Why larger dolls?

I've only had two SDs before but I can attest to the cuddlness factor that 60cm+ dolls seem to have. I do like the weight and they're fun to carry. I'm actually not sure if I dislike the SD size or if I just haven't find the right mold yet but so far I haven't kept a larger doll for long. ;^;

While I'd like to change that, I don't see myself being overrun by 60cm dolls anytime soon. I still prefer minis.

 

I prefer larger dolls for a few reasons.
They are more towards the realistic than the overly cute child types (not that I don't like them as well ) and thus better fitting for the characters I want them to be. I'm someone who loves to have doll versions of my OCs, who are mostly adults.
Then there is the fact that they are easier to customize and sewing for them gives you a lot more options because of the scale the clothing has. I feel that you can put a lot more detail on clothing for large dolls than tinies. That's a reason for me as well.

 

My townhouse isn't especially large by US standards, and I'm a neat-freak who insists on everything being as tidy as possible, so being able to keep everyone "in their proper place" is important to me. I tend to go for smaller SD-scale dolls... I have a lot more 57-60cm CP Delfs, for instance, than 67-70cm "big guys"... and you can actually fit a fairly extensive collection of those in a very modest space if you organize them carefully. They're still large enough to play around with, photograph and sew for easily without being overwhelmingly huge or heavy.

I keep the vast majority of my own collection in a trio of matched display cabinets in a hallway alcove that's only around 10' long. That's a remarkably small amount of real estate given the number of dolls I own. The ones who are too large to fit in the cabinets (My Soom SGs, IH Akando and Luts Senior Delfs-) are all sitting upstairs on top of the two small, three drawer chests of drawers where I keep all of my other "dolls things" (Spare wigs, outfits, shoes and such-) stored. So, even the larger members of the tribe aren't taking up much additional space.

 

I like the 1:3 scale because I prefer teen and adult dolls, from ages 13 upward. I used to collect 11.5" and 16" fashion dolls, which were of the same age range, but basically I didn't realize what I didn't like about dolls until I got my first BJD, a Volks SD13 Link. He opened up whole new worlds for me in writing stories, photography, doll-related crafts and sewing clothes. I really was not inspired much to do those things with fashion dolls, mainly because of their small size and similarity to each other.

Since I prefer older looking dolls, I find mature bodied MSD sized dolls to be incompatible with the childlike heads that often come with them. That's another reason the 1:4 scale (or smaller) isn't for me.

I found the 1:3 size large enough to have good presence and instantly distinguishable features. For example, it was less likely that people would mistake one of my boys for another in a photo. I thought that some of the smaller dolls looked too much alike. (This was back in 2005 when there wasn't as much variety available.) I also find more variation and detail in larger sculpts than smaller ones, when it comes to both bodies and faces.

The 60-70cm range BJDs are comfortable to hold in my arms like a small dog or a cat, and they are not so small that it is fiddly and difficult to manipulate their bodies and limbs when dressing or posing them.

It is quality over quantity for me. I would rather have fewer large dolls than lots of smaller ones.

I am still amazed at how HUGE 1:3 scale clothing is when I take it out of the package! Especially a pair of trousers. Plus the BJDs seem larger than life to me when I "play" with them. Whenever I look at a picture of myself holding one of my BJDs, I think, "He looks so TINY!!" It's like I'm shocked because I expect him to be MY size. LOL!

Linda S.
galatia9

 

There are some companies where the right faceup and wardrobe can definitely add years, but yeah...it's definitely MUCH easier to mind masculinity among the dolls that can double as workout weights!

 

Like most have already said, the way that bigger dolls look more like adults is appealing to me. I do like smaller dolls too, but they serve for other purposes than large dolls.

Larger dolls seem to have more "presence" in a way, at least I've found it much easier to bond with my 70+ cm dolls than my smaller dolls. Maybe the weight and the tension caused by the stringing that I can feel while holding them in my arms creates an illusion of a living thing. Smaller dolls feel much more like toys or action-figures, but larger dolls have a unique feel to them that I've never encountered with an object before.

I'm not dissing smaller dolls, they have their good points too, but if I had to choose from owning just one or two 70cm dolls or a group of MSD's or Yo-SD's, I'd choose to own fewer but bigger dolls in a heartbeat.
I don't think that big dolls take a lot of space. I have them sitting on a shelf and they just take the space the size of their butt, in fact. x'D I guess if you store your dolls in boxes, then a lot of bigger dolls could be a bit of a storing problem...

It's just something in SD-70cm dolls that you can't find in any other objects, toys or other things... That's what makes big dolls intriguing to me. :-)

 

The presence the larger doll has. I really enjoy it, and have an easier time making them things. MSD I do too, but not the tinies. I love the cuddle factor of a large doll. Most of my favorite sculpts happen to be in the larger doll size. They fit better for the adults in my stories.

 

Honestly, I prefer larger dolls because they're more mature. My very first resinoyd was a 20cm Elfdoll, and even though I loved him, I honestly didn't know what to do with him other than cute pics. Except for Ritsuka (Minmee floating head) and baby!Ryuichi (PKF Sleeping Shiwoo floating faceplate) , all of my resinoyds are at least teenagers if not adults. It didn't help that I fell in love with the Shiwoo sculpt and plan on getting as many of different ones as I can...and many of them are 60cm!

My 20cm was also constantly losing shoes, wigs, etc since they slipped on vs tying on like with larger dolls. He ended up going to a home of someone that loves tinies, but before he left, I had gotten Ryuichi, my 60cm Delf Shiwoo. It was then that I decided that I preferred larger dolls, although I DO have a few mini ones as well.

At the time, it was easier to find clothes for Ryuichi, I must admit, but there's something about going out grocery shopping with a 60cm+ sized doll vs a 20cm one. I carry him sitting in one arm, or put him in the baby carrying seat of a shopping cart when I go to Joanne Fabrics, or he can sit in the passenger seat of my car with just the seatbelt, its like being with a person when I have to go do running around!

When I hug Tatsuha (Minimee/70cm Spiritdoll Proud hybrid) he hugs me back! Not to mention I just can't seem to be able to snuggle with my mini dolls for a nap like I can with my larger dolls. You can't really do anything like that safely with a tiny.

Larger BJDs just feel more like "people" than dolls to me.

Now I'm going to go read what everyone else said. I'm sure I"m not the only one that feels this way!

Edit: After reading that others have said, I too agree that sewing for them is WAY easier for larger BJDs, especially since I sew by hand. My (full) resinoyds all sit on my bed, so I don't have to worry so much about "where to store them yet" and their boxes are all packed away in the back of the hall closet so I don't have that to worry about either. The advantages of living in an older house is plenty of deep storage closets!

I too also plan on buying a house and having a room specifically for my dolls...a room where I'll probably end up spending most of my time!

Ryu

 

Living in a very land-scarce nation in Asia, the key is upward expansion (even our dead live in 'high rise apartments'). I keep my big dollies on shelves, and I don't find that they take up much space at all, so home space is not really an issue when it comes to collecting dolls for me.

I like larger dolls because they seem to be able to contain so much more character. Can't explain it, just a feeling I get? Also I don't do well with MSDs. I have no idea why, they just don't work with me...

 

I like large dolls specifically in the 58-64cm range; anything bigger/smaller is too big/small. Others have already stated my reasons: I like big dolls because of their weight in my arms, the fact that you can't ignore them in a room (smaller dolls just don't have that sort of stage presence!), the greater sculpting detail, and the fact that they're scaled as adults but can have either mature or more youthful faces, realistic or more stylized faces, without looking unnatural.

And, part of the reason I like larger dolls is because I "fell into" that size: my first doll was 64cm. If I'd started with minis, the story may be very different! But now that I'm attached to large dolls, smaller dolls just can't compete. I once had 2 minis, but have since sold them because no matter how attractive they were (and I loved their sculpts!), they couldn't help but seem "inferior" in comparison to my larger dollies.

 

I started off collecting smaller dolls for monetary reasons, but after impulsively buying a larger one on the marketplace (and getting over the initially feeling of being unsettled by just how large it was) I found that I preferred that size.

I think it's partly an issue of presence, as alihre mentioned. I've seen some smaller dolls that I really love the look of, but they just don't do it for me in person.

Oddly enough I didn't really care for my 80cm Mecha Angel, so it's not necessarily that I think bigger is better. Something about the 55-70cm range just really appeals to me. They aren't so small that I forget they exist or can't work in that scale easily, but they aren't so big that I find them unwieldy or intimidating.

 

I chose large dolls because of the body scale
their heads are not too big, and legs aren't short. Also I really really like realistic dolls. Most MSD has anime-looking, while SD is more realistic

 

Oh, I guess that's just the size that my favorite sculpts come in. I didn't really think about whether I would like one size more than another. In fact, I'd never seen bjds in person before I ordered my first doll, so there wouldn't have been a way for me to compare.

I do think that someday I would like to have a MSD-size doll to be someone's little brother. I think the size contrast will be cute.

 

I have to ask, because I see this in every thread ever, but have never encountered it within this particular sect of the doll hobby; Does anyone actually view their bjd as "replacement children"? I just find it beyond strange that it keeps being brought up in these types of threads, but I've never seen a single post where someone has given this as an answer.

As someone who lives in a rather small room, large bjd have never been an issue for me. They do not, actually, take up much room at all. Even though they are tall, they arent much wider than their smaller counterparts.

 

Replacement pets is the closest I can come to that? I mean, I love cats, but I don't want the hassle of taking care of one right now (I grew up with a cat, but that was when I lived at home with my parents, so it wasn't 100% my responsibility). But you cannot put a cat away in a box and ignore it for months at a time because you aren't in the mood for cats at the moment. That's the great advantage of dolls and teddy bears.

Though on second thought maybe what I mean is that dolls are replacement house plants. After all, I can't say they provide companionship (I understand some others feel differently, but for me they're only objects, though certainly very cherished objects) - what they do provide is a place to focus your time and attention and nurturing on, and then they reward you by growing more beautiful. And again, can't place a plant in a box and ignore it for months on end. Unless you're looking to make compost.

 

I don't have much space, but I just buy the dolls I like regardless... I like 40-60cm dolls, I don't really want anything smaller or bigger than that, but that doesn't have anything to do with space. Smaller dolls may save space, but I don't like the feel, they don't have as much presence or something. They'd feel more like Barbies or action figures. Bigger dolls are just hard to handle, and they tend to look more macho/mature/realistic than I prefer. I guess it's not too practical, right now I need to come up with more places to put my dolls ^_^;

I don't see them as replacement children (I don't even want kids). I see them more as 3D versions of illustrations. Like a beautifully detailed character drawing that I can hold and pose and look at from different angles. BJDs are an extension of my love of art and fictional characters, rather than anything to do with children, family, or pets. Changing their eyes, doing face-ups, clothing, etc are like craft activities...

 

Even though I only have one SD, I like the SD size because it is easier to work with! Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of MSD's and YoSD's (I have one MSD) but that one MSD, I find, is harder for me to work with for things like: dressing, possing, standing, etc. Simple things, but frustrating when it just doesnt work out. Plus, SD's are more perfect for my characters, generally because most of my characters are tall.

Another thing is that an SD would be easier for me to use when i start practicing face-up's which I'me scared of doing so it is best to work with something biggerso I will have a less harder time.

I do plan on buying more SD's, that's just me. I like the bigger size. It will be tough though, I have a small to

 

That's exactly my point though; I have never encountered someone who has said "yes, I view them as replacement children". So why the heck to these threads always start out asking if people view them as replacement children? This is something I can't understand...

 

Good questions! Maybe an even better question in regards to space would be why do some people own so MANY dolls?

I personally have a rather large collection (at least for my very limited living space) and not a whole lot of room to put them. At least half of that collection is 60cm or larger. As for why large dolls, I dunno. It was a 60cm I first saw and fell in love with, which launched this whole hobby (*coughobsessioncough*) of mine. As others have said, I love the details in their faces and bodies, and the range of clothes and styles available. I also really like the heft and weight of them. They're ... comfortable.

But I also love the minis and the tinies are fast growing on me, too. There are actually quite a lot of wig/clothes options for most of the minis, but I have a few of the mature tinies (Soom faery legend, Souldoll Littles), and I admit clothes and shoes are rather a bit more limited and difficult to come by. On the other hand, they're a lot more portable if I want to take them to doll meets.

 

As others have mentioned,their much easier to sew for/face-up but I also find that I enjoy carrying and holding them more then the smaller ones. It's just awkward to carry YoSDs or tinies around,especially if I don't have a pouch to put them in. I still plan on owning smaller dolls at some point,but I just love the bigger sculpts more because the faces that are available swing more into my interest zone. xD