Why these lifelike baby dolls can cost thousands of dollars
Hyperrealistic baby dolls can cost upwards of 15,000 euros. Babyclon, a doll producer, uses medical-grade silicone, alpaca hair, and nail resin, which contribute to the high price point. But the months of painstaking manual labor required to achieve a lifelike doll are what account for most of that price. And with added features such as animatronics and artificial intelligence, the possibilities are endless.
Babyclon website: https://babyclon.com/en/home/
Babyclon website: https://babyclon.com/en/home/
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00:00 This is not a real baby.
00:02 It's a silicon-based, hyper-realistic doll.
00:08 But just like a baby, it can move its eyes, change facial expressions, and even breathe.
00:15 Hyper-realistic baby doll producers like BabyKlon spend months hand-making convincing look-a-likes.
00:24 Dolls like these sell for a minimum of 1700 euros.
00:30 The most expensive models can reach upwards of 15,000.
00:35 Every last detail, from the texture of the skin to the hair on the doll's head, is hand-crafted.
00:42 These dolls are often collect as items, but they're also used in medical settings, like midwifery training and therapy.
00:52 So what makes these baby dolls so lifelike? And why are they so expensive?
00:58 In Catalonia, Spain, Cristina Iglesias and a small team of artisans at BabyKlon
01:06 are making some of the world's most realistic and expensive baby dolls.
01:12 I started in my profession when I was 19, specifically in the special effects of makeup for movies.
01:19 That's where I adopted the hyper-realism technique.
01:23 Cristina drew on her nearly two decades of experience creating hyper-realistic effects for zombie and fantasy movies to found BabyKlon a decade ago.
01:35 Also known as reborn dolls, these dolls have an eerily lifelike quality that allows the company to sell them for top dollar.
01:44 The basic model for BabyKlon's most popular line, Newborns, starts at just under 2000 euros.
01:52 And adding more features can increase the price significantly.
01:57 The hyper-realistic eyes, you can add animatronics that breathe and move their mouths.
02:06 A baby can cost you 10, 12, 15 thousand euros.
02:11 Even if you want to do it with a realistic internal skeleton, you can feel the bones when you touch it.
02:18 You can get to the price that the collector wants.
02:24 But BabyKlon doesn't just work on human baby dolls.
02:28 They also sell infant versions of beloved characters like E.T. or the Na'vi from Avatar.
02:35 Creating these lifelike dolls is a four-month long process and it all starts with sculpting the prototype.
02:43 This prototype will be used to create a mould for the final silicon doll.
02:50 Standard models already have moulds that are reused, but any dolls with customisations need to be designed from the ground up.
02:57 Today, the BabyKlon team is sculpting its E.T. doll.
03:01 When finished, it'll sell for 1650 euros.
03:06 Like most of their dolls, this one is being sculpted out of plasticine clay.
03:11 Craftspeople perfect the folds on the skin and even the skin's texture.
03:18 These details are directly transferred onto the mould, so it's imperative that every last square millimetre is hyper-detailed.
03:26 That's why this step requires the most skill.
03:30 Without extreme attention to realism here, the subsequent mould is useless.
03:36 In the process of making the mould, the sculpture is destroyed.
03:45 That's why it's important Eugenie works carefully, as any mistake in the mould means the sculpture will have to be redone.
04:09 One of the main reasons for BabyKlon dolls' high price point is the silicon they're made from.
04:15 It's medical-grade platinum silicon, which is often used in implants and prosthetics.
04:20 According to Christina, this silicon provides the most durability and realism possible.
04:27 That's why the company is willing to spend 300 euros on silicon alone for each baby.
04:34 In fact, the cost of materials can reach 450 euros per doll.
04:40 Eugenie uses a special formulation for the silicon mixture to achieve the most realistic-looking skin, weight and texture.
04:50 This extreme attention to detail accounts for up to 80% of the value of the dolls BabyKlon sells.
04:59 Over half of the product's price is attributed to the cost of labour alone.
05:04 Once the injection is complete, Eugenie lets the silicon dry for 24 hours.
05:11 He carefully opens the mould to reveal the doll inside.
05:17 But the moulds don't include all the parts of the doll, like the hands or feet.
05:22 Those are assembled together, here.
05:26 Joining the body and limbs of the dolls is the most challenging part of the process.
05:33 The silicone is not sanded. It has to be cut, so that the cut lines are visible.
05:46 It's a thin line that's at the edge of the silicone, so that the line is visible.
05:52 Apart from cutting it, you have to cut it a little more inward.
05:58 You have to fix it with thick silicone on top. It's very difficult to integrate that thick silicone with the rest of the piece.
06:05 It's a very complicated process, so that in the end, you don't notice that joint.
06:11 Artisans carefully remove excess silicone, making sure not to cut too deeply and damage the doll's skin.
06:19 The realism of the doll's physical structure hinges on how seamless they can make the joints look.
06:27 Once this is accomplished, the doll is ready to come to life in the painting and hair department.
06:34 Here, craftspeople meticulously work on the cosmetic details,
06:40 from the texture of the skin to the shine of the nails and the colour variation in the mouth.
06:46 Various changes in complexion and veining on the body are all painted on.
06:53 Depending on the hair style and age of the baby, we use different types of hair.
07:01 Normally, it's moiré hair, which is quite thin and simulates the hair of a baby.
07:08 But when it's extremely thin hair, like baby hair, or for the eyebrows,
07:19 we use alpaca hair, which is a very cool animal.
07:23 Each strand of hair is individually inserted into the doll's head until artisans achieve the desired look.
07:31 Many of Baby Klon's clients, as with other reborn dolls, are collectors and enthusiasts.
07:39 However, these hyper-realistic dolls are also used in other settings,
07:44 such as therapy for grieving parents and medical training, like that provided by Michelle Beacock.
07:50 The examination that I teach is a speciality midwifery exam, which all students now have to do.
07:57 If, as a midwife, we need to learn how to do a neonatal examination,
08:01 I feel that we need to do it on a really realistic baby,
08:04 because it's a really, really important thing that we're looking at this baby and trying to confirm normality or not.
08:12 If you're learning normal on a baby doll that doesn't look normal, how are you ever going to know normal?
08:18 I think it's really, really important that we have dolls like this,
08:21 so that it's nearly as good as that real-life baby in front of you.
08:26 Michelle worked closely with Baby Klon to design male and female dolls
08:31 that are as anatomically accurate as possible, including clavicles and pelvic bones.
08:38 They're called Olivia and John because they arrived on the day that Olivia Newton-John died,
08:45 and I think our technician was a fan.
08:47 Though Olivia and John cost around 11,000 euros together,
08:52 these dolls offer the most realistic experience Michelle could find on the market.
08:57 And even on this you can see how hard it is to do the hip exam,
09:03 as opposed to that, that's just a lot more realistic.
09:07 Students training on a stiffer, less accurate doll won't know exactly what to look for
09:12 until they do their first examination on a real baby.
09:16 That's a huge chance to take when teaching midwives.
09:19 And it's a gamble every time because you're lovely, but no.
09:24 The more realistic the doll, the more prepared the midwives will be to thoroughly assess the health of the baby.
09:33 So basically all babies have what we call suture lines and fontanelles,
09:37 little gaps in the scalp basically, you can feel there, you can feel the suture lines there.
09:42 And there's a bigger fontanelle at the front that doesn't normally close until about 18 months.
09:47 Students need to be used to feeling that fontanelle.
09:50 If that was smaller or fused or closed, it could indicate that there's a problem with the brain
09:55 not being able to grow because of the gaps in the head not being there.
10:00 But the hyperrealism doesn't end at the look and feel of the doll.
10:03 Babyclon also offers animatronic dolls priced at just under 5,000 euros.
10:10 These dolls can mimic breathing, suckling and eye movements.
10:16 And for an extra few hundred euros, buyers can also add a drink and wet system or eat and poo, just as a real baby would.
10:25 They see how the baby is actually drinking the drink and then how the diaper has gotten wet and they have to change it.
10:35 Babyclon is even experimenting with AI, saying it could foster a more realistic interaction between doll and human.
10:43 It's complicated, the issue of artificial intelligence in babies,
10:46 because artificial intelligence is something that learns from their experiences.
10:51 A baby has very few experiences to learn from,
10:54 so we're in a complicated situation.
10:56 But it will have to evolve towards digital, virtual and technological, because I think it's the future.
11:05 As technology evolves, so will life-like dolls and the uses their customers dream up.
11:12 I just didn't think that I'd ever get a doll like this to teach with and I'm absolutely thrilled that we have.
11:21 So if you think we've gone in my time of teaching from that to that, it's just the difference is incredible.
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