Traveling Doll Hospital Inspired by Toy Story 2's Repair Scene

My husband and I sat down one night and I was telling him about attending doll shows and meetings and how often I am asked about repairing broken dolls. My husband is a traveling technician and suddenly looking at all his traveling tool cases made me think that it wasn't as impossible as I thought to make a smaller version of my repair workshop that I could take with me. As we sat and thought it out, my husband said "Oh what you need is like that scene from Toy Story 2 where the old man repairs Woody!" I laughed, but then, there was a lot of truth to that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3OT5BApRFc

My husband and I rewatched the scene and I marveled once again at the wooden case that the professional brought and all the intricate components of it all. We then became obsessed with making a real life version of it. Now I did look for an actual wooden box like in the film - what would that be called today? We searched on art cases which were probably the closest modern equivelent. There are spots for paints and brushes, but thinking of the things I would need to carry, there were not enough small compartments for all the bands and hooks I wanted to carry - and in thinking of hooks it suddenly made me think of fishing tackle boxes. My search stumbled on female tackle boxes on Amazon and of course I had to go with pink as it seemed suitable for dolls and girly things. I purchased the one below here

Pink Tackle Box from Amazon with Swing Trays

When I saw the original picture, I was loving the swing trays on the top which are exactly like the Toy Story box, and the two plastic compartments at the bottom that fully come out I knew were perfect eye trays. I also liked that the compartments had slide out dividers so that I could adjust the sizes depending on what I was packing.

When it came in, I couldn't wait to see just exactly how much of my workshop supplies it could hold. Now I repair many sizes of dolls and over many eras, so some of these supplies may not be applicable if you only repair a single brand or type of doll.

From top to bottom on the left

1. Limb cups for American Girl Dolls

2. Socks and shoes for Madame Alexander 8" Dolls often lost

3. Various Hook sizes for repair of strung dolls including S hooks and neck hooks which come in handy for kits

4. Various rubber bands for vintage and strung doll sizes, thinner ones are also used as hair ties

5. Pre-cut Neckstring for American Girl Dolls

6. Extra feet for MSD dolls

7. The empty spots are reserved for crimp from our Restringing Kits for American Girl which I ran out of

From top to bottom on the right

1. Eyelashes in cases

2. Jewelry tools including wire clippers, crimper, round nose pliers

3. More tools including Rainbow Eye Changing tools, various pliers and cutters, q-tips, small scissors

Second level:

1. Needle nose pliers, curved pliers, acne cream tubes (travel size), zip ties, craft tooth brushes

2. Hemostat large (this is for stringing large dolls with deep head cavities like Patti Playpal), Rainbow Hemostat

3. All kinds of widths of elastic cording, paracord, stretch jewelry cord, and neck string cord

4. Rubber gloves

5. Vinyl patch

6. Super glue and tacky glue

7. A spare Ma Ma Crier for baby dolls who criers are broken

8. Travel sewing needle and thread

9. Travel brush

Additional:

I needed a way to carry cleaning products and didn't want to put liquids in my travel box. Small clear plastic bottles and containers and a labeler to know what's what are perfect. A plastic travel toiletries case like the one below was ideal because it had several pump and spray options as well as some small shallow containers for a nice variety.

1. Pump #1: Degreaser

2. Pump #2 Vinyl Cleaner

3. Spray Bottle #1 Hairspray

4. Spray Bottle #2 Detangler

5. Bottle #1 Nail Polish Remover

6. Bottle #2 Spot Cleaner

7. Container #1: Leave Empty

8. Container #2: Leave Empty

Degreaser is a must have for cleaning dolls that are sticky or have greasy films. Vinyl Cleaner is useful for everyday cleaning of most vinyl bodies and limbs. Hairspray and Detangler are effective styling tools for dolls with bad hair (if they have all their hair there). Nail polish remover I use for lifting paint off limbs and bodies. Spot-cleaner like Shout or Oxy Clean is helpful for removing from clothing if you are not able to wash immediately. A Tide To Go Pen is also effective to carry in travel. The two empty containers are for when you are on the go and are working. You can pour cleaning fluid into the empty container to dip your q-tip in without using huge amounts from your bottles. This is also a good place to carry some travel-size wet wipes as they are useful in clearing surfaces of the doll to see exactly what you are working with and which areas are in need of deep cleaning.

What am I able to do with what I've packed?

This tackle box fits a surprising amount of supplies. With what I have packed I am able to:

1. Restring most common-sized dolls from 8"-36"

2. Patch cracked doll limbs and faces

3. Replace broken baby doll ma ma crier

4. Perform basic cleaning to doll bodies

5. Perform Eye Changes (provided I bring a blow dryer)

6. Perform wig changes (provided I bring a replacement wig)

7. Replace neck strings and remove zip ties

8. Replace missing eyelashes

9. Restyle hair, replace any rubber bands

10. Provide basic sewing repair to doll bodies and outfits

11. Spot clean doll garments and clothing

As you fiddle around, you may pack more or pack less as you use your travel box and make it your own. Some of the things I need may not be things you need or you may have additional things that you need that I haven't mentioned. Have fun with it and comment what you think is great to add to the kit!