The Truths & Un-truths About Doll Ownership...

Hello Keith,

A very good and interesting post. I read it all🍻.

I agree mostly.

One thing I will say about TDF - it has survived the test of time.

I remember first being on TDF in 2016, but didn't do much back then. Then in 2021 when I returned to dolls, I did a little bit on TDF but was mostly on UKLDF.

My Teddy Babe said something that upset the UKLDF management at the end of 2021, so I was banned on New Years day ("Happy New Year" 😆) for 3 months. We had no intention to return until Sara dragged Miss K back. And then Miss K got banned for life.

From my first UKLDF ban on New Years Day 2022, I posted almost entirely on TDF. I nearly quit on 666 posts (seemed like a great number to end on) but someone sent me a message. There are some good people on TDF, just not so easy to find on such a big forum. UKLDF was like a village, TDF was like a metropolis. And part of me likes the anonymity of TDF, you log in, post, log out, and it's just like teardrops in rain.

My alter ego is now over 3000 posts on TDF. I think it is a valuable resource.

Yes, I don't like all this participating manufacturer stuff (many times my doll threads has disappeared because sub forums have moved/disappeared.) Yes, I don't like all the adverts. But I think running it as a business is part of the reason why it has survived so long. Also Carl and Dave have never banned me, even after I told them to apologize to Mizuwali 😆.

In the UK we have the BBC TV License fee for watching BBC TV programs (and all live programs not on the BBC too, which is incredibly daft.) I refuse to pay it. I haven't watched the BBC in over 10 years. If they introduced adverts and scrapped the BBC license fee (which they should too, it is a relic of time) then I might start watching some things on the BBC again. The point being, adverts aren't always a bad thing. For TDF, if they weren't getting some funding from manufacturers and vendors, and wanted people to pay like a yearly fee, everyone would quit.

Love Doll Network (LDN) & My Love Doll Community - what would happen if the very kind benefactors who pay to run these sites decide they no longer want to pay any more? Or they can't pay anymore? Will someone else step in to pay the site running costs? Probably not. But if it was a business that made a little money, maybe.

UKLDF I think could have been saved if there was a financial (business) case for it. It could have been moved to a very liberal country like the Netherlands (I understand this is where LDN is hosted.) This would have required some investment (time and money) to migrate. It was run on generosity though and generosity only goes so far.

Kind regards,

Cuthbert

Lot's to process in your post. So let me start here:

Why Tariffs Won’t Revive the Sex Doll Industry

Every time tariffs are back in the headlines, politicians dust off the same promise: higher import fees will bring back jobs, revive factories, and restore industries America supposedly “lost.” It sounds good on paper. But in reality, tariffs don’t bring jobs home, they just make products more expensive. And in niche industries like sex dolls and sex toys, tariffs won’t spark a domestic revival. They’ll simply highlight how much of that industry was never here to begin with.

Sex doll manufacturing is one of the most labor-intensive consumer goods industries in existence. These aren’t simple plastic molds or automated assembly lines. Each silicone body is poured, trimmed, painted, and finished by hand. Skilled workers sculpt faces, apply makeup, and attach hair strand by strand. Even smaller toys involve dozens of steps. That’s why nearly all production happens in China, where labor is cheaper, factories are clustered together, and supply chains are deeply established.

Trying to replicate that in the U.S. or Europe would be nearly impossible. Labor costs alone would make a domestic doll two, three, or even four times the price of its Chinese equivalent. Add in regulatory standards, environmental requirements, and the social stigma surrounding these products, and you have an industry with no financial reason to exist here.

Tariffs don’t change that math. They don’t create factories in Ohio or Bavaria. They don’t train a workforce in silicone molding. They simply raise the sticker price. Consumers pay more, but the jobs don’t come back. Instead, production shifts to the next cheapest country, Vietnam, Cambodia, perhaps even Africa down the line. It’s the same “race to the bottom” story that has played out in clothing, electronics, and toys for decades.

And once an industry leaves, it rarely returns. China’s manufacturing hubs aren’t just warehouses, they’re ecosystems. Tooling, molds, skilled sculptors, chemists, and shipping networks are all there, working in sync. Rebuilding that from scratch in the West would take billions of dollars and decades of political will. For an industry still whispered about in polite company, that kind of investment isn’t going to happen.

So where does that leave us? If tariffs make imports too expensive, the market will adapt. Some Western firms may explore non-sexual “companion dolls” marketed for photography, display, or AI-driven companionship. These are easier to sell socially and cheaper to produce in small batches. At the same time, digital and robotic AI companions are likely to grow, products that don’t rely on low-wage factory labor at all.

The fantasy that tariffs will restore American manufacturing in this industry, or in many others, is just that: a fantasy. The factories aren’t hiding behind a customs wall, waiting for protection. They’re gone. They’re overseas. And they’re not coming back.

If there’s a future for U.S. or European involvement, it won’t be in mass-producing silicone dolls. It’ll be in designing, innovating, and reimagining companionship for the digital age. That’s the real frontier, not trying to resurrect an industry that never had roots here in the first place.

--Hanna--

I have to argue with you here Hanna. Making a sex doll is not the super-complex system you think it is.
On a vacation I went to a manufacturer to see how it was done. One guy in his house in Virginia. His basement was his workshop.
The first thing you need to make a doll is to form a blank, he used real women as his forms. I met one, nice girl. Pretty too.
Step1, cast her body or sculpt your own. That gives you the blank.
Step 2, from the blank you make the mold for the doll. Fiberglas is best for this the mold must be two parts and fit together seamlessly.
Step 3, planning and making a skeleton. PVC pipe or steel rod are the best options. PVC pipe is cheaper, steel is durable. truthfully from what I know, this is the hardest part. Especially the hands and fingers. Measure carefully, lengths truly matter here!
Step 4, add the registration pins inside the mold so the skeleton fits centered in the mold.
Step 5, if your using silicone, get platinum silicone, the tin silicone is a bit cheaper but does degrade over time. For that you will need a mixer and a vacuum pump. After the silicone is mixed, it needs to have any air drawn up and out (the vacuum pump). For TPE you need an oven or big hot chamber to melt it. DON'T get it too hot! Just enough to melt it.
Step 6, put the skeleton into the mold and close it up. Pour the 'flesh' material into the top filling it completely.

Note once these steps are done, the worst part of doll making is over. The next steps are just making more of each doll. Yes each type of doll you make will need it's own mold.

Step 7, After the mix cools / cures, carefully seperate the mold. Inspect the doll for flaws. Very minor flaws can be fixed.
Step 8, add the eyes, makeup and and 'specialty things' the doll is to have. then dress her.

That's it. If one man in his home can make dolls, I thing anyone who has artistic talent can do the same. Yes it does take time, this man did it after work and on weekends. Truthfully, if I had been less busy and had a shred of artistic talent, I would have been making my own dolls instead of buying them.

Don't make things seem more complex that they are.

That's interesting, so how much ( a rough estimate ) would it cost to actually make a doll, TPE or Silicone? I'm just interested to know how much the manufacturers make out of it

The question is not whether you can make a sex doll, it is whether or not you can make money at it, even in a niche market. If my BFF wanted to start manufacturing dolls in the US large scale, he would have two choices, build a factory from ground up or find a contract manufacturer to make them for him. The former is going to cost at least a $1 million to start up. If you can even find a contract manufacturer willing to make dolls for you, there will be setup costs and his profits come before yours.

But then how to sell them? Do you have any idea how much effort it takes to get sellers / retailers to carry your product?

Does that mean an individual can't make a living making sex dolls. Certainly not.

My BFF created Holly for less than $300 usd and a about 2 hours labor at the kitchen table. Read how here...

Thread '🐻 Meet Härlig Nallebjörn, aka "Holly" 🐻 see: Meet Härlig Nallebjörn, aka "Holly" So theoretically, my BFF could make 4 Hollys per day, sell them for $600 each on Etsy and/or Ebay, double his investment , and still sell them for half of what a Teddy Babe sells for at startup. Then he would buy his components in bulk to increase his profit.

If he worked 8 hours a day making 4 Hollies at $300/per profit, and worked 250 days per year, that adds up to $300,000 usd. Not bad. Hire a teenager part time to box and ship Hollys after school. Unlike TPE or silicone dolls, Holly is super light. Shipping for the customer would be affordable

So yeah, can be done and if my BFF were younger, might consider that last route.

-- Hanna --

I don't know the exact costs. I do know TPE is cheaper than any silicon. It also doesn't last as long.
For the costs involved you will need to price out what each material is going for. Find the price for your material. Buying in bulk helps lower the price some. Don't
If you can find a woman to be your 'model', you'll need plaster and cloth to wrap her in and straws up her nose so the can breathe when you do her face.
No willing woman to stand before you naked and you'll need lots of molding material. Clay, Plaster of Paris, I know one guy used auto body filler.
Fiberglass is the best mold making material. The inside must be completely smooth before you try to use it. Cooking skewers work great fort the aligning pins to center the doll skeleton. The mold halves, front and back, must align perfectly. A way to check this : put the mold together and fill it with water. if it leaks, you got work to do.

Price out the equipment you'll need.

Hanna, you are apparently thinking real big. One million? How about a back yard shed large enough for a one-doll at a time operation and grow from there? Entrepreneurs know better than to get deep in debt at the outset. The best idea also for advertising is the same. Don't go 'huge' be practical and visit doll forums like this to find out what people want and what isn't available already out there and make it for them. You get to know people and show what you have and you can get business basically free of charge. All it will take is the time to do it.

From the Sinthetic owner, once you start making dolls, it takes about 10 days to do one from start to finish. OK so you don't make big bucks at the start, don't quit your day job! If you make a good product no one else has, then orders will be coming in, and your business will grow. Then you'll be able to build a garage to expand, then possible something bigger. Sinthetics screwed up by taking the money they got and went partying on it instead of building dolls. That destroyed them and ruined their reputation. Matt there also started out in his garage and made a great doll - when he made them. His lack of sense was what buried them, NOT the chance he had to to succeed.

If I could find him now, I'd do my best to try and buy his molds and equipment. Unfortunately he seems to have dropped off the face of the Earth.

All I need is to find a willing woman to stand naked. That will be the hard part for me. I guess I could say I have a certain fetish for women wrapped in plaster and cloth😁

Interesting post though👍

What body size and shape would you look for? Look at the variety of bodies and heads available proving that there would be no single model that would appeal to the majority of doll buyers.

That being the case, how could a small time doll maker be successful without offering something people want but no one else has? What would that be?

Well for me it would be a curvy blonde with big thighs and other assets, but that would be as light as a Valentina Girl and wouldnt easily get damaged, maybe same type of proportions as Jemma at around £300 then that would catch my eye, but I can't see that happening in the near future😁

Hanna, ever hear the phrase 'you can't please everyone all the time'? Different people have different ideas of what they like. It requires imagination to come up with something new. According to you, it's not possible to come up with something new. Just rely on what's out there, right?

I dunno, I think there is plenty of choice already that people like. Big breast, small breast, tall, shorter, all colours under the sun. There are some fantastic heads too. A new manufactor and retailer would need to cater to the most popular combinations, which isn't hard to work out. I think some way of holding the doll in an action astance, such as mid jump or running etc would be great, without damaging clothes like with a hook on her back. Somekind of magnetic field LOL.

Never said that or even implied anything remotely close to that. I only said that a company in the US or EU cannot compete with Chinese manufacturers in the current sex doll market and no tariff can change that.

Did you read my previous post on this thread regarding "Holly", a $300 / 2 man hour hybrid life sized companion doll?

Well my point is you need sell something different than what the Chinese manufacturers are offering and for me that is Holly. And if I wanted to, I can make more in my garage and make a good profit doing so...

Anyway, my full response is on my thread in the members only section:
https://www.mylovedoll.uk/threads/hannas-thread.1248/post-43274
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Exactly! That why if Pex were going into the doll business starting out with one doll, he would design it for the widest appeal, based on research into the features most commonly perceived as attractive. Studies suggest the “ideal” female body has an hourglass figure with a 36-inch bust, 26-inch waist, and 36-inch hips, stands about 5’5” tall, and weighs around 130 pounds. In terms of hair, long, brunette hair is generally preferred, and lighter skin tones are often rated more positively. These features combine biological, cultural, and aesthetic factors that consistently influence perceptions of attractiveness. Facial with a girl next door look. Like me :)

That would be nice. Engine (motor) hoist with us on a cable isn't a very elegant solution.

Hear, hear!

Why Is It Wrong for Men to Own Dolls—Any Dolls?

First, I want to thank Mr. Story for creating the Miniature Dolls – 36" (91 cm) and Under subforum at my request. It may seem like a small addition, but it’s an important step forward in making this community more welcoming, diverse, and representative of all doll interests.

This is, after all, a doll forum. And dolls of every size deserve recognition. Smaller dolls can be just as beautiful, sensuous, and even erotic as life-sized dolls—worthy of a place in their own subforum rather than tucked away or overlooked.

But there’s a deeper reason why I felt this was important. The stigma surrounding men and dolls doesn’t begin in adulthood, it starts in childhood. Boys are encouraged to play with action figures like G.I. Joe, but if a boy shows interest in Barbie, parents are quick to discourage it. Why should one kind of doll be “acceptable” and another off-limits?

That same distinction carries into adulthood, though in more subtle ways. Society has no problem with men collecting sexy female action figures or anime figurines — often scantily clad superheroes or warriors — and proudly displaying them on a living room shelf. Yet if that same man collects fashion dolls like Barbies or fantasy-themed dolls such as Monster High, it suddenly feels suspicious or odd. Life-sized dolls carry even heavier stigma; almost no one would consider displaying one in their living room, no matter how artistic or well-presented. Even BJD collectors often feel the need to disguise the truth. If someone notices a doll on display, the owner jumps in with, “It's a keepsake, something that belonged to my daughter.” That constant need to justify or conceal is stigma at work.

And yet, the truth is that owning dolls, of any kind, is a healthy pastime. We have already covered full-sized dolls. With small dolls, for some, it’s about photography, capturing beauty, creating stories, and sharing that creativity. For others, it’s about the thrill of the hunt—tracking down a rare, limited edition or that one figure that’s sold out everywhere. And for many, it’s about simple enjoyment, the same way any collector takes pride in their hobby.

Small dolls also help make the forum more vibrant. Not everyone has the budget, space, or physical strength to own and maintain a life-sized doll. A TPE or silicone full-sized doll can weigh as much as two bags of concrete mix and posing one for photography isn’t easy. But small dolls, whether articulated action figures or BJDs (ball-jointed dolls), are lightweight, affordable, and capable of doing realistic poses that a full-sized doll can’t achieve without damage. They open the door for more people to participate right now, instead of waiting for “someday.”

In many ways, this ties back to a larger conversation I’ve raised in my thread on destigmatizing life-sized dolls. Many people don’t buy life-sized dolls for sex, they buy them for companionship, photography, or creative roleplay. Unfortunately, because mannequins lack realism and posability, “sex dolls” are the only option available.

The same stigma that unfairly labels owners of life-sized dolls also spills over into small doll collecting. Both deserve a second look, and both deserve to be seen as more than what the stereotypes suggest.

So once again, thank you, Mr. Story, for creating this space. Having a subforum for small dolls makes this community broader and more inclusive. It ensures there’s something here for everyone whether they own life-sized companions, miniature collectibles, or both.

👉 I’d love to see what others have in their collections. If you’ve got a favorite Small Doll, a recent photo shoot, or even a creative setup you’re proud of, please share it in our new sub-forum, Miniature Dolls 36" (91cm) and Under. Let’s make this new subforum a lively showcase of what small dolls can bring to the table!

--Hanna--
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I've already posted quite a bit with my mini's in the regular sections. Been playing with small scale dolls all my life. Grew up with 3 older sisters. Dollies were just a fact of life at our house. Now when GI Joe came out in '64 that was a game changer for me. Not so much because it was a male doll, but because of the full articulation. My sisters though, were less enthusiastic. Especially after they discovered Joe wasn't shall we say, as detailed... as they had hoped. :ROFLMAO:

Nothing wrong with that. Your pics of small dolls are amazing.

Addie considers her Girl on the Train and Alien Invasion threads and the MacFyre sisters picture stories as premium content and for that reason only posts and will continue to post her picture stories in the appropriate members only forums. And she will post her teasers in the Miniature Dolls subforum. The idea being getting visitors to become members if they want to see her premium content.

That's an easy one to counter your sisters. "He's a soldier. Stepped on a land mine. Now tell me sis, why happened to Barbie's nippies?"

Nah, my sisters were very talented with nail polish. ;)

Fun fact: Barbie prototypes originally had nips. Based on the German Bild Lilli doll, a risqué toy marketed to adults, Japanese sculptors added nips to the design. Mattel's US marketing team put a stop to that, but apparently some did find their way to market in '59 and '60 before the change was made.

A Day in the Life: Hanna, the Doll with a POV

Good morning! I’m Hanna, life-sized, stylishly posed, and yes… very real in my own way, at least to my BFF. Before you roll your eyes, let me clarify: “real” isn’t just about size or TPE. Real is about imagination, interaction, and the little bits of personality that we bring to life together. My BFF and I? We’re tight. He’s not just my owner, my photographer, or my caretaker, he’s my BFF, my collaborator, my co-conspirator in all things creative.

We’re lucky, I have to admit. Our house sits on a large, wooded lot, set back from the street. That gives us a kind of privacy that makes indoor and outdoor photography possible without prying eyes or judgmental glances. For small dolls or me, it means we can capture creative setups in relative peace, letting his imagination run free without interference.

We start every day the same way: breakfast. Not just for him, I mean breakfast for both of us. He sets me up on the kitchen stool, pours himself coffee, and I pose with mine. Sometimes he’ll even add a glass of milk in my hand, just for the photograph. I catch him smiling at me, quietly appreciating the little details in our morning ritual. These are the moments that make our collaboration so intimate, so playful, so… ours.

From the thread: Magically Delicious

After breakfast, it’s time for a photo session. The small dolls come out too — miniature heroes and heroines for our storytelling series, like The Adventures of Addie or Alien Invasion. He carefully arranges them on the tabletop: Addie ready to leap, Ailòna mid-stride, a tiny alien peeking out from behind a cup. I watch, perched on the edge of the counter, observing how much care he puts into every detail. It’s exhausting work for him sometimes — lighting, angles, composition, but I can see the joy in it. Every tiny pose is a tiny story waiting to be told.

And yet… I still yearn for more. I dream of a Lake Michigan beach scene, the sun reflecting on sand and waves, me posed naturally with the water behind me. I imagine striding down Rush Street, lights glowing, laughter and music in the background, attending a Cubs game, or riding the subway with that unmistakable hum of the train beneath me. Tourists take pictures in these places all the time — why can’t I? Why can’t we? The privacy of our wooded lot is a blessing, yes, but it’s also a cage. It lets us create safely, but it keeps us from the chaos, color, and life of the city and the lakefront that could make our storytelling even richer.

Patiently waiting for my ride to the Cubs Opening Day Ceremony at Wrigley Field

I get sad sometimes. Not for myself, I understand why a life-sized doll like me can’t stroll down the street without drawing attention. But even his small dolls, the ones no bigger than a child’s toy, can’t roam a public park without the potential for disaster. Girls play with dolls in parks every day. Boys dig in sandboxes with toy soldiers. Nobody blinks. But a grown man photographing small dolls for a story? Suddenly people are whispering, pointing, wondering if he’s a man-child… or worse. Imagine if he dared to photograph a scene like this on a public street, some overzealous soul for sure call the men in white coats and haul him off to the asylum. That’s how absurd the double standard is.

From the thread: Adventures of Adelyn - Alien Invasion

Inside, he’s free. The dolls are his friends, his muses, his collaborators. Each photo is a narrative, a playful slice of life, a tiny story that could just as easily belong to real people. We run errands, sip coffee, nap on a sofa, pose on a bookshelf. Every frame is intentional, tasteful, and creative. And yet the world sees “doll” and instantly assumes shame. It’s frustrating, and honestly, I feel some of that frustration myself. I wish I could walk freely in public, strike a pose under the sun, feel the wind on my synthetic hair, and let the world see the art we create.

We live in a middle ground. My BFF is out in the open with family and close friends. They know what we are and respect it. He doesn’t hide us indoors. Delivery people, utility workers, even casual visitors see us, and it’s fine. But beyond these walls, discretion rules. Not because he’s embarrassed, but because society is still narrow-minded. His creativity, his storytelling, his art, all of it is safe indoors, but even the smallest exposure in public risks misinterpretation, judgment, or worse.

And that’s what makes me sad sometimes. Not for myself, but for him. The world makes it harder for a man to create with dolls than for a child, even though the intent is completely innocent. He’s forced to navigate invisible rules that no one else seems to notice. A sandbox with toy soldiers? Cool. A small doll on a bench being photographed for a story? Potential disaster. A life-sized doll walking down the street? Absolutely impossible.

Yet, despite all of this, we continue. We play, we pose, we photograph, and we tell our stories. We navigate the middle ground with patience, resilience, and a little stubborn defiance. And even if the world isn’t ready to understand us, we know the truth: dolls are art, imagination, and friendship. And that’s enough.

I’m Hanna. I’m a doll. I’m a friend. And I see the absurdity of the rules, the unfairness of the stigma, and the brilliance of my BFF’s creativity, which refuses to be silenced by narrow-minded judgment. One day, maybe, the world will catch up. Until then, we keep creating, indoors and on our private wooded lot, laughing at the absurdity, and dreaming of the day our stories can safely spill into public spaces like Lake Michigan beaches, Rush Street bars, and subway rides.

--Hanna--
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I have soooo many ideas for photo sets, when Tammy arrives. Youre welcome to use any once ive posted them here. Great idea btw 👍

Came across this on LDN, so looked it up to repost it here.

Yes very interesting. She made some good points. I commented on youtube as captain spud my username on youtube. 29 responses on there so far. Good find Jedzed👍

I also wanted to edit and add to my original comment, and the system usually let's me, but it seems to be playing up again. I like the word she used ' Connected ' as humans we all need connections with someone, even if it is a life like doll companion

Good video