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Hi everyone, I'm new here.
My 8-year old got her first American Girl this past Christmas, the lovely Marisol. DD loves her and takes great care of her.
Well, this afternoon, for no apparent reason, Marisol's head came off and my DD started to cry. I called AG and they transfered me to customer service, and I was given instructions on how to put her head back in place. When she told me there should not be any gaps, I then knew something was seriously wrong, because she always had a gap. I went and looked at pictures from Christmas and saw it.
What should I do send her to AG to be fixed? I think she might be defective, KWIM?
As of this evening, Marisol has her head back on and DD is protecting her...LOL!
It's really odd this happened today, because my UPS lady brought Jess today, which I'm giving to DD for Easter.
I just feel really bad for my DD and our beautiful Marisol.
Any advice?
Thanks in advance!
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I'll take a picture of my Marisol, and see if that is the gap you mean. Sit tight!
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http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...marisol005.jpg
This kind of gap is supposed to be there- my newer dolls all have this gap.
<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ April 10, 2006 10:38 PM: Message edited by: simplepretty ]</font>
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No, it's not. I wish I had my camera to take a picture for you....where her body, meets the neck, there's a space and you can see the plastic bottom portion of her neck...The body does not seem to be tight enough around it. I've tried to tighten it with the strings, but it doesn't seem to work. You can see around her entire body the plastic bottom of her neck, if that makes any sense. It's not tight like yours at all.
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I would try taking her head off and shifting some of the stuffing around until you get her head to sit right. If she is overstuffed, maybe that is making it difficult for you to pull the neck tight enough around the head to eliminate the gap. I have had dolls with gaps at their necks before, but I've always fixed them just by rearranging the head and stuffing until it looks right. Good luck!
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Sometimes, this helps.
Untie the neck strings. Hold both strings tight with one hand. With the other hand, push the fabric that the string come out of back to gather it more on each side, so more string is exposed. Once the fabric is as gathered as you can get it on both sides, tie the string tight, and knot it a second time. Very often, it is a little bit of extra fabric that causes the gap at the front of the neck, as opposed to an actual problem. I hope this makes sense.
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Thanks ladies...I will try the tips. I just didn't know if she should be sent to the doll hospital...my little girl was not too happy when I told her we may have to do this. We are new at being AG owners & need all the help and advice we can get.
Thanks again!!!
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Welcome to the board! [img]biggrin.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] That's terrible about Marisol's head, I hope you find some way to fix it. [img]smile.gif[/img]
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Welcome to the board! I hope your Marisol gets fixed without having to be sent to the hospital. My Felicity has a small gap (I'd take a pic but she is at home which is 16 hours north of where I am). I have to tighten her stings when I do get home.
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Thank you two so much for the warm welcome and advice! This seems like a wonderful board!
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Sorry I couldn't help!! Welcome to the board!
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I took some photos to help explain what I mean.You would think just drawing the strings tightly would be enough, but gathering the fabric really can make a difference.Most of my dolls were pre-loved, and many of them needed the gap at their neck closed in this fashion.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...4/31ffc9d5.jpg
You can just hold the fabric firmly in place as you tighten up the strings, so the fabric does not slide with the strings. Maybe you can get a helper to make it easier.Good luck!
<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ April 10, 2006 11:15 PM: Message edited by: American_Mommy ]</font>
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Thank you, simplepretty!!
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Thank you, simplepretty!!
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Thanks! (We like to be thought wonderful! [img]biggrin.gif[/img] )
It sounds like your Marisol's problem can be easily taken care of at home--I wouldn't recommend sending her to the AG Hospital except as a last resort! (The shipping can really add up, and they tend to want to replace the head, which can be expensive, as well.)
These dolls are really very simply put together--it's the high quality of the materials and the great customer service that help to make the prices so high.
The advice posted already should be sufficient to keep Marisol's head firmly on her shoulders, where it belongs! Don't be afraid to rearrange and/or remove her stuffing--if you don't like the result, it's easily reversed.
[img]smile.gif[/img] And she is SOOOOO PRETTY!! (I just love Marisol, can you tell?) [img]biggrin.gif[/img]
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American_Mommy, the first picture you posted, is what I'm talking about...that's what our Marisol's neck area looks, actually, her gap is bigger. Tomorrow, I'm going to sit down and really work on her...Thanks so much for posting the pictures and the information!
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I hope you can fix her, it sounds like you will be able to. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
The only time I had to remove a little stuffing, I placed it back inside my dolls head for safe keeping. If I ever need it, I will know right where it is, and exactly how much to replace.
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My Marisol gaps too. She just needs her strings tightened more often then my others. It's not a big deal really.
There's no need to involve the doll hospital, because they would probably just replace her string with a zip tie and call it a day!
The newest Josefinas don't have the gap at the back of the neck and the neck opening is sewn MUCH smaller to keep the head on better. The neck on the Marisol(and some Josefinas) mold is so tapered it tends to slip away from the body.
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Thank you, AsianAG! I appreciated your advice. I don't want to send our Marisol away. I think with all the *great* tips I received, we can get her in tip-top shape....she's excited for her new sister, Jess, to be opened this Sunday by my DD.
She's very pretty...she's sitting on the bed watching me type...LOL!
Thanks again!
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Thanks American_Mommy, I will remember that about the stuffing, great tip!
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Sara, thanks for sharing that about your Marisol. I guess when I saw my DD cry, I got upset and was willing to do anything at that point, KWIM?
At least I know our Marisol isn't the only one with the gap problem. I really was dreading the thought of shipping her to the hospital.
Thanks for your information on the newer Josefina dolls, My daughter and I would like to add her to our collection in the future.
take care~
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After what Sara said...
You know, If Marisol is mostly for play, you could remove her string and store that string inside of her head, then buy a plastic zip tie to attach her head with.It would be easy to get it on good an tight, and it would be very sturdy for play.Zip ties are very inexpensive and easy to find.You get a lot in a pack, so you could try till you were happy with it.
If/when your daughter wanted the original ties back, you could snip the plastic tie, remove the string from her head, and rethread it using a safety pin.I can see where the zip ties could be more practical for a doll that gets lots of play time in.
