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Modification Headback mobility mod?

Sep 17, 2022

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    1. I have a bimong narae, and I love her and think she's perfect in every way, except for the fact that the way the back of her head is constructed makes it impossible to tilt her head much further back than a slight incline (whereas other dolls I've handled can almost look to the cieling lmao)

      I probably wouldn't even notice that her head isn't able to tip very far back, except for the fact that the 3-part torso narae fusion body is extremely good at slouching, so it's consipicious that she can slouch really far, but then can't lift her head up all the way when she's in that position. The cause seems to be there's this little lip at the base of her head that seems to be there for the precise purpose of keeping her head from leaning too far back. (you can see an example from a different sculpt in the below pic)

      So I was wondering if anyone thinks it would be safe or sensible to cut the resin at the back of her head that sits on her nape so that she could lean her head back more? Would this compromise her heads stability on her neck at all? I have a few narae heads and the faceplates are interchaneable with the headbacks, so even if it didn't work I could just swap her current headback to one belonging to a floating head, but I won't bother if it seems like it won't feasibly have good results. Any insights would be appreciated!

      [​IMG]
       
      #1 Beldam, Sep 17, 2022
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    2. The thing I do on pretty much all my dolls to help neck mobility is, inside the neck in the elastic channel, most are just straight drilled in, which is kinda tight on the elastic. If you carve/taper that out a bit so the opening is wider than the channel, it allows the elastic some wiggle room which helps mobility alot, in all directions. You don't even have to carve out much to make a difference and it's not visible at all when you put it back together.

      I've tried sanding down the resin on the head at the back of the neck and it doesn't really help as much as you'd think it would and can easily make the transition from head to neck look odd
       
      #2 whooganana, Sep 17, 2022
      Last edited: Sep 17, 2022
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    3. Bimong's necks are actually pretty interesting in this regard! The neck has these little divots carved in the front and back (photographed below), presumably for the exact purpose of letting the head nod forward or fall back without the string being obstructed by the channel of the neck--it's fully the additional lip on the headback itself that prevents the head from being able to tilt all the way back. Weirdly, the neck itself seems designed to allow pretty much free range of motion even though the head isn't able to take full advantage of it

      [​IMG]
       
      #3 Beldam, Sep 17, 2022
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    4. Yeah that's kinda what I meant. This picture looks to be a different sculpt though, the full doll in your first post has an extra ball cup joint between the neck and head that this doesn't have.
       
      #4 whooganana, Sep 17, 2022
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    5. lol yeah I mentioned that in the original post--my doll is on a fusion body, the doll in the pic is an older/earlier narae body, and the head is a different sculpt. But the head is still a narae head, and all the narae heads have the same back, and the back of the head is the thing that's irking me--the body itself is not a factor in my calculations haha

      For the sake of clarity, this is how my actual doll looks with her head tipped all the way back. The part against her nape is the source of my woes
      [​IMG]
       
      #5 Beldam, Sep 17, 2022
      Last edited: Sep 17, 2022
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    6. My biggest concern with cutting that off is how the cup/socket is shaped on the headback, if you cut that much of the back off, how will that affect the cup. If there's less of the socket it can make the head less stable. It would be more mobile but it can make it harder "hold" the poses it helps reach, if that makes sense. I would actually be more inclined to try to build that extra cup that the first picture has, it's purpose is probably for just this issue.
       
      #6 whooganana, Sep 17, 2022
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    7. I think adding something like that additional piece would wind up lifting her head too far off her neck though--it sits at a really natural height where it is, and elevating it would make her look a little giraffe-like haha
       
      #7 Beldam, Sep 17, 2022
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