
In the summer of 2021, while putting a skirt onto our Leviathan doll , Lee, an unexpected thing happened . . . her hip frame broke causing her upper torso to fall into my hands while her lower body went crashing to the floor.
It was such an unsettling experience.
I didn’t know what to do.
Shaken by the whole thing, I placed her in the back of my closet to deal with on another day.
But after a several months (feeling guilty about leaving Lee in that situation) I knew it was time to make a decision.
Do I repair Lee or do I let her live the rest of her life in the back of the closet?
I decided to repair her but was hesitant about it.
Replacing the broke part seemed easy enough. But I worried I’d cause more damage to another part of her body during the repair of the hip joint.
Luckily, the dolly universe heard by concerns and a YouTube video by Linda of the channel Mes crazy expériences appeared.
Her Mahiro (Azone doll) had a loose arm due to a broken bust frame.
In the video, Linda shared how she handled the injury & repaired the doll with advice from a friend.
After watching the video, I felt inspired to try replacing my doll’s broken hip joint.
So I ordered an Obitsu hip frame from Amazon Japan. I was already going to buy a book, so why not add a doll joint to the order.
My items arrived about a week later.
It’s Time for Doll Surgery
With the hip frame in hand, it was time to replace Lee’s busted hip.
Since I had removed her legs and the broken piece in the summer it was time to put things in place & back together again. Should be easy, right?
But I struggled getting the new piece inside the torso.
It took some wiggling and dexterity to get the joint in the correct position.
But my struggles didn’t end there.
I couldn’t get the legs onto the new hip pegs. Something was preventing them from sliding flush onto hip.
Once again, the dolly universe heard my worries. And I stumbled upon a doll forum which led me to a great post on Dollieh Sanctuary on how to replace Obitsu 50cm torso.
Thank goodness it had detailed instructions & close up images.
Wonderful for a new dolly surgeon like myself 😉
Following the instructions, it took me several attempts to get the legs back in place.
I kept getting the swinging/dropping legs.
But I kept at it.
And I’m thrilled to say . . . that I was able to replace Lee’s hip frame and put her back together again!
What a relief!
Thanks to Linda for the video that inspired me to tempt the hip replacement.
And thanks to the awesome post on Dollieh Sanctuary that made everything come together.
Here’s hoping I won’t have to perform another dolly surgery for a long time.
Over to you
Have you experienced a doll injury before? What broke/cracked on your doll?
Were you able to repair the dolly injury or was it unrepairable?
Share your experience in the comment section below.
I look forward to chatting with you.
Here’s the video Linda shared on repairing her doll’s bust frame. Enjoy!
Thank you for the helpful info. I often had to deal with fixing my dolls’ shoulder joints or necks if they start to crack. It’s good to know there’s ways to fix these doll injuries.
PS. Lee looks awesome! She’s really rocking her purple hair and leopard print joggers.
Any tips on styling doll wigs?
Hi Dakota,
I’m happy to hear you like the article.
I wish I could say this was the only injury Lee experienced … stay tuned 😉
I don’t have any tips for styling wigs but I use Azone’s hair oil and Dollfie Water Wax to help me tame the hair strands.
I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment
Hello, I have a 1/3 doll that I bought off of ebay that looks like an Azone doll but may not be. She comes with a circular stand without the pole because her feet are magnetic. The owner didn’t know the name of the doll. I think her name is Ann, Anna, or Anne. I have looked for her everywhere in the early to mid 2000s but she would always sell out. Is it okay if I send you a picture to help me identify her. I cannot find her stand because I called myself putting it in a “safe place” so I would not lose it. I missed placed it. Thank you in advance for your help.
Hi Meshel,
Congratulations on the latest addition to your dolly family.
Sure we can help in identifying your doll.
I sent you an email 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment,
Tatyana
What a babe! I’m glad you were able to fix her, congrats!
I definitely want a big Azone girl or two or five in my collection, so I’m glad to see they can be repaired like this.
Hi Neon,
Lee, thanks you for the compliment (but now it’s gone to her head and I don’t know how to get her under control) 🙂
She’s something else, that’s for sure.
I’m certainly going to start adding spare parts to my shopping cart when I buy other dolly goodies.
I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment.