2014-10-25

Ghoulia/CAM skeleton hybrid

Monster High dolls are pretty rare in thrift stores here, or maybe I just keep missing them before they get snatched up. Today however I found a Dawn of the Dance (I think?) Ghoulia at a reasonable price, nude but with jewelry and shoes. There was a Frankie too, but she only had one earring and her nose looked a bit faded. Ghoulia had pretty floppy joints, so I decided to use her to make a CAM hybrid, which I've been meaning to try for a while now. 

Here we see the half-eaten zombie in its natural environment: dramatic lighting.

Both her thighs had a slight crack in the seams, so I (slowly and with difficulty) split open the one that looked the biggest and replaced the lower leg with a CAM part with the pin cut down a bit. It's still too small, so while I figure out how to make it fit properly it's held on by a "bandage" i.e. a strip of cotton fabric (with one end wrapped around the pin to make it fit better). It works pretty well actually! 

My first CAM skeleton set came with two right arms, so I bought another one when they were on sale. Good thing I had three right arms, since I managed to break the plug on the first one. 

Her hip joints (ball and socket, not elastic) were super floppy, so I just wrapped rubber bands around them. I know you can "suede" smaller joints with super glue, but I'm not sure how well it works on large hip joints. Maybe I'll give it a go later, but they're fine for now. 

Her hair went flat when I boiled her. Kanekalon again. I managed to fix the bangs pretty ok, not sure what to do with the rest. I've seen so many great Ghoulia haircuts - short, spiky, curly, mohawk - and I can't decide what to try first. I'm leaning towards something shorter, though. Maybe curls - unlike a cut they can be undone if I mess up. 

... I was going to add, "and then I'll give her a repaint!" - but I keep saying that, don't I? Anyway, this version has a rather nice bright green glitter eyeshadow in striking contrast with her bright red lips, and I kind of want to keep that. Maybe if the hair turns out well I'll get some ideas for her new look?

8 comments:

  1. Now that is super cool! She is working her rotten appendages.

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  2. Glad to see you're having fun with your great thrift store find!

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  3. Great find. Good think you knew how to doctor her up!

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  4. @Muff, Roxanne, Grandmommy Glad you like her! Straight from the box, Ghoulia always struck me as a bit too intact for a zombie.

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  5. Lucjky you to find Ghoulia in an op shop - they are rare here too. Maybe in the next few years we'll find more. I really like your 'fix', particularly the bandage. It does make her look more realistic as a zombie.

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    1. That's the great thing about zombies: the parts don't actually need to fit! But I'm glad she was cheap, or I wouldn't have felt ok pulling her apart like that.

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  6. Awesome fix! You could leave the bandage there forever and add blood and dirt to it, nothing can ruin a zombie :)

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    1. That's exactly what I'm planning! That is, if can make "bloody" bandages that don't leave stains (you're right that nothing can ruin a zombie, but they may come into contact with other dolls or clothes).

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