Where do I get a manequin bust to use for lighting experiments?

Mark_48 wrote in post #2437428
I picked up "Barb & Maxine" at a local thrift shop for about $2 each. Not great, but for some basic lighting experiments are OK.

Are they the little "under a foot tall" dolls or do they make them a lot bigger than that? I might consider looking around for them myself if they're a lot taller.

I've been exploring the links and doing some searches. If I can't get anything from a local department store I'll probably get one online. It looks like I can get something like what I want for about $30 or $40.

PacAce wrote in post #2437584
Are they the little "under a foot tall" dolls or do they make them a lot bigger than that? I might considering looks around for them myself if they're a lot taller.

Maxine, the dark skinned "model", is lifesized and Barb is just a bit smaller. Both are just heads and not full bodies. I think Maxine may have come from a hair or cosmetology school as she has a sticker on her bottomside that hints at that.

Would an inflatible doll be an option? Just roll her up to whatevver you want exposed. (Boy did that come out sounding bad). J/K

Lefty Ray wrote in post #2439540
Would an inflatible doll be an option? Just roll her up to whatevver you want exposed. (Boy did that come out sounding bad). J/K

It wouldn't be for me. If you look at a blow up doll compared to a mannequin there is a clear difference in depth and dimension. Skin tone and hair (wigs) are reproduced better on mannequins and there's too much reflection off the sniny vinyl or plastics used in inflatable dolls or figures. I've used balloons with masks and taddy bears but they really don't give you the facial characteristics you need to work with shadows and light ratios.

TMR Design wrote in post #2439565
It wouldn't be for me. If you look at a blow up doll compared to a mannequin there is a clear difference in depth and dimension. Skin tone and hair (wigs) are reproduced better on mannequins and there's too much reflection off the sniny vinyl or plastics used in inflatable dolls or figures. I've used balloons with masks and taddy bears but they really don't give you the facial characteristics you need to work with shadows and light ratios.

Maybe it would be a good idea to shop at a higher quality adult book store!

Wilt wrote in post #2439590
Maybe it would be a good idea to shop at a higher quality adult book store!

Thanks for the suggestion Wilt but I think the mannequin bust will be fine.

I was just doing a quick search and a found a crap load of them on ebay, might want to give that a look. Most of them were really priced to sell as well.

Im looking for a top body mannequin myself for a friend that wants to start displaying her t-shirt work.

look for any strores going out of business in your area, you may get one cheap...

I tried a few local stores and no one wants to help. Some say I have to speak to an owner or manager and they are nowhere to be found. There aren't any local places I see or know of that are going out of business but I have narrowed my search down to one of a few things. What I so know is that I'll be getting a female blad mannequin and wig or wigs as opposed to one of the cosmetology mannequins which have no makeup and really horrible hair and it would be up to me to fix 'her' up and that's not my bag. I like the idea of the bald head because it lets me work on lighting bald beads and then I can add cheap wigs of different color to adjust techniques for brunettes vs. blondes, etc. Wigs can be gotten fairly cheap and the head will cost about $25 and then I'll make some sort of clamp to mount on a lightstand or modify one of the mannequin clamps that some of the heads come with for free.

Just look in your local phone book under "displays". There are companies that buy up all the display materials from store closings and many have busts to full-size articulated mannequins. Give a couple a call and I'm sure you'll find what you need.

Go on eBay and search "Head Mannequin". I got 300 returns on it and there is a nice variety.

I looked locally and found nothing.

I did, however find a distributor that sells on ebay and they indicate that they sell from their store at the same prices as ebay, but the ebay prices are bids, not 'Buy It Now's. I've contacted them to see what their prices are to jsut buy direct. I looked at a lot of the available mannequin heads and hair mannequins. Of course it's all preference but one thing I noticed on many of them was that they did not have ears and the ones used for cosmetology have no makeup and the hair is a bird's nest. I would hate to look at that every time I used the mannequin.

The one I found is a reasonably attractive (as if) looking female, has makeup, nice wide eyes, ears that are pierced so you can use earrings or metallic and reflective earrings to work on glare, reflection and so forth. The head is bald and the wigs from the same place are about $20 a piece. You can find cheaper but always remember that you do get what you pay for. So I'll probably just order one from them and go from there. I have to see what price I get from the seller. Righ now there are abour 3 days left on the ebay item and it is at $24.95 and none of their items have Buy It Now's.

That one I bought on wimex was only $18 and is normal sized. See pic earlier in thread.

What about a halloween mask? You know the full head kind, you could pack it with a towel or ball or something.