Are you bothered by seams????

i dont care much of seams... and also im too lazy too remove them XP

 

This is what I was trying to say but obviously did a poor job of saying. I plan to customize my dolls eventually. I'm just not confident enough right now to do that.

 

But it is a part of customization, to remove the seams. Look at the Gunpla hobby, where some of the perfect grade kits can cost as much as a decent MSD sized doll, and these are injected plastic parts still sent to you on plastic sprues that you have to cut out and assemble. It is up to the person putting it together to sand the parts to remove gate marks should they so desire. Resin garage kits....same thing. It's expected of the kit buyer to do all of the finishing work, and seeing how Volks got their start and still does them and was their inspiration for their Super Dollfies, it's no surprise that they never considered it something that wasn't extra.

As for some companies producing seamless dolls for cheaper, there was an excellent post about different kinds of molds, and I suspect that companies like Bobobie that have less detailed dolls can use the metal molds that produce smaller seams when cast properly. And like Milky Teabefore, I always wonder if the reason why the less expensive companies offer free sanding is because it is still cheaper to hire unskilled sanding labour to correct bad casting than it is to throw out junk casts with mismatched parts. It in turn works as a great marketing ploy and keeps their costs down.

 

I don't mind the finishing work as each thing we do for our beloved doll makes them more "ours" and there's almost a bonding that takes place with each effort towards the perfect doll.

 

Seam lines have never really bothered me, on my dolls or any other dolls I've seen or handled in person. If my dolls had seams that were large and sharp enough to slice open my hand I would probably care enough to have them removed, but since that hasn't been the case...

In regards to companies sanding dolls themselves, whether or not they're charging extra for the service, I really don't think it's something they should have to do. I understand that the product they're offering is expensive, and if seam lines are something that really bother you that you would see them as an imperfection, but in the end seam sanding would probably add not only to increased production time to actually get the job done, but to increased costs. Sanding isn't just a matter of sitting down with a piece of sandpaper and having at it; if you're doing it indoors you need proper safety equipment, and if you're a legit company you'll have to make sure your employees know how to use it, and use it 100% of the time. Additionally, purchasing and using stock of sandpaper and safety equipment would probably tack on the added cost most companies who do sand seams, charge for the work.

Also, there are a lot of companies who are only run by a handful of people - some as few as a single person (I believe Migidoll started out solo, if she isn't still solo now), or two (In the case of Oasisdoll, I believe). Even Luts, if I remember correctly, only has 20 or so people doing every service the company offers, and they're one of the larger companies (Does someone know how many staff they have for certain?). Having one or two people extra whose only job is to sand seam lines wouldn't be cheap, as they would need to be paid, and I'm going to assume that most existing employees are already up to their eyeballs in their own work, and wouldn't want another job added on to theirs.

There's also the issue of dolls with tanned skin. The production of tanned and coloured resins is finicky, so sanding those seam lines is hit-and-miss; if you try it, the odds are very, very good that you're going to end up with marbling or mis-matched colours when you're finished sanding. That's why even limited dolls with tanned or coloured resins are almost always unsanded, or why the company warns you against doing it yourself.

Also, the way I see it overall is, no one seems to care about paying extra for a face-up when they purchase a doll, even though the face-up is what most people see as necessary for a doll to be "complete" to them. To me, seam sanding shouldn't be any different, should a company choose to offer it.​

 

I'd say...they do and don't bother me. They bother me when they are very visible, overly protruding and rather jagged. It's rare to see a doll with such terrible seams though as the company will sand those seams down before sending the doll out. Seams however don't bother me when they are small or with tan dolls, tan dolls aren't supposed to be sanded because you'll end up with spots a lot whiter than the rest of the doll which is more evident than a seam.

 

It depends on the severity of the seam lines.

Of course, I'd prefer all my dolls to be seamless. I've done pretty well so far - 3/4 of my crew is completely seamless. My DOC is the only one with seams (and what is interesting to note is that she has been the most expensive thus far). I have considered sanding her arms and legs, but as is they don't bother me too much as they aren't jagged or anything like that.

If I ever receive a doll with jagged seams, I'll just test out my sanding skills. I do wish companies would at least offer a sanding service... at least that way, customers would have the option of purchasing it.

 

I'm with Kim on this--bjds aren't exactly finished pieces. They usually come bald, naked and are meant to be customized by their owners. Even though they usually come strung, they're still very kit like in a lot of ways. Sanding has always been considered a part of the customizing process (seams don't bother me personally, so I don't bother to sand them). It's just not something that's part of the price--cost of materials, time and skill are, but sanding doesn't need to be. Granted companies are all different, and sometimes you get different stuff for the money--some send out their dolls with a free wig, or include the faceup or have no seams, but it doesn't mean that every company is set up or obligated to throw in extras. They're nice when they happen, but it's not to be expected and I certainly wouldn't want to pay more for the base doll because some people don't like seams.

 

Seams never bothered me. At least, not enough to attempt to sand them and risk ruining the doll, or paying between fifty and a hundred dollars to have the company sand them down before sending the doll out. I just consider them a part of the "bjd aesthetic" and leave it at that.

 

I -completely- agree. Well said.

 

Here's the way I see it...just one woman's opinion, mind you. People are certainly free to buy what they love and that's the truth of the matter...but...with so many wonderful companies out there who are perfectly willing and able to send out perfectly sanded dolls that are a pure pleasure to put your hands on right out of the box (and I'm not talking about certain colors of resin you can't sand because of discoloration issues...just ordinary, regular colors) I don't see any reason to purchase highly priced dolls with poor finishing. Simply put! Why on earth would I? I think it's just a cop-out by the company to cut time and labor...and by doing so, cut costs pure and simple, increasing their profit margin. Every doll body I personally own was finished beautifully by the company, as have been a great many friends' dolls I've handled over the years. And I certainly don't buy the argument that other companies' dolls are more "detailed". Oh please! Volks, Luts, Pipos, Elfdoll, Lati dolls aren't as "detailed" as Soom? It's just a basic doll body for cryin' out loud...I don't see any intricate carved dragons on it or anything! I think the reality is that people will look the other way if they really want a specific sculpt because they've fallen in love with it...which is all well and good, certainly. But please don't try to convince the rest of us that your doll's poorly finished seams are just an inevitable by-product of it's sculpt's superiority. That's just plain funny!

 

I don't think anyone is saying that Volks or Luts dolls are less detailed than Soom, and the general consensus is that Volks dolls are much more expensive than Soom even if that is generally not the case. Volks most definitely does not sand as a default, while they will offer it at an extra cost. But a lot of people do bring up that Chinese companies, which on the whole are cheaper, often sand as a default for free, and why can't other companies do that too. And I find that in a lot of cases, those particular companies are less detailed than a lot of the more expensive one that do not. A lot of these seams threads are started by people who feel that all companies should operate like these companies, and that is simply not something you would have heard about years ago when these companies did not exist.

I think Soom's quality control issues are a separate debate unto themselves.

 

I agree that the seams are just part of how the dolls are made. Some companies are better than others at producing smoother seamed dolls. If that company's product bothers a person, then maybe one shouldn't order from them. Seams are not a problem for me unless they are just awful, but one can take care of that. I agree that the tanned or dark skinned dolls are a whole other problem , though.

 

I think this is a very, very good point. We don't expect faceup to be included, and seam sanding as a service is something I think should be fairly equivalent in terms of "finishing."

 

All I want is that in a company's FAQ to tell me if they sand the seams by default, don't, or will let me pay a price to sand them. Because I am sick and tired of seeing company photos of seamless doll and then when I get the same doll... Boom. Seams.

 

Sorry, I did not realize that Volks had always charged for sanding. The Volks dolls I've personally come across were older ones that had been beautifully finished initially, and my friends told me they hadn't paid for sanding when we were discussing the issue. But I think you make my point that Luts produces lovely finished dolls while still having very detailed molds, so why can't companies like Soom? Really, I'm convinced it's all about money. The Chinese companies can produce beautiful finishing on their dolls because labor is still relatively cheap there. I can remember when certain extremely popular companies suddenly started charging for the removal of seam lines...people were quite up in arms about it here on DoA at the time. (While Luts actually dropped the prices of their dolls and still continued to finish them beautifully without an extra charge.) Those newly popular companies who started charging for the removal of seam lines didn't suddenly drop the price of their dolls at the same time to compensate for this lack of service either. That's why I feel it had far more to do with their sudden upsurge in popularity and ability to sell at any price than it did the detail of their molds. That's why, to me, this just sounds weird:

I'm afraid that with respect, I must admit that I just don't get it. I mean, if I absolutely fell madly in love with a doll that required me to pay a hefty fee for the removal of seamlines, I would still buy the doll anyway and remove them myself...but I would certainly feel that I was being "gouged" because as expensive as these dolls already are, the company didn't do it as an ordinary process of finishing my doll nicely.

And as for the people who bring up that Chinese companies often sand as a default for free, and why can't other companies do that too...I would first tell them there are other Korean companies that certainly do offer the service for free as well. And as for the ones who charge? Well, they do it because they're so popular right now, they can get away with it. Simple as that. So I would advise them to take the seam issue as a consideration in the true price of the doll. If they can live with the seamlines, then by all means do...if not, then be prepared to sand or pay!

 

i don't care about the seams , well ok maybe i am too laze to remove them= = XDDDDDd

 

I like the seams on my dolls as well. They add to my doll's dollishness, and I really hate discolouration. And there is a risk even with white or normal skin dolls that any sanding will lead to discolouration. If I had received a doll that had stripes of discolouration like the Bobobie previously shown in this thread, I would have been LIVID. That, to me, is damage. Seams are just a normal part of the creation process, like our belly buttons, to me, so I have never really understood the fuss over them. I don't even notice them much on my dolls beyond sometimes handling them and feeling the slight catch. I have mostly Volks and Bluefairy dolls, and neither company has ever produced prominent seams to my knowledge, which is a testament I think to them mastering their casting process. They still have them, of course, but not enough for me to consider it a flawed casting.

 

I'm a little confused about why people are including Luts in the "no seams" group. I have two Luts dolls and both have seams.