'Reborn Babies' for you?

A Babyclon Animatronic baby on display on Sunday at the Bilbao Reborn Doll Show, a trade fair featuring hyper-realist silicone and vinyl babies, known as Reborns, in Bilbao, northern Spain.
A Babyclon Animatronic baby on display on Sunday at the Bilbao Reborn Doll Show, a trade fair featuring hyper-realist silicone and vinyl babies, known as Reborns, in Bilbao, northern Spain. PHOTO: REUTERS
Babyclon owner Cristina Iglesias adjusting an Avatar baby at the Bilbao Reborn Doll Show, in Bilbao, northern Spain, on June 11, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS
A Babyclon Animatronic baby has its batteries recharged during the Bilbao Reborn Doll Show, in Bilbao, northern Spain, on June 11, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS
An infant monkey is displayed at the Bilbao Reborn Doll Show, in Bilbao, northern Spain, on June 11, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS
A woman holding a baby made of vinyl at the Bilbao Reborn Doll Show, in Bilbao, northern Spain, on June 11, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS

BILBAO, SPAIN (REUTERS) - Want a doll that looks, moves and feels almost exactly like a newborn? Or how about a baby Avatar, or a half human-half piglet?

The whole range was on display at a trade fair in Bilbao, northern Spain, showcasing "Reborn Babies" made by Spanish company Babyclon, one of a small number of firms worldwide that cater to a particular subculture of collectors who value the dolls' unsettling realism.

Some of the basic silicone dolls cost almost €600 (S$928), while high-end models equipped with motors that make the doll appear to breathe or suck on a pacifier cost nearly €5,000.

As well as human babies, and ones that look like the blue aliens from the film Avatar, the company makes baby chimpanzees, tiny mermaids and infants with elf-style pointed ears.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 13, 2017, with the headline 'Reborn Babies' for you? . Subscribe