Any resources on modding an Imomodoll mouth?

I'm considering an Imomodoll head for a hybrid doll. I came across a post on XiaoHongXu while looking around for inspiration where someone had modified a Lucifer head to have an open mouth to insert other mouth pieces into (a version for teeth, a version for tongue sticking out, etc).

Similar to the way this BJD's mouth works.

I haven't actually had an Imomodoll before, so I wondered if anyone here had any experience with carving out the mouth area for a custom opened mouth. Are the heads very stiff and hard, or are they more squishy like the small Obitsu heads? If you've reshaped the eyes, your experience with that would also be helpful for deciding whether or not this is realistic for me to try, or if there would be special equipment needed, etc. Thank you!

I've not modded one before, but I will say the heads are about the same as an Obitsu or DD head. They're vinyl, and not super hard. So I would say you should be able to carve it about as easily as those and can use tutorials for DD customs just as well for Imomo.

Hiya! I have some experience with this, I've modded quite a few Imomodoll heads at this point. You can see some of my progress in my project thread here.

In my experience Imomodoll heads are slightly harder than DD, which makes them easier to sand.

In theory, all you need to do a mod like this is a craft knife, sandpaper, and a LOT of patience. (Well, that and whatever clay you feel most comfortable with to sculpt the mouth parts.) But sanding vinyl is a pain in the butt, so I use a pen sander and dremel to speed the process along. You may also want to look into sanding sticks to get into very small spots (the corners of the mouth, for example).

I will warn than if you modify the eyes too drastically the eye wells may not fit eyes quite right anymore. So I'd suggest specifically for eye mods to carve out a little at a time and check that eyes still fit properly every step of the way.

Edited Tuesday at 11:42 PM by 0bsequi0us

21 hours ago, GirlWiththeDragoonTattoo said:

I've not modded one before, but I will say the heads are about the same as an Obitsu or DD head. They're vinyl, and not super hard. So I would say you should be able to carve it about as easily as those and can use tutorials for DD customs just as well for Imomo.

Oh that's good to know there are DD tutorials I can use! I looked around for Imomodoll specifically when I was trying to figure it out myself but they kept leading back to this forum ha. A faceup artist whose designs I really enjoy uses mostly modded DD blanks so this is encouraging to hear.

21 hours ago, 0bsequi0us said:

Hiya! I have some experience with this, I've modded quite a few Imomodoll heads at this point. You can see some of my progress in my project thread here.

In my experience Imomodoll heads are slightly harder than DD, which makes them easier to sand.

In theory, all you need to do a mod like this is a craft knife, sandpaper, and a LOT of patience. (Well, that and whatever clay you feel most comfortable with to sculpt the mouth parts.) But sanding vinyl is a pain in the butt, so I use a pen sander and dremel to speed the process along. You may also want to look into sanding sticks to get into very small spots (the corners of the mouth, for example).

I will warn than if you modify the eyes too drastically the eye wells may not fit eyes quite right anymore. So I'd suggest specifically for eye mods to carve out a little at a time and check that eyes still fit properly every step of the way.

Very useful information! Thanks for linking your thread too. Yours mods look nice and the process posts will be really helpful. The eye tip probably saved me some heartache later. 😅 I feel a little more sure about the Imomodoll head now too seeing it's got a lot of versatility. I have a long time to wait for the body I picked out to ship, so plenty of time to get a head and experiment to get it just right!

Yay what a fun project! I hope it goes well for you. 🥰

I modded an Imomodoll Empty (blank solid face) head recently, and it was a harder vinyl to cut through. I had to heat it up with my heat gun a few times to get a nice clean cut, but I was also doing a pretty extreme mod. LOL Honestly @0bsequi0us 's tutorials and past mods helped me a lot!! Thanks!!😜

I did this cyclops mod, and it worked ok but the eye I made doesn't sit fully flush. (Didn't think it would though, since it's a 2-eye head.)
Here is my insta posts about it with photos:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DRTtZBiDrKC/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DS8IkBkgQ-M/

Imomo Empty - Mod by Morgan McPherson, on Flickr

Hephy by Morgan McPherson, on Flickr