Fake baby - clear up a few things here

[BevB]

Hi all, I've been a mumsnetter for a while but don't really come on this category so didn't notice the original threads. I have two girls age 20 months and 3 years and am a (relatively new) reborner who goes on doll collecting forums which the ladies in the show go on. The show was made by ch4 to sensationalise 'reborn collecting' they failed to mention that the lady who went to the states was going to a doll show while there and the doll was an added bonus not the main reason. Also her dolls are hand made from clay and are one of a kind NOT reborns which are made from vinyl. I beleive she suffers from OCD which many suffers 'obsess' over one thing or another, luckily her dolls aren't causing anyone any harm.
Overall these dolls are only collectable dolls, just like my MIL collects expensive figurines and others collect model trains or crystal ornaments.
I'm happy to answer any constructive questions.

I only watched the last 20 mins or so but did find it bizarre that the woman that went to the US (complete with a pram !!) was saying she now 'wouldn't be able to bond' with the doll now as it had to go back to be repaired. I personally thought she should spend some money on counselling rather than dolls.

I dont think there is anything to clear up
reboen dolls are a collecxtors item
not anything I would have anywhere near me but that is personal opinioin
the ladies on the program obviously needed help
they were not collecting them as a collection of well made dolls they were replacing babies or children hence they need help with some underlying issues they have
I felt sorry for them

People don't take ornaments or other collectables out for a walk in a pram though do they ? She was acting like it was real.

live and let live, they were happy enough

I collect teddies and whilst i love every single one of them (and do give them a quick cuddle often ....)they dont replace anyone or anything in my life and i wouldnt strap any of them into my car or walk any of them out .....

Do you get pissed off that so many people feel they are freakish?

I looked on Jamies website at the dolls. People have written fowl things about her on there.

and the woman paid all that money in harrods for an outfit for the doll she couldnt bond with-and had bottles filled with fabric conditioner ....i think she had too much money and too much time ....i often admire babies in prams boy would i get a shock....i felt really sorry for the nanna whose grandson had moved away she clearly was devoted to him and hoped the doll would fill that gap ...i could have hugged her not the doll tho lol

Do you sometimes feel guilty for spending so much money on dolls?

are they very expensive??

People are hideously naive if they think channel4 want real people for anything other than to turn them into a freak show.

I don't think it's odd to collect reborn dolls (if you have the money) though I find them creepy as to me they resemble dead babies. But walking them around in a pram and othersuch behaviour does imo indicate that someone may have 'issues'. And that they were paraded on TV rather than offered psychiatric help I find worrying.

Collecting is one thing, treating them as babies is another.

I felt sorry for the nanna, too, until she revealed herself to be a nut case.

I thought the most sensible person on the whole programme was the little boy who said (in the face of his grandmother saying she had a new baby Harry) "It's a doll you numbnuts"

The whole reason these ladies were selected for the programme is because they were 'extreme' and not just displaying their collection with the occassional cuddle. Lots of people were involved in this programme and angry when after months of filming they were told they had been cut from the show.
There are some people out there that feel the need to make exceptionally rude comments but I'm sure they will find something else to focus their unwanted attention on when ch4 choose to sensationalise something else . Like others have said live and let live, no one makes anyone watch a programme and personally if I don't like what I see I change the channel not watch then go in search of people to harrass and make rude comments to - now thats weird!

i just saw and answered my own question

I don't understand what you are hoping to acheive by this thread apart from to say you make them and think they're normal

you haven't answered any of the questions

"foul" even....

expatinscotland - personally I don't spend alot of money on dolls, I mainly buy dolls to reborn in hope of making alittle money on them, I always start them at cost price and allow bidders to ditermine final price.
dippydeedoo - it all depends on what you are after, there are cheap dolls £20-£80 on ebay that either have bad photos, are badly done or well done but by someone relatively new. The most expensive one I have seen went for a wooping £8100! but that even surprised the reborner whose average doll goes for around £1000 mark.
Twiglett - personally I acheive nothing from this thread, just thought it a little unfair that these ladies were made to look like complete nut jobs. And there was no questions when I started typing my last response.

sorry just reread the first answer and it looks like I'm in it for the money (which I'm not) reborning is a hobby for me and the tiny profit for the many hours that goes into it doesn't pay minimum wage! (my last doll sold for £74) As I said before I start them at cost and allow bidding to dictate price and never put a BIN.

so do you actually just buy, 'do up' (sorry ) & then sell the dolls ?? Are they made to order ?

Whizzz - basically yes, although its easier to buy the kits as you don't have to remove paint & hair ridges or hair. They are then washed, painted then rooted (or wigged) and put together weighting them to make them 'feel' like a baby. Some people do them to order but I prefer to do them in my own time as its just a hobby not a job for me.

heres before and after pics of the £8100 doll:
before
after (auction link)

To make a doll look that real is a real talent.

I think it obviously envolves huge talent - and I can understand the collecting viewpoint, as when we were about ten or eleven my sis and me bought very life-like china faced dolls with soft bodies, that felt very life like when you held them, but were very fragile so went in a display cabinet. If I am honest, I think we were starting to get curious about what real babies would feel like and thats why we saved up and bought them, as we knew we could not play with them.
However, I can't help but feel sad for some of the women who must buy these dolls - I know you say the programme picked extreme cases, but it was sad to see them take them out in prams, talk about them as if real, and strap them into car seats. I made me wonder what they were missing from their livs. The one who went to america I sympathise with, and felt glad she did not have real children as I didn't think she would've coped with the mess and dirt etc ! So she was pretty harmless soing what she was doing.

Agree - that is talented to turn a plastic head into what does look spookily lifelike! How long does it take to birth/do up (?!) one BevB ?