Soom Super Gem Discussion (Basic, Limited & Special Order) - Part 6

Wait a second....just realized one of the tags on puppy_bunny's pic says "gluino". So, maybe he/she just coincidentally posted a pic of vampire Gluino with a different wig an hour ago? If so, sorry for getting everone excited about the pic

 

omg this and the faery FCE at the same time? What are you trying to do, Soom? Make me go bankrupt?! This dude is just too cool, and these are just his teaser photos!

 

Haha, what a silly coincidence! I'm not surprised you were confused, considering the timing. But that photo is tagged Gluino, so it seems likely that's what he is. I'm not familiar with Soom's big non-SG dolls. Is Gluino a Mega Gem or an Idealian?

 

He's an Idealian

 

Heliot Dream Ripper is so handsome, but bad timing Soom if he is in normal skin I will cry.

 

Here's the Dream Ripper promo page:
http://dollsoom.com/eng/shop/item.php?it_id=1403689066

Yes, Heliot is a Super Gem. Cat's Edgar is a Heliot.

 

Here is a recent picture of Edgar:



I do not think that the Special Order Heliot will have hooves. But maybe he will be gray .

 

Oh, my. A fangy Heliot.
... this makes me seriously wish I had money to buy more dolls now.

 

Question, not sure if this is too specialized for this thread or not, but here goes...

Does anyone feel like the free choice or special offers to bring back old sculpts lessens the value of the original? Not monetarily, simply in uniqueness or rarity? Just a curious question that ran through my head and I was wondering if anyone had opinions on that.

 

Not me! I own a bunch of the original MD releases, and I was still thrilled when Soom started doing Free Choice Events and Special Order dolls. I actually think that monetarily it has lowered their value but hasn't lowered their uniqueness or sentimental value. They're still amazing sculpts (and honestly, I prefer Soom's old sculpts to their newer ones, so Free Choice Events are especially great for me). They still look just as gorgeous as they did before the rereleases, and they still represent what they did back then too.

And, in all fairness, I used to think the second-hand market for Soom doll's was just stupid and frustrating. Even as a seller with MD parts that have lost value, I prefer the new lower value of Soom MDs. People trying to charge 3 or sometimes 4(!) times what a doll was originally worth was just ludicrous, and I'm glad now Soom gets that money through special resale events instead of it going to scalpers. I'd prefer Soom to cycle through their moulds every now and then, versus the second hand market consisting solely of people who mysteriously bought and failed to bond with every single MD and wanted to sell them for twice their original prices.

But then, I am a pretty insular collector - I couldn't care less if my doll is OoaK or if there are literally thousands of the same sculpt out there. All I care about is that I can own the dolls I want to own without having to sell my organs to snag them during limited sales or on the second hand market

 

I like your train of though sharnofshade. I came into the hobby late and a lot of the sculpts that I really like at Soom are sold out. So there I was, scrambling around trying to find another sculpt that would perfectly match what I had in mind for my character. But then I was thrilled when they rereleased some of their older sculpts. I now know I have a chance so I don't have to settle for second best. I actually enjoy seeing other people's versions of the same doll, because that sparks my creativity.

EDIT: I have a feeling I won't be able to break away from the temptation of Puss. I had taken him off my list because I couldn't find a character to fit him, and now all of a sudden I HAVE a character for him. When I first saw him in bronze, I said I'll get him if he was NS...and now he's NS. I just didn't know it was going to be this soon!! Dammit Soom!

 

SoOm has some of the prettiest sculpts. I'm very thankful they do have a secondary offering of the sculpts. As for worth/ monetary wise, I never did buy my dolls to make a profit, so for me that is not an issue. As for uniqueness, well, I really do hope people can find what they are looking for. Actually, when you think about it, each doll is unique. No two dolls are ever exactly the same, though they are the same sculpt. (Believe me, I know that some people get very territorial about the "uniqueness" of their dolls.......for what ever reason. I just find that stupid and selfish.)

yuan_mdx, I didn't know that puss was offered in the Bronze. I got him in the original release, and they called him a Brown Tan.....it's a deep cool tone brown/ tan. The special release of Dia was also a Brown Tan, but my Dia is a very warm tan. I'll try to get photos of the dolls so you can see.

 

I don't think it affects uniqueness that much. FCE dolls are in different resin colours, and realistically, how many of us actually order a particular doll/resin combination during an event? Not a whole lot.

 

As a fan of original Soom MDs, I don't mind FCE events at all. I think it's a great way to get sculpts that people missed out on. And I'm really loving the new SO releases where the sculpt is redone and it gives them a different feel. As for the new SO Heliot, I'm in love with him! It's so different from the original and I really want him. It's killing me waiting for the rest of his pictures! This also means that we might be seeing more of the older MDs released as SOs that are completely redone, which is exciting imo

 

Hooray! I am so happy with the responses! I agree. I don't think anything can take away that feeling I got when I managed to get a hold of my Amber. In fact the secondhand market is dizzying so the idea of FCE is quite nice. Even more so that the company recognizes that people love the sculpts and should be given a second chance to acquire them if at all possible.

Like I said, it was just a thought that had popped into my head and I wanted to know where people were with it. I'm glad

 

The more merrier, right? Sometimes it's nice to not feel like the only person with a particular sculpt. If it gives collectors another chance at a sculpt they love, what's wrong with that?

I am still hoping they might put Vesuvia into the next girl SG FCE even though they hate casting that tail. I am in love with Soom's grey resin now that my Obsidius arrived and would love a chance to get Vesuvia in grey. That option wasn't available before.

 

sharnofshade wrote:
and I'm glad now Soom gets that money through special resale events instead of it going to scalpers.
or recasters. And I love that Soom always adds a little something to the new releases. I'd love a Bronze Garnet. Just saying, Soom

 

I have a lot of limited dolls, not because they are limited but because I like them. The fact that it might be easier to replace them if something happens is making me happy not angry. I would be even happier if nothing was ever limited, but that might be impossible......

 

I have a number of older limited dolls (in general, not just Soom), and I have ZERO problem with doll companies choosing to offer Free Choice Events, or Doll Choice from IpleHouse, or FCS from Volks (although Volks doesn't tend to include the limited sculpts, which makes me sad -- I often don't manage to have the money to snag fullset new limited releases, or miss out on the lotteries, so it makes buying a new and much-wanted doll a stressful experience rather than an enjoyable one.)

I'm hoping that one of these days, I'll manage to actually have cash available during an FCE, so that I can get a couple of my long-lusted-after Soom dolls (Amber, Topaz, and Breccia, in particular), which I've missed out on repeatedly . . . I adore them, but I hate scalper prices, and I refuse to unjustly enrich someone who has jacked-up the price to twice or more what they paid.

(When I sell dolls, I mostly just don't want to lose money -- I may add a fairly small percentage, depending on whether I've paid for a face-up or something that would increase the doll's value, but I have never charged double or even close to it, much less the three or four times I've seen for some coveted dolls/heads/parts.)

I am absolutely thrilled that Soom is offering those of us who love their sculpts, but can't always get in on a fairly short offer period, a chance to give THEM (instead of scalpers or, even worse, recasters) money for the work they have done creating and refining the sculpt/parts . . . and that we have opportunities to get older dolls in new and fun colors, as well.

Also, Vamp!Heliot looks amazing, and I can't wait to see more photos!!

-- A

 

Oh...hehehe...whatever his original color was, sorry.

 

Pics are now up on Heliot's sales page

Hmmm...I definitely can't afford him, because I'm ordering Rru and am also going to order Luts' Pegasus once it's released. But I love those wings on his head, and since they can be ordered separately, I wonder if they would also look good on a smaller doll....(most of my BJDs are MSDs)

 

I'm trying to figure out the scale. Wings for a tiny, maybe? They would probably look cute on a little chibi bjd.

 

After seeing more pics of Heliot, I am just not that into him now, maybe the fangs and wings on his head did for me, but I can't wait to see owner pics.

 

For people with other special orders of the older sculpts on the new bodies, are the new heads the same size as the originals? I'm rather tempted to convince my mother that she likes my original Heliot head, get her to buy the special order, then give her my head and take the fanged head. But I know the new body is different from the old body and am not sure if that would work.

 

I'm usually not a fan of vampiric dolls, but I think Soom did a fantastic job with Heliot's mouth. His lower lip is wonderful. I'm really looking forward to seeing owner pics.

 

I've always loved Heliot... I wish I had the space. Those early SOOMs... Geh! Something about those sculpts... They are what got me hooked on BJDs.

speaking of which... I bought my SGs out for some photos:

http://i960.photobucket.com/albums/ae87/lunarbackbone/Mobile Uploads/image_zpsc0b8c52c.jpg
http://i960.photobucket.com/albums/ae87/lunarbackbone/Mobile Uploads/image_zps9829fe1e.jpg

 

Minerva: Yes, I was also thinking that they might work for tinies^^ What I would really want to try though, is buy the Luts Pegasus and put those wings on his head. But I think they'll be too big for that...

Lunarbackbone: These two are gorgeous!

 

Lunarbackbone your Saiph is so beautiful. Love her face-up and horns

 

Love your Benmore lunarbackbone, he looks fantastic! May I ask who did his faceup? It's beautifully done.

 

Ack X____x sorry, MODs. These days my brain is extra fried from baby and too many moves in one small time. I won't make that mistake again. Oh! And Angeltoast was their face-up artist.

 

I was not home to receive my FCE Quartz today, darn grocery shopping, so now I have to get him Monday before I go to the doctor

 

Oh my gosh, Dream Ripper has absolutely slayed me. I'm about five seconds from getting the full set in grey. He is so obscenely beautiful.

...Somebody please stop me.

 

Let me help you. Click. Oops. Bought. Oh well~~

 

Hahaha! You're a bad influence~

But odds are, it's totally happening. I have my Fox girl paid off already, so why not? My resistance is so weak.

 

Has anyone had issues with the wolf sword? We're having a bit of issues with ours in my house. The seam where the two halves of the sword connects: a) has gapping issues and b) doesn't stay connected. The first is easily fixed I figure, either sand it a bit or add epoxy to make it look better. But the second one I don't know what to do except see if I can add magnets. Thoughts? I can share pictures and video if needed
Sent from my RM-917_nam_usa_214 using Tapatalk

 

Hello! I wonder if anyone has asked Soom about new release of tanned Dia.
If anyone else wants one, maybe, we should write them more letters about it, so Soom could start thinking of the 2nd release?

 

O boy....I'm not sure how long the ladies in France requested a tan Dia, but from what I know it was a very long time. When they finally made him, I got one because I had a feeling that was a one time offer of the doll.....

 

I am smitten with the new heliot,.. those fangs!
But sadly, I only have one SD, and he seems so lonely. I don't know if I'd get another despite the temptations, because I just never touch the one SD I do have!
But I really love the size, I just wish I wasn't so intimidated to handle them! lol
Oh well, here's some pic spam of my neglected big boy!

 

oriscany
I really think it is not Soom's policy nowadays - a one time offer.))) People from the Russian Dia club told me that someone had already asked Soom about that. The answer was - "we'll think about that". So, I believe, some more requests can make their mind about the re-release.)))

 

My FCE Quartz is all put together, but putting on his dragon legs was a pain in the @$$! My fingers will never be the same also I noticed 2 thin spots on his lower legs on the side where it could chip in the future. Meaning I would have to take off the dragon parts and reinforce it with some clear epoxy to prevent it from chipping or cracking. I really love him, but will wait to paint him and glue in magnets. Will post a pic of him soon.

 

I hope you're right about that. The ladies in France, I'm sorry I don't remember the names, had an on-line petition that was signed by the people who'd really buy the doll. They had at least 60+ signatures, and finally SoOm decided to make him.

 

oriscany
I believe, a lot more people would like to buy him now, when they saw the photos of the owners. Tanned Dia boy is so gorgeous!
Let's hope for the best, then.)))))

 

Hello there ^^

First of all, I am new here and don't have any dolls (yet). Puss in boots nearly got me, but since his wig was missing I didn't want to buy <<'' If I buy, I mostly want to have a wig and a body with him/her as well since I am kind of scared buying from foreign shops xD

Secondly, congrats to everyone owning a SOOM-doll, I think they are my favourites I love these fairytale-themes they have right now, even though I kind of miss the regularly fantasy dolls they used to make back then. I think I fell in love with Wolf The Knight, but missed him. Oh well, if he wasn't supposed to be my first doll, it has to be another xD

So, about SOOM in general... Since you all bought at least one doll of them, how is the service in general? Or the condition of the dolls? For my first one, I took three shops in consideration: SOOM, Luts and Iplehouse. I either want to turn my OC to live, or Takuma Ichijo from the Manga 'Vampire Knight' xDDD Still looking for the perfect dolls though ^^
Another question: What are you looking for in dolls? What makes you actually buy them? Like, do you have certain images how your doll should look like and wait patiently or are you more spontanious in this way? As some people for example see a doll they like and just buy it.

 

Welcome to the thread Sayurichii! I did not get the opportunity to order my Amber directly from Soom, but I did order my Soom Ai (that has since been rehomed). So, the concept is about the same.

Soom will send you a confirmation email and notification thanking you for the order, but then you will not hear much of anything unless you contact them directly until your doll ships. Once your doll ships you will recieve tracking information and you will begin to stalk every mail truck near your neighborhood. While you are waiting for that glorious shipping notification you can be searching/researching for clothing and extras depending upon your idea. The whole thing is quite stressful, but it is this way with all companies. However... once your doll arrives and you have that box opening... that perfect piece of resin creates the cliche twinkle in your eye like a kid on Christmas. Every single second of waiting... was all very worth it!!! Soom is great, they package well, and there are tons of people happy to keep you sane while you're awaiting your very own Soom doll.

I hope that helps.

 

Welcome!

Soom makes really beautiful dolls (as do Luts and Iplehouse) and really neat fantasy bodies. I can't speak to the new bodies, but the old ones aren't exactly the best posers.
So the real question is what do you want to do with your dolls once you have them?
I'm really into crafting and photography. I want my dolls to be pretty (naturally) but I also want to be able to take interesting pictures and not spend 90% of my time wrangling my muse. Sirocco, my Migma, is a fair poser - so long as I don't get too ambitious - and Sonja, my FCE Onyx/Vesuvia, is a total beast (it's that massive tail) and therefore can't be trusted in unaided standing poses with most of my other dolls But she is very pretty...

ADAD - Dark

 

Thanks for your reply! ^^

I see, you both really like those dolls, huh? So the quality of them is pretty good I guess? I've heard that the new ones are better posable. At first, I didn't believe it myself since I thought the old design would be pretty posable as well until I saw pictures of the new body.
I think I would go into photography as well, I'd like to have a doll which is a beauty (of course) and somehow interesting. Like I already said in one thread, or even in this one, my top aim right now is to 'build an OC' I have. Since I draw a lot I came to certain designs or characters I somehow fell in love with So I am already having certain features in my mind... And I think that SOOM actually offers the best looking dolls and face-ups. Since I am new to the scene, I don't really know people who are good at custom face-ups ^^' Do you think these are important?
Another option I'd go for in a doll would be cosplay. I hold several characters of certain mangas or animes very dear, so dressing up like those would be huge! That's why I am still pretty critical... I think SOOM already had a lot of beauties. But since most of them are limited, they are kind of out of choice u.û' I really hope they'll restock some of them like they do it with Heliot right now.

 

It really is a pity that you missed out on Puss because of his wig. You don't really have to worry about that because there's plenty of sites that sells good wigs. Actually...sites that specifically sell wigs tend to have better quality.

Also, it's too bad about Wolf but as soon as you get marketplace access, you might want to hunt around for a Wolf head.

Soom is an extremely popular company so their Q&A board usually has about 3 pages full of unanswered questions. The English site manager will get through them eventually but you can expect to wait a couple of days for your questions to be answered.

As for your last question, my dolls do need to meet a certain criteria: they're from a large family so they have to look alike. I've been interested in Soom because a lot of their sculpts are rather similar in appearance. Some people are bugged about this but it has worked to my advantage. Now I just have to wait for them to rerelease their older sculpts so I can get my hands on them.

 

I wonder what the chances of a Free Choice event with the fairy boys is. Both of the sculpts I want didn't come up this round because they were only using girl sculpts.

 

Don't worry, I am fine ^^ The Puss in Boots was gorgeous, but somehow I believe there will be a better option. Either through second hand or upcoming dolls, since this doll somehow was missing something. Maybe I would have needed more pictures, but so far it wasn't this 'shut up and take my money' -feeling.

 

Welcome to the thread, and to DoA!

The new bodies definitely stand more solidly -- I have an older SOOM girl (Beryl, original release -- more pictures of her here) and a newer-body SOOM girl (Ignim), and Ignim definitely stands better . . . on the other hand, Beryl was the first doll to have digitigrade limbs and hooves (she has two joints below the knee -- the ankle one is concealed in the "fur" just above her hooves), which makes her more complex to pose.


Various Deviltries par Ashbet, sur Flickr

Currently, I have her legs wired (18g copper wire, run in a U-shape through her legs and torso), which makes a huge difference in standing/posing. The older hoofed/clawed girls really need it, in my opinion.

(The other option is a doll stand -- Angell-Studio makes 70cm stands that work very well with Soom dolls.. When Anat, my Beryl, is on display, rather than being outside for a photo shoot, she uses one of those stands. I recommend that if you are going to store/display dolls in a standing position, that you invest in a couple of stands -- if they're sitting down, you don't need one, but even the most stable doll can be knocked over if someone stumbles into the bookcase or shelf that he/she is on!)

For posing, I recommend paying the small extra amount of money for the SOOM "Extra" body, for both boys and girls. The difference is in the upper part of the leg, where it goes into the hip joint -- it provides more poseability and makes stringing easier.

SOOM does have many of its older dolls out of production, but they periodically do "Free Choice Events", where they offer a certain resin color and selection of previous sculpts to choose from. You won't know in advance what is going to be offered, so if there is a particular SOOM doll you're wishing for, it's best to go ahead and have some money saved up and put aside, so that when they do offer an FCE (which doesn't last terribly long), you can jump on your dreamed-of doll while you have the chance. And if s/he isn't in the next one, they may be in the one after that.

Another option, once you have been on the board long enough and have met the minimum number of posts (do please check the Rules section regarding Marketplace access -- IIRC, there's a waiting period plus a minimum number of posts, and mods will remove "spam" posts that are just intended to increase post count), is the DoA Marketplace. When you have access, if there is a particular doll you're looking for, do a search in the "Larger Dolls" section every week or so. (For example, "SOOM Amber" would be a good search term, if she was your Holy Grail doll.)

Some sculpts and colors are more common than others, but there are almost always a few SOOM dolls/parts floating around in there, which will allow you to get a sense of the secondary market.

Buying directly from SOOM, there will always be a wait -- that's normal, and not something to worry about. Almost every single Asian BJD company effectively does "pre-orders" -- the customer buys the doll, *then* the company casts it. So, there is a production time involved, especially if you chose a face-up/face painting for your doll, or if you bought a "full set" with clothing/wig/etc.

There are "Waiting Room" sections for various companies, where we all keep each other cheered-up and excited for our impending arrivals, as well as consoling each other when the wait makes us a little crazy

SOOM makes absolutely beautiful dolls, so I think you'll be very happy with whichever one/s you settle on! Luts and IpleHouse are also reputable, good-quality companies (I have dolls from both of those companies, as well -- click the link in my signature if you're interested in seeing my collection -- and I think you'd be happy with any of these three companies as your first doll.)

Best of luck!

-- Andi

 

I've read the rules before to make sure I won't get kicked out of the forum before I can actually settle down and come to chat with people xDD So I've catched up with the part on market place-rules ^^ Even if I get just to look at some photographes of my favourite dolls, I'd be happy though. Honestly, I am really interested in how the dolls diver from their advertisement in looks. For example, I saw someone who had made a custom face-up of Wolf the Knight, whith red eyebrows and freckles all over the face. An idea that I never had, creating a doll whith freckles xD Unfortunately, there are no pictures of this version. Plus, you could really see how the doll looks in general. I think most companies add a little photoshop and stuff to make their dolls look especially beautiful. The wolf is actually the only 'head' I've seen so far outside of SOOM, maybe without wig and a different body, but he was still really handsome.

And thank you for actually pointing out what free choice means xD I always wondered what exactly this means. Thought they'd just offer some kind of custom doll, like making you choose from different body types (e.g. bust for girls or fitness for boys) and faces. I recently saw that they are offering some of these fairy dolls again, it's actually the first free choice I really witnessed. But unfortunately, I am not into fairies xDD I prefer humanoids with stable feet. I think the mermaids were interesting though. Hope they'll do a Little Mermaid-themed doll once, maybe even a little merman << Since they somehow like to play around with fairytales xD

 

Quick question if anyone has any pointers:

How do I attach the Sard Night Odyssey wings? I've tried a few different configurations for the attaching ribbons, but they aren't all that stable. The wings keep slipping down.

I need to figure this out before I work on Viridian's clothes to ensure the ribbons are covered. Suggestions or even a diagram would be greatly appreciated!

 

I like Soom for the creativeness with their dolls. I only own one full Soom doll (my FC Chrom) and I love him even if he isn't the greatest poser. He does what I need him to do and I sueded him so that helps a lot.

My partner has a Wolf Knight human head in need of a body and is currently looking around for one. One that has peaked her interest is the DZ 65cm boy body. Any thoughts on that hybrid?

And now for some spam of my Soom boy.

Liam has a new wig, I need to style it better, but I already like it loads better than his old one.

 

Back when I had Heliot with the wings, I ran his top ribbons through his armpits, into his chest cavity. That's where I tied them off, leaving all the dangling ends inside the torso. He wore a kimono, so I put a couple of button-hole type ribbon holes in the back to lace the ribbons through before running them in through his armpits.
The bottom ribbons I just tied around his waist (they were long enough I ran them around his waist, then around over the bottom bit of the wing support in back, then back around to his front and tied them off there), and then put his clothes on over that.
Sorry, no diagrams or photos.
I don't remember seeing the Sard wings, but I am guessing they were essentially the same, with several ribbons - some towards the top, and others near the bottom.

Hopefully that helps. ^_^;;

 

Thanks, aernath! That helps a lot. Yes, that sounds like the same basic structure. Four sections of ribbons to hold the wing framework in place.

I wasn't really planning more clothes for his upper body than a heavy beaded collar so having these ribbons dangling was ruining the effect that the wings are part of his body. Guess who will be getting restrung tomorrow to try this!

 

Make sure you post photos of the result, Minerva! I have a pair of Cuprit wings that sound like they string the same way, and I've had the same problem as you (especially because the strings are bright silver, so they've been a pain in the butt to hide ).

 

Yes, I'll have to take photos and write something up. These wings have bright teal ribbons. They match Viridian's general colour scheme and all, but I don't want to see them against his resin. They stand out too much.

 

I think I've came up with another question about SOOM dolls... Or more it's some kind of general question?

Since SOOM actually doesn't have lots of wigs or accessoires in general to sell, where do you buy yours? I think Luts makes beautiful accessoires, but are they really compatible with SOOM? I somehow miss SOOM's measurements to know how large the wig or the eyes need to be, or the clothing <<' Is the height the only important thing for that issue? I mean, companies tend to make different kind of body shapes... So what if the clothing won't fit?

 

Quicky question, does anyone know what size magnets Chalco needs for his horns?

 

Here's my Crow . He is stunning. For more pics and info check the arrivals, I posted a box opening thread for him. He needs a wig and I have to make him some clothes. And I need to adjust one of his eyes I see :P.

The Crow by Buzzingbumblebee, on Flickr