MLD Mocha - Ankle and Upper Arm Repair

Max50 · Post by **Max50** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:59 pm

Greetings all -
Haven't been to this site in a while. Just got around to looking into some problems with my MLD mocha doll, Tisha.
I adopted Tisha from someone on this forum for $800, and knowingly, she had a dislocated upper arm. Since then, Tisha also broke her ankle from moving her around, and the such. Come to find out, her ankle was dislocated as well, and not broken. I finally got around to opening her up, and investigating the problems.

On Tisha's ankle, it appears that MLD used #12 stranded wires, and connected them to the leg bone. No adhesive was used when they inserted the wires into the holes, and they had simply pulled themselves out of the holes. I decided to try using some "JB Weld" by mixing the 2 compounds together, and inserting the mixture into the holes before shoving the wires back into them.

As far as Tisha's upper arm, it apparently was similar to her ankle problem. MLD used what appears to be #10 stranded wires (copper), and stuck them into 12" thin wall pvc tubing, reinforced with 2 nuts/bolts at the end of the pipe. Again, stuffing JB Weld into the pipe before reinserting the wires. I will wait about a week before I attempt to use silicone adhesive to patch her back up.

Hopefully this will solve the problem of the wires pulling out. There may have been a better way to do this, but this seemed to be the most straightforward thing to do at the time. It would've helped if MLD could have made the wires longer as to prevent them from sliding out of their holes, but it is what it is. Here are some pics provided. Hopefully this gives others an idea of what these areas look like inside of their dolls.

Obin · Post by **Obin** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 3:30 pm

Good post.

Max50 · Post by **Max50** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 3:53 pm

Thanks Obin.

Tybalt · Post by **Tybalt** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 4:00 pm

So thats what the inside looks like.

Max50 · Post by **Max50** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 7:26 am

Tybalt wrote:So thats what the inside looks like.

I was a little surprised at what I found the skeleton to be made of. I was thinking that it would've been a higher degree of "quality parts" (I say this for lack of a better term). Not that a garage manufacturer couldn't make a great doll, but the skeleton does look a tad primitive coming from a highly respected, popular outfit like MLD.

I can't help but wonder if she might have these issues on other areas in the future, just from moving her from place to place. Is this not taken into consideration when these dolls are made, and how much more effort would be involved in attaching these wires in a more secured fashion? Maybe MiniLoveDolls has already started looking into this issue. I would hope so.
Nothing like dropping a few thousand dollars on a product like this, and cutting her up at a later time to fix these issues, eh?

SiliconeWorld · Post by **SiliconeWorld** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:35 am

Great post. Posts like this are invaluable in that they give TDF members an actual idea of how "dolls" are made. Let's face it, how many of us have the courage to disassemble their companion?

This is interesting showing the process you went through, what you saw when she was 'opened up' and the material(s) you used to do the repairs.

Max50 · Post by **Max50** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 12:34 pm

Thanks SiliconeWorld. My advice to someone having to open theirs up would be to use a nice, new, sharp razor blade, making a deliberate, clean cut into the area, as this will help keep notice-ability to a minimum when gluing the area back together.

havefun · Post by **havefun** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 6:59 pm

Looks li I e your doing a great, job there! Thans for sharing with all the MLD owners.

Max50 · Post by **Max50** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 8:59 pm

havefun wrote:Looks li I e your doing a great, job there! Thans for sharing with all the MLD owners.

Thanks so much for your kind words -

I need to make a correction on this part of my original post:

As far as Tisha's upper arm, it apparently was similar to her ankle problem. MLD used what appears to be #10 stranded wires (copper), and stuck them into 12" thin wall pvc tubing, reinforced with 2 nuts/bolts at the end of the pipe.

The part that says (12" thin wall pvc tubing) is incorrect, and should say 1/2 " pvc tubing. (Half inch, not 12 inch).

Barbarous · Post by **Barbarous** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 2:12 am

Thanks for sharing your repair with us. It is a difficult decision to operate on our sweeties, you're doing great.

Max50 · Post by **Max50** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 2:22 pm

Thanks Barbarous

Max50 · Post by **Max50** » Sun Mar 29, 2015 4:08 pm

I decided that today would be the day that I attempt to patch Tisha back up.
I used some silicone adhesive, and some rubber bands as her skin wouldn't stay together - especially the arm cut.
I'm sure that there's a better way to do this, but I'll let it dry for a few days before I attempt to remove the rubber bands. I'll probably have to cut the bands off, and most likely touch up the areas with more silicone adhesive.

Max50 · Post by **Max50** » Tue Mar 31, 2015 4:51 pm

After taking the rubber bands off, and doing some trim, this is where I'm at at this point.
Not as good as she could have been maybe, but far better than she was.
I'll have to figure out how to clean or perfect the areas a little more.
Wider rubber bands might have been better, as there are some outlines where the bands were, but I'm thinking that the band marks will go away in time.