Dollshe Bermann FAQ

Yes, the last Bermann released was the Il Milione (Sa Bermann, tan). The next will be a Do Bermann (open eyes) and probably in normal skin.
BUT.
There will be only 11 of them released. And after that, no more Bermanns. Hundreds of people want those 11 dolls. So you have to be *extremely* lucky if you want one. Or extremely rich to have one in the secondary marked.
And nobody knows when the next & last release will be done. Anu is certainly actually working on the release of the Il Milione..

 

Thank you for your reply Algesiras. Any idea how you can enter the lottery?

 

Thank you Idrisfynn. I have signed up at Tensiya today. So I'll keep my eyes on the lookout for any notice possible. I know I don't have much of a chance, but I will certainly try.

 

...wow. I didn't...jeez! so freakin...T.T no more Bermann?! dang. That sucks hardcore! Oh well, I shall give up on him then XD

 

Just for curiosity..... About how much should we have saved up for just-in-case...?

 

^ I think at least $2000

Sabriell

 

Resurrecting this thread.... Not sure if this is the place to post it but....

I used Christy's tutorial (which I found on Mercy's site -- sooooo many thanks on that!!!) on how to restring/suede a Bermann/Hound but I ran into a problem.

I am trying to suede and restring my 77 Bermann (Akihiko) and I find it difficult to get the knees and elbows to lock into place with those crazy extra joint pieces (which the regular DS boys don't have and the new Bermanns only have it in their elbows). I've tried sueding (hot glue -- haven't been able to find thin enough suede which is why I moved to hot glue) the inside of the thigh, the inside of the extra knee pieces (both ends) and the inside of the shin. But those legs won't lock. And I have tried some variations of not sueding some and leaving some sueded. (Also I'm careful to keep the glue fairly thin in those areas to avoid stressing the joint or them just not sitting properly). I can live with the elbows not locking but standing would be nice. He has new elastic in him, maybe I'll try tightening the elastic again.

Any suggestions? I'm going to try and add wire next but I thought it would be better if he could lock his knees on his own (to some degree). And I don't like the idea of 'modding' him. I want to keep him as original as possible.

Please move this to a different thread if its not appropriate, I just thought some other owners out there might be having similar issues.

 

My advice - but then I don't seem to have the same issues that some do with getting dolls to stand - would be to NOT mod, obviously, and not suede the knees but use the wiring method. I'm assuming - could be my bad - that you're not after having the boy stand unattended on his own for days but rather just from time to time? If my guys are standing around for a shoot - they have padding on the ground in case of a fall and when they're standing for display, I use the heavy stands sold on Ebay.

I'm getting ready to try the Volks kips system on the Version 2 body. Will keep the FAQS updated as to success.

 

Hey Pris84 ~ The original Bermann won't really 'lock' like the newer bodies, but you can stabilize the knees with wire and it works great! I can't remember the
combination I used on his knees (I'm at work right now, but I can check when I
get home). It seems I left the extra pieces alone and just put suede on the
lower thigh where it meets the top knee piece and the upper calf where it
meets the lower knee piece. But inside the actual pieces are blank. I'll
double check on that though and let you know!

(Oh, the number wire I used was 10 awg - I believe I put that in the tutorial - it
really helps alot!)

 

Zagzagael - Yes modding was NOT an option for me. His problem (I suppose my problem :P) was that he was not even standing for more than a minute because those knee joints just won't lock. So as Christy also pointed out, looks like the wire is my next step. Thanks for your suggestions. And I would be really interested to see how effective the KIPS are. That's a good idea.

Christy - Thanks! Yeah I was thinking it was going to come down to wire (sorry ... no pun intended). I use the 10 awg on some of my other boys. I trying to hold off on putting wire in him. I'll go and pick some up tomorrow and see how that goes. What type of glue do you use to apply the suede? I went to hot glue as I found it so much faster/easier and I could never get the glue to stick to the resin? Although I wonder if the pilver isn't the way to go in the long run.

 

I've gotten to the point where I use an exacto and 'score' the area I'm going to
put the suede on with...then I hotglue the suede on. I suppose I could just
plain hotglue, but I've still got a ton of suede, might as well use it, lol...

I have just used hotglue on knees before (on the new bodies) and that helps
alot, cos those new knees are a pain (imo)...sometimes they lock, sometimes
they don't, sometimes they 'flip'...so yeah, the hotglue there has helped alot.

 

Christy -- I tried the 10 awg but I couldn't push the wire through his knees and I did not want to stress the resin. I picked up some 12 awg and that went through. And it really has helped. I guess that little extra is what he needed to keep his legs fairly straight. I wish I would have been able to push the 10 awg through but oh well. He's a way better than he was before! And it's enough for photos which is what I was after. Thanks again for your advice!

 

Oh, good deal then! Maybe I *did* use 12awg....hmm...either way, as long
as he's more stable, that's the goal! Can't wait to see your pix.

 

I didn't drill anything, but now I'm curious what I used, lol! I'll have to wait to
get home and check it out!!

 

If you want them to be able to hold a lot of different leg poses, yeah wiring would be best, but if you just want them to be able to stand and lock those knees and ankles in place, I find that a simple spray of MSC inside the joints (where you want them to have more grip) and combine this by tightening the elastics a bit would work wonderfully and through a lot less hassle with less chance of damaging the doll's insides.

The MSC spray would create a rougher surface that results in the parts gripping each other better, the other advantage of doing this is because you're spraying the joints, you prevent them from rubbing directly (because it's now the coating that's rubbing against each other) against each other which could result in scratches to the resin over a long time. Anyway, just offering this as an alternative solution.