Study topic: Making a large ball joint type love doll.

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 9:23 am

PROPOSED SPECS
Material: Plastic
Height: 4' 8" - 5'
Disassembled storage box: 30" x 17" x 17"
Weight: ? 30 lbs
Entries: Vaginal, Anal?, Oral depends upon head.
Body style: Fantasy hardbody
Head: Replaceable of various looks
Feet: Detachable of various styles
Joints: Knee, hip, shoulder, elbow, neck, possibly wrist.
Price: ? $1,000.00
Lifespan: ? 20 - 40 yrs

OK, so this is just a study thread for what it would take to make a sexually capable, petite hardbody, articulated mannequin or BJD. See borrowed reference pic. Body would be naked.
No armor or pink nighty included.

I'm looking for ideas, pro & cons, tell me I'm nuts, whatever. I already know I'm nuts so no need actually.

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 10:00 am

This would actually be a difficult doll to make as a mold would need to be made for each piece of the doll. If wrist joints were developed your looking at 14 molds. The molds could be made from silicone w/a fiberglass or plastipaste mothermold. The plastic body parts would be a 2-part mix slush casted.

So here is some basic ideas:

Start out w/a "smaller" mannequin and build up the body with bondo to the fantasy babe look.
This mannequin could then be scanned and the body parts developed for 3D printing.
The 3D printed parts would then have a mold made of them.

Some questions I have to someone w/a printer.
Can half of a doll be designed and scanned and the other half made via flipping the scanned image to make a mirror image? This would cut the doll design time by well over half as only one side would need to be made. Trying to physically sculpt the, say, RH side to match the LH side would be a huge chore.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 2:27 pm

If you're going to use 3d printing then it would make sense to just sculpt it out in 3d.
Zero material costs, no fumes and no mess!

Also, if we're going for a fantasy figure, perhaps we start with something a little closer to the fantasy...

I think Eva's body shape would be a good start for a fantasy figure.
She has a nice back arch, waspy waist and a nice curvy butt.
Things can be fairly easily adjusted in 3d - the posture, breast size/shape, etc., and the mechanical aspects could be designed into the sculpt very precisely.
The 3d sculpt could be scaled down to the 4'-8" size (about 88%).

rubherkitty wrote:Can half of a doll be designed and scanned and the other half made via flipping the scanned image to make a mirror image? This would cut the doll design time by well over half as only one side would need to be made. Trying to physically sculpt the, say, RH side to match the LH side would be a huge chore.

The arms and legs would be mirrored copies, yes.
On the body, I actually like a little bit of asymmetry. I think it makes the sculpt a bit more appealing.

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 3:34 pm

Thanks, that answers some questions.

Not owning a printer nor software I have no clue on what can be sculpted or how close the base model needs to be. I guess I was thinking I could physically sculpt in more detail that what a printed part can kick out. It may be possible to print the entire doll. Assemble it then do any fine detail work. Disassemble then mold the parts. I know a silicone mold will show detail. As long as the plastic resin used to cast the parts will pick up the detail as well. It would be nice to have details down to palm prints, relief area for fake fingernails, rib cage detail, nipple wrinkles, etc. Probably is best to do all the detail after printing as I don't think the scanner would pick all this up anyway. To make such a doll and be able to sell in w/t existing competition it will have to be a knock your socks off detail.

I agree w/ you on asymmetry for a static model so it looks more like it is in movement, but it seems each joint would have to be different meaning more work, unless you only do one side of the mannequin then do a reverse image. I'm just thinking a straight upright body may have more pose options vs your Eva who may only look natural if she is looking to the right all the time. I do like the fact that she is already slightly bent at the hips meaning that there may be more range of motion regarding her legs pulled back than if she started form as stranding perfectly upright.

ETA: Pic. Now consider this mannequin. She is almost symmetrical overall. Could you not just scan her RH side and just flip the image for her LH side. Seems w/a asymmetrical form you would have to scan the entire form as the halves are so different.

Also, if the doll was made in a pose similar to the way the silicone dolls are made, it would be a closer step to making it solid so a mold could be made of it to cast silicone dolls in the future. Would it be possible to print the doll up as a BJD then print up some fill in pieces to convert it back into more of a mannequin for casting in silicone? I realize this will involve cutting out some areas of the dolls parts and grafting in the repair sections.

Fiberglass guy · Post by **Fiberglass guy** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 4:07 pm

JUST came back from Wal-Mart with a bag full of nice round plastic Coke bottles for a buck each! I plan on making ball joints from these in a unique way by adding fiberglass to the inside and letting it cure giving me strong hollow balls! I will "rotocast" it as it sets...I have done this with similar containers for art projects in the past so it shouls work! they are a bit large for a standard MQ but may work for thighs on half size projects, approx. 3 1/2" diameter.....And plan on sculpting and molding some generic joints in clay and see if I can have them printed! I have made joints in the past just never this big! I'm all ears on a project like this and If I can do any subassembly design work I will! This type of thing I can work on year round in my shop, just not full blown dolls, working on that problem currently!

Fiberglass guy · Post by **Fiberglass guy** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 4:12 pm

Just scan a nice BJD into the computer like in "weird Science".....there are some beautiful doll bodies outhere that could be enlarged for this project! And silicone jacketed molds would be the professional way to do this! I happen to have a rather dusty college degree in doing all the things you have mentioned.....Hell I could sculpt a rockin body out of regular clay and cast that.....NEED MY OWN PRIVATE SHOP!!

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 4:19 pm

Hobby Lobby has these hollow plastic balls that come apart in 2 equal halves. I think they have them in 2", 2-1/2" and 3". Can't remember now as I bought a couple diff sizes in early spring.

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 4:33 pm

Fiberglass guy wrote:Just scan a nice BJD into the computer like in "weird Science".....there are some beautiful doll bodies outhere that could be enlarged for this project! And silicone jacketed molds would be the professional way to do this! I happen to have a rather dusty college degree in doing all the things you have mentioned.....Hell I could sculpt a rockin body out of regular clay and cast that.....NEED MY OWN PRIVATE SHOP!!

I'm not sure if MF's scanner can scan a 1' tall doll and make her 5'? I doubt it w/ out loosing a ton of detail.

Here is the mannequin I was going to use as my base model for a silicone doll positive. http://buystoreshelving.com/children_ma ... /index.htm
The torso and leg pose is about identical to the way silicone dolls are cast.
I would build it up of course into a female hardbody + fudge some length into the calves, thighs and torso to bump into into the 4' ++ range. Now sure how tall it would actually be. Hopefull reach 4' 8" +/-.

Fiberglass guy · Post by **Fiberglass guy** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 5:09 pm

Well I can sculpt any BJD part larger by hand and have him scan that! A friend of mine actually 3-d prints molds for small rubber tires for remote control airplanes with great success although his molds are smaller about 6'' but molds can be printed and silicone poured into them. There is so much technology available just cost seems to be a factor AND that we are all scattered across the country......

Fiberglass guy · Post by **Fiberglass guy** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 5:20 pm

Did a Bing search for BJD's THOUSANDS of links...They are quite simple actually but can grow complex...The coke bottles worked for full size MQ neck oint BTW working now on a prototype...Heres 2 dolls I found for inspiration one has a nice parts breakdown!

: 604208620_019.jpg (41.29 KiB) Viewed 8187 times

Romulus · Post by **Romulus** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 7:08 pm

Not nuts at all! I may even be tempted to join you in this adventure.

I would start with a neutral posed fiberglass manikin, cut it up and sculpt the parts with Bondo and fiberglass. Old school style. Probably not even make molds. Let it be a ooak.

Getting large parts printed is extremely expensive. If you need balls of specific sizes maybe the 3D printing could be used for that. I looked at a couple of my BJDs and some use balls and some like the one Fiber posted do not. The largest one, about 100cm uses balls in the knees and elbows.

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 7:12 pm

That 1st BJD has amazing articulation, but the more joints visible the less beauty of the doll IMO.
Now if your going to have a doll wearing clothing that covers many of the joints that will help.

To make each piece of a large scale BJD by hand is a big job. If you made each piece by hand, you might as well just make a mold of the parts and forget about scanning and printing. Of course by scanning and printing a RH side part can be reversed for a LH side part. Maybe make them 50% scale and have them enlarged after the scan?

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 7:26 pm

Hey Romulus, glad you joined the party.
I would love to build a OOAK ball joint mannequin, but...
I spend way too much time on this stuff now and not working on my real business and getting out of debt.
I really want a silicone doll built to my specs and figure I might as well set up a production while I'm at it.
Kind of the same w/a BJD. By the time I do all that labor I might as well make it a production item. Now if a person is retired and set $ wise no biggy. Unfortunately it is just the opposite for me and Nikki is probably my last OOAK doll. Maybe a cloth doll though! LOL. I'm addicted.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 8:35 pm

Looking back at my first comments, I'd have to retract the part about scaling the MQ down, since that would require that the entire body be printed, which is something I wouldn't want to do at this size.
It's feasible at half size, but not at this size.

For that reason, the kneeling mannequin posted above would be way too big. You really have to own one of those to realize what a big girl she is.

I still think the best base MQ that I've seen is this one...
http://onlymannequins.com/pages/F-BC02.php

She has the neutral pose, looking straight ahead, and she's the perfect size 4'-8".
Here's an eighteen-year-old-ized version of her with the addition of some nice boobs and an adult head (Angie

)

: BC02 joints-18yr.png (656.32 KiB) Viewed 8161 times

With this girl's size it would be feasible to print an entire arm or leg. The designs could then just be mirrored for R & L side. The 5" dimension in the photo above is the maximum height I can print on my Afinia in one go.
The breast augments would be easy to print out and simply glue on the original body with minimal finishing needed.
The pelvic unit would take a LOT of study, which could be done in the virtual workshop without spending a cent on materials.

As far as the cost of printing, the plastic cost would be minimal - probably under $100. It would just take a lot of time to print all the pieces.
In the development stage, it would probably be wise to have the parts just screwed together in case a piece needs to be tweaked and reprinted.
I wish I would have done that with Abby's legs.

Fiberglass guy · Post by **Fiberglass guy** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 8:38 pm

I would only sculpt one side and mold it as other side is mirror image! Only torso is separate sculpt, YES my idea is OOAk type! But I will first just use this stock mannequin to cut up and play with joints etc, concentrating on the arms and knees, I will spread the legs to the desired position and them make the m both removable like a standard MQ (I have connecting hardware parts already) A full BJD like RK wants is fairly easy but as he states very time consuming!