I’m new and only recently realized silicone limbs looks/feels more real, however, all the artists I’ve reached out to so far say they only make/prefer vinyl. Is it possible to even find a completed 20” doll with silicone limbs (but soft body) for under $450?
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Any amount of silicone is going to up your price point significantly.
You can assume a well done vinyl reborn will start in the hundreds.
An entry-level silicone is much more likely to be closer to a thousand dollars or more.
Sometimes a way to cut costs for getting into collecting silicones is to have a “cuddle baby” meaning that just the head is silicone, while the body and limbs are all fabric.
This can also be the case with a vinyl head and fabric body and limbs.
Silicone and vinyl are such different materials to paint, work with, and maintain. Most artists don’t combine the two parts-wise, and they can’t be combined chemically either, so don’t ever believe it if someone is selling a “silicone vinyl” because it’s a scam.
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I have made one and plan to make more, but the kit alone, without paint is between 700 to 900$. It’s really more long, difficult and costly to paint, so I doubt you can find one in your budget, unless a booboo baby, a second hand or a miniature. Even then, I guess it can be more expensive than 450$.
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Here is a list of the blank silicone kits available at Macpherson. As you can see, the blank kits are about $800 for a kit with a cloth body. They aren’t “rare” but they are expensive. Not a whole lot of artists want to transition into a hobby with that much overhead. But there are a few who are brave enough to do so. And there will be more in the future. I bought the silicone tutorial kit and several others have too. So maybe we will decide to go that route eventually. But right now I’m extremely content with my vinyl baby business and see no need to take on something new.
Silicone Doll Kits & Supplies
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Thank you! I had no clue the silicone kits were priced so significantly higher than the vinyl base kits. This also helps me weed out the scammers 
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Just a gallon of silicone is around $200.
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In the beginning for me, I thought I wanted a full silicone baby. But in my search, I came in contact with a very honest artist who told me up front that to get a good quality silicone reborn would be in the thousands of dollars. That is when I realized I didn’t REALLY want one. 
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Hello again @MrsRoberts
At first I thought owning a silicone doll would be cool because you can bathe them (the full body ones, not the cloth bodies), but then I learned there were maintenance issues with silicone. You have to powder them, etc. Considering their extremely high price point, I decided to stick with collecting vinyl dolls, specifically ones with rooted hair instead of painted since I think this adds considerable realism.
In the end, I think vinyl dolls have much better crafting features (ie, the details in the smallest parts like ears especially). The silicone molds have an uncanny jigglieness (is that a word, lol) that I think makes them seem less real, to be honest. My vinyl dolls also “feel soft” so I feel like I have the best of both worlds.
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After I learned how expensive they are, how easy it is for them to rip, how they need special powder…And with all that, you still won’t get a flawless look, they all have seams that don’t really exist with vinyl.
And that firm yet boneless gelatinous jiggle? Too weird. 
And most “cheap” silicones are absolutely hideous to boot.
Vinyl is so much better in my opinion.
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About the powdering, I think if you have a good quality silicone doll they do not need to be powdered unless they develop shiny spots, which I hear is rare these days.
It’s worst since everyone want the softest silicone. My only kit is ecoflex 30 and not jiggling a lot, pretty firm. I can’t imagine how could feel a ecoflex 20 with slacker, it seem so weird when I see them on videos…not natural.
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On that note, even though they are priced really low, AD silicon babies are super sticky. I’m just saying that they really aren’t a great quality if sticky means lower quality.
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