Reborn Lingo
“SOLE Prototype cuddle baby for sale, micro-rooted with alpaca mohair, huge box opening including OOAK outfits ”
When I first joined the reborn community, I was overwhelmed by an entirely new language! I’ve put together this handy resource to clarify some of these unfamiliar terms. Let me know in the comments if there are any more terms that I haven’t included in this list, and I’ll add them!
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Armatures are usually wire or plastic, and are inserted mainly into the arms and legs of silicone dolls, so you can pose them. They are also often used in vinyl toddler reborns, as part of an internal skeleton, so they can stand and hold their arms up when posed.
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A “boo-boo” baby is one that has some (usually more major) imperfections. It is a term often used by artists and sellers when there are issues with the reborn they are selling. This can range from hair loss/scratches up to things like missing fingers/deformed vinyl.
It is usually up to the seller as to whether they class the baby as a boo-boo. Many dolls with small imperfections would not be considered boo-boo babies, it is usually a term used for major issues. For this reason, boo-boo babies are usually sold for significantly less than a perfect reborn.
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A box opening refers to the accessories, clothes and extras included when purchasing a reborn. Not every reborn comes with a box opening, and some people only sell box openings! They generally include items wrapped in tissue or wrapping paper.
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Certificate Of Authenticity
Most new sculpts all come with a COA, due to the influx of companies copying and reproducing sculpts illegally. COAs are one way to help prove a sculpt is authentic.
Seconds kits (kits with small imperfections), and older sculpts, do not come with COAs.
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A cuddle baby has a vinyl or silicone head, and cloth body including cloth limbs. They are very soft and cuddly, so are great if you like to hold your babies. The downside is that clothing choice is limited because the limbs are cloth and therefore not realistic in appearance.
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Drink and Wet systems are installed in some silicone babies. It is a tube that goes from the mouth of the baby all the way through, so that you can ‘feed’ the baby and it will wet a nappy.
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Full Body Silicone
Silicones are different to vinyl reborns. It is a much more expensive material (see my blog on where to buy silicones). Silicones can be full body or partial. Partial silicones have cloth bodies, FBS are full bodied! This makes them more realistic, but also more expensive.
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Alpaca or goat hair, used to root hair on reborns.
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One Of A Kind - this term is usually used in reference to handmade outfits, or clay babies.
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Pluggy hair refers to rooted hair that has been added into the head, where many hairs are in one hole, creating an unrealistic ‘pluggy’ appearance.
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Prototypes are the first few kits that are produced from each sculpt. These kits (usually 2-5) are sent to very high end artists, who then paint the kit. These finished dolls are photographed and used to advertise the sculpt. As they are very special, these dolls command high prices, often several thousand pounds each.
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Realborns are produced by Bountiful Baby, and are kits created from 3D scans of real babies, unlike traditional reborns, which are sculpted by artists.
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Hair that has been ‘rooted’ has been added into the head using needles.
There are different types of rooting.
Mono-rooting is where there is one hair per hole. Micro-rooting means there are 1-2 hairs per hole.
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A seconds kit is one with small imperfections in the vinyl. These are often sold at a discounted price, and are fully legitimate, but do not come with COAs.
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Sold Out, Limited Edition
This refers to sculpts that were limited edition (only a certain amount made, usually between 250-999), that are no longer available to buy from kit retailers. These are rare sculpts, and can command a very high price.
