Thinking of moving to 1/3 scale dolls... tips? Warnings?

[Starwaia]

So I was looking at my Dollzone Shoyo who is 1/4 scale, and finding myself very dissatisfied for some reason. I think perhaps I am less 'wowed' by that size, but it could be another reason. What I'm asking is for people who have made the change from smaller to larger dolls to give some input on the differences between the sizes, which I know has been shown before, elsewhere, but not in as concise a fashion as I could really understand. I have some specific questions as well, for instance, what does it feel like upon arrival of such a big doll, as opposed to the smaller sizes? Also, there is the question of weight. Are they really so significantly heavy? And finally, there appears to be a huge range of prices for that size, so are the pricier ones more or less 'worth it'?
I'm not sure if I'll be actually purchasing a new doll or trying to fix up my current one, and I might do both, but hopefully this will help me figure that out.

[kiki-chan78]

1:3 scale resin dolls tend to be about 4lbs on average. The equivalent vinyl doll is about 2lbs. If I'm remembering correctly, I believe that a DZ Shoyo would be in the 2lb range. Bobobie, Resinsoul, Abio Angel (if you're lucky to find one of those in good shape) tend to be lighter, so maybe 3lbs? Though, larger dolls will be heavier (i think the DZ 70cm is 5-6lbs?). Weight depends on how much resin or vinyl there is in that body.

I started in 1:3 scale, then tried 1:4 scale... sold the 1:4 scale dolls, and rebodied them as 1:3. Now I'm creeping back to having a couple 1:4 kids on my shelf in addition to about five million 1:3 scale dolls.

Since you're coming from owning a DZ, I wouldn't really suggest going the Bobobie or Resinsoul route as a first large doll. They will frustrate you, and will feel like a step down. I'm just being honest. They are great dolls, if someone is taking the time to handle them properly... but yeah. ^^;;;

Angel of Dream is pretty comparable to Dollzone. They hybrid together quite nicely too.

Not AS popular here (not sure why) but I'm a big FantasyDoll fan. Their dolls are a little smaller than the average 1:3, but are really nice. The F-Doll Nina might make a nice older version of a Shoyo.

If weight is an issue, try a Dollfie Dream II from Volks. They are vinyl, but move a little more like a resin. They also don't have the yellowing issue that resin dolls have, but stain-ability is much higher. Their character Yukino might make a cute older version of Shoyo. There is also the option of getting the Yukino head (HDD-03) without face-up for a more custom look. ^___^

My suggestions are on the lower end of the dollieh price spectrum. They are all good solid dolls to try out to see if this is a scale you'd like. I know there are others out there that are also good options, these are just the ones off the top of my head. ^.~

<3

-Kiki-chan78.

[Sorean]

I started out with a 1/4 scale doll and even though I do like my minis, 1/3 is by far my favorite size. I love the presence that big dolls have (even my "littlest" big doll who is 55cm). It's also my favorite scale to faceup/customize and sew for. Also, it's fun to pick up boxes from the post office that are half your size. The heaviest of my boys is my Doll Family 63cm body... the pieces are very solid and hefty, but I can still carry him around conventions easily.

Seconding the FDoll love. Seriously, they are fabulous dolls. I have two FDoll bodies (the 60 and the 69cm boys), and my sister has a first gen. girl body and a Lionel. They are very solid posers, the second best in my house after Obitsu, and the resin has good weight. The only downside is that they don't have as many head sculpts as other companies (but there are options for hybrids), and their pictures on the website sooo do not do the dolls justice. FDoll is a good most-bang-for-your-buck option.

B&G Doll, Impldoll (despite some of their heads), and Doll Leaves are pricier than FDoll but not unreasonable. They all make nice dolls with good posing capability and good resin.

[Dirili]

The sculpt plays a huge part in the weight, especially if you're buying a male. My Bichun weighs over 6 lbs! EID superhero body is quite heavy hehe. The slightly taller model body weighs a bit less since it is a leaner sculpt.

Also, there's quite a range in sizes even amongst 1/3rds. I prefer really tall dolls myself... but they can be 50cm-80cm. I've seen one company sell 1/2 90cm dolls.

I could be wrong, but it seems to me like the average height is about 60cm for women, 70cm for men.

You know, I just realized that my niece was 6lbs when she was born hehe, so Bichun weighs about as much as as newborn lol.

Price-wise yes, they tend to be quite a bit more expensive than the 1/4 range, but as with other scales, it's a lot about your taste in sculpts and what you really want and/or what you are willing to settle for. As an artist I tend to gravitate towards the expensive dolls unfortunately... But even I have seen some less expensive dolls that look very nice.

I don't know if you are a member of DOA or not, but I think you can still see this thread even if you aren't. It's a list of BJDs that are under $300 and they have them separated into size categories.
http://www.denofangels.com/doawiki/inde ... Under_$300!

[Starwaia]

Wow, I hadn't even thought about rebody..ing my character, I'll have to look into that! Of course, there is the issue of where I'd /put/ a larger doll... I have pretty much no space in my room, and I don't want him or her to be where my siblings can get at them.
Anyway I'll check out some of those suggestions, thanks! That Fdoll Nina looks beautiful. A question there is which body is more poseable? The V2 one has a single torso joint (I think?) but is supposed to be double jointed everywhere else, or at least that's what I've read. I still don't know much about various jointing systems.
kiki-chan78, I follow your Acrylic Eyes blog and from what I've seen you have a LOT of dolls. How do you manage to store them all? And I can imagine what you mean about Bobobie, that's why I'm a bit nervous about getting any other doll, because what if the posing just isn't enough?
It seems I still have a lot of figuring out to do. Any more input would be greatly appreciated!

[Dirili]

Oh yeah, not really here nor there that much as far as the conversation thus far has been going, but if you are a creative person and like to do face ups, blushing and clothes sewing, THAT's one of the biggest reasons that I like big dolls. Working on a larger scale is far easier. You can squeeze in more detail, cloth folds and drapes better on them, etc.

[zirconmermaid]

Well, I have all sizes and I prefer the 1/3. They just seem more real. My 1/4 dolls are usually the children in the household and the 1/3 are the adults. I actually find it easier to carry the larger dolls around, and the Obitsu's can hold things for me!

[Dirili]

Obitsu's can hold things for me!

lol, that reminds me, when I had that mannequin for a while, he sort of functioned as a drying rack for me sometimes. I would hang my bras on his hands and arms to dry.

[kiki-chan78]

Starwaia, wow, you follow my blog? AWESOME! Uhm... I mean... that is nice to hear. ^.~

On jointing. Peanut joints will always provide a greater range of mobility. It comes down to having two points of mobility vs. the one in a normal ball-joint. Fairyland dolls are a league unto themselves, and are engineered like no others. Those suckers are worth *every* penny. I can't afford the larger Fairyland dolls, but my set of Littlefees are FABULOUS!

The dolls that I was suggesting/recommending, are ones that I've personally been able to handle and get something of a feel for. Imho, if you're used to DZ posing and stability, a BBB from the box is going to frustrate the bejeepers out of you.

I've handled the V.1 version of the Nina body, and it's a nice body, one I wouldn't mind on my shelf. On the v.2, they probably turned her into a two part body for aesthetics. Worse comes to worse, and you are dying for a three part body, contact Fantasy doll and see if they would be willing to make a type one torso with type two limbs; worst thing they can do is turn you down, and best thing that could happen is that they make the doll to your specs. So far from my interactions with them, they are some really lovely people in this company.

As for how I manage to store my ever-expanding horde? Honestly, they take up less space when they are standing. So they get to spend a LOT of time attached to stands on a shelf. Here's a slightly out of date photo (I've gotten a couple more SINCE this was taken):







I've also been known to corral them in those click-together wire/crate shelving units. If you're creative in how the thing is assembled, you get BOTH a space to display dolliehs, AND functional storage space. ^___^

On obitsu posability. It's not uncommon for me to 'hand' things over to Omi and expect him to keep them for me. Things where I'll literally *tell* Omi to make himself useful, and then make him carry my cellphone while at a Doll-meet. One of the other nice things about obitsus. When I get tired of carrying any of my big obitsus by hand, I have the option of letting them ride on my shoulder like a parrot, or brave the world seated on my purse. One of these days I should make a parrot costume for Omi. Yar! Ahoy Mateys!!!!

<3

-Kiki-chan78.

[OkamiKodomo]

I have 2 of the 1/3 size and a 70cm, then 6 of the 1/4 size. I like both equally for different reasons. I like the portability and cuddliness of my 44cm kids, but I love the statuesque beauty of my bigger dolls. I think in the future, I'm going to lean more towards the big dolls, but there are still a few of the 1/4 dolls on my wishlist that I want to get.