I've been a dollmaker for years already. I just haven't made any in a while.

I've actually scratch-built a doll before…in summer, 1998. Frustrated with the lack of figures of Frank from Rocky Horror, I decided to make a 1:6 scale version of my own.

I made the head and neck out of peach Super Sculpey, sculpted on top of a dowel for the spine. Of course I sculpted a smirk! I colored the head with ballpoint pen [!] and glued curly black doll hair on it with regular white glue [!].

I created a simple wire armature for the arms and legs, probably gluing them in the appropriate positions on the spine. I think I somehow stuck polyfill onto the armature, then cut body shapes out of pantyhose [!!] and glued them over the stuffing to create skin. I used mitten-shaped sandwiches of peach felt with finger demarcations drawn on in ballpoint pen [!] for hands.

I distinctly remember cutting up an old magenta bathing suit of mine for his outfit. Some sort of black material made his underwear and shoes [which had cardboard soles], and there was black tulle for his fishnets. I procured little plastic pearl beads for his necklace and some cheap expandable rings for his anklet. Finally, I noted the date of his creation and stuck a label on the bottom of his shoe.

The end result did not accord with my grandiose, movie-accurate visions. I created a microcephalic, flat-faced doll with disturbingly thick, tubular limbs and, despite the wire armature, negligible articulation. Glue featured prominently in his overall look. Come to think of it, I constructed him primarily of glue and swear words.

Nevertheless, I was so damn proud of that doll. I displayed him on my shelf for a while, and he appeared on my RHPS site in the fan art category. And I still have him, after all these years. I'll have to dig up a picture or two of him.

Kinda surprised that my first doll wasn't a Jareth. Then again, in my mind, Jareth and Frank are two aspects of the same character, so it's all the same.