The Doll Forum

Hello,

I read another thread on here the other day about stuffing a latex doll with shredded foam: http://dollforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=40429

Now, that's a great start, but I'm wondering if anyone has figured out a way to stuff an inflatable doll such that she's way soft, and optionally has some joints-like structure.

The easiest solution I've thought of, is to use basic foam sealant (the stuff you use to insulate around window trim, etc.) - It's SUPER easy, cause it comes in a spray can, and you just need to make a tiny incision, and wait for it to set for each joint, leaving some spaces for motion.

Unfortunately, it has the drawback of hardening too much. It becomes like... a hard sponge, which is not really good.

Another alternative I was thinking about is to use some kind of gelatin (you can make a cheap, home-brew ballistics gel with basic gelatin), which would be quite soft and life-like, though probably needs some reinforcing structure. The big downside of that is, that stuff might spoil, I imagine.


Are there any other really good possibilities? I'm sure some of the existing plush dolls do something innovative. The description for "Lala Doll" on kanojo says something about glass beads. Does that have a standard name? Maybe buckwheat shells would work?

cheers!

I used polyester fiberfill for a vinyl doll that popped in the seams. I didn't want to go with shredded foam because I felt like it might be lumpy.

Then I figured out that it was way better than using it inflated. The only issue is with elastic on clothing (the opening of socks, waistband of some paints) eventually forcing it's way through and messing with the shape of the doll, but not really an issue if you just use loose clothing like camisoles or fitted clothing that doesn't have elastic.

I wonder how foam prills from the inside of a bean bag would work? You could get plenty of that cheap enough. As far as skeletal structure,you`d have to do alot of cutting to install it into the doll. Then patching with vinyl repair material. A cheap/easy skeletal method could be just duct taping two sections of pvc pipe or 3/4 inch wood dowell lengths together to make the arms and leggs( upper arm taped to lower arm etc.) You probably would`nt need anything for the spine since the packed foam would keep it straight.

Foam prills? I was wondering about using something like the little foam balls that gardeners us to aerate soil in a potted plant; not sure what that's called & whether you can get it in large quantities though.

As far as a skeleton, I'm sure thin PVC would work fine, but I'm at a loss as to what you could use for the joints. Any ideas?

Hi,The foam prills could probably be ordered on line or look around for bean bags and unzipp to see if they`re using the small prills or larger ones. You could screw on regular small hinges such as for a cabinet or door to the sides of the pvc pipe for the joints.The pipe ends themselves would also prevent the limbs from bending in the wrong direction. The center of the hinge would be located between the upper arm or leg and the lower arm or leg. Wooden square stock at home depot that`s about 1.5 x 1.5 inches works great for this method.

...so did you do any of this and can you show us?