Out, damn eye!!!

I've been a bit slack with the updates of late - life's been getting busier and busier now that I'm studying and doing my industry placement.

Poor Frankie is now just a jumble of parts sitting on my dining room credenza. I'm careful to put her bits out of sight whenever anyone comes over so they don't think I'm too crazy!



When I last posted, Frankie's eyechips had been giving me grief. After I soaked her chips for 24 hours, I kind of expected that they'd give up the fight and just pop right out. I was greatly mistaken. For aparently the glue that the good people in the Basaak factory use is designed to last until the end of time. After 20 or so attempts using gluestick removal, freezing, swearing and pleading I realised that there was just no way those chips were coming out. So I chatted to my hubby...and out came the drill and within 10 minutes the orange and pinks were out...in several pieces, but out. This, my friends, is my method of removing stubbourn eyechips. It is not for the faint-hearted, but it does get results. Please not that the sausage fingers in the photos are not mine! Believe it or not, I am the better photographer so my hubby graciously volunteered to be the hand model :)



Equipment - electric drill, tiny drill bit, sturdy screw (long enough that you can easily grip it), pliers, old towel/rag to put the eyeball on so that you don't scratch up the other side.



Drill a tiny hole in the centre of the chip using the drill. Go veeeery slowly, drilling just a little at a time until the hole is just deep enough to start your screw. You might want to use a vice...my hubby just used me to hold it which is probably not advisable, and also why there isn't a photo of this process! When you are done it should look like the above pic.




Now screw in your screw, using the screwdriver to spare your hands. Once it's "bitten" in you'll hear some nasty cracking sounds and at this point, it may shatter (which is a right PITA). Beware - a shard came flying out at me during this process. I'd use protective eyewear next time.




Now, using as much brute force as is necessary, use the screw to lever the chip out. If the gods are smiling upon you, they'll come out nicely in one piece. The pink ones were tough and came out in bits :( We had to drill multiple holes and lever them out with a tiny screwdriver.



Now you just need to clean up any shards of chip left in the socket before you pop the new ones in. I'll let you know when I find an easy method for that.....



In addition to being hideous to remove, as I suspected the Basaak/Blybe chips are slightly different to the Blythe ones. The Basaak chip on the left (with the hole in the pupil!) has a markedly shorter post than the Blythe stock chip on the right. I've ordered some chips from Coolcat - I'm really hoping that they will fit with a little sanding.