How Did You Decide Size?

My first (and currently only) doll is on the larger end of the scale at 70cm. He just stood out (excuse the pun) to me, as a bit of a glamour boy in the company photos; tall, buff, arrogant, bronzed. He still has those moments, at certain angles, but he's not the tanned version I fell in love with (I decided against it, to go for something different to the company photos).

Now, I've gone near enough right to the other end of the scale with a yoSD, because I want a travel-friendly doll that I can slip into a handbag and off we go. I'm also expecting a MSD-sized head through the mail in a few weeks, which will either just be the practice head it's advertised as or will end up with a body of his own too and become my MSD doll.

 

I've looked at 60+ from the start because I wanted something... tangible if it makes sense at all. For me holding a doll, feeling the weight and thinking 'wow it's huge' is an odd part of the pleasure from the hobby. I thought, if I was going for shelling my characters I want to be able to see them in a best possible detail and largest reasonable scale.
Though I'm having an MSD and a tiny eventually. So much for firm tastes!

 

i mostly based the whole size of my doll from the size of their head. if i'm hybriding a head sculpt i always look at the head sizes that can fit the body.

 

The first sculpt I fell in love with (Soom Aslan) pretty much decided the scale for me. Even if I would have preferred MSD sized, SD+ is what fate had in store, lol.

 

I first got myself a tiny to see if I would like the hobby. I then started to get the yosd size and find that I like the yosd and smaller because they are really cute! I like to hand sew and I find sewing for this size some what soothing.

 

1/12 to 1/6 scale miniatures were the root of my doll hobby, so I really wanted something small at first! The baby/toddler aesthetics of most dolls in that scale are not really my thing, so I had to do a little bit of searching to find any "mature" tinies and ended up getting a Limhwa Mari She's beautiful and so easy to find props for! Searching for clothes/wigs/eyes/shoes (oh god, especially shoes otl) has proven difficult and kind of smothers my fun with her though. Fashion doll clothes fit her, but most are SO tacky and have (ugh) velcro-close backs which look so bulky on her delicate frame. I ended up getting an MSD sized doll just to have some better fashion options and found that I love this size too! I think every size has it's appeal, and there are certainly enough beautiful dolls in each of them to convince me to at least give them all a try ^__^

 

At first I liked the large dolls and I thought that the bigger the better, no?

But then I watched many youtubers who owned those dolls and they said how heavy they are and that their joints can pinch your skin and they're difficult to carry around... I don't know it might sound petty but it actually turned my attention to smaller dolls. I think that MSD size is perfect for me. You can still do everything with them and they have the same proportions but aren't so difficult to work with. I also like smaller dolls but not as much as the MSD.

 

Oh it was easy.

1: See pretty head sculpt.
2: Check what size it fits.
3: TA-DAH, that's the size this doll will come in.

 

I like your approach Lovux I wish that was me
But I'm the opposite, I see a doll I like and then she turns out to be not the right size for me... and I get disappointed xd

 

At the very beginning, I started with an MSD. I was personally introduced to one from someone I lived nearby to at the time, and, since she was a gift for Christmas from my mom, I chose an MSD girl.

Rewind several years later, and I'm just starting to get back into BJDs. I'm also picking the ones I plan to buy based on existing characters I've created, and trying to achieve their likeness in bjd form. The characters were more mature in age, from late teens to early 20s, and there isn't much to work with in MSD size for that age group. Also, years back, I'd been interested in SD sized dolls, and that became my opportunity to finally have a reason to invest in them.

I shop for specific characters, and SD size is what they demanded. So, SD size mainly for me. My Pullips/Taeyangs fill my 1/6 size gap for me, and the MSD girl I've got satisfies that enough.

 

I think I'm starting with the 40-45cm dolls for two reasons, in order:

They are less conspicuous. You can't really tuck away a 70 cm doll without a lot of work, or at least I imagine. And I will probably have my dolls on my desk, whereas if I had a huge doll like that I'd need specific storage.

Price! They are on average $100-$200 cheaper and sometimes the gap is enormous. And clothing for 1/3 and bigger dolls just gets so expensive.

 

The price decided my size and then once I got them in the mail I was thankful I chose MSD due to space and preference.

 

I started with an MSD because the prices are more reasonable and the proportions are to my specific tastes. I think it's my favorite size by far. I don't think I would get an SD doll period, just because the large size doesn't appeal to me. However, I heavily lean towards very mature or realistic MSDs, which means my life would be easier if I could get over it? Haha.

I have a fantasydoll yosd coming to me soon though, and while I don't think the size is going to be my favorite feature of him, I'm excited to draw some comparisons between him and larger dolls!

 

At first i cannot accept SD or 70+.They seem very big to me, but over time I love every size, I have bought DF-A Quewei,he is really enormous hahaha~

 

I figured going with a mid-sized doll for my first doll would be a good idea, as it wouldn't be as intimidating as an SD sized doll and would be easier to make clothes etc. for then a small sized doll. I also wanted a more mature-looking doll, and it was a bit hard to find a mature-looking small doll so I stuck with MSD!

 

I decide to have 1/3+ doll for two reasons. First, I like adult dolls. Most adults dolls of this size (of course, there are fashion dolls, but it narrows the choice). Second, the hardware looks great on large instances. But I will say frankly: I'd be happy with the size of the MSD, if the market situation was different (large selection of adult dolls).

 

I started with MSD and thought I'd never go bigger, but then MDR Zuri came along and I had to get a sister for her, so I ordered MDR Ophelia. They're probably going to end up the only SD size dolls I get, as I'm not that drawn to the bigger size. My favorite sizes are the slim mini and slim yosd.

 

My first and only doll is an MSD and I chose that size because I felt as though the SD size would be too intimidating for me. My second doll that I have on layaway is a soul doll Vito so she's 51cm. I think I'll like that size because it's not too big that it will be. intimidating, I'll have more room to work with when making clothes, and I think it'll feel like a solid doll not just a fancy barbie doll :') I think 45-53cm dolls are perfect for me because they are the perfect in-between with more mature faces and yet still smaller bodies.

 

I'm personally a fan of SD dolls. That works out very well because the majority of my characters fit well with that size.

 

I seem to be more drawn to the larger dolls, 60cm and up? Most of the dolls I've seen that are smaller tend to look a lot younger, and that's not really my speed. The characters I have in mind to shell are all adults, so I've been mostly looking at big dolls.

I finally placed the order for my first doll in April, and he's a 72cm! I'm a bit nervous about starting so big, though. I almost wanted to buy a smaller doll as a tester, but none of the sculpts I've seen have really spoken to me, and I have a pretty tight budget so I couldn't justify spending $200+ just to try a doll out. (My wallet sure wishes I was more inclined to smaller dolls, though!!)