Manufacturing process

[Esjayell]

Tad late finding this thread. This has been an education, being able to answer two of my many questions. The first being how the skeleton was held in place in the mould as it’s effectively in fresh air. The second was how both Elina & Rosina had small ‘bumps’ on the top of their heads.

The use of a sled move the full mould was quite ingenious, at first I thought it was a pallet truck, then as the camera and the fellow at the back moved I couldn’t see the handle. One thing I was impressed by was the attention given to removing all traces of the moulding process, body seams particularly.


I also found two other videos, the first shows a different style or design of skeleton which is bent at the hip and back joints before being secured in the mould!

The first head he picks up looks like a babies, do they produce ‘Re-borns’ as well, I wonder. Does anyone know what the silver balls were used for?


The second opens with an inflatable doll then we go outside before going into the AS Doll factory. Here we see (almost) the full process from securing the skeleton, heating the tpe and getting it into the mould. What we don’t see is the finished doll.

These videos have left me confused. When I was researching tpe and its moulding, everywhere stated that it had to be injection moulded, the injector must be set at 475 with the mould at 250-275 degrees. How can you heat a fibreglass or resin mould, surely it would distort with the heat of the tpe? Evidently it doesn’t.

With the size of the ‘cone’ or ‘funnel’ of excess tpe after each moulding they could include a larger piece for customer repairs, I only got a piece one inch square by a quarter inch thick!

Regards

SJL