I have long wanted a company to offer a doll with a better level of detail, internal skeleton and which appeals to the side of me that really digs furries. Some have made dolls before which either had wire skeletons, low or baggy details, and little appeal to me visually.
Stage 1:
A few months ago I set out to solve this for myself. I contacted 3 doll makers about ordering a fully custom anthro, and was basically told by all that regardless of money they had zero interest in developing such a product. Shortly after that I began tinkering and ordered a lot of long-pile fur to work with, expecting to use my old WM TPE doll as a base for the work. While I did have some luck adhering fur swatches to the TPE, it wasn't permanent and did not meet my desire for durability or look. Since then I have spent time practicing different cuts for the fur, learning what works and what doesn't, and brainstorming for a different doll to use as a base.
Stage 2:
I'll preface this by saying, I have no past experience working with plushies or any sort of fabric detail. I've sewn some torn pants, that's it... This is a learning project and I'm sure someone with real experience could do better.
Enter, the Aimee fabric doll from 1am (HappyDoll I believe is the brand?), a 130cm tall inexpensive experiment that I didn't have to feel too bad about ruining if it came to that. I began my conversion by constructing a fully articulated tail using:
- A Pipe Cap (For the tip)
- Armored Conduit (For providing a rigid skeleton)
- Pipe Adapters (For making it detachable)
- 4 AWG Bare Copper Wire (For holding the pose)
- Electrical Tape (For keeping the wire pair twisted)