By Peter Berton

ENCINO, Calif. – When it comes to alarmingly lifelike, life-sized sex dolls, RealDolls fill the bill. The female and male mannequins are so realistic they’re downright unnerving — and unlike Barbie, they are anatomically correct.

Male, female and shemale RealDolls are available — the latter offering an optional detachable penis. (Top that, Mother Nature!) The custom-made companions can be created in a variety of ethnicities, with elf ears and even tinted blue like aliens. The only catch is the price: Each RealDoll will set the buyer back at least $6,000.

Nevertheless, the dolls have a devoted following. Not only have they been “adopted” by consumers worldwide, but RealDolls also have starred in mainstream movies including Lars and the Real Girl and Monique.

Matt McMullen founded RealDolls’ parent company, Abyss Creations, in his garage in 1997. Today, the company inhabits a genuine manufacturing facility and employs a full-time staff. YNOT.com weeded through the body parts until we found McMullen, sat him down, and encouraged him to talk. Unlike his dolls, he moved from time to time on his own.

YNOT.com: How did RealDoll come about?

Matt McMullen: It started as a conceptual art project of mine, more along the lines of a very realistic mannequin.

In time, as I was working on it and showing photos of my work online, I found many people had more than a passing interest in the possibility of using my mannequin as a sex device. At that point I switched directions a bit to accommodate what I thought could be a very interesting endeavor.

How difficult was it to develop the first prototype?

This took several years actually, and was not easy.

The most challenging aspects were developing the skeletal parts like the joints and the chemistry behind the feel of the silicone, which must be a balance between strength and softness.

How many dolls have you sold worldwide?

We sell hundreds of custom-made RealDolls each year. There are thousands of RealDolls in the world already.

Consequently, we have grown from a one-man operation to an 8,800-square-foot facility with 10-plus employees.

Who’s buying the dolls?

Most of our sales are female dolls, and most of our clients are men. There isn’t really a stereotype as far as our customers go; they are from all walks of life.

We do sell some male dolls as well, and some shemale. Again, most of our clients are men in these cases.

Were you surprised when RealDolls started turning up in films and other pop-culture touch points?

Absolutely — and flattered, as well. It’s one of the rewarding aspects of what we do.

How do you make the dolls so lifelike? Frankly, they’re a little spooky.

There are hundreds of improvements that are continually happening with our products, including range of movement, feel of the silicone and the textures of the silicones. All of these are contributing factors in the experience of having a RealDoll.

We also offer many options not even listed [in our marketing materials], as many clients have special requests. We always do our best to accommodate as many of these requests as possible.

Are you considering incorporating any mechanical devices to add to the realism? Any web-linked interactive features?

Yes, we are researching both of these areas. Hopefully we will have something to show in the near future.

What’s already on the drawing board?

New bodies, new faces and as mentioned above, the continuing evolution of the product in multiple ways. I am also working with some third-party developers to integrate electronics with the dolls in a tasteful and entertaining way.