I had the chance to get into a couple of shops yesterday to see some more boards, stand on a lot and feel out the concave of some I had not seen in person until now.
Heroin 8.38 is the same as the other Baker, Birdhouse, Element, DLX and DGK in that it is 32.2 with 14.5 wb. There was a green eagle there and it lined up perfectly.
The China made UMA decks were actually a much closer concave to BBS than anything else I have seen, with the more spoon like kicks, vs the flat faced kicks as per most woodshops. Besides the "Made in China" sticker, they had the laser etched info over the front bolts area, same as quite a few other boards from that woodshop, which ever one it is, all dimensions listed in a medium sized font.
One Magenta (BBS) 8.5 I saw is indeed smaller in length and wheelbase than other standard 8.5 BBS boards, so about 31.8 and 14.38 wb, shorter than the Passport normal 8.5 which is over 32 and 14.5 wb on one I have, same as Baker, Element, Birdhouse, etc. These haven't changed at all and have had the two different sizes for a while, as per older catalogs I rechecked.
The China made Birdhouse decks were interesting to see and stand on. Even seemed like there were two options in those as well, one being all natural with generic logos and the others with stained tops and bottoms with the same graphics as the pro BBS made boards, which could be a bit confusing for some people, but easy enough as the warning sticker has "Made in Mexico" on the BBS boards.
The China made 8.38 is a lot more rounded off looking and just over 32 with a 14.38 wb, compared to the BBS one which is 14.5 wb and a bit more pointy in the kicks, especially the tail. Concave is more comparable to Dwindle too, nothing like BBS spoon shaped concave.
There were two other notable differences with some boards, both local brands that I am not going to post here, but the wood from one was so flat in the concave and low in the angle of the tail it was almost like a broken board in that regard, which was weird. I don't recall standing on or feeling that woodshop before, but it seemed to be more on the lower end of the quality scale.
DLX has had three regular 8.5 shapes for as long as I can remember, so nothing new in that department. Maybe some people just haven't seen them for a minute, but they have always been around. When I was riding smaller boards like the 8.125 black eagle, the normal 8.5 with 14.38 wb felt so damn big when I set one up ten or more years ago, so I went with the blue eagle on the short version at the time for a bigger board I sometimes skated. Now I think the normal one feels way more comfortable than the short version, but I have also had quite a few of the long 8.5 board, which vert and big bowl dudes liked a whole lot, with the much longer wheelbase.
DLX 8.5 x 31.8 with 14.25 wb (short and tapers a lot from front to back)
DLX 8.5 x 32.2 with 14.38 wb (normal and stays true right through the rail with more pointy kicks)
DLX 8.5 x 32.5 with 14.75 wb (long stays true through the rail with regular popsicle kicks)