In each one I perform an eyeswap on that particular mold. Some face molds are easier and some are harder, so I recommend to watch them all to make your own judgment!
Eyeswapping is a great skill to have if you want to create your own unique doll BUT there are lots of things that can go wrong. To support this series of videos, we've added a quick info video on what can potentially go wrong when attempting to eye swap an American Girl doll
Before we begin please remember that customizing your
American Girl doll whether it’s eye swapping or wig swapping will invalidate
your guarantee with the American Girl doll and they will most likely refuse to
accept any doll to their Doll Hospital if they have been customized.
I'm an adult doll collector, and I do all the eyeswaps and customisations, and I want to share with you the dos and don’ts of eyeswapping as
it has become increasingly popular amongst the American Girl doll collectors
First of all, it’s NOT for younger children – American Girl
dolls are expensive and I would not want to encourage anyone to try it on
their brand new doll. Besides, you need at least 2 dolls to swap eyes with.
It is cheaper to find a doll in bad condition, to use her
eyes, rather than look for just the eyes. On the other hand, unexperienced 'eye swappers' are more likely to ruin the eyes during the popping out process, so it may be easier to acquire the eyes by themselves, already 'popped out'.
Tip 1 Hot Hot Hot
Since the eyeswapping American Girl Doll uses hot water, wear gloves that can protect from heat. The doll's head will get REALLY got - I use a washing up
glove on the hand I'm holding the hot head with, but the other hand I have free, so I can hold the eye.
Tip 2 Dolls with Holes
For dolls with pierced ears, cover the ear holes with a duck
tape, to stop the water from coming out through the holes. I'd recommend you take the earrings out as they'll get VERY got, but put them back on after the eyeswap is finished, because the earrings holes can get smaller as the vinyl cools down.
Older dolls may also
have holes in the top of the head, which you may not see, if the wig is still
on, or even broken eye sockets – (you could test it by pouring the cold water in first ) so to avoid the hot water leaking out of the head
during the heating up time – use a bag (a freezer food bag or a sandwich bag is best) – stuff it
in the head, and pour the water into that bag. But do note that the heating time may need to be
increased by an extra minute or so, depending on the thickness of the bag.
(whilst I hear people use a hair drier to heat up a doll, I've never done that so I cannot comment or recommend it)
Tip 3 Heating Time Varies
The heating time will vary depending on the type of the mold
and the vinyl – some older dolls require longer time and some shorter, and some
require multiple reheats, and the vinyl cools down much faster than others.
Any doll with neck rim like on the photo below will be guaranteed to be an older doll (from around 2000-2005, I can't tell for sure) that has harder vinyl that takes longer to heat up and cools down faster - so I recommend NOT to eyeswap that one if you're a complete beginner!
I would say newer / more recent dolls are easiest to eyeswap - anything from about 2009 onwards as the vinyl is lighter/thinner and more easy to work with.
So as a general
rule, I heat up the head for 2.5 minutes at a time, then try and see if the eyes pop out
– if the eye does not come out easily within 10-20 seconds, then don’t continue to struggle - reheat the head again with water
inside the head (remember the bag tip – it may take longer if you use a bag!) and try again.
I never heat the head longer than 2.5 minutes at a time if the eyes are still in (I may reheat it longer when it's time to put the eyes back in - it's safer without eyes in).
The
eyes will be VERY hot if you heat the head multiple times, so I take the eyes
apart into their 3 parts immediately after we take the eyes out, to help them
cool down faster.
Sometimes the second (or even third time) you need to heat
up, it only needs an extra minute, rather than 2.5, depending how soft the head still is. You need to use your judgment –
if you’re struggling to get out the eye within 10-20 second maximum then do NOT
struggle – stop and reheat again.
And if the eye moved out of place – as in it
gone/flipped backward – use the nail tool to push it back properly IMMEDIATELY – this is because if
the plastic “front” eye is in contact with the hot vinyl even for a short few
seconds it WILL melt – it needs to be “protected” from the heat in it’s plastic & metal
casing.
Tip 4 Time is precious but don't panic
From the time you pour out the water out of the head, to
when you start doing your popping in/out of the eyes, don’t dawdle – have all
your tools ready in advance – time is precious, as with every second the head
will cool down more – making it harder to do the swap = but on the other hand
don’t panic – you can always reheat & try again!
Tip 5 Melted eyes
There’s not much you can do with completely melted eyes,
where the backing “fell off” and the plastic eyes are misshapen – if it’s only
a little bit melted the eye can be still used but you may need to use a craft
knife to cut off a little bit of misshapen plastic if it stops the eye from
closing. Best advice to avoid melted eyes in the first place is NOT to struggle
taking them out – reheat the head until it’s soft enough to pop the eyes out
straight without much struggle. The worst face mold that can cause melted eyes is Addy's mold so make sure you watch that one!!
Tip 6 The Right Tools
DO NOT use any other methods of heating up like microwave –
the eyes have metal parts in them and you WILL melt the eyes. I also do not
use hair driers for the fear of melting the eyes or the eye lashes. I ONLY use the hot water method. The water will not
“seep out” out out of the sockets – they are solid “enclosures” – only once I
have seen broken eye sockets though…and used a bag as shown above.
Tools you use are very important – I have 3 different
length wooden spoons to hand, and a nail tool – I don’t use anything else but I have
seen people using knifes (gasp), embossing tools and so on – but anything that YOU find
comfortable to hold is fine.
The reason why I have 3 different lengths spoons is because
some molds have different socket positions – Addy’s mold in particular, has
very deeply situated eye sockets and you need extra long wide handle to be able to reach it to push the eyes out – some easier face molds like Classic one, I use a shorter spoon.
I use the short nail tool as it’s the short and comfortable
to grip, and you need to have it close to the eye so it doesn't “slip about”
and scratch whilst you position the eyes into place.
It is not GUARANTEED that
you won’t scratch the eye lids – most likely. on your first go, you will – and
even most experience eye swappers will scratch the eye lids sometimes – or the
paint on the older dolls will just chip off more easily during eye swap – it’s
not the end of the word – most customizers are just so happy with the completed
eye swap, they don’t care and it doesn't bother them, or you could retouch the
scratch with some acrylic paint – there’s tutorial on that on our channel too.
Tip 7 Wonky eyes
In the ideal word, the eyes would just pop in straight back,
you push them down, and they are perfectly aligned. Whilst it can happen (and
more experienced eyeswappers can do that :) ), chances are it won’t happen for most of us.
Personally I found Josefina & Kaya mold the easiest, where the eyes seem to pop and be
adjusted more easily then in other molds. The second easiest is classic mold.
Other molds may take longer to adjust. The trick is to try to push it in at
this angle, horizontally to the nose, and if it isn't and you have too much
adjusting to perform (i.e. the eye is wonky / way out of line), you'd be better off popping it out and reheat and try again. Always let the eye to cool down between eyeswaps.
In my tutorials, you’d see me adjusting the eyes whilst the
head is on the table – this is so you can see it on the camera. In real life I
hold the head upright, up to my eye level – it’s so much easier to actually see
what you’re doing!
So remember: If the eyes are TOO wonky, it’s better to take them out and
try putting them again more straight (which basically means start the eyeswap
from scratch) – that’s because the more you push it around, the more chances of
the eyes coming apart from it’s backing inside the socket.
Tip 8 Face molds are different
Some Face molds are easier than others. If it’s your first
time learning to eyeswap, firstly use a doll that you don’t mind
ruining, and learn by just popping the eyes in and putting them back in. The
best ones to learn on are Josefina mod, Kaya and Classic, in that order. The
worst ones to try on are any Asian molds – Jess, Jly 4 . The hardest is Addy
mold and I do not recommend her for complete beginners! When I say some molds are "similar" to Josefina mold, I don't mean they look the same - I mean that in terms of eye swapping / eye sockets they are very similar.
Tip 9 Broken Eyes
Do not let the eye “fly out” across the room or on the
floor. It may break – the eye consists of 3 separate parts, which meant to come
apart, plus the metal back weight which is glued on to the plastic part – The
plastic part – i.e. the actual eye, is the most vulnerable and easily ruined by the heat. If it’s in it’s plastic and metal casing,
it’s protected during the heating up process, but if in direct contact with
heat, it will melt within a few seconds!
If the eye 'flies across the room' when
popping out, you can break / have crack in the eye or worse break the tiny
plastic “rods” that help the eye rest on the plastic casing and “rock” / open & close.
There are ways to fix it – you can use a very small seed bead for example to
glue it on in place of the missing rod, but you may find that they eye will not
“shut” anymore.
The 3-parts – metal, plastic backing and the eye, meant to come
apart, and I usually take them apart immediately after popping the eyes out
for two reasons – first to let the eye cool down faster, and two – to check if
the plastic casing has not been misshapen during the pushing out – if so, put JUST the plastic backing part ( it is typically black, but I have seen white or
pink too) into hot water for 1 minute, and then use back of the wooden spoon to
flatten it – if not flat, the eye will not “close” properly.
Sometimes the eye
rattle too much sideways – that may be because the little plastic pin inside
the backing was flatten accidentally – it needs to be straight up so make sure
you don’t accidentally flatten it with the spoon if you’re trying to fix the
backing!
Sometimes 3-parts of the eyes “fall apart” during the
putting back in stage – it helps then to glue them in place together around the
metal rim to the plastic backing – you need to let the glue dry completely (I use the glue pictured above).
If the eyes are broken/beyond repair then you'd need to look for another pair - eBay, Facebook groups, forums etc are a place to look for. Sometimes maybe you have one eye left that it's a good one - you can sell/donate/exchange it - somebody else may be in need of one eye - you never know!.
Tip 10 Pop the Eyes Back in - They WILL go in!
I always wear kitchen glove when
doing eye swap on the hand I hold the dolls head, but not the one I use to push
the eye in – as it helps control the eye direction better, but saves my other
hand from burning as the head is HOT HOT HOT!
The doll’s head needs to be
squished, to get the eye in, and not the correct angle of the way the eye has
to go in. The important thing to remember at that stage is NOT TO PANIC – that
eye have gone in before therefore it WILL go in again – there’s no particular
rush, but normally it’s up to 20 seconds before the head is too ‘cold’ and too
hard, to get the eye in.
So your priority is to get the both eyes in, and then
to do final adjustments as you have at least 1-2 minute to do adjustments
before the head is too cold.
Or if you prefer, put one eye in, adjust, and then
reheat the head again for the second eye. What you must NOT do, is to reheat
the head if the eye is not adjusted at least to have NO plastic eyeball in
contact with the vinyl.
Remember: the timings are approximate – some older dolls
have harder vinyl that cools down much faster so there’s less time to adjust
the eyes completely, and will need an extra 1 minute to reheat to complete the
eye adjustment. Just don’t panic- panic
ruins eyes!
To adjust the eyes, you push in on the metal part in the
direction you want it to go – I usually go one on each side of the eye, as it’s
literally tiny movements that will push it into place. The adjusting is easier
if the head is still soft so reheat if necessary (only 1 minute will most likely be enough),
To adjust the eyes I usually hold the doll’s head up to my
eye level, so I can see better what I’m doing, rather than leaning over her on
the table.
Tip 11 Stand Up & Push!
Stand Up! This job requires some strength, and it may not seem
obvious, but standing up gives you more power to pop the eyes out, and
ESPECIALLY when putting them back in. Use your body strength as well as your
fingers. It will hurt anyway but it should not hurt that much if the head is
properly heated up & you're standing up!
Tip 12 Take a Break!
Don’t do it if you’re tired, stressed or there’s other
people trying to watch you!! As fascinating as it is, tell them to watch a YouTube AGSM video, instead of gawking at you – it’s stressful enough without
additional audience lurking over you. If you’re stressed or tired, you’ll try
to rush it, so leave it for next day, when you can come back to it with a
fresher mind. Some eyeswaps I've done over the course of 3 days as the doll did not want to co-operate / I was tired, but we got there in the end :)
Tip 13 Cracked Vinyl
Sometimes the vinyl around the socket looks like it “split”
during the pushing in stage – you can minimize the damage by using micromesh to
smooth it out but there’s always going to be some “scarring” – which funnily
enough it’s easier to fix if the eyes are out. For me, the couple of times it had happened, it
happened to be just above the eyelashes so it’s not that visible once the eyes
are in.
When you watch the eyeswap, it may look like the doll is being squashed / hurt - if the vinyl is soft, it should not hurt it.
Tip 14 Not all Eyes are the Same
You may find there is some variance between eyes - sometimes they look too sunken, sometimes they still stick out / i.e. you can see the metal rim still showing. There's been occasions that I had to give up on my idea of a Custom American Girl doll because they eyes did not fit properly and did not suit that particular doll
That's it for today. I will be updating this blog occasionally as I remember more tips :)
DISCLAIMER : I am an adult American Girl Doll collector & customizer. Always ask for permission to do any customizations to your doll (if applicable) and do not repost this blog or any of the photos included on here - all Photos & Videos
