What happened to the SD range?

I've been out of the hobby for a long while. It was definitely a learning curve jumping back in. My interpretation is, volks used to be the primary standard for bjd, their size range being associated with the age of the doll (10, 13) directly influenced the body type they created (chubby and childlike). Over the years as the hobby expanded and trends changed, the influx of desire for "hot" or mature dolls increased and to differentiate from the childlike builds of the SD10/13 and even beyond the SDGr/17, the 68-75cm became the new common size.

 

It's just the tides of change, and they will inevitably change again. There are still older style 58-62cm dolls available, but the giant hunky dolls and more realistic dolls appear to be what's trendy right now. They've been trendy long enough the market is very saturated with artists enthusiastically making new sculpts of these, less so of the old 1/3 sizes.
Not sure if it's just a question of curiosity @Radimore or if you were hoping to bring home some new dolls in old sizes but the flipside of the change in trends is that old style 1/3 dolls have completely devalued. The secondary market is devastating at the moment and if you were looking to snatch up the 1/3 size with that old school feel you'd be in a buyer's paradise.

 

The influence of Chinese collectors and their interests is HUGE on the hobby nowadays. And a lot of them adore big hunky guys that look like they are straight out of a Boys Love webcomic
Once you realize that, it becomes obvious why the bigger dolls look the way they do, which outfits and hair styles are popular for them, and so on. We don't really have a grasp of how big the Chinese community is because it more or less keeps to itself, they have no need to mingle with us because everything they want and need they can find in their corner of the world/internet. And some of these collectors have MONEY. The prices some of the Soom ID72/75 LE editions go for, and the things some of these collectors will do to get one (like paying others to enter lotteries for them), are unbelievable. It is not comparable to the Western community at all in size, attitude, and general energy.
And because the majority of BJD clothes are for example made in China as well, they of course mostly cater to their local customers first.
You are pretty much at the whim of what these guys like, and you gotta hope it happens to be the same thing you like.

Back in the past I feel things were overall more homogeneous, because we were pretty limited too. You had a certain amount of available aesthetics and styles, and that attracted people that liked these things. But with time we grew, we pushed what was possible, people tried out other styles. And with that you from within cause a change of what is available and popular, but you also get in more people that might be into it for very different reasons than you are. And maybe at some point you end up in the minority, while the new peeps dominate. That's also the time though it feels changes were more made based on local differences. Back then it started with a Japanese company, then South Korean ones entered the ring, then Chinese (which had a rough start). Now there are artists and companies from all around the world, making dolls based on their experiences, cultural influences and needs. That influences both what is produced, but also what is desired from buyers. I had that discussion more than once already in regards to more diverse body types, but the fact is that people from countries with strict beauty ideals (especially in regards to weight) are rarely interested in a doll body that is not slim and ripped
Companies more than once already said their core customers (which are often not us) will not buy such a product, and I believe them.

Funny enough though, I'd argue in the Western community smaller dolls dominate more. 3D printers, and the cost of producing dolls, is certainly the cause for that too though. Most indie artists simply do not have a printer that can easily produce such big prototypes, and it's very expensive to produce SD and upwards. A lot of these artists also mostly make female dolls, which for some reason historically were also always smaller (within their own scale, but also the smaller dolls get the higher the female to male ratio leans towards female and vice versa...good luck finding even 70cm women, yet 75cm ones). Oh, MNFs and the like are also still insanely popular here, another reason that scale seems to dominate.

Which honestly sucks for someone like me, who is not interested in fashion scale with all over the place sizing, 1/4 cutesie girls with wide hips, or 75cm hunks
I was living like a god in France during the 70cm "uncle size" boom. Now every outfit I like is for 75cm guys, and every cool realistic head I enjoy is by some Russian artist that only makes them in a fashion scale size. Welp

 

As someone who only just made the huge leap from 58cm sized girls and 62cm sized boys to.... ta da 62cm sized girls and 65cm sized boys I can tell you I'm not only at my height/weight max but I also dearly miss the 56cm girls and 60cm boys.

I don't really want to dip a toe into fashion or MSD sizes, and most of my forays into tinies have been a bust for various reasons (though I keep trying for heaven knows what reason).

I'd be perfectly happy to muddle along if not for the clothing conundrum. I have been ranging around to see if there's a 58cm girl I want because I have so many clothes from the past few years it would be a darn shame to divest them only to find trends have swung back down in size. But... I would love to see slightly less chubby faced and huge eyed 58cm-62cm offerings of both genders.

Unlikely to happen given trends though! Vendors and artists follow the money and that's just not where the money is right now.

 

Yes, I'm on weibo and xiaohongshu and it's kind of astounding. It's hard not to be envious of the small artist made dolls and clothes that you can't really participate in outside the couple that will pair with international dealers.

Between the Japanese community, American community, and East Asian bjd communities you can see a massive difference in style.

The Japanese are mostly still very much volks loyalists and lean toward the frilly antique aesthetic. The East Asian community is big on the hot uncle BL/otome style while Americans are most into fantasy bjd. Non-human, atypical resin colors, etc...

If you can't sew your own clothes you kind of have to adapt your doll preferences to fit the trends.

 

I also follow the Chinese BJD community on Weibo. I actually think SD-ranged girls are thriving very well -- lots of 58 - 64cm girl bodies being made and serviced by Chinese sculptors (at greater diversity of body shapes too), lots of gorgeous clothes being produced regularly by artisans on Taobao. SDGrG and SD16 remain highly represented in clothing sizes, and girl bodies are being made to fit those Volks standards anyway.

SD-ranged boys, on the other hand? They don't exist in China. 60 - 65cm boys in particular is a no-man's land, bodies are not being made in that size, and so clothing service is poor to nonexistent. Volks SD17 still represents shorter boys, but it's very rare that you find artisans who make clothes for SD17, and never for shorter 1/3 boys. I happen to adore the 62 - 65cm (SD13 - SD17) boy height, it's my sweet spot for BJDs, so I'm always on the lookout for new SD-sized bodies and clothes on Weibo. Nope -- no bodies; barely any clothes. But if you push the height to 68cm boy, now we're in business.

It baffles me, because there's an enormous jump from 1/4-scale boys (40-49cm height) to 1/3-scale 68cm boys and up in the Chinese community. 58-64cm girls get paired with 68-75cm boys, and the scale difference is so noticeable. But China now drives the doll sculpting and clothing trends in East Asia, to the point where I'm noticing that Korean sculptors are also shifting focus away from 60-65cm boys to make more boy bodies at 68-75cm.

It's really the nadir for 60-65cm boys and somewhat disheartening to me. I'm hoping that the purported 20-year trend cycle is going to kick in and soon we'll get an upsurge of shorter 1/3 boy bodies, and the clothes to go with them.

 

It's just like in shoujo manga... I foresee gigantic hands before 2030

 

I am sure if you trawl enough of Weibo you will see lots of yaoi hands and double-door refrigerator hunks today in 2024!

Meanwhile I'll be over here enjoying my 68girl / 65boy couple. Sometimes the "bigger BJD is better!" trend benefits you in the right configurations

 

That's very true, it does seem like there's a lot more diversity in female sizes and shapes. It doesn't seem as though one type is dominating the trends like with the males.

From a strictly aesthetic standpoint I much prefer the 60cm and even 68cm boy body styles. Unfortunately the head I fell in love with is definitely 75cm+ sized.

A lot of the weibo artists are crafting in S/M/L/XL and the large being 70-73cm as loongsoul is rather popular. Unfortunately clothing is hard to get, not that the sizes aren't being made but 3/4 pre-orders I tried to get in on recently closed extremely early due to an unexpected amount of orders. I remember the days where we struggled putting together a full enough group order for things

 

I keep looking for girl bodies that won't tower over my boys and it is incredibly limited. And finding another modern boy who isn't towering over my current boys? Impossible.

Volks still makes dolls in the classic 1/3 size, but there's not too much luck elsewhere. Somehow even SD17 is small now. The Japanese are still making clothes and accessories in these sizes. I think Sadol will still let you order SD13B size clothes.

@AlisonVonderland is right that this is a lucky time to buy if you always wanted an older doll! Even many Volks dolls that were far beyond my budget are so cheap now I have to stop myself from being tempted. I love these older styles so much.

 

Wow! This was very informative and helpful! But I love the big boys!

 

It's definitely less about the size and more about the hunky aesthetic because 1/4 uncles are also very popular and mini girls are getting taller/more mature as well. Agreeing with everyone that it's the Chinese market that drives this, it's sometimes quite puzzling to look at TaoBao or Weibo and see so many dolls that look... exactly like other dolls in the next store (and maybe there's also a smaller size version of that in the third store). It's now taking over 1/6 size as well.

Somehow, smaller sizes are a bit more diverse, though, (Big Baby sizes, chunky anime dolls etc) and that doesn't really reflect in 1/3. The Volks-like system of all doll sizes fitting together doesn't really exist any more either.

I'm pretty sure the trend will change again soon, though, it already seems to be in the cycle where everyone who wanted has gotten their dorito men and will soon be looking for a new aesthetic

 

The good thing about the giant pinhead man trend is it's saving my wallet! The vast majority of my dolls are Volks 1/3, and any doll with a head too small to look right with them can't stay in my collection.
I did buy a 1/3 head that was perfect for a character (IOS Class 70), but it was too small compared to the others, so it had to go.
My Dollmore Youth siblings (Liebe and Kara Klum) and my Loongsoul Cang Jue are the borderline cases – my Liebe was my first doll and will always stay with me, and her brother looks like a short adult.
No matter how many gorgeous head sculpts I see, if I find out they're under 22cm, I sigh and close the tab. Ringdoll Baldwin IV, you were so tempting...

 

I guess I'm lucky in the sense that my dolls are just my dolls and not characters, specifically characters in pairs/groups. I almost never photograph them together so scale doesn't play into anything. I can simply buy only what I love the most without other influences.

It will be interesting to see how quickly and where trends evolve to next. I don't forsee this style falling out anytime soon given that many artists are closing pre-orders early and using lottery buy systems because of the demand.

I only pray that 76-80cm remains an outlier, I cannot go bigger than 75cm I am enjoying the influx of "mini uncle" 1/4 mature bodies. I hope the 1/4 girls follow suit, with realistic mature 1/4 size without the anime proportions.

 

I’m noticing this in particular at Soom. Soom hasn’t done a supergem (65 cm boy/58cm girl) in more than a year, and those used to be one of their more popular sizes! It’s all ID75’s and little gems, as far as I’ve seen!

I also have a project that I’m shelling that involves bodies between 62-68cm, and I’m finding that virtually all the boy bodies that fit in that range are 68’s, where I can find girl bodies between 62-65 cm more easily.

 

I'm curious now: is hand size actually increasing on guy dolls, proportionally speaking?

 

I've been in the hobby for nearly 20 years, and while I've seen many changes, this is the one that has affected me the most. I didn't know why it was happening, so thank you to everyone in this thread explaining it.

It really is rough for me, because 52-62cm dolls are the ones I love most. I feel like smaller dolls just don't do it for me. I have a largish collection of animal and fantasy tinies, but they're more like pets or cute figures to me, not something I'd use to shell my roleplay characters. So often any 1/4 dolls that stand out enough to interest me cost double what I normally pay for 1/3 and the proportions and aesthetic are all over the place, so having a cohesive crew is more difficult. Also, a lot of clothing and accessories for them tend to be more out of scale. (Although I have recently been seeing a lot more amazing 1/4 girl clothing and shoes I wish came in 1/3 size.) I also have trouble painting dolls that small. However 65cm is really my limit on larger dolls, it's hard for me to handle them much bigger, and I also greatly prefer skinny boys, not a fan at all of the big hunky muscular boys. My characters are just normal people, it doesn't work for them to be shelled in huge muscular bodies. About the only 70+ bodies I like are Doll Chateau A-body-02 (even their newer sculpts are too muscular for me), Dollzone Apsara exclusive body, and kind of Dollshe Rhythmos, but it's a bit more muscular in the chest than I like.

There are still companies that make dolls in the SD range. A few that come to mind are Volks (SD and SD13, Dollfie Dream), Luts (Delf and Senior Delf), Spiritdoll (Elegance), Angel of Dream, Dollmore (Theo, Zaoll, and Youth --Adam is listed at 63cm, but he's actually closer to 57-58cm, I think they never updated their measurements when they updated bodies.), Iplehouse (YID, but thicker than standard SD), ResinSoul, Fairyland (Feeple60), Doll Leaves, Doll Family A, Doll Family H, RingDoll (Teenager), IslandDoll (First60 and Wind60), and DreamingDoll (Elva- boys are 63cm, 13 Elva and 16 Elva girl bodies are about 60cm). There are more out there, but those are the ones that come to my mind.

 

I'm personally quite pleased with the diversity of females, especially how girls are getting taller to match the 75+ boys. I think girls used to cap out at 68cm and that was never a popular height... but this ceiling was recently broken when Dollzone released their 70cm girl. Clothing service is very important for a doll body/size to gain traction in the Chinese community, and Dollzone has also been very proactive there, collaborating with various artisans to showcase DZ70girl and bring clothiers on board to sew clothing for her. 70cm may be an outlier height for girls, but I'm now observing there are some sculptors interested in making taller girls at 66-68 height. So the trend seems to be shifting now, and I hope clothing service will shift accordingly.

Though I'd argue that the height ceiling broke a bit earlier with 2DDoll's 68girl. She is a bit atypical in body shape and didn't gain traction like DZ70girl, and I think it's partly because 2DDoll doesn't devote energy to clothing collaborations like Dollzone does. This has been a chicken/egg scenario where a body doesn't have many clothes, so people don't buy it, so tailors don't make fits for it, so it doesn't get popular, etc...
I have 2D68girl and joined a couple of preorders for tailored clothes on Taobao and Weidian. Both of them struggled to make MOQ (minimum order quantity) - one had MOQ 10 and was in danger of failing until the designer pulled strings and pushed the preorder through; the other had MOQ 30, only got halfway, and had to be refunded. I don't think she will be popular enough to have widespread servicing aside from tailors who are passionate about her. I've pretty much resigned to sewing for my girl myself -- but what's new: I have to service my 62-65cm boys myself too.

From what I can see, the trend of 76-80cm beefcakes is past the peak -- those kinds of bodies aren't being sculpted and released anymore. I think ID75 and YC76 remain too popular, and I hear that many Chinese players find taller dolls too bulky and unwieldy anyway.

And yeah, there are some 75 heads that I fancy, but my hard height cap is 68cm, so I've been very safe from the big boys. (And also safe from the boom in 1/4s, that's a size I don't enjoy and doesn't fit in with my doll collection.) I'm really hoping the trend for boys breaks the opposite way, and China discovers 60-65cm boys exist and are fun to play with!

I'm currently making a wishlist of 65cm male bodies for an incoming floating head, and this list is very helpful, thank you! I'll also add Dollstown's 15yr boy, Migidoll Omega Exa, Granado Lads (66cm) to the list.

I'm glad that those companies continue making these SD-ranged boy bodies instead of discontinuing them. But I'd like to see some of the contemporary engineering and aesthetics of recent Chinese bodies being made available to 60-65cm. I don't want to fall into "recency bias" -- old bodies are not necessarily badly engineered, and I actually do not like some contemporary engineering that's showing up in newly-released bodies -- but some freshening of the lineup would be great.
(But please, no doritos. I also want skinny, lean males...)

I don't have any hard evidence, it's all anecdotal. But when I look at photos and am unsure of the doll's gender or what body they're on, I always look at the hands first - the hands are a big tell about how masculine or feminine the body is. And sometimes, I think the hands look way too big for the doll or the vibe that the photos are creating.