Unusual Hobbies...?

badger said:
Do you buy mannikins to produce your dolls or do you have to make them yourself?
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The tall one standing behind the others in the first OP pic is a mannequin. Bought her off eBay years ago to use as a model stand-in when late member Aussie Thoughts and I were in the film biz. The other life size gals are commercially made dolls. The two in the car are plush, much like a teddy bear and the shorter gal dressed in the Indian outfit is a fully articulated doll covered in a skin like material known as TPE. All are made in China except for the brown one which came from Sweden.
badger said:
Please can you tell more about how your hobby started for you?
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Gee, my fascination with dolls started before I was even school age. I grew up with three older sisters and dolls were just always around. Later it was my nieces and their dolls and sometime after that my mom started collecting them.

I didn't seriously get into the hobby myself until long after I was married. Guess it all started when we got that mannequin to aid in film production. We eventually closed shop and I just brought her home. She was a prominent figure in our living room for years, always dressed to the nines and looking her best. Years later my former business partner, Aussie Thoughts gave me the Indian doll for my birthday. Sent it all the way from Australia, where he had been photographing them for one of the Chinese manufacturers. Things just sort of snowballed from there. I joined a doll forum and acquired more and more dolls both big and small.
 
Namaste Jesus said:
The tall one standing behind the others in the first OP pic is a mannequin. Bought her off eBay years ago to use as a model stand-in when late member Aussie Thoughts and I were in the film biz. The other life size gals are commercially made dolls. The two in the car are plush, much like a teddy bear and the shorter gal dressed in the Indian outfit is a fully articulated doll covered in a skin like material known as TPE. All are made in China except for the brown one which came from Sweden.

Gee, my fascination with dolls started before I was even school age. I grew up with three older sisters and dolls were just always around. Later it was my nieces and their dolls and sometime after that my mom started collecting them.

I didn't seriously get into the hobby myself until long after I was married. Guess it all started when we got that mannequin to aid in film production. We eventually closed shop and I just brought her home. She was a prominent figure in our living room for years, always dressed to the nines and looking her best. Years later my former business partner, Aussie Thoughts gave me the Indian doll for my birthday. Sent it all the way from Australia, where he had been photographing them for one of the Chinese manufacturers. Things just sort of snowballed from there. I joined a doll forum and acquired more and more dolls both big and small.
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Today dolls have not only become huge mega business items, but I consider that virtual human animation is just another kind of visible but intangible doll subject matter.

I used to make security training films, scores of them, but only with actors.

I used to have a doll, an action man dressed in jeans, jumper and wooly hat, who fitted on to a model of my distance rowing boat ....must fig out a pic! :)
 
badger said:
Today dolls have not only become huge mega business items, but I consider that virtual human animation is just another kind of visible but intangible doll subject matter.

I used to make security training films, scores of them, but only with actors.

I used to have a doll, an action man dressed in jeans, jumper and wooly hat, who fitted on to a model of my distance rowing boat ....must fig out a pic! :)
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Don't know if you've ever seen my YouYube channel or not, but since retiring from the film biz, my dolls have become the stars!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC98OxQfp9JXZ-rhE1pW-boQ
 
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Namaste Jesus said:
Don't know if you've ever seen my YouYube channel or not, but since retiring from the film biz, my dolls have become the stars!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC98OxQfp9JXZ-rhE1pW-boQ
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No I have not seen your UTube channel, but the vids that you linked were most interesting, I'm guessing that the pedal trainer vid was initially shot one pic at a time........ and then repeated for a continuing film.... a lot of work.

As promised I have dug up my only doll ever, an action man to complete a model of the sea rowing craft that I travelled so far in over about six years, the scale is 2"-1ft and the model was 22" in length with a small outboard to power it because I didn't want to have to build the mechanism for the man to row it....cheating! :) ........ all long gone, I only have a 11" model of that boat now and at one time could have purchased a scale figure to put in it at 6" length, but didn't bother.

There is a shop in the high street which specialises in classic and vintage toys and dolls of all kinds feature heavily of course, but the variation in doll interest is far and wide and a man who works at the shop part-time dresses up in a Darth Vader outfit and attends children's parties and summer fairs.

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badger said:
I'm guessing that the pedal trainer vid was initially shot one pic at a time........ and then repeated for a continuing film.... a lot of work.
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Yes, almost all of those videos are stop motion. Most started as animated GIFs, which I make for monthly photo challenges held on a doll forum I subscribe to. Some are more complicated and time consuming than others. The pedal trainer vid was one of the more simple. Only four frames!

I like the doll in the boat pic. That's something I've been meaning to do to take advantage on a near by lake. Just need a scaled down boat. ;)
 
Cino said:
I am into languages, and writing systems. I enjoy learning (dabbling in, really) languages, and have a little Arabic, Hebrew, Pali, and Turkish in addition to what I learned at school. Duolingo is my "candy crush" mobile phone killer-app.

Recently I got into studying Yiddish, which opened up a world of early 20th century writings by Jewish Anarchist and Socialist activists, much of which is untranslated. Exploring the history (and current state) of these political currents (in any language and culture) is another not-so mainstream interest of mine.

Finally, I am into a more recent form of Western occultism, which comes under the umbrella term of "Chaos magic", highly eclectic, irreverent, decentralized, often original and spontaneous, this loose-knit group is my spiritual home in a way nothing else is.
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I "collect" languages, too (just look at some of my early posts.) Drives management/neighbours/etc :crazy:, especially when I switch to Gaelic/Swedish and/or Japanese!)

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
Gaelic is fun! Are you learning the good old way, from books? Have you tried the Duolingo course?
 
Cino said:
Gaelic is fun! Are you learning the good old way, from books? Have you tried the Duolingo course?
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I've taken classes at the university under two different instructors (one who didn't learn English until she went to university.)

No, I haven't tried Duolingo (I don't know which languages to take!)

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
I have no head for languages. 33 years living with a Hindi speaking spouse and I still only have a rudimentary understanding of it! 🙃
 
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Cino said:
Gaelic is fun! Are you learning the good old way, from books?
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IMO Gaelic is impossible to learn from books. The pronunciation of many words is light years different to the spelling. I did try Duolingo for Gaelic, but conclude the only way to learn it would be to live with Gaelic speakers, lol ...
 
Having lots of Celtic ancestry, I have made rather feeble attempts at both Welsh and Irish. Sadly, I could not get into either. I recently started Arabic and French on Duolingo, and I am finding it to be an enjoyable hobby.
 
Leveller said:
Having lots of Celtic ancestry, I have made rather feeble attempts at both Welsh and Irish. Sadly, I could not get into either. I recently started Arabic and French on Duolingo, and I am finding it to be an enjoyable hobby.
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How does Siobahn end up Shivaun. lol ...?

My great grandfather was the MP for County Wicklow.
 
RJM said:
How does Siobahn end up Shivaun. lol ...?
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It was only a few years ago that I met a real Siobahn and made the connection. What finished me with Welsh was discovering that there were Northern and Southern dialects. As if it is not hard enough!
 
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