1/3 1/6 etc pronunciation

I say one-third, one-fourth, ect, but also mostly use SD, MSD, YOSD or their size in cm (65cm, 45cm, ect.) when I talk about doll sizes :0

 

I always say one-third scale, one-fourth scale, etc. Or how many centimeters the doll is. I try not to say SD, MSD, and such unless I’m actually talking about a Volks doll.

 

One-third, one-quarter, one-sixth, one-half, one-twelfth.

 

Yes that is correct.. hmmm to make it sound less weird .. add "scale" at the end. Like 1/3 scale. Hehe

 

Those are meant to be read as "one-third," "one-sixth," and a true-to-scale model or toy would be written as 1:3, 1:6, etc. Most of these dolls are not true-to-scale though, so I personally prefer to refer to them by either their company name or their actual size in cm. I collect 1:6 scale action figures and other miniatures that are true-to-scale, and have many friends who are into scaled miniatures (like trains, cars,1:12, etc.), so it's really awkward to say my "1:3 scale doll", when the proportions and sizes are so off, they would roll their eyes at me for even mentioning "scale" along a none-scaled-toy. Most people don't seem to mind or care though, so it's probably fine to use whichever term you are more comfortable with. A lot of people think that playscale and 1:6 are one and the same, but they are very much different and it all has to do with proportions and relation to real-life-source, vs stylization (orbarbiesgiantheadandtinyhands). (:

 

SO not a stupid question!! I have a hard time with this as well. I've noticed a lot of YouTubers go with the SD/MSD etc because it rolls off the tongue more easily. For strict accuracy I try to say "1 third scale" or sometimes "60 centimeter." More often than not though I just end up saying "the big ones", "the small ones," and "the teeny ones."

 

I agree with @Enzyme - the dolls are rarely true to any scale, so even if you say "one quarter," for example, some dolls in that category are children and some are adults, some are spindly and some are chunky...so you have to ask yourself, one quarter of what? So yeah, I tend to use the cm measurements or the YoSD, MSD, SD categorizations when talking size.

 

Im not going to lie, I am the worst at knowing the terms like MSD etc. To me it seems like doll makers have different names/ideas for them so I dont even care to guess if they are SD or whatever. So I always look for the fraction names and use those, or in some cases the CM height/size.

I find buying eyes..etc is easier with the cm size to be truly precise that I get what Im looking for.
But yeah, I say One Third Scale like others. I think whichever is fine depending on what you prefer.

 

I won't argue the point, because I use cm more often than anything else when size comes up (which it really doesn't all that often for me) - and I know what people are talking about no matter what they choose to use due to their own personal preference. But a large portion of the doll community uses YoSD = 1/6, MSD = 1/4 and SD = 1/3 because right or wrong, that's what a lot of clothing/shoe sellers have gotten in the habit of doing. Just try shopping at Legend Doll, for example, without understanding any terminology other than tiny, mini and mature...it can't be done, whether annoying or not.

 

That's especially annoying when trying to find 1:6 action figure shoes, clothes, or any accessory and the seller lists "YoSD" sized items as 1/6. It's not a huge deal but a bit frustrating when there are hundreds of thousands of results (on eBay alone, for example), but only a handful are actually 1:6 and the rest are tiny BJD sized. On the other hand, if people are not aware that 1:6 and YoSD are not the same thing, they might end up with a load of unusable shoes or clothes -- props might still work depending on the actual doll. Still as you suggest, it can't be easily remedied when it is the sellers that are using the wrong terminology and most people might not be aware of it. Larger scales are not as popular among other types of toys/props so it might not be an issue with those, but 1:6 and 1:12 are kind of popular miniatures to collect -- and it's very hard not to get a few hundred BJD-related results if you search for those scales for non-BJD related searches.

 

And there's so much range in how old "YoSD" type dolls are supposed to look. Going by rough maths, an Impldoll Baby would be the size of a 13 year old if taken as 1:6 scale. They don't look like teens at all. Whereas running it as 1:4 gives you the size of a 4-5 year old, which is a lot closer to some of the faces/proportions.

Back to topic - I do tend to use SD/MSD/YoSD, or I'll say "one third" "quarter scale" "sixth scale".