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While dolls have been around a very long time and doll collectors have always dominated the higher end of the market, the early 1990's saw the emergence of a drastic change. Reborn babies dolls were introduced to the world and have sky rocketed in popularity since then all around the world.
These dolls are not the ones you played with as a kid. They are super realistic, can be very rare and very expensive. Creators of these dolls have been elevated to the level of artisans as the amount of skill and wide variety of techniques they must master to make one is quite high.
While some reborn babies dolls can be produced on a larger scale, the best and most realistic are hand made, one by one. Many small studios have emerged as the leaders in the industry providing their customers with the life like dolls they crave.
These artisans use a variety of painting techniques that require a high degree of skill. The paint must be applied in layers, baked in using ovens or heat guns and repeated over and over again. Minute details like veins, dimples and even the small creases on fingernails are all painted onto the dolls to make them look as life-like as possible.
After the painting is done, more unique work is put into making the reborn babies dolls even more life like. Refined human hair or angora mohair is individually rooted into the scalp one strand at a time. As opposed to wigs, this allows the artist to create hair on the head of doll that looks more life like.
Hand blown glass or silicone eyes are added to give the realistic shimmer to the dolls. The bodies of the dolls are altered with a variety of materials to make them feel softer than their original vinyl casing. Sand can be added to weight the bodies, but is not the best choice. The bags containing the sand can rupture making for un balanced weight and ruining the illusion of a real baby. Instead silicone pellets are used in the body and steel ball bearings sometimes in the head.
Reborn babies dolls are so lifelike there have been instances all around the world of passersby mistaking them for real children. Police have broken out car windows to "rescue" babies from the sweltering heat only to find they were reborns. Some babies are so convincing you can right up next to them and still not be able to tell they were dolls.
Technology is also implemented into these dolls to make them more realistic. Some high-end dolls have mechanisms that raise and lower the chests of the dolls to simulate breathing. Others have small devices that mimic a beating heart.
Reborn babies dolls range from the basic to elaborate and their process range as much too. Some are as inexpensive as $25 while the most option filled one can top out at over $4000! It all depends on how real you want the doll to be and how much you are willing to spend.
For more on the world of reborn babies dolls please visit www.RebornDollsReviews.com
