How to Change a Resin Doll Figure in 1:12 Scale

Upgrade a Resin Doll in 1:12 Scale to Make it Unique

If you're a dolls house fan, I'm sure you've seen the resin dolls that are available in 1:12 and 1:24 scale. They are a relatively cheap way of populating a dolls house or miniature scene. They come in such a wide variety of poses: from a housemaid kneeling with a brush and dust pan; to a portly gentleman holding a brandy glass; to a child cuddling a teddy bear, and just about everything you can think of in between!
  And they may be styled as Victorian or Georgian or Edwardian or Art Deco or Modern Day. There are so many to choose from.
  But once you have a resin doll you might want to customise it to make it unique to your project. And there are a couple of ways of doing just that.

• With fabric and glue. I use UHU glue because it 'grabs' quickly and seems to stick cloth to resin very well.  This started out as a Victorian resin figure in a brown dress with a bustle down the back. Transformed into an Edwardian lady, the only things sewn are the ribbon roses. All the cream fabric and lace was glued straight onto the resin doll. (And yes, she is headless - I wanted her to look like a mannequin in my miniature museum rather than a person.)

Lace is Glued to a Resin Doll to Change the Style of Dress

• The tricky bits. Some of the resin figurines might have their hands or arms in places that are awkward to stick the fabric around. I found it best to cut and tuck the material so it looked as if it was falling in natural folds. You really just need to play around with it until you're happy with the draped effect. This figurine (ignore the hair, I haven't finished trimming it!) was a lady in a very posh frock but some black fabric, white apron and lace downgraded her status to one of parlour maid.
• With paint. Those test pots of acrylic paints or tubes of artists' paints come in such a range of colours and brush onto the resin so smoothly that in a few minutes, you can change the colour of your doll's clothing or hair or accessories very cheaply and easily.

It's fun to take a mass-produced object and customise it in your own, unique way. Give it a try!