Owning 70cm Dolls vs. Smaller Sizes

I have two 70cm+ dolls and one 60cm+ doll. I don't have an MSD yet so I can't really make a comparison between an MSD and a 70cm doll. Although, the bigger guys are extremely heavy. Last night, I was putting on clothes on one of my 70cm guy and my left shoulder was aching afterwards.

 

70cm is a lot of doll. If that's a good thing or bad thing is up to your preferences I personally find the 65cm and up dolls harder to handle when I'm fussing with them (dressing them, posing them, carting them around), but I'm a klutz so it may just be me. They also take up a lot more storage space. The doll is bigger, the box is bigger, their clothes are bigger - if you're in a small space, that can all add up quickly. That said, a lot of great sculpts come in that size, so... lol. As 70cm dolls seem to grow in popularity it's also easier* to find clothes for them.

* this may not always be true if a company has some quirk like extremely broad shoulders, etc

 

I had a msd that's 45cm and after a year with him and not personally seeing any other doll sizes I ordered a 72 cm guy. I have a few points I have so far.

My 45 cm guy is so light that you may lift him from any part of his body, but he is still going to hold his pose. He is not floppy at all. I have no problem holding him. He's a Dollshe fashion Grant so he is a scaled-down copy from the original 70 cm muscle guy. With my 72cm guy I have noticed that if you lift him from his waist and do not hold his legs, they are not gonna stay straight as a plank like my msd does. They will flop down if you rotate the doll, and that makes holding and tilting the doll with one hand very dangerous for someone not used to it like me. What I mean is his legs are so heavy that if they flop, you may lose your grip especially if the doll has clothes on. Also I once made him stand propped up against the wall and adjusted one of his legs, when his upper body collapsed on me. He's not poorly strung or anything. He's also much harder to balance when standing since he is so heavy. And when I get pinched by a joint, it hurts more lol.

It's also very hard to make his chest joint slouch forward while he is wearing shirts since the doll is so heavy. It really requires strenght in comparison to a msd and I don't quite have it. I also can't hold him comfortably for more than a couple minutes since he is so heavy. I haven't tried making a city trip with him but I will.

Pros are definitely more realistic and detailed faceup and clothing options. I hate sewing for my 45cm but am more than pleased to get to make something for the 70cm one! Also ready-made goods and props are A TON easier to find for him. I struggled half a year for my 45cm to have manly shoes and he still looks like a clown. Outside photoshoots are easier with a large doll because everything is more in scale and wind doesn't make him fall so easily. I also personally like the size, it's less like having a barbie and more like having a special doll shelled just for my character. Also mature male sculpts and their clothing is suuuper hard to find in smaller size, and I personally am not into cute big-eyed pre-teens.

Hope some of these points help!

 

I own two 70 cm and 2 yoSD sized. The biggest con is they are heavy and take up more space. I couldn't see myself being able to lug them around for meets for too long. Other than that, I love them. I'm actually more comfortable handling them than my small dolls.

 

I actually started with MSD dolls and sold all of them for bigger dolls because I like them so much better. I even have a 105cm doll now. Something about lugging around a huge doll is so fun to me.

 

As some of the owners have stated above, I have to say too that the biggest difference and con is that bigger the doll, heavier it gets. I used to have just msds until I brought a SD boy home for the first time, I was amazed at how big he was even though he was 63cm (I thought he was pretty heavy too at that time). Recently (about a month? ago) my 80cm boy arrived home from IOS and wow... He was just super heavy and made my 63cm boy look 'small' beside him. Though they are pretty huge, I really love them all. At first, before getting any SD dolls, I was a bit afraid of the weight and height being too big but I'm actually glad that I bought them.

I have to point out about the clothing for pros (pretty easy to find a certain style of clothes for bigger dolls in my experience and easier to sew for big scale dolls for fine details). I Also like how it feels like I'm dressing a little boy XD

 

I'd handled my friend's SD before getting my own, and honestly wasn't sure I would be able to bond with one of my own. He was too big, too unwieldy, and generally not my style. I figured I wouldn't want one of my own, but I bought one anyway... and I utterly love him. I love his size and weight, and how nicely he fits in my lap, and how many details are in his clothes (that I didn't have to make because I can find SD clothes I actually like.) I still love my MSDs and YoSDs, and will probably end up with mostly YoSDs anyway, but dang was I ever sold on SDs from this boy. I've got my second one on layaway right now, even! And plans for at least three more SDs in the far future!

So from my experience... Even if you had interacted with other people's SDs, you might not have a good idea of how you'd react to your own SD. Which is probably a terrible thing to say, given their price-range, but...!

 

I like 70+ dolls because it is easy to make clothes for them. I can make it as the same as for humans. i love cosplay that's why my choice for this direction is 70+ size. I only do not like too heavy dolls like Idealians or Iplehouse HID/EID men... just... they are dangerous for tiny me )
I also like msd dolls: they are easy to carry, faster sewing, and they are cute ^_^ Also some companies make babydoll msd (msd with some SD measurements, like MYOU dolls) - and this is the best size for me! ^o^

 

I have lunged into the hobby just this summer when I got my first SD. I haven’t even thought about getting a smaller one as the sculpt I wanted came only in that size. I actually love how sturdy he is compare to the 15 cm one I got as a gift. I saw the big dolls before I got mine but I was sure even back then that I’d only go for the bigger one. It’s probably go big or go home!

 

In your experience, is there anything about owning 70cm+ dolls that is significantly different from owning smaller sizes? Maybe some pros and cons?

I prefer larger dolls (SD in general, not necessarily 70cm+). There are more SD dolls that look mature (although hopefully that is changing with more and more companies investing in Mature Minis, like my Dollshe David below), they are significantly easier to sew for, and scale issues are much less significant (an inch of height or head width is proportionally larger in smaller scales).

Even though they are much easier to sew for than playline fashion dolls (Barbie, etc.), I still usually only need a yard or so (sometimes, I can get away with 1/2 a yard) to sew something, so it is still much cheaper than to sew for myself. They are also easier for me to faceup, and add faceup details to than MSD or smaller dolls and to mod (because SD resin is usually thicker than MSD resin, and the features you want to carve into the doll are proportionally bigger). I couldn't do my perennial open mouth mod to a mature mini MSD.

As for negatives, as people have stated, they are heavier (and, again, as people have stated, this manifests in the doll's limb weight working against poses in a way it does not with MSD dolls). However, due to this limb weight, I find my SD dolls "fall" into much more natural poses, and do not look as stiff as my MSDs. (I even have both the SD and MSD sized Dollshe 28M bodies, so I even note this different with dolls that are the same sculpt, but different sizes.)

Also, as others have stated, SD size makes finding premade items easier, but it also makes finding premade supplies easier. I make all my doll clothes, and it is still easier to find an in-scale SD zipper or button than an MSD one. The same goes for hair fiber (the smaller the doll, the thicker each fiber is proportionally and the more the stiffness of the fiber makes the wig to fit the smaller head proportionally more poofy).

I personally don't find the carrying a problem. If I'm going to carry a doll, I'm just carrying that doll and it doesn't really seem that heavy (although I have a good back and shoulders). If I plan to bring a doll somewhere, I'm not going to carry it free because I also will be carrying an 18oz thermos of tea, a bag, a computer, my phone and various chargers. It just doesn't seem worth it for me to balance a doll on myself when I can safely wrap it in the bag with everything else (so fingers don't get knocked off on doorframes, or something equally terrible) so I can drink my tea and play on my phone (I only have so many hands).

After trying to take phone photos using my toes (no selfie stick), I decided to go with my computer instead because there is a timer and it stands by itself. Unfortunately, this means the following comparison photos are even more grainy than usual.

Spoiler: COMPARISON

left to right: 71cm Impldoll Idol, 61cm Loongsoul body, Planetdoll MSD Riz, Dollshe Fashion David (MSD), Angell-Studio 75cm body


I am about 5'6" or 168cm


my cat


71cm Impldoll Idol


61cm Loongsoul body


Planetdoll MSD Riz


Dollshe Fashion David (MSD)

 

I prefer dolls in the 65-72 cm range personally. They do take up a lot of room, but that is really the only con (for me anyways). I don't mind the weight, but I also do not carry them around cons or anything. They are my indoor photography subjects mainly. For posing, I do find that the weight of the limbs can reduce the mobility slightly, but it's not something that I've had a huge issue with as there are ways around that with wiring and sueding. I also like mature sculpts, and the SD size has the most diversity. I've only owned one tiny, but I quickly learned that I prefer the large size of SDs; one of the coolest things about them in my opinion that they have a "presence". They just look really awesome sitting/standing in a room ^__^

 

I started from a 70cm doll, and it IS really heavy compared to a msd sized one;;
changing clothes and posing are tiring too, but the outcome is really worth it ^^
smaller ones are cute, and easy to bring to travel or meets!
SD dolls tend to be more mature/cool looking, you can't beat that! MSD ones are cute and child like, you cant get enough of them too!
That's why I own both size of dolls atm, I can't really choose just one to keep!

 

My first 5 dolls were MSD and then I got a 72cm DollZone Yuu and he was HUGE next to them! I thought he was gorgeous and I love the detail he had that my smaller dolls lacked, but he was much heavier, took up a lot more space and I had a very hard time finding things to fit him, since dolls in that range tend to be either super slender or huge muscle guys, and they can't share clothing. This was in 2009, so it's easier now to find clothes than it was then, but you'll still need to figure out what fits and what won't. Also, being so much bigger, he was difficult to transport to doll meets or for outdoor photo shoots. I could fit a mini in a regular tote bag, but a 70cm needs a doll bag.

I prefer SD now, but I still feel like 70cm is too big for my taste, even though I've owned 5 dolls in the 70cm range now. I always end up selling the poor guys, even though I think so many of them are gorgeous.

 

I have an 80cm girl. Pros: Can intimidate other dolls. Cons: Is also a verified nudist due to Impossible to Find Clothing Syndrome.

 

I have twelve 70cm dolls, I also have ten msd dolls. I love them all, but it is difficult to take pictures for large dolls, especially when you take them out, too heavy. I think it is easier to buy clothes for larger dolls（I mean for sd13/sd17/ID), lots of wonderful clothes. The face up of small doll and larger doll are very different I think. If you like the realistic face up, larger doll might be more suitable.

 

I started out with a 68cm doll with very thick resin. I really do like this size because with a standard SD doll they still look in scale, just the 70cm guys tend to look really tall. (I like tall dudes.) I'm on the shorter end myself, so I think my an SD girl and a 70cm guy look pretty cute together. I also have some smaller dolls in the yosd range. They have shorter fingers, so that is a bit 'safer' during transport. When I take any of my SD or bigger dolls out, I put baby socks on their hands to help prevent damage. I don't find 70cm dolls heavy at all. I suppose being a parent and pet owner has me used to carrying squirming critters around, so a doll is nothing. I also found a SD or 70cm fits nicely on your lap if you want a silent buddy for watching a movie or whatnot.

Finding props either way is a crap shoot, no matter the size but I do believe American Girl and similar size dolls' accessories pair well with most MSD dolls. As far as space goes... it depends on how you store or display them. As shelf sitters, 2 SD dolls side-by-side take up the same seat room as 3 MSD dolls, give or take. Poses really vary doll to doll. Some of the SD and bigger dolls benefit more from wire reinforcement or sueding of the joints.

I have dolls in various scales from pinky finger size to one that is 1:1 human scale. Each one is different and I enjoy each doll in my collection differently. Some people go with a bigger doll to look like an adult compared to a smaller doll. It really depends on what you want to do. Personally, I enjoy the variety of different dolls but some folks like all their dolls to share the same props and wardrobe, so that is something to consider.

If you can ever attend a doll meetup, I encourage you to do so. It's always nice to see different dolls in person. I've never, not once, met a nasty person in the bjd hobby.