally - I have read that dyed vinyl dolls do fade over time and the colour does become less intense - however, we really don't have enough examples to compare, so ymmv! 

It's YoSD size, Piccodo is sadly too small for it, as OP said.

On 5/26/2024 at 4:23 AM, PlasticJester said:

Product photo to illustrate. No clue how I'm gonna photograph this guy.

Which product is this? Maybe the same maker also produces pitch black bodies (or could accommodate you if you ask)?

Otherwise you could try dyeing an Imomo body. They’re super cheap so you won’t be out too much money if it doesn’t work out.

7 minutes ago, ragnamuffin said:

Which product is this? Maybe the same maker also produces pitch black bodies (or could accommodate you if you ask)?

Otherwise you could try dyeing an Imomo body. They’re super cheap so you won’t be out too much money if it doesn’t work out.

So I went through a whole rabbithole to find these heads after trying to track down the origin of an Aliexpress head. They're from a taobao shop and just called HJ-01, and sadly they only make heads. I think there's a photo of them on an action figure-like body, but nothing vinyl. A 1/6 Imomodoll body is my Plan B for sure!

7 hours ago, PlasticJester said:

So I went through a whole rabbithole to find these heads after trying to track down the origin of an Aliexpress head. They're from a taobao shop and just called HJ-01, and sadly they only make heads. I think there's a photo of them on an action figure-like body, but nothing vinyl. A 1/6 Imomodoll body is my Plan B for sure!

I haven't done it with vinyl yet, but I dyed a resin BJD with rit dye back in the Olden Days before they made rit dye specifically for plastics. The trick is 1. making sure everything gets the same dunk time so the color stays even, 2. suspension of pieces with thread hanging off a chopstick (so it won't leave a mark of no dye AND you won't burn/dye yourself), and 3. don't let the pieces touch the sides or the bottom of the pot. Otherwise it's pretty straightforward. With resin, the dye is only surface deep so you better really like your first attempt at a faceup because it's No Longer Able to be Wiped. With Vinyl, it might penetrate all the way through, in which case you don't have to worry too much about the color coming off with acetone or alcohol.

I believe someone just recently got a full body dyed MDD (Taru in the database), and they said that the customizer ended up airbrushing over the dye.  I'm definitely interested to see how the dying experiment goes if you opt for it!  Airbrushing seems like it could be a last case option if nothing else works, though it would probably take a fair bit of maintenance.

1 hour ago, mmmuguet said:

I believe someone just recently got a full body dyed MDD (Taru in the database), and they said that the customizer ended up airbrushing over the dye.  I'm definitely interested to see how the dying experiment goes if you opt for it!  Airbrushing seems like it could be a last case option if nothing else works, though it would probably take a fair bit of maintenance.

Luka's girl Taru! Right! I think airbrush might be the best option for color accuracy. But dying may be viable too....

I recall reading a few times the big problem with dying vinyl dolls is the harder plastic that makes up the visible joints doesn't take the dye well, and certainly not the same as the vinyl, so you end up with Volks Icon mismatched joints type problems. 

But that's ok I guess.  Volks told me it was an artistic choice or something, at least until the excess frame stock was used up and they made color matched versions.  😛