Any realdoll onwers paraplegic?
Moderator: TJ_Foxx
Any realdoll onwers paraplegic?
I'd like to know how many owners of Realdolls are paraplegic. Do you you have any difficulty with them, moving or positioning. I'm contemplating getting one. I want to use a realdoll to practice boudoir photography and learn make-up artistry. Please, anyone is welcomed to respond with his or her opinion about this subject.
I am going to assume that you are a very strong (upper body) parapalegic here, because unless you had a lot of upper body strength to help muscle the doll around when needed you would probably would have a very hard time.
Having a doll and being unable to stand yourself might be kind of tough, but probably isn't an insurmountable hurdle if you have the right equipment to get her lifted up and moved around. Do you have anyone that might be able to assist you?
Getting her out of the crate would be your first challenge. It might be very tough if you can't lean into the crate from a very stable plaform that can take your trunk and 80 pounds of weight being out over the front axle without tipping forward. You might need a counterweight on your chair to keep it from tipping (Kind of like how forklifts have counterweights in the rear to keep pallets from pulling them over). Also, as you take her out you will need to be able to lift an object that will hang down anywhere from 3 to 4 feet from your hands. You might be able to pry the lid off the crate though and drop a winch cable into the crate to pick her up and then slide the crate out from under her once you have her hung.
I am able bodied and my 80 pounds of Svetlana are quite a load. I have pretty good upper body strength, but I still have to do a lot of lifting with my legs when I pick her up and move her around. Her legs and arms move fairly independently, so lifting her other than vertically and inline with you in a clutch, fireman's carry with her stomach on your shoulder, or bride across the threshhold style, would probably be a recipe for foot, leg, arm or finger damage. You might be able to lift her overhead though the way a male ballet dancer picks up a ballerina by the waist and holds her over him. That will take some serious shoulder muscles though, since she won't be leaping into your arms giving her upward momentum to help the lift.
I would guess that if you had a good cart built for her with an electric winch you could get her up and down fairly well. I would get a good winch that stops on a dime and can raise in very slight increments. Silicone feet are very sticky, so as you lower or raise her they will have a tendency to stick in place which could damage the ankle joints when lowering or the heels when raising and the feet aren't flat and the cable isn't plumb with the legs. You'll probably need to lower or raise her very slightly, stop, and reposition the feet.
You might want to think about the new latex model that Matt is working on (http://www.realdoll.com/latexdoll.htm). It will be much lighter and easier to work with, yet is still a very pretty doll and could get you started. You might be able to figure out what challenges you would have with the heavier silicone model that way without forking over $6000 (The latex doll is $2000 plus shipping).
Also, you might call Abyss and ask if Matt knows of any parapalegics that have purchased a doll. He wouldn't be able to give you their name to talk to them, but he might be able to tell you how that person got around some challenges. Who knows, maybe he has one as a customer who waives his privacy to share his expertise with others.
One good thing about this forum is that you will find lots of people that can help you come up with cartage ideas and can help you brainstorm from their own experiences. Depending on where you live, you might find someone who would be willing to help you with your doll photography. I imagine there may be some folks in here that would enjoy some hands-on time with a doll in exchange for helping out when you do shoots. Heck, some might even split the doll costs if they could have her on weekends...
.
I hope this helped some.
Having a doll and being unable to stand yourself might be kind of tough, but probably isn't an insurmountable hurdle if you have the right equipment to get her lifted up and moved around. Do you have anyone that might be able to assist you?
Getting her out of the crate would be your first challenge. It might be very tough if you can't lean into the crate from a very stable plaform that can take your trunk and 80 pounds of weight being out over the front axle without tipping forward. You might need a counterweight on your chair to keep it from tipping (Kind of like how forklifts have counterweights in the rear to keep pallets from pulling them over). Also, as you take her out you will need to be able to lift an object that will hang down anywhere from 3 to 4 feet from your hands. You might be able to pry the lid off the crate though and drop a winch cable into the crate to pick her up and then slide the crate out from under her once you have her hung.
I am able bodied and my 80 pounds of Svetlana are quite a load. I have pretty good upper body strength, but I still have to do a lot of lifting with my legs when I pick her up and move her around. Her legs and arms move fairly independently, so lifting her other than vertically and inline with you in a clutch, fireman's carry with her stomach on your shoulder, or bride across the threshhold style, would probably be a recipe for foot, leg, arm or finger damage. You might be able to lift her overhead though the way a male ballet dancer picks up a ballerina by the waist and holds her over him. That will take some serious shoulder muscles though, since she won't be leaping into your arms giving her upward momentum to help the lift.
I would guess that if you had a good cart built for her with an electric winch you could get her up and down fairly well. I would get a good winch that stops on a dime and can raise in very slight increments. Silicone feet are very sticky, so as you lower or raise her they will have a tendency to stick in place which could damage the ankle joints when lowering or the heels when raising and the feet aren't flat and the cable isn't plumb with the legs. You'll probably need to lower or raise her very slightly, stop, and reposition the feet.
You might want to think about the new latex model that Matt is working on (http://www.realdoll.com/latexdoll.htm). It will be much lighter and easier to work with, yet is still a very pretty doll and could get you started. You might be able to figure out what challenges you would have with the heavier silicone model that way without forking over $6000 (The latex doll is $2000 plus shipping).
Also, you might call Abyss and ask if Matt knows of any parapalegics that have purchased a doll. He wouldn't be able to give you their name to talk to them, but he might be able to tell you how that person got around some challenges. Who knows, maybe he has one as a customer who waives his privacy to share his expertise with others.
One good thing about this forum is that you will find lots of people that can help you come up with cartage ideas and can help you brainstorm from their own experiences. Depending on where you live, you might find someone who would be willing to help you with your doll photography. I imagine there may be some folks in here that would enjoy some hands-on time with a doll in exchange for helping out when you do shoots. Heck, some might even split the doll costs if they could have her on weekends...
.I hope this helped some.
