1. Den of Angels is closing in August 2026. New account registrations are closed. Please see this thread in Den of Angels news for important information: /threads/the-future-of-den-of-angels.893314/
    Dismiss Notice

Maintenance Restringing Thigh Joints

Mar 28, 2020

Watch Thread
    1. I was recently stringing up my April Story Fall.B boy and realized I had no clue how to string the high joints lol orz. I'm pretty familiar with stringing dolls without those extra joints but I've never seen anything about them before obtaining my boy. Needless to say, I was super confused.

      I'm not sure if they have a more specific name than "thigh joints," but these are what I'm referring to:

      [​IMG]IMG_5649 by grodnertal, on Flickr

      So first thing I did was Google it lol. Unfortunately, I haven't had much luck finding a lot of info about April Story dolls since they shut down a couple years ago. I searched DoA but couldn't find any info specific to these thigh joints. If someone knows of a thread that already exists or if I put this thread in the wrong place, feel free to let me know! But since I couldn't find an easy how-to or any kind of explanation about stringing legs with these joints, I decided to make my own, after finally figuring it out through trial and error lol

      First, my boy is a 3-part, so after stringing his arms and upper torso, I got my longer elastic hooked through the top and middle parts, like you would for any other bjd:

      [​IMG]image by grodnertal, on Flickr

      Then I brought the elastic straight down through the hip/pelvic joint, like normal. Then for the legs to be strung properly with the thigh joints, the elastic needs to be strung through this extra hole, with the right elastic going through to the left and the left going right.

      [​IMG]IMG_5668 by grodnertal, on Flickr [​IMG]IMG_5669 by grodnertal, on Flickr

      So it should look like this once they're both through!

      [​IMG]IMG_5671 by grodnertal, on Flickr

      Last thing to do is string the elastic through the thigh piece, then the rest of the leg like you would for any other doll!

      [​IMG]IMG_5675 by grodnertal, on Flickr
      [​IMG]IMG_5644 by grodnertal, on Flickr

      I do really love the extra mobility these joints can give a doll, but the downside is the awkward "sideways" stringing of the legs. Since the elastic comes from the side rather than the top, the tension in the legs is a bit different and is prone to slipping in/out of position, even with tight stringing and sueding (like I have).

      Anyway, I hope this is helpful to anyone who needs it! Good luck stringing ^^
       
      #1 grodnertal, Mar 28, 2020
      Tools
      + Quote Reply
      • x 5
    2. Good job showing the method clearly!

      The stringing method of crossing the pelvis is pretty common these days. Three of the four SD++ bodies that have been (or still are) in my crew were strung with that kind of method. The said three were from IMPLdoll. I haven't disassembled my LoongSoul yet to be able to verify. Iplehouse, however, does use that cross-pelvis method.

      I would like to offer one caveat though, which may or may not affect the doll depending on the engineering:

      The cross-pelvis method wasn't working for one of my male bodies (IMPLdoll Idolman FGB), because it greatly hampered his ability to do relaxed poses. I've observed that dolls with no thigh slits are more prone to this problem. He could neither spread his legs nor hold gently bent knee positions without the joints snapping back with a vengeance. Either I successfully lock the knees at a right angle, or he straightens it out. Nothing in between. And, since the elastics were connected directly to the head, attempting to fiddle with the legs and hips (nay, just tightening the stringing) likewise interferes with the head mobility. I suspect sueding may be able to help correct the problem. But since I didn't have the tools for that, and wasn't too happy with the thought of an uber-tightly strung doll, I implemented a stringing method that uses a different elastic for the torso and the legs. It solved my issues without having to resort to sueding.

      Then again, it's up to your personal preference with regards to posing. :) I handle my dolls regularly, so it was crucial to me that they be able to pull off natural poses as opposed to just sitting and standing prettily.
       
      #2 AntarelNefertili, Mar 28, 2020
      Last edited: Mar 29, 2020
      Tools
      + Quote Reply
      • x 1
    3. That's the exact problem I have! Even with the suede he can't have his legs spread more than an inch or so without them snapping back. This is my first SD+, so that might be a reason I haven't encountered this issue before if it's more common on larger dolls :T Thanks so much for the stringing suggestion though! I really like the idea of using a different piece of elastic just for the legs, I've definitely gotta try that ^^
       
      #3 grodnertal, Mar 28, 2020
      Tools
      + Quote Reply
      • x 1
    4. Looking at your pictures, it would seem your guy has a similar thigh swivel engineering as mine. (My guy also has a hip cut, coincidentally.) No wonder we encountered the same problem. The downside of separating the leg elastics from that of the torso is it now takes some balancing when getting the doll to sit, but at least he could sit in a relaxed manner. :D

      [​IMG]
      Impldoll Idolman FGB restrung       by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr
       
      #4 AntarelNefertili, Mar 29, 2020
      Tools
      + Quote Reply
      • x 1
    5. I have two Iplehouse dolls, two Impldoll bodies and a SOOM SG that are supposed to be strung with strings crossed in the pelvis like that and I just...don't do it. I string them normally with the strings going straight down through the hip piece like any other doll I own and it works just fine. Better, because I absolutely hate the way the crossed strings make the legs snap together. I honestly don't get why companies are doing stringing this way, I see zero benefit to having the strings crossed through the pelvis.
       
      #5 VampireAngel13, Mar 31, 2020
      Tools
      + Quote Reply
    6. Yeah the legs snapping together is a huge nuisance when trying to get certain poses, like AntarelNefertili was saying. I tried stringing my April Story boy with the elastic just coming straight down through the pelvis but it made his legs suuuper wobbly and there was no way he would stand on his own (which is one of my favorite things to have him do lol). Not sure if it has anything to do with it, but his legs are like suuuuper long and make up most of his total weight, so I'm thinking that might be a reason he tended to be wobbly when strung like that, even with fairly tight stringing and sueding. I've been looking into getting an Iplehouse boy soon so it's good to know they're strung similarly so I can be prepared for that as well ^^"
       
      #6 grodnertal, Mar 31, 2020
      Tools
      + Quote Reply
Draft saved Draft deleted
Tags:
Toggle Width
Styler
Styler
Color Options
Color Options