What do you like about big dolls?

I love slipping my finger into the palm of a large doll and feeling it fit, like a greeting of affection.

When I was young I had many dolls. Many of them were Barbies. I enjoyed them immensely, but...sometimes I would find a different kind of Barbie-like doll at a thrift store... Gem and the Holograms, for instance, which was slightly larger and designed differently. It was hard to dress such dolls and finding shoes was basically impossible, but it was also amazingly satisfying when I did find something that fit them just right. The Gem dolls had more joints: posable wrists, bendable arms. And I think all of this sparked something in my mind. Many larger dolls I could find when I was a child were baby or child-like. So discovering BJDs (the first BJD I ever saw was an 80cm Soom Mecha Angel) I was immediately in love. I saw someone holding a BJD and my heart fluttered to see such a large, detailed, posable, mature looking doll. It was like suddenly turning a tree and spotting a fey creature. I think that wonder has never worn off. Just something about the scale of a doll, living so large in the world, that sets it aside from the familiar and beloved toys of my youth. It's a bit magical.

 

Larger dolls have always appealed to me, most of my boys are 72cm and taller, but I have recently purchased a 56cm boy. He will be the smallest I own.
I'm still a bit nervous about the size but fell in love when I saw him up for adoption. I was looking for something else but found him.
I've never been drawn to purchase a smaller doll but definitely like them. Don't know if I'll ever have anything too small, I was nervous enough about my recent purchase.
Maybe over time, my preference may change.

 

All of my dolls are SD and 70cm except my first who is MSD. I’ve been into dolls since childhood and my BJDs are the largest I’ve owned. I prefer them because they feel less like toys to me. I also like the detail and variety of sculpts. Most small doll look the same or very similar to me and I prefer more diversity. I also have all teens and adults and most smaller dolls look like babies or children.

 

I think what first drew me to SD was that the dolls in Rozen Maiden are roughly SD size, but with more childlike proportions. Aside from that, I'm also an artist that prefers to work with bigger surfaces, so since SD is the most common larger size, it's the perfect size for me! I also love to sew, and used to make clothes for Pullips, but sewing on such a small scale is so difficult and painful, so 1/3 eases that so much (except I have to spend so much more money on fabric...cries). Plus after collecting vintage figurines and Pullips, I really wanted a larger sized doll to stand out and feel more special! They have such presence in a room being so big. I like MSD too though, I plan to get two for ease of travelling or for going to meetups, going out with a SD further than walking distance seems a little like a hassle

 

Bigger the better, If I'll have all my three dolls my shortest will be a 60cm girl. The other two both 70cm boys. My mom have a Granado tiny (Tim Tim) and I adore her, but feel my boy much safer for me. I mean it's safer for the doll...Bigger dolls are more stift and easier to handle for me. And totally like the weight. And of course I never ever want to make face up and gluing lashes on such a small head... I made it for my mom's doll, but not again...

 

I've always only collected larger scale dolls [mainly for the detail]. It wasn't until recently that I purchased some smaller-sized ones. I'm actually looking into getting my very first Fairyland MiniFee, which is surprising to me, because I always told myself I'd never buy a doll that size. Yet, here I am, considering it! I will say that the larger dolls can be a bit troubling for many reasons. I've noticed that if you're buying them clothes, one article of clothing for them is about on par for something you'd buy for yourself. That can be a bit troubling at times. But with the MSD size, the prices don't seem as steep to me.

 

When I first started collecting in 2006, 60cm dolls were just the way to go for a greater variety of head sculpts and clothes, so plenty ended up on my wishlist before I even received my first one. Once I did get my first SD, it was like magic. I could appreciate the sculpted details on a larger scale much more easily and the heft of a 60cm doll in my arm was just so comfortable.

I do enjoy smaller dolls for how portable and cute they are. I actually don't prefer 70cm (despite having one, har har); maybe it's because I'm a shortiepie but that extra 10cm becomes overwhelming.

 

My two very favorite dolls in my collection are, on the one hand my very smallest doll, my tiny RealPuki Soso, and my other favorite of my group is my HUGE and very heavy Dollstown 18 girl. There's just something about these very well crafted two extremes that make them each very awesome.

 

I never expected to have a SD size doll as my first BJD. Just to let you know, I live in a hustle and bustle city where population density is extremely high and most people here live in apartments. Land is scared. And BJD collectors in my city often encounter "land problem" (no joke). So at first I was looking for MSD or smaller sized dolls, but I could not resist myself that I prefer more mature head sculpts. Now I do not regret getting a bigger doll than I planned to, because I just love the details shown on larger sized dolls and their outfits.

 

I've always had the mentality that when it comes to dolls specifically bigger is better. The smaller a doll is the more it feels like a trinket or kids toy to me and the higher the chance It's just going to get lost. I even tried to get a taller than normal msd and it was annoyingly small for me. My next two dolls are going to be 70cm and I couldn't be happier.

 

I feel like I'm quite the opposite @maiyufi . I personally much prefer SD and larger. I like the heft, the stronger facial feature options, the higher possibilities of making them look more realistic, more mature facial and body options (child-like and babyish features turn me off), and how solid they feel. There's also a wider variety of sizes, clothing and shoe options, and body/sculpt types in the SD+ range. MSD and smaller, on the other hand—there's just a lot less (from what I've seen in my searches anyways).

Besides their range of face and body options, I prefer doing faceup work on larger bjds. It allows for more details, a larger canvas to work on, and something I don't have to strain to paint tiny details onto. The larger scale also provides an opportunity for hyper-realism—something very hard to achieve in smaller scales. SD-70cm+ are also easier to sew clothing for, make accessories for, and stay displayed without my cat choosing to knock them over (she's got a real penchant for smaller dolls. For some reason, she likes knocking smaller dolls off of shelves if they're in range (she did that with some of my Pullip/Taeyangs when I had them out and in reach before i put them up/away), but treats the larger ones like buddies. It's really weird)

Something I have to admit I don't particularly like about smaller dolls/figures in general—the facial features always look more painted on and fake instead of realistic. I know that is more appealing to a lot of collectors, but it's a bit of a turnoff for me. There are some exceptions to this—mainly done by talented professionals who make a living off of, or take an extreme joy in, painting faces at that scale for figures.

I also find smaller bjds to be a bit lighter than I like, and also more fragile. I'm always more afraid I'm going to break them, while I feel completely comfortable with my weightier, larger crew.

I actually started out with an MSD. I adored her when I first got her, but put her away and took a long, several year hiatus before bothering to take her out again and rejoin the hobby. By that point I realized I was much more into larger bjds, and eventually parted with my first doll. I've tried getting more MSDs after her—two of which will be sticking around for the long term—but have one that I just could never bond with. I just seem to have this problem in general with smaller dolls—I don't really bond with them. Realistic jointed cat dolls, for sure I'd be all over those. But with other smaller scaled dolls?

I had Barbies and her sisters (along with Ken) as a kid, and Barbie never appealed to me (I liked her sisters and the guys so much better—I actually hated Barbie as a kid). I have to wonder if my distaste for Barbie might have had something to do with my inability to bond with smaller dolls? Shrugs

(Geez, this ended up turning into a monologue)

 

I don't know why I like the bigger dolls. They're big and take up a lot of space and they're hard to find furniture for and they're more expensive, but I still prefer them. I guess my only explanation is that I feel like they're more worth the cost than the smaller sizes are.

 

The larger a doll is the easier it is to create for is my experience. At least for this guy. Larger dolls are a tad intimidating to store but definitely harder to lose.

 

I haven't read anyone else's post, so if I repeat what was said, that's why.

To me, SDs and larger have more of a presence, more like they are living beings. Its like they are little people, vs MSDs and smaller are more like actual dolls or toys. Larger BJDs are easier to sew for, and its easier to find clothes for them. Many of my larger dolls are character dolls, while some of my smaller ones are younger versions of my larger dolls.

Its also easier to hug a SD or larger, easier to cuddle with them to watch a scary movie alone, and easier to see when/if they lose a part. I'm a pretty average-sized guy, and I sometimes am afraid that I will hurt/break/etc the parts of a small doll, especially my LittleFee. I've only had him for a couple of months, so he hasn't gone any place with me yet due to COVID. He will eventually, but I suppose I should get a sleeping bag or something to carry Ichi-chan in for when I take him out for pics.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm going to go read what others have said.

Ryu

 

I like big BJDs because their faces and bodies are usually more realistic. My favorite size is about 52-62 cm.

 

Since my husband and I mainly collect Volks dolls, I think it's just the aesthetics of the larger ones (DearSD, SD10, SD13 girls, ICON, and DD). Although I love my Yo-SD and would love to have more, not much of those come around and when they do I think to myself whether I want to put that much money towards one of that size again or a larger size and I end up getting the larger size. I think the MSDs are cute, but for whatever reason that size doesn't click with me even though I know they are just as well made and are super convenient in both size and weight (especially with my back problems). I have been contemplating getting some Luts Honey Delfs and Bambicrony ones, but again, I go back to if I would rather put that money towards those dolls versus some other ones on my wishlist.

I think it's how I feel about the larger guy dolls. I have an Volks SD13 boy and I feel he's too tall/large for me to really play with so he's stuck in the box right now. He's actually one of my Grail dolls so it's not that I don't like him, but he's a lot to handle so it makes me wary of other Grail dolls (Volks SD16 and SD17 girls and guys, larger Iplehouse dolls, Luts Senior Delfs, etc). I would want all of them because of the aesthetics, but I would feel bad that they wouldn't get much play time because of their sheer sizes and weights.

At the moment, I'm really into the Volks Dear SDs and am contemplating trying the Luts Baby Delfs, so we'll see where this hobby takes me. Hahaha.

 

SD in many way is a "traditional" size for adult looking dolls - remember that historically BJDs are sculpted from clay and similar mediums, than molds are made and they are cast in resin - the master doll itself is pretty much a classical sculpture work
And classical sculpture is made by human hands - the smaller you go the more difficult it is to add nuances and details, so 1/3 is the lowest size for largest payoff most of the time.
There are of course some sculptors that work with extra small scale, but thous are few and far between.
Modern 1/4 adults are, for the most part, "digitally scaled" - they are larger dolls and sculpts that has been 3D scanned, than downsized, printed out and the molds has been made from the prints, a process that is high tech, but allows to preserve the full range of details in a much smaller doll, and it became a more accessible and affordable for a company to do only in the last couple of decades.
So even today sticking to 1/3 scale allows you for wider range of customization - large selection of eyes, wigs, outfits and so on and so forth. You get more verity and it is much easier to keep your collection "in scale" while having the most choice in sculpts.
For many people BJD are associated with SD scale because of how common it is. SD availability in all kind of price ranges is better than any kind of minis, both directly from companies and second hand.
Smaller scales are gaining in popularity, thou - you just have to look at the selection of sculpt for the mature minis at the websites of companies offering them - no one in their right mind would be offering over 40 dolls in the same scale if that scale did not make them a LOT of money Oh, and the Minifee... Thous ladies are everywhere

 

I just got my first 41cm MSD yesterday. I love how big she is, and she feels great to hold. I sat her in my lap during a zoom call yesterday and fiddled with her for hours. I used to be put off by the idea of a giant 1/3 size doll, but after handling my MSD, I really want an SD. I think they would feel even better to hold in my lap, particularly because of the size and weight of them. Now, I'm just waiting for a 68cm boy I've been eyeing from Aimerai to be in an event!

 

I like SD dolls, because often they have a mature face and body Me as a clumsy person, think that bigger dolls will not break so easy.

 

As so many others have said, it's about the maturity of the sculpt selection. I have very few child or child-like characters that I would ever consider shelling into dolls and besides, the size is fun and the uncanny association, to me, is amusing. The bigger the doll (especially male sculpts), the less likely you or anyone else is able to look past them or excuse them away as "normal" dolls. They command a certain attention - which, for me, is a plus. I spent a lot of time and money on that bad boy and I want to be reminded of that fact every time I enter a room.

I also consider the difficulty to store SD sized dolls a blessing - I know that if my collection was focused on anything smaller than 1/4, I would be a frequent buyer. Big dolls keep me humble haha.

That all being said, Mimo Marina's micro sized dolls have quickly won my heart. Batty is definitely a grail.