How to open a closed eye DDH head?

Howzit fellas!

 

I finally received my DDH-07 closed eye head after some mix-up with VOLKS.

 

I wanted to open up the eyes so I can start doing the faceup of the head, but I kinda don't know how despite some time of researching. Like what are the right tools for the job, how to open them right, all that jazz.

 

It could also help a bit more if there are some pictures provided so I can have a better view on how it's done.

It's great that Volks sent you the right head! Now I haven't cut into a DD head (yet!), but I have done so on two Obitsu Designer Heads.. I hope that's close enough. You can use the same tools and method anyway. In my case I used hobby(exacto) knives to make the initial cuts and needle files to sand and file away afterwards.

 

First I carefully made some initial cuts into the center of the eyes with the exacto knife. Once I got a small hole cut out in the center, I slowly chipped away at the rest of the eye from the middle until I got somewhat close to the edges. Of course you can just cut it closer to the edges of the eyes, but I was afraid of accidentally cutting too much. New exacto knives are verrry sharp and it's really easy to overdo it so take care not to use too much pressure.

 

After cutting away a bit more, I switched to the needle files to smooth the edges and file some more. I really recommend getting needle files because it's way easier than using regular sandpaper imo. They come in different shapes and sizes so you can get into tight corners and get it completely smooth. I started using them at this point:

 

 

Lots of sanding later, this is how that head turned out, next to one that was unmodded:

 

 

I did open the eyes of the other one too afterwards, and even tried opening the mouth too. I did this project/mod practice a few years ago and haven't done it much since, but I hope it still helps a bit! Good luck on Naomi(Nana?)!

Edited August 20, 2017 by Guest

Have you checked youtube?

Thank you so much for pointing me to the right direction! I'll try to do what I can for my head and hopefully it goes well~

 

I did open the eyes of the other one too afterwards, and even tried opening the mouth too. I did this project/mod practice a few years ago and haven't done it much since, but I hope it still helps a bit! Good luck on Naomi(Nana?)!

 

Nana is my nickname for Naomi. It has it's charm on that one~

Aaaaaaand I messed it up.

 

I ended up cutting up a little more than I could chew, and it looks preeeetty ugly.

 

 

I don't think I should do some modding for a while.

Oh no, I'm sorry it didn't work out as you wanted! It really is easy to cut too much when opening eyes.. I did something similar with another head too. >__<" Try to not let it discourage you! It really sucks when you make mistakes but at least you gained more experience from trying.

 

The bust mod you already did for Nana's body looks great so I hope you can get her head together too! Do you think you can work from an already opened eye DDH-07? Perhaps you can just use sandpaper/needle files to sand the eyes into the shape you want? It'll take longer, but it's easier to control..

Oh no, I'm sorry it didn't work out as you wanted! It really is easy to cut too much when opening eyes.. I did something similar with another head too. >__<" Try to not let it discourage you! It really sucks when you make mistakes but at least you gained more experience from trying.

 

The bust mod you already did for Nana's body looks great so I hope you can get her head together too! Do you think you can work from an already opened eye DDH-07? Perhaps you can just use sandpaper/needle files to sand the eyes into the shape you want? It'll take longer, but it's easier to control..

 

As much as I want to, I think it's best if I just stop before I get too carried away and cause more damage to the head. I already ordered a new head(opened eye)straight from ramen land(Japan) since the ones back at Volks USA are out again. I also need to invest on he proper tools cause i leaned that's nail file kinda falls short when needle files aren't around(I was kinda impatient and excited).

 

I might try modding heads again for another project but that might take some time.

 

As for modding the bust.. about that...

I might reconsider trying it again because when the body is on it's back, there's a gap big enough that you can see the inside on the front. It's when I put on the bra on her that it helps disguise the gap. I just wish Volks can release official M busts for DDy bodies for pear shaped girls.

I know this feel super hard. This happened to me as well the first time I tried a mod that involved cutting. I now keep that head around for stain testing and other stuff like that. I didn't get a good cut until around my 3rd try. And it was also on a closed DDH-07. Still has some stray cuts along the very edges of the eyes though from where my hands slipped.

 

Nooooot that I want to come in here suggesting the nail file over the needle ones...but I almost exclusively do all my modding with nail files and fine sandpaper after to smooth things our again. My needle files are not my friends. They always make the vinyl rough or they make "cuts" on the areas...but mine are probably just bad ones.

 

I hope your future attempts go better! The learning curve kinda sucks, but it's really satisfying to pull off a mod later