up/downsizing dolls and parts?

I don't actively shop for BJD anymore, but other than a few "companies" that can make custom colors (matching to other companies resin), I believe only Resinsoul take custom size parts or any modification options at all. I don't know that there are any other BJD artists taking custom orders that far, as Resinsoul does. I could be completely wrong, but as far as I have ever heard/read, they are the only ones doing that type of custom resizing, modifying and color combos. It would be cool to learn, if any other BJD maker is doing that kind of custom work, if I am wrong (perhaps individual artists). (:

 

It really depends on the company, and I think it's more a case for 3d printed stuff as cast dolls need separate molds for every part. It's normally too expensive to make new size/new molds on request unless there is a lot of demand so a company is willing to offer the doll in another size (like Dollmore does with some of their dolls). Some dollmakers sculpt only digitally so downsizing or upsizing and making prototypes of different sizes is easy, but to cast them they still need to produce new molds.

Resinsoul afaik is the only one who could be willing to up/downsize their existing sculpts and parts in some way on request as they are very accommodating with custom orders and cast and make molds in their own facilities. But that's a very big exception in the BJD world.

 

There are some Chinese sculptors that have multiple sizes of the same sculpt. For example, Ringdoll and Telesthesia & Dragon have "shrunk" some of their 75cm males to tall 1/4. (Ringdoll made two sizes of Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, and T&D made two sizes of Du Xiaoju.) These dolls are typically called "special 1/4" and are around 50-51cm tall. From what I can see, the 1/4 version of the 75cm boys are practically identical in head and body sculpt, they're just smaller.

Other sculptors have made 1/4 and 1/3 versions of their dolls... SartoriaJ, and several Chinese indie sculptors who make heads only (eg. JR.shick made Kiru in 1/4 and 1/3, Joydoll made Jose and Jacob in 70cm and 75cm). But as cobaltconduct said, only certain sculpts are chosen because they're separate masters and need their own casting molds. I think the dollmakers choose which sculpts get up/downsized based on demand.

 

Some companies are also making special versions of their dolls at different scales. Ringdoll for example, has made a few 1/4 scale versions of some of their popular 1/3+ sized dolls, and I think Telesthesia has also done that with some of their bodies at least.

But in terms of specific parts being made to different scales or customized, Resinsoul is the only company that I've seen that can do that, though they do have limitations, such as asking for a doll body to be a different height or size. It does require different molds, so it makes sense why they might be willing to make a larger scale paw foot for example, than changing the scale or height of an entire body for one person.

 

Whether something is sculpted physically or digitally, each part of a casted resin doll needs its own mold. Every resized part will also need its own mold.

With scaling up or down individual BJD parts — the only real way this would be realistic for a company to offer one-off resized pieces is if they are both using digital sculpting and doing their own casting in house. Resizing an item that had been sculpted physically involves sculpting it all over again at a smaller or larger scale, which is totally impractical if only selling it once or a few times.* Resizing a digital item is far easier, but if the casting is done elsewhere, there may be a minimum order involved and so a one-off part becomes impractical as well.

That said, even if a company did offer custom resized parts, there would be a whole additional fee involved with making a new mold. This might be so expensive per piece that it’s not worth it for the buyer, probably why I have never seen a company offer this for casted resin parts aside from custom heads (usually minimees) that are almost always group orders. With digital sculpting and 3D printed resin, it’s far more feasible to do what you’ve asked about without much extra work and cost.

Also, something I didn’t know until recently was that some BJD companies, especially smaller ones, have their casting done elsewhere, similar to how western BJD artists function. Souldoll has had a few posts on their IG that mention their casting being done elsewhere, to name a well known company that’s been around for a while that operates like this.

I am willing to bet that Resinsoul does their own casting in house — probably what helps them keep their costs lower, but also probably why they can offer so many colours and custom options (and for so cheap as well). However, their work all appears to be hand sculpted and hand casted, so this is why they probably aren’t offering custom parts that they don’t already have.


*There are some artists that do this, with most or all of their dolls being one-offs. It’s far more common with porcelain dolls than resin, but in both cases, the dolls are vastly more expensive than what is typically paid for in the resin BJD hobby.

 

I have had a head custom sized to fit a specific body by an independent artist, but it was a 3D printed doll, and they didn't charge me a fortune for it. But for a cast resin doll, I'd think it would be much more complicated and expensive. As mentioned above, some companies do have some of their sculpts in multiple sizes--Fairyland, Luts, Iplehouse come to mind, and Dollzone long ago had SD, MSD and baby versions of Mo and Megi.