BLYTHE 102 OPENING A BLYTHE HEAD AND SEPARATING THE

PARTS WITHOUT CRACKS OR SCRATCHES

PURPOSE:
A complete Blythe customization requires that the head be opened, removed
from the body and separated into the component parts before sanding, carving,
coloring, adjusting eye mechanism, etc. can be done. RBL/FBL, SBL AND EBL
Blythe face types open differently. This tutorial deals with RBL/FBLs which are
the easiest to open.
TOOLS/SUPPLIES USED IN THIS TUTORIAL:
BEA PRODUCTS: Surgical Tool Set - Phillips screwdriver, plastic pry
tool, crochet hook
GENERIC EQUIPMENT: Sturdy table or counter, clean padded work
surface, camera or camera phone, small labels, waterproof
marking pen, small storage containers, scissors, and plastic
shoebox for doll storage
SLIDE SHOW NARRATION:
One of the best habits you can develop when customizing Blythe dolls is
photographing at intervals and labeling parts as they are separated out. The
pictures are a great resource if you later forget exactly how that eye mechanism
goes together. The labels insure that you put the correct parts back together
after customizing. This is especially important if you customize multiple dolls
and dont always complete one before starting on the next. While some parts
are interchangeable between dolls they do not always fit perfectly. Eye
mechanism are particularly unforgiving when switched out. It is discouraging to
start putting your custom doll back together and discover the face and backplate
wont align correctly and snap tight or the eyes wont change as they should.
Have your camera and labels ready before you start opening your doll. Label a
small container so you can store the screws and other small parts for later use.
(Pic 2-5).
RBL/FBL Blythe has 3 screws in the back of her head that need to be removed for
the head to open. Because these screws strip easily proper technique in
unscrewing them is important. Using the right screwdriver is equally important,
it must be the correct size and good quality or it can damage the screw so badly
that it must be drilled out. (Pic 6)
Place the doll face down on the padded work surface. Grasp firmly around the
top of the head and press downward to immobilize. Using your other hand place
the tip of the screwdriver in the cross slots in one of the bottom screws making
sure that it is firmly seated in. Keep the shaft of the screwdriver aligned straight
up and down while pressing downward on the screwdriver and turning it
counterclockwise. Remember lefty loosey, lefty loosey. (Pic 7-8)
Go slowly and keep the pressure steady until the screw is released. Place the
screw in the small container you set out. (TIP: placing the tip of your BEA
screwdriver on the bottom magnet of our small red glue pot ahead of time and
leaving it overnight will magnetize the tip and make it much easier to transport a
removed screw to its storage container.) (Pic 9-12)
In the same careful manner remove and store the remaining two backplate
screws. Put the lid on the container holding the three small screws and put it in
the plastic shoebox for labeling. (Pic 13-17)
The next step is to unhook the spring inside the head that connects the eye
mechanism to the backplate. It is reached through the rectangular slots just
below the top screw in the RBL backplate. If this spring is not unhooked the
head wont open even with the screws removed. Using the proper technique
and a fair amount of patience on some dolls, the spring can be released without
overstretching so that it can be reattached when closing the doll. This spring
attachment causes the eyelids to return to the open position automatically when
the pull cord is released after the eye mechanism has rotated.
Inspect the end of the crochet hook to determine the open side of the hook. Put
the end of the crochet hook into the left side slot of the rectangle so that the
open hook side can engage with the loop on the end of the spring. This is where
the patience part comes in to play. Sometimes it takes repeated tries to
catch that loop. (Pic 18-19)
When you feel it catch carefully pull straight up out of the left side slot. (Pic 20-
21)
Once the end of the crochet hook is visible with the spring loop attached move
your hand to the right and lower the hook down into the right side of the slot
and allow the loop to slip off of the crochet hook. (Pic 22-23)
The screws are out and the spring has been unhooked but the faceplate,
backplate and dome are still tightly closed. The next step is to release the clip
connection between the faceplate and the backplate at mid ear level. Place the
doll in a side lying position on a sturdy table or counter covered with your
padded work surface. With the dolls face pointing away from you place your
left hand directly behind the ear and apply strong consistent downward
pressure. If you are standing up and keeping your left arm straight as you press
down, this job will be easier. Soon you will see a separation starting at the
bottom of the faceplate/backplate joint line. Continuing with the strong
downward pressure, use your right hand to pick up and wedge the plastic pry
tool into this small separation. (Pic 24-25)

Slowly and steadily manipulate the tip of the pry tool farther into the gap with a
slight left, right and upward motion. This will safely increase the width of the
seam line separation. As the width slowly increases you can work the pry bar
farther upwards. (Pic 26-27)
After some progress has been made turn the doll to the other side and repeat
this process. By continuing this prying and strong downward pressure at ear level
working from side to side, the gap should widen until you hear a small pop or
click that tells you the clip has been released. (Pic 28-29)
At this point the doll body can usually be removed and placed in the plastic shoe
box for labeling. (Pic 30-32)
However, there is still more work before the head is totally open and separated.
With some dolls the backplate just lifts off at this point but with others there can
be some sticking because of glue getting into the backplate head dome seam.
Those problems will be addressed in future tutorials. (Pic 33)
Holding the doll up, gently wiggle the backplate free of the head dome. Cut the
pull ring off the end of the cord and place both pieces in the plastic shoebox with
the body. (Pic 34-36)
Take this opportunity to carefully examine the inner workings of Blythe. Take
several photos from different angles for future reference. (Pic 37)
To release the faceplate from the dome the screw that is accessible at the
center top of the inside of the faceplate needs to be loosened but not removed.
Turn the dolls head to the side for increased visibility and insert the point of the
screwdriver firmly in the slots. (Pic 38)
Keep steady pressure against the head of the screw and turn left until the screw
is sufficiently loosened and the dome can be pulled up and off. (Pic 39-43)
Then retighten the screw in the faceplate before storing. (Pic 44)
Voila, the doll is apart. Now it is time to take more photos with special attention
to the eye mechanism T-bar and lassoo. (Pic 45-48)
All the parts are now labeled and safely stored in their plastic shoebox until you
are ready to proceed with BLYTHE 103 SEPARATING THE EYE MECHANISM. (Pic
49-50)