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The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Dollstudio focuses on life-like dolls made of silicone and TPE, with products spanning from life-sized love dolls and manikins over miniature companions to 1/6 scale miniatures. Based in Europe, Dollstudio is an authorized vendor for respected manufacturers like Doll Sweet, Ruby13, Maidlee Doll, Dream Doll Creation, OR Doll, WM Dolls, YL Doll, JM Doll, Sanhui, Hitdoll, Onedoll, and Lovely Doll. By default, we're shipping from Germany with all customs and taxes cleared.
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The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Post by Dollstudio »

Hi,

when I was thinking about the past year again, there has been many changes in the doll business, and in some areas there was incredible progress accomplished. Looking back about new dolls introduced and trends started in 2017 would be a long article. A lot of unusual body styles became reality, and the variety of possibles choices almost exploded - at least in certain areas.

However, looking ahead, it's much easier comprehensible what are the greatest technological challenges for doll makers in 2018. At least if you ask me, it boils down to three areas:

1) Repairability and maintainability. End customer prices dropped massively in 2017, resulting in manufacturers looking for ways to save costs, preferably without anyone noticing. So the surface remains pretty, but below… nuts are still welded onto the skeleton, and some TPE blends change with a staggering pace, making it impossible to provide repair instructions or DIY repair tools. There are even some manufacturers that do not have TPE glue for their own products or claim not to be able to ship the glue. If skeletons are designed to be not maintainable and if no glue exists, products like this are nor repairable. You can ony wear them down until they fall apart. That's simply not right because every doll owner knows that injuries will occur sooner or later. Making dolls not maintainable is just not right.

Since TPE dolls dropped so much in pricing, some customers do not consider it crucial anymore to be able to repair injuries. Of course, a TPE doll costs much less than a silicone doll, so it's a less urgent issue than fixing a $6000 investment. However, $1500 is still a lot of money - imho too much to throw away after a short period of use. So I think one of the major challenges ahead is to make dolls sustainable and long-lasting. If some people have $6000 and are ready to spend it for four throw-away TPE dolls, they may do so. But for the rest of us who is worrying about the ecological ramifications and rather save $4500 for something else, dolls need to remain repairable and maintainable. Maybe not for a decade, but at least for a couple of years.

2) Consistency and documentation. Another issue that is bugging us big time from a vendor perspective is that too many things change unnanounced, so we can not be sure that a doll that will be delivered in a month will be similarily built like the one we have seen today. That starts with shifting skin tone colors from batch to batch, continues to measured weights of the shipped dolls over the design of the skeleton and does not even end yet with the silicone and TPE blends used. Within the past year, almost every manufacturer at least once changed the composition of their doll flesh. Did you know that?

Thusly, gaining more consistency is another major challenge for doll making. Obviously, dolls are no industrial products from the assembly line and maybe never will be, so some slight deviations will be always a component of owning a doll. It can make the doll unique in a one-of-a-kind way and kickstart personality development. But it's not slight deviations I'm talking about - it's the stuff they are made of, how much they weight and which color they have. These things must not change unannounced every couple of days. If manufacturers believe that these changes are necessary to improve their products, we need at least documentation what has changed.

3) Weight reduction. Last but not least, there is the overall weight of dolls. Many customers are looking for lightweight dolls in the weight range between 20 and 30 kg. That's a weight that can be handled by almost anybody comfortably without injuring themself, so it's a healthy weight range. However, dolls with these specs are typically either not life-sized, or expensive. The variety of lightweight dolls has not significatnly increased during the last year; the major trend we have seen was quite the opposite: The spectrum of doll weights has massively expanded above 40 kg. There are now lots of fleshy dolls with huge breasts and big butts closing in to 50 kg. Three TPE dolls already weight more then 50 kg - that's more than most silicone dolls ever weighted.

I am perfectly fine with heavyweight dolls - as long as the skeleton designs are sturdy enough, packaging accomodates for the massive weights, and customers understand what lifting 50 kg of dead weight means for their backs. However, I don't think that we urgently need a lot of 180 cm dolls with 140 cm bust and 65 kg body weight. What we - imho - really need is more variety in the range of manageable life-sized dolls. I know that this is a huge challenge, especially for TPE doll makers, but what the heck, in this area we need innovation. Urgently!

These three areas are the greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018 from my point of view.

Please feel free to share your desirables for new dolls in 2018!

Sandro
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Re: The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Post by Sofos »

That's a very good list!

One problem is that customers don't realize many things like this and therefore doesn't include it in the pre buy process.

Thanks for bringing awareness

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Re: The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Post by Muninn »

The consistency and repairability are big concerns for me. $1500 is definately a big investment for me, and to find that I can't make a doll last, say 5 years through timely repairs would be an annoyance. Many industries do this deliberately, a big example being mobile phones - most new ones you can't get into for repair or battery replacement, the manufacturers love this, as hey, why don't you go out and buy the new model?!

Big thanks to the doll vendors though for trying to keep abreast (sorry!) of changing situations.
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Re: The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Post by Dollyman25442 »

While i agree to some extent I would add that probably the singular most important improvement that is being called for is finger/hand improvement.
It seems to be the number one damage area in ALL tpe dolls.
Secondary to that one is improvement of the skull, specifically the orifice for oral sex. Virtually every TPE doll on the market seems to not really be functional due to overly tight and incorrect tube placement. And oddly this makes no sense at all as the remedy is stoopid easy.

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Re: The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Post by mvcuk1 »

Thanks for the list Sandro.

I agree with all 3 points that you have mentioned, Sandro. Hopefully these points will be addressed in 2018.

Also in 2018 I would like to see stronger fingers, hands and wrists. I would also like to see standing feet without 3 visible screws.

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Re: The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Post by Booty Call Dolls »

That is one excellent list....
I can personally vouch for Sandro because we are not told by most of the manufacturer's what is going on.
We end up finding out from our customers.
For example, I sold a 168e cup three months ago and I just did a pre-check on one last week.
She was alot softer than the other one....I mean alot softer....
I feel the fingers were a bigger issue than the goose neck.
I also wish the skin tones could be more consistent else getting a head later on is a crap shoot for skin tone match.
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Re: The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Post by gunsmithcat »

Really good points, I will like to add the heating element at least for silicone dolls, some of the manufacturers are already doing it... so... why not generalize it?
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Re: The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Post by Nele »

Dollstudio wrote:Looking back about new dolls introduced and trends started in 2017 would be a long article.
These three areas are the greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018 from my point of view.
Please feel free to share your desirables for new dolls in 2018!
Too bad, I would have loved to read a doll related "Jahresrückblick".
But this outlook on 2018 is even better. "Did you know that?" - No I did not!
Nukeno and I will let you know what we desire pretty soon! ;)

Besides that I wonder if it might be possible to get the manufactures to focus more on quality.
Instead of advertising with lowest prices and biggest boobs, they could advertise with certified improved quality just as good.
Maybe they don't appeal to new customers that much this way, but as soon as someone wants to buy a 2nd doll quality matters!
Manufactures could at least offer improved, certified or at least documented quality for a higher price.

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Re: The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Post by nicvncnt »

Agree with all 3 of these points, and would also add my voice to those calling for improved hand design, especially now that goose neck issue has been addressed.

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Re: The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Post by MishaDoll »

It is not just about signing everything that has already been written.
For me, this is probably the most important repairability and therefore the transparency of the materials used for the doll.
I certainly like to welcome new improvements and innovations, but if the quality of the existing ones goes up, I will only be glad.

Would anyone be able to write a list of top quality doll makers?
It would be even better to compare the quality, features and equipment offered by individual manufacturers, but that would be very difficult for someone.

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Re: The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Post by haremlover »

MishaDoll wrote: Would anyone be able to write a list of top quality doll makers?
Not without significant cause for arguments. However, some manufacturers really do make best efforts to the extent that they can, and I enthuse about those in particular. Rather than stating names here members might simply look for the posts upon which I comment.

Sandro - excellent and expert analysis as all have come to expect from you and why you have a faithful bevvy of loyal customers.

Repairability and quality - yes. During the last year we fell out arguing about a brand who was bringing quality down as the norm together with super-cheap prices that couldn't possibly support quality. Perhaps during this year from what you've pointed out above, you might forgive me. Even with friends I'll argue where a point of wider interest has to be made and it looks as though we're now on the same side of the table. Welded nuts are a P A I N! I hope manufacturers will take note.

On that subject, people ask for this or that wildcard manufacturer to be approved on TDF and without regard to quality, normally seduced only by price. On the last occasion a skeleton photograph showed the cheapjack manufacturer using joints without washers, the hinge sides therefore out of square and metal grinding on metal.

This is why, whatever the temptations of an instant sale or a loss of a sale to the cheapjacks, people buying the cheapjack dolls sooner or later discover their toy isn't a joy and then . . . they don't, or can't, buy another one. Doll enthusiasm loses out.

It's for that reason that those of us around with experience really do need to hammer home the importance of quality and relegation of the cheapjacks to the hazards of the asteroid belt, and without the rotten tomatoes of excuses of either protectionism, some sort of commercial interests or cozy friendships* or simple elitism, being thrown at us for doing so.

*(Friendships with me are always genuine but not cozy as I'll always put the wider interests before any personal ones). I was sent a sample doll by a manufacturer to do photography. She happened to be rather heavier than specified and less than suitable therefore for the photography I had in mind. She was a silicone doll with a TPE insert, which ate her away inside . . . and immediately put out a warning about the hazards of this regardless of friendship with the manufacturer. It is important for manufacturers to know that those who take photographs of their dolls will put the interests of doll enthusiasts before any element of personal favours. And it's important for any who do such photography for a manufacturer to have the courage to risk annoying a manufacturer by saying openly what needs to be said. Better quality dolls will result.

Documentation - yes - good point. I have yet to discover whether an OR doll I bought second hand made in May of last year was a different blend or whether a fake. On account of a clear defect on the neck, I settled for a her being a fake, and friends who know the factory tell me that she would never have come out of that factory. So she's a fake - but the documentation you're suggesting would help to solve that problem. I have also made a suggestion about a proof of provenance system that would give assurances directly that dolls sold by vendors do actually come from the relevant factory so ruling out the possibility of fakes entering the supply chain. There are significant financial motives for any vendor who wants to be disreputable to get supply from 2nd grade sources . . .

Weight reduction - certainly this has been a major push for DS and I'm extremely happy with my 167 which finally arrived weighing significantly less than the one who rang your alarm bells. WM were looking at weight reduction but apparently looking at a lower density TPE which had problems. There is another way to reduce weight brought forward by a disreputable manufacturer but other factories seem resistant to taking up the idea.

Best wishes and HAPPY NEW YEAR with wishes for the successes you deserve,

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Re: The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Post by Nele »

Maybe the following is to much to ask for in 2018, but anyway:
while reading another thread, I thought to myself, wouldn't it be nice to go around
and just say "be a doll" to someone (with a smart phone app) and get an exact replica 4 weeks later delivered to your doorstep?
In times of facial recognition, 3D scanners and printers... silicone-cloning, how hard can it be?
Maybe 2019 then? ;)

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Re: The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Post by Maxwedge »

Dollyman25442 wrote:While i agree to some extent I would add that probably the singular most important improvement that is being called for is finger/hand improvement.
It seems to be the number one damage area in ALL tpe dolls.
Secondary to that one is improvement of the skull, specifically the orifice for oral sex. Virtually every TPE doll on the market seems to not really be functional due to overly tight and incorrect tube placement. And oddly this makes no sense at all as the remedy is stoopid easy.
Here Here! Excellent points and probably the #1 and #2 complaints from most doll owners. The oral capabilities should be, well, "capable". And the hands! No matter how careful you are the finger are going to break. Total BS. You should be able to pose (open and close) the fingers for the life of the doll. Maybe I like handies.
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Re: The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Post by ZZZZ »

Dollstudio wrote:...it's not slight deviations I'm talking about - it's the stuff they are made of, how much they weight and which color they have. These things must not change unannounced every couple of days. If manufacturers believe that these changes are necessary to improve their products, we need at least documentation what has changed.
As a community, we've documented weight, color, etc.:
Measurements

...and many TDF members would like the manufacturers to provide these specifications:
Do you want to know what you're buying?
Do you want to know what you're buying? (Part 2)

...but whether knowing the specifications is actually worthwhile depends on the question, "What constitutes 'false advertising'? Does being vague about specifications protect the manufacturer?" If they're withholding specifications as a deliberate legal strategy, then we might as well throw in the towel.
Dollstudio wrote:Weight reduction. Last but not least, there is the overall weight of dolls. Many customers are looking for lightweight dolls in the weight range between 20 and 30 kg.
Absolutely! Check out these poll results:
IdeaTpeDoll: tall and lightweight (poll)
Capture.JPG
Capture.JPG (27.46 KiB) Viewed 3044 times
On average, the TDF members responding to the poll want a 164 cm doll that weighs 21.5 kg.

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Re: The greatest challenges for doll makers in 2018

Post by coolumbia »

we tend to buy our 1st doll with our eyes and available funds. these big boobed curvy asses are feeding a demand and always going to be big sellers despite their weight. I would not be surprised to see a doll in 10 years loaded with tech topping 80-100kg

making tiny bodies on extremely long spindly legs like the wm150 & wm168 is cheating on weight reduction.

Sandro, I admire how you are never afraid to speak out on the shortcomings of the manufactures that you, in many ways represent.

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