Where To Start?!

I returned from my recent holiday in Cyprus last week and found Umi waiting for me, all the way from Thailand! I was so eager to get going, I didn't know where to start!

The first thing I did was compare my new Blybe to my Blythe, Zoe...


*Warning - Nude Dolly Alert!*

As you can see, they look very similar from here. The body and head are the same size, though the Blybe is a different, darker colour pink than the Blythe. I hope by sanding the face I can tone it down abit. Also the body on the Blybe is very limp. I don't know if this is true of every Blybe, or just mine. She needs quite abit of support to stand up.

The biggest difference I found was the scalp and top of the face plate. The line where the face plate meets the scalp is very obvious on the Blybe, and the hair line is at least 15mm away from the bottom of the scalp, which makes the forehead look rather big. Also on the Blythe the scalp is very sturdy - I think it would take quite abit to take it off. But on the Blybe...


... it just pops off! Seriously, it just lifts off - you can't even hold her upside down without the scalp, and the top of her head, falling completely off. This is great for me - I wanted a doll that was quite easy to take apart. It may prove awkward when I go to put her back together though, but I'm sure it can be held in place with some tacky glue.

Upon removing the scalp I was faced also with the inside of the head, and the dreaded eye mech...


Looks scary! I had a fiddle about with it, using what I had learned from various videos and tutorials from YouTube and Melbourne Doll Market, and removed the spring from the back of the head. She now has semi-sleep eyes - you can pull the string and they close and change, but remain closed. She just needs a second string to open them again.

This is as far as I went on my first day. I had just come off of a long flight and needed to sleep lol! The next day I removed the hair... more on that to come soon :)