British Mechanic Has Over 240 Love Dolls -- and a Happy Marriage

Some people might think a 60-year-old mechanic is too old to play with dolls, but try telling that to British mechanic Bob Gibbins.

Gibbins loves dolls, especially "love dolls," the life-size anatomically correct kind.

In fact, he has more than 240 love dolls, mannequins and even blow-up dolls stuffed in the small house he shares in Manley, Herefordshire, with his wife, Lizzie, 55.

According to Barcroft Media, Gibbins, a father of two, started his collection 10 years ago when he purchased a mannequin.

David Hockey, AVAV

British mechanic Bob Gibbins has more than 240 sex dolls, mannequins and blow-up dolls in his collection, which some believe is the world's largest.

"I like the way she looked," he said. "She caught my interest, but I wasn't satisfied."

Wanting something more realistic, Gibbins discovered "love dolls," on the Internet and decided to purchase "Beverley," a "love doll," in 2007 with the help of his wife for around $4,000 U.S.

That opened the door to other silicon sweeties -- nearly one a week -- with some, like "Jessica," costing as much as $11,202.

"I also have a lot of blow-up dolls, which are cheaper," he said. "They vary between [$48 U.S.] and [$639 U.S.] for the best ones."

What does Gibbins do with them?

Well, he loves having afternoon tea with his dolls, posing them up for photo shoots and taking them for a drive in the country. There's also one, "Dolly," that has been modified for dancing, thanks to rolling shoes he installed on her feet.

But while many of his dolls are built for sex, Gibbins insists that's one thing he's never done with the dolls.

"I've never been interested in them that way," he said.

Some people might think that having dolls would be easier than having kids or pets.

Wrong! Gibbins says his dolls require a lot of maintenance, everything from being dressed to regular baths. "Because many of the dolls are made out of silicone, they sweat and need to be washed in the bath," he said. "This can take awhile as they're pretty heavy, and then we need to dry them and coat them with talcum powder.

"Then Lizzie and I will chose out an outfit and wig and dress the doll -- we're quite fussy about how they look, so this can take hours!"

All in all, the collection is worth more than $160,000 and is the envy of folks like David Hockey, a Nova Scotia filmmaker who started collecting what he calls "adult dolls" while working on "All Dolled Up," a documentary about the hobby.

"When we arrived at his house to meet him, I was dumbfounded," Hockey told AOL News. "It's a little house and all the dolls are stacked on each other -- there's no room to display them."

Gibbins believes his collection is the largest of its type and says the only other contender is a guy in Japan with 100 dolls. However, a spokeswoman for Guinness World Records says, so far, the company does not have a category for life-size anatomically correct dolls.

Record or no record, Hockey, who has traveled all over the U.S., Canada and England interviewing fellow adult doll collectors, says Gibbins' collection is significant.

"The collection definitely has historical importance," he said. "It follows the history of the love doll over the last 10 to 12 years. It would be a great traveling display. I might put a bid on the collection just in case something happens to Bob."

Hockey says Gibbins also deserves credit for being willing to be a public face for adult doll collectors, which he believes is a misunderstood subset of society.

"He runs a forum for doll lovers in the U.K., and is he's very open about anything to do with the hobby," Hockey said. "Plus, his wife comes to the meetings. In fact, I think she is the only woman."