How a Rax & Dollies Fibreglass Mannequin is Made

Many people ask us "how is a mannequin made"? We should note that before we begin, there is a very vast difference in the factories that make cheap low quality mannequins and the factories that make premium high quality mannequins. From the materials used to the care taken during the process (i.e quality control) through to the working conditions, there is a great chasm between the (very) rare good factory and most of the others in China.

Our factory, we are proud to say, is one of the best facilities in the world, with a determined dedication to following environmental regulations and satisfactory working conditions, as well as a meticulous quality control program.

Most of today's retail shop display mannequins are manufactured from fibreglass moulds, and here is a brief summary of the process.

First there is the actual sculpting process - where a clay model is sculpted. This model when finished is submitted for approval and if all is ok, the sculpted form is made into prototype moulds - usually moulds are made for the heads, hands, arms, legs & torso. This process also allows for changes to these parts later (eg. a different head) without having to start from scratch with a new sculpture.

Once the moulds are completed, we can begin making the mannequin.

First the moulds are filled with fibreglass, sealed and cast - above is a video of the factory floor

during this process.

The next step after removing the moulds is the sanding. This is actually the part of the process where some of the most skilled workers are required. A very labour intensive process, sanding is one of the areas where the quality level of a mannequin is determined. For instance, at our factory, the general manager is very reluctant to use workers from other mannequin factories - as their workmanship is not up to the right standard and it is hard for them to correct bad habits learnt at inferior factories. During the sanding process, all the rough edges left from the moulds are sanded back, and the surface of the mannequin is prepared properly for painting. At this point the pieces of each mannequin are inspected by the quality control team before moving on to the next part of the manufacturing process.



Next the mannequins are sent off to the painting floor, vast areas which can look like a macabre body shop, with dismembered bodies in all shapes, sizes and positions waiting to be painted! The mannequins go through spray booths and then ovens to dry, before once again, the mannequins are subject to rigorous quality control procedures - if something is not right, even if it is microscopic, it goes back to be rectified before the mannequin is allowed to progress. Notice in the first part of the video below, little stickers over the skin colour mannequins - these are the areas identified by quality control to be rectified - you can see how thorough they are!

For the headless mannequins, this is almost the end of the journey, but for the realistic mannequins, the heads and torsos now move on to the make up department, where - in a high quality factory - the make up is actually done by hand. Eyelashes are added (purchased from a local doll maker factory) and the team of make up artists work with a sample head in front of them, to ensure the mannequin's make up is correct.

Make up can either be standard designs, or can be customised to suit clients or brands.

From here, the mannequins go through one last quality control inspection - are fully assembled to make sure all the parts align correctly, and then are packed together with their base and from there, the clients order is packed into a shipping container and sent to the port.

So that's a crash course in how a mannequin is made!



How to assemble a Rax & Dollies Wheelie Rack

Here's a quick how to on setting up the most popular of all retail racks - the Wheelie Rack. The wheelie rack is so popular because it is ready for use in 30 seconds after unpacking from the box. There are no tools required, and is extremely simple to assemble. It is a multipurpose rack which is just as functional in retail stores as an essential part of the travelling salesperson's toolkit. The rack collapses into a flat position to fit into back of most cars, which makes it ideal for party planners.

Click here to view large image of assembly instructions

Our fake children safely buckled up!

Rax & Dollies Customised hanging mannequins spotted at Westfield Parramatta

Here is a recently completed custom mannequin project for one of our corporate retail clients.

For this project we needed to mould the mannequins, leg forms and mannequin torsos from scratch. We were provided with images of head and body shape required and then we worked with our factory in China to make prototypes for the client to approve.

The client also wanted to be able to hang their mannequins from the roof, which provided some technical and design challenges which we worked with our factory to overcome and meet our client's needs.

For the full body mannequin, this necessitated us making the mannequin almost entirely in one piece so that it could structurally cope with the forces involved in hanging from the ceiling (most traditional mannequins are made up of separate body pieces).

You can read more about this project and see more photos at our website 

A customer gets a few of our Chic mannequins ready to go swimming!

These gorgeous dollies are from our Chic female mannequin range - a client in QLD was nice enough to send us in a happy snap!

Taking Care Of The Mannequins In Your Store

A small piece of background info first - most shop mannequins are made from fiberglass, because this material lends itself best to the molding and manufacturing process. The use of fiberglass in the manufacturing process allows sculptors a virtually blank canvass with which to create shape and form with, as fiberglass can be molded into a wide variety of shapes and designs.
The one major drawback with using fiberglass is that is a relatively fragile material when used daily in commercial environments, so a fiberglass mannequin can be subject to the slings and arrows of outrageous treatment! A fiberglass mannequin does have to treated like you would treat any asset in your business - with care and regard to maximising its lifetime and aesthetics.


The quickest damage most mannequins sustain is scratching - usually from fairly innocuous circumstances - your staff change the mannequins clothes and jewellery like a ring scratches the paint surface. In some cases, if the scratch is light a basic pencil eraser can rub the mark off. (At Rax & Dollies, our premium mannequins are supplied with gloves & touch up paint, which can protect and restore your mannequin's finish). Make sure your staff wear the gloves provided to reduce the risk of accidental scratching.

Many mannequins are displayed in cramped retail window displays - and sometimes its easy for a mannequin to be knocked bumped or fall over completely if the staff are rushing, or just plain unlucky! If you drop or heavily bump a fiberglass mannequin, it WILL sustain some kind of damage, ranging from a scratch if you're lucky to a crack or dent if its a hard knock. The best protection against this eventuality is to plan ahead a bit, try to work in as much open space as possible, at a time when you're not likely to be interrupted and when you or your staff don't need to rush.

If you are moving a mannequin to another location in the store, don't pick the mannequin up by the arms or drag it along on its base - the arms might fall off, and you will weaken the attachments that secure the mannequin's feet to the base. Its best to take a few extra moments, and take it across in pieces and reassemble in the new display area.
If you are heading off to an exhibition or trade show, as tempting as it is, don't throw the mannequin in the back of a van and expect it to make it to its destination unscathed! Take the extra time to pack it back up into a box with plenty of bubblewrap and packaging - this way the mannequin will do justice to your garments at the exhibition!
Be careful with the hands too, as though some of the premium mannequin ranges these days have toughened hands, poorer quality mannequin hands will break if dropped - there is many a 3 fingered mannequin lurking at your local mall!


Also, there has recently been some great advances in the manufacture of plastic mannequins. The picture below shows a female mannequin from the Rax & Dollies Bounce! range of plastic mannequins. While the development costs associated with molding plastic mannequins restricts the range of poses available, plastic mannequins are a great option for retail environments where there is a high rotation of clothing on the mannequins and also where young staff work unsupervised (i.e. take less care!). At a recent tradeshow, we literally had people saying sorry to plastic mannequins we had on display they had bumped into, they had thought they were real people instead of mannequins!

If you would like more information about choosing the right mannequin, we invite you to contact us at Rax & Dollies - Australia's premier range of mannequins, visual merchandising solutions, retail display racks and shop fittings

How to load and use a garment tagging gun

For first time users of a garment tagging gun, it can be a bit of a mystery how to load and use it! Here are some simple tips for loading and using your tagging gun. This is based on the use of our basic tagging gun kit.

So there you go! You can now start pricing!