I’ve been trying to get Ilse’s head on for literally 2 hours and I still can’t do it. She has no instructions for putting her together. Her assembly is somewhat the same as Victoria except that the hook is about 3 inches too short. The area where the ball of the joints go is concave with the opening in the center. The openings in her arms is 1/2" in diameter, legs 3/4" so you can’t see what you’re doing inside. The concave cardboard piece that goes inside her head is too big. I had to cut off 1/8" all the way around in order to get it in and then it was a struggle. I have a very long crochet hook that works for grabbing the hook that goes through the plastic tube that holds her head in place on the inside. It catches on the edge so you can’t pull it through. I’ve tried everything I can think of and I just can’t do it. I’m so frustrated I could scream and my arms and wrists are killing me. 
Has anybody here put her together that could maybe give me some hints? Crying, yelling and swearing didn’t work.
Oh no! Good Luck 
Luck ain’t workin’! lol
I hate you are struggling but I have no expérience with connectors. Hopefully someone will come a long and save you soon !
Thanks, but all of the openings in Victoria are much larger, and completely different, than Ilse’s so you can see what you’re doing. Ilse is ball jointed, Victoria is not.
Could you rig up a new hook from a wire coat hanger?
I am guessing you do, but do you have the kit they sell to put her together?
Oh, yes, everything’s here. It’s just hard to figure out and really hard to put it together. It takes a lot of strength.
I’ve made one like that once. I needed a second person to help me out. They’re super frustrating to assemble.
Do you remember if the white connector tubes are supposed to be all the way inside the body?
Yes, the tubes go all the way inside.
The head on mine is pulled so tight that it’s hard to turn it. Is it supposed to be like that or should I shorten the tube a tiny bit? The tube for the arms is sticking out about 1/4" on both sides. I don’t know if the tubes are too long or the elastics are too short but something seems not quite right.
This is the only Ilse assembly video I have seen… (well currently watching… ) She starts assembling around 16 mins I think… it was on a live recording.
Goodness… watching that I am thinking it needs to be a joint effort!
That seems soooo hard
Well, at least I know it’s not me. 
I don’t like it that her head and limbs don’t move very well. The vinyl is very soft but she’s not particularly cuddly.
I have an extra hook tool for her if that would help you? If so PM me and I can mail it out to you today. I know it wouldn’t help for a couple days but if you need it let me know. I’m not finished with my Ilse yet but I’ll go down to my studio in a minute and try a “test assembly” and see if I can be of any help!
I finally got her head on. I have a large, very long crochet hook that I used. The one that came with her is long enough for the limbs. You might want to rethink doing a test assembly. Trust me, you don’t want to have to take her apart and do it again.
I just stopped, I can’t believe you did it! I got so so so frustrated! I don’t get how it’s possible. Did you have to cut out openings on the arm and leg? My kit the right side limbs are completely closed, there’s no hole!
I spent more than 8 hours trying to get mine assembled. There’s no opening at all on two of your limbs? Is there a circular line where it should be? If you make the holes bigger the joints won’t fit properly. And, there’s a lip inside the hole that will be cut off if you enlarge the hole. With no opening there’s no way to tell if the lip is even there. I think you should contact the seller, let them know and ask what you should do.