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At the beginning of Episode 10 of the first season of Westworld, we see Arnold adding skin to a metal frame of Dolores.

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We later see Sylvester working on adding pieces of an actual skeletal structure like a human to a molding which is later dipped into white material to make a new host.

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So why does Dolores not have bones?

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    Dolores is the first. Presumably, technology has advanced in the 30+ years since. – Catija♦ Dec 7 '16 at 3:29
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We don't know that she doesn't have "bones".

Delores was first created 30+ years before the 'current' events in Westworld (indeed she was the first host) and so her structure at that time reflected the less advanced nature of her design.

Designs have improved over time to the stage where, it seems, the underlying structure is, in fact, a skeleton-like structure with 'flesh' overlaid in a dipping process.

BUT we don't know if the "current" Delores is the same physical being as the "original" Delores.

Given that the hosts are, apparently, interchangeable (see Clementine Pennyfeather & Delores' father Peter Abernathy) it's quite likely that her programming/memory files have been uploaded into a newer design over time.

In fact, according to Jonathan Nolan via Entertainment Weekly (src: Polygon.com)

“Their construction and their power source is something we’re really going to get into during season two, “ Nolan said. “So we’d like to keep that mysterious.”

Nolan added that they wanted to spend more time looking at how the hosts are made, because they’re far more biological than they are mechanical at this point, and examine what their main weakness is. Although they share many qualities with the people who created them, their brains are still quite different from human beings, making the process of killing them more difficult.

“On one hand, their cognition is controllable and malleable, but on a structural level they can’t be killed in the same way you and I can,” Nolan said. “There are advantages and disadvantages to being a host. Season two we’ll be exploring more the nuts and bolts of what they are — as the hosts themselves are trying to understand.”

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  • I think the interchangeability only relates to their personas, sort of like an actor playing different roles. As far as I can tell, each host name relates to a specific appearance of the host rather than to the mental entity within it. That being said, it certainly appears that they can build new (identical on the outside) bodies for the same host if their current body is beyond repair... so it's certainly possible (if not likely) that they have upgraded Delores' hardware over the 30 years. – Catija♦ Dec 7 '16 at 20:38
  • I don't think they'd change the outward appearance of a host... for example, put Delores' "brain" in Clementine's body. – Catija♦ Dec 7 '16 at 20:38
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    They switched Clementine and Dolores father out for different models with the same roles. They just uploaded that personality program into the new hosts. – Paulie_D Dec 7 '16 at 20:39
  • But Dolores' father's name is never said... We know they change their roles occasionally, if not often. They don't seem to change their names, though. I don't believe the Clementine replacement was ever called "Clementine", either, but I don't remember for certain. Like I said, it's like an actor playing a role. Different actor, same part. – Catija♦ Dec 7 '16 at 20:42
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    No, but we see two different hosts play the same role, certainly for Dolores's father...that's a pretty good indicator that the hosts are just programming and the bodies aren't relevant. – Paulie_D Dec 7 '16 at 20:48

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