Favourite Size/Scale?

What is your favourite/preferred scale or size of doll?

There was a similar topic on DoA a while back and it seemed like most people there preferred larger dolls, with some explicitly saying they had no interest in smaller sizes. I’ve always been curious about what people here think.

In my case, I collect all sizes and think they all have their own unique charms, but my favourite sizes are tiny 1/12 scale dolls and MDD-sized dolls. I love my DDs’ faces, but truthfully find them unwieldy and don’t take them out as often as I want to because they take up so much space. Smaller dolls are easier to move around and their compact size makes them so cute 🥰

I've been leaning towards 1/4 and 1/6 because I also have a hard time handling 1/3 dolls, although DD are a lot easier to deal with than resin. 

I've had two 1/3 scale dolls in the past, a Smartdoll and a Resin one. I'm in the process of getting a 1/6 scale Obitsu and a 1/6 Tinyfox doll set up. Those 1/3 scale dolls were just too big for me. I prefer littler ones I can store in a bookcase and have standing up.

29 minutes ago, monkeypizzasonic said:

I've been leaning towards 1/4 and 1/6 because I also have a hard time handling 1/3 dolls, although DD are a lot easier to deal with than resin. 

Don't have them in hand yet, but my first true 1/4 are going to be an Iplehouse J.I.D. Cordelia, and a Minifee Miwa. Both ordered, but not yet delivered. 

I really like 1/4 (~45cm); that could be used to describe the majority of my dolls.

There are several 1/3 (~60cm) that I adore, but I am a bit lazy because they're so heavy. I get tired trying to take them interesting places for pictures, because I'm a wimp.

My two bjds are actually 1/4 since resin is heavier than the vinyl dolls. 😅 All of my vinyls are 1/3 though. One 1/3 bjd (an Angell Studio Michael) is on the way to me and it's my first time I'll have a 1/3 scale for resin... I bought one because of the lack of males on the vinyl side. 😤 I do have a male Dollfie, but these anime male vinyl models are usually in slender bodies. I have heard of Vindoll from Granado, but I think they're too muscular for my crew.

I generally prefer 1/3, but for vinyl dolls. My best friend owns a resin 1/3 and he's such a heavy boy! I'm sure I would grow tired easily handling those considering my muscle illness. Vinyl for me works perfectly!

Having said that, there are a few resin dolls by Volks I desperately want someday. Like Belldandy and (Romantic Glance) Williams. But I don't think I need to worry about it too much. Considering the price tag they go for second hand I don't think I'll ever be lucky enough to own one of the few resins I really want.

1/4 easily.

I own a 1/6 licensed Pure Neemo XS (Aoba from New Game!) and two 1/4 dolls (45cm, 48cm). I like the 1/4 scale girls more because they feel more real and expressive, and the clothes selection is more varied.

I initially tried to build Mai as a 1/6 doll (O24) but eventually failed there because I couldn't find a good sculpt + the glasses to make her look right.

Aoba (the 1/6) sits at my desk all day in her default outfit. I find that the 1/6 format is quite fragmented, so I haven't had the motivation to buy other outfits for her smaller frame.

On 5/5/2022 at 10:13 PM, Dolorre said:

I'm in the process of getting a 1/6 scale Obitsu and a 1/6 Tinyfox doll set up.

I saw the thread you replied to about the Mini Sweets head on an Obitsu body, and was surprised at how well they went together. It gave me ideas for a Pureneemo XS hybrid!

On 5/5/2022 at 10:57 PM, milkytea said:

I get tired trying to take them interesting places for pictures, because I'm a wimp.

Oh same. Also they take up a fair amount of space, and I don’t have much to begin with 😰

On 5/6/2022 at 6:48 AM, chef_mai said:

I initially tried to build Mai as a 1/6 doll (O24) but eventually failed there because I couldn't find a good sculpt + the glasses to make her look right.

If Azone ever makes Gochiusa Maya in 1/6 scale, it might be interesting to make a mini-me version of Mai. I’m sure I’ve seen her glasses in 1/6 size.

I've got the metal pair of 1/6 red glasses that Azone makes. It's super thin and doesn't have the right look to it. There's a thicker pair of rimmed glasses they do for a 1/12 line that would look great if it were scaled up to 1/6 and hews much more closely to how I've drawn Mai for the webcomic.

I'm hoping they release Maya in that ongoing 1/6 line for Gochiusa Bloom. There's some hope since they apparently did a second run of 1/3 Maya.

Edited May 7, 2022 by chef_mai

I adore the 1/3 scale, anything smaller that I've at least personally owned, I've struggled to get attached to - I'm not sure if that's due to the size, or just because I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with the doll. Not really being fond of my only 1/4 size (resin) has put me off from the size, but every now and then I'm tempted to adopt another. 1/3 will always be my favorite I think, though, even if I fall for a specific 1/4 size model.

i've been wedded to 1/6 since i got into Anime dolls 20 years ago.

1/3 Dollfie scale would indeed be a dream, but a very deep, very expensive rabbit hole of a dream that i'll likely never have occasion to realize...

Edited September 17, 2023 by Tasuke

I prefer 1/3 scale all the way, but I'm one of those weird ones that consider my DDs, Smart Dolls, MDDs, and even my little Yo-sized Tinyfox and SQ Lab kids to be 1/3 scale. This is because they are adults, children, and toddlers respectively, and all live within the same sort of world. None of them are short adults.

I do have one 1/4 scale resin, but since she's in between faceups right now she's deconstructed. I consider her to be 1/4 because she is the height of a mini but has adult proportions.

I also have a few 1/6 dolls in the form of custom Obitsus, and a handful of 1/12 dolls in the form of Nendoroid dolls. They fit into the smaller scales because they fall into the super chibi category. These guys, once completed, I don't really change or move much. They are distinctly shelf babies that I just keep in my office for cheer.

The reason dolls that I consider 1/3 are more appealing to me is because their outfits, shoes, wigs, and accessories are more detailed and varied. I can also take them out for a photoshoot and for me it's easier to find backgrounds and objects that aren't out-of-scale huge for them to interact with. It makes them feel more expressive to me.

Edited May 7, 2022 by Jezrah

18 hours ago, Jezrah said:

I prefer 1/3 scale all the way, but I'm one of those weird ones that consider my DDs, Smart Dolls, MDDs, and even my little Yo-sized Tinyfox and SQ Lab kids to be 1/3 scale. This is because they are adults, children, and toddlers respectively, and all live within the same sort of world. None of them are short adults.

It’s interesting you mention this because I had the same thought recently. Like Obitsu dolls in the 48-50cm range are technically 1/4 scale, but because Obitsu refers to its standard body as 1/3, all the companies that use it also call their dolls 1/3. Obitsu also calls their OB11 dolls 1/6, probably for the same reason you think of all those types as 1/3.

5 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

It’s interesting you mention this because I had the same thought recently. Like Obitsu dolls in the 48-50cm range are technically 1/4 scale, but because Obitsu refers to its standard body as 1/3, all the companies that use it also call their dolls 1/3. Obitsu also calls their OB11 dolls 1/6, probably for the same reason you think of all those types as 1/3.

Indeed, I forgot to mention that size originally, but to me DDP and Obitsu 45/47/48/50 are still 1/3 because they are meant to be young teens/tweens when using normal heads. They still have the big headed proportions of youth.

Whereas Angel Philia I would consider to be truly 1/4 because although they're the same 48/50 height they have smaller heads and the body proportions of an adult. Because of this I have no want of a full AP doll since they would be out of scale with the rest of my crew.

I would still consider playing with the scale and proportions of an AP body by putting a different head on and not using the ginormous boobies. I just haven't yet thought up a combination that makes me want to pull the trigger.

20 minutes ago, Jezrah said:

Whereas Angel Philia I would consider to be truly 1/4 because although they're the same 48/50 height they have smaller heads and the body proportions of an adult.

I think Iple J.I.D. is a bit like that too. They offer two bodies, one is more akin to a child 1/3 and the other is a 1/4 scale adult body.

42 minutes ago, Jezrah said:

Whereas Angel Philia I would consider to be truly 1/4 because although they're the same 48/50 height they have smaller heads and the body proportions of an adult.

Yes! They have some APs on display at the Azone store in Akihabara and they always look so out of place next the cartoony Azone dolls with giant painted eyes.

Y'know, I mostly have 1/3 size dolls (all vinyl) but recently I've been really partial towards 1/4 sized ones! I think they're easier to travel with/handle and the clothes take less time to sew. I'm still on the fence about slim msd sized dolls like minifees that seem to be super popular recently in the resin bjd world right now. I'm debating possibly getting a certain slim 1/4 resin bjd but I don't know how I would feel about it...I think it would be a pain to find clothes and shoes that fit. Chubby 1/4 dolls like the mochi ashi mdd body and the new Tinyfox dolls are also cute but I feel like they would have the same problem...

I have a few of every size, and so far my favorites for outings are the 1/12 size pets! I've got a Tamikan Space Tardigrade that can go with me anywhere thanks to its size and magnet feet, and a lot of people make carrying bags for 1/12 that even display them. It's really nice.

For vinyl specifically, though, I'm torn between 1/3 and 1/4. It feels like there's a lot more sculpt and clothing variety in 1/3, and most of my characters are shelled in 1/3, but they're not very suitable for outings. I don't have a nice carry bag for 1/3, but I can fit my AP in my cat carrier bag, and my 40cm cyclops girl in my fancy carrier no problem. So it really depends on what I'm doing with the doll!

I've come around to liking my Aoba PureNeemo more, and she's the only doll I can readily display on my workdesk since she looks like a figurine + is a recognizable anime character.

To answer the original question, I like the MDD -> Obitsu/DDP sized dolls the most since they most closely resemble characters in a typical slice-of-life anime, and I tend to gravitate towards those series.

On 5/8/2022 at 8:37 AM, Jezrah said:

I would still consider playing with the scale and proportions of an AP body by putting a different head on and not using the ginormous boobies. I just haven't yet thought up a combination that makes me want to pull the trigger.

Ellie/Elle is pretty popular because of her combination of AP proportions with a child-like ahead, and (my) Mai's pretty similar to this concept.

I think an even more compelling combo I haven't seen much of is to dial down the proportions a notch and use AP-C parts, so she can fit into all MDD/DDP clothing while having nicer proportions than the stock DDP.

I love the MDDF3 and DDP size. 

I used to collect 1/6 dolls but I never went back after I got my MDD. I really like the 1/3 scale. The clothing is so much more detailed and the dolls look more lifelike. I own MDD, DDP, and DDS and I like all of these sizes a lot. I think DDS is my favorite so far. 

I definitely prefer 1/3 scale, I only have one MDD vs 10 full DD. They're just easier to handle to me. If there's a 1/6 DD ever released, I'd be willing to try them... But I still prefer big 1/3 girls. 

I like 1/3 scale. You can hug them! But I've also been interested in 14/ scale girls and even 1/12 scale dolls like Dollce's Mini Sweets Doll Collection.

 

I have multiple 1/6 scale girls in my house, though. 

 

 

P.S.: 1/1 scale dolls also have my heart, they look so huggable  

Edited December 10, 2022 by CocosContestHall