shrinking 12" heads in acetone?

[Bizarro Amy]

I've managed to shrink Barbies, Charlie's Angels, and other figures down to Mego scale. Most of them are more in the 9" range, and even Barbie is more like 11.5" than 12. I have the 12" Jordache male doll and would like to use it for a custom, but his head looks enormous. Has anyone successfully gotten this head(or any other 12" Mego one) small enough to use on an 8" body using acetone? Or am I going to need to get it hydrospanned?

[hedrap]

I was just wondering the same deal.

What condition are the other heads after you shrink them? I have an old-school Ken doll from a lot that I was going to test with and see what happens.

[Bizarro Amy]

Other than being smaller, the vinyl doll heads that I've shrunk so far have gotten harder, and sometimes lose their paint. When you first put them in the acetone, they expand. When you remove them from the acetone, be careful, as the rubber is thinner due to expansion. As they dry, they'll decrease in size. Sometimes you have to do it a couple times to get them down to the right size. However, it will only shrink a limited amount. There are some heads that are just too big for this method.

[jackson5677]

I was just wondering the same deal.

What condition are the other heads after you shrink them? I have an old-school Ken doll from a lot that I was going to test with and see what happens.

I did this with a Ken head....it shrunk the head to fit a 9" figure...... it will still NOT shrink to mego size.

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

Just out of curiousity, what effect does the acetone have on their hair if any?

[Bizarro Amy]

Just out of curiousity, what effect does the acetone have on their hair if any?

It all depends on the hair. I've seen some hair (usually nylon) melt and dissolve. I've seen individual strands remain undamaged, but fall out of the holes they're rooted in. I've seen the entire top section fall out because the expanding holes caused the piece to break. I've also seen some hair come out of the process just fine, needing only a good washing. I usually do a strand test before shrinking a style of head I haven't used before - either dip just the ends in for a short time or cut a small section and put it in the acetone.

[thunderbolt]

I've gotten a few 12 inch heads down to 9 inch scale, usually Dragon stuff since its a bit on the small side already.

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

Thank you Amy. I will be sure to consult you if I ever decide to try one.

[Bizarro Amy]

So right now it's sounding like a true 12" head will never shrink to true 8" scale just using acetone.

[TrueDave]

So right now it's sounding like a true 12" head will never shrink to true 8" scale just using acetone.

Couldnt you do a generational mold cast thingie or something? Whats Hydrospanning please?

DAVE!

[Bizarro Amy]

Couldnt you do a generational mold cast thingie or something? Whats Hydrospanning please?

DAVE!

I have no idea what you mean by a generational mold cast thingie. Hydrospan is a compound that you can use to enlarge a piece. I'm not sure it it's a separate compound that shrinks it, or if you just use it differently. I specifically wanted to shrink it using acetone because that's what I'm used to, and I don't have any Hydrospan.