Soom Super Gem Discussion (Basic, Limited & Special Order) - Part 13

I hate to be 'that guy', but I'm at my wits' end with this.

Is there nothing to be done except extreme mods to fix the new Super Gem hips? I received my Heliot a few weeks ago, the culmination of thirteen years of hobby, and I don't think I have been more disappointed with a brand new doll since my one experience with Leekeworld years ago. I had heard rumblings that they'd fixed the hip design, and was excited to be receiving a doll that I thought would function. Joke's on me! It's the same, terrible hip. I can barely get him to stand, even with sueding and those hooves, and it's all due to the loose connection. I have an Amber on the same, human body and I've tried everything, even taking the hip disks out and redoing his stringing. There is no weighted piece to cause it, nothing to block the channels, and he's as loose as ever. Nothing helps. I don't understand how they can keep dolls in photos standing, much less pose, unless they edited out doll stands. This thing doesn't even function on a basic level. It's absurd, especially compared to the well-engineered top half.

And I feel like a heckler for saying it, but when it comes to mechanics, Soom doesn't do well above YoSD. There's always some wrench in the gears to make what should be usable an uphill battle. It drives me mad because they're such beautiful dolls, and I have owned more Super Gem heads than is reasonable. I want to love this company. But after fighting with this body for several years, I almost don't want to spend money with them again until they truly, properly fix their design and make it usable. It was over a month's--worth of income to bring him home.

 

I did just plop my Spessar on a skateboard once and he stood there like a rock. I did have idea to hold that joint up but I don't remember exactly what it was.

 

I'm sorry to hear about the difficulties you're having with your Heliot. For mine I tightened the stringing in his legs to an extreme and it made him tolerable. Soom normally sends dolls really loosely strung, so I was prepared to take him apart and tighten the elastic regardless. I did restring him twice before I got the elastic tight enough. I managed to even get the body to stand on one hoof because of it.
I do agree though that Soom's engineering isn't exactly... noteworthy in a positive light. I'm happy with my Heliot body hybrid because I used to have my Chrom on the 2011 body with the horrid cub elbows. So he's definitely a step up from that. I am rather annoyed at the discs inside the new body's joints, but I don't know what would happen if I removed them and strong him straight through, but cross the elastic in the groin. Maybe I will give that a try in the next couple of weeks.

 

Rhyia (Euclase 2008) is a bit tricky to stand (he wears the fantasy bird feet as his defaults) but that's not helped by his looser than I'd like stringing. However, I don't have reliable hand strength in one hand anymore so I have to give it my best shot and hope that's enough most days. His upper body is relatively heavy which doesn't do him any favours with regards to standing unaided.

But when I compare his ability to stand to that of Khale (Leeke Khal on the muscle body 2011), Rhyia stands like a champ. Khale has the Spinning Legs of Doom (tm) with bonus Collapse O'matic Knees of Peril (tm). Khale's body is heavy and there's nothing in his hips or knees to provide friction. He needs to be re-strung (he's still rocking his original elastic from Leeke) but see previous comment about lack of hand strength.

 

You can string him the normal way (without crossing elastic in the groin) and he will stand great. Unfortunately he won’t be able to sit because there are no slots in the front of the thigh. I ended up selling the Sard I got with this body, but I had started a mod to make the hip joints like before because I hated the new hip design so much. :/

 

I haven't had a Soom since 2012 and recently got a Dia from 2016 secondhand. Is this the new body you guys are speaking of? I noticed he's pretty loose and I intend to restring and suede him but I chalked it up to age. I do like this body versus the 2012 male body!

 

Pardon my bursting in her with the most obnoxious squeal, but my Beryl is here and I am SO over the moon with her! I cannot wait until the weekend when I have daylight to take better photos of her and to make her her own wig that fits better!

Pardon the weirdo in the back and the less than stellar eye placement, but Eeeeeee!!!

The darn indoor lighting is so yellow that it's washing out how gorgeous her purple is in person!

 

Beryl looks like she is going to kill your indoor lighting! She's very pretty!

 

@jessholy Oddly I think she is actually less slowly than my other 3 Beryls! I didn't get a good shot, but there's something a bit softer about her!

More spam before I ran out the door in an attempt to better show her purple color.

 

I think the soft purples like she is are difficult to capture. I don't have a Soom purple but I do have a DV purple that is soft like this and it's very hard to get it to photograph the shade it is. But, to be fair, depending on how the light hits him he's either a grey-toned purple or a purple-toned grey.

She's lovely and she does seem to have a gentler vibe than the other girl she's standing next to. I'd say she seems a bit dreamy.

 

@Iron_Dog she really does! I need to get a photo of all my Beryls together for a photo. I now have white skin, brown tan, gray and now purple. (Hi, I'm Ise and I am a Beryl-o-holic )

The angles I have of my run in snapshot is from a lower angle, too, so I know I haven't gotten a good picture of her. The girl next to her is a Saiph, who is quite cheerful And sitting is a Vesuvia, who is the only one who might rival my Beryl girls for scowling!

 

@LiselT lol, I didn't even tweak to the seated one being a Vesuvia and I have one. Mind you, I had her modded to a him, Vasyl, and he has a custom face-up so the look is quite different.

This is Vasly with his husbands, Wae-Lan, God of Pain & Sorrow, and Macian, a Priest of Bao-Tein. Vasyl is on the Poison Kiss body, Wae-Lan is a Miracle Doll Asael head on a 5Star body and Macian is a Spirit Doll Dark LE50. I bought both Wae-Lan and Macian 2nd hand with the awesome face-ups/mods they have but unfortunately I have no idea who did them *sigh*.
Vasyl, Wae-Lan & Macian by ID Locke, on Flickr

 

@Iron_Dog Ooh, they are gorgeous! Kamaria (my Vesuvia) had the poison kiss body but her character didn't have that amazing tail. I traded that body with someone for the normal lover body.

She's got a faceup by me, but she deserves a better one so I hope after the new year to send her to the spa for a new one! ❤️

 

I got my Vesuvia 2nd hand from someone who was leaving the hobby. He was a great price and I'd always wanted to turn one into a male because I love that tail so I took the plunge. Vasyl's mod work and face-up was done by the very talented Dr. Krow. I need to get him some flat feet though as all he has are the 2 versions of his default heel feet (and the awesome default resin heels). But unfortunately for Vasyl I have other more pressing resin on the buy list.

 

@LiselT Seeing your Beryl next to Saiph makes me go "It's Galadriel next to her daughter!" Because I have an Elf Saiph and she is very easy breezy and represents Celebrian. Beryl has that edge to her that would be perfect for a no-nonsense mama elf.

 

@jessholy Oh I think Beryl would make such an amazing elf! Now I am daydreaming LOL.

I feel like Lility (Violet Beryl) oddly has a sort of dreamy look about her compared to her 4 sisters. Those gals rock the haughty look and the scowl!

Here is another quick snap of Lility that I managed to get in daylight! There is just not enough of it this time of year and I live in a place called Broome Cloudy for a reason The Violet color really is just gorgeous. I am working on a proper wig for her now, she is borrowing someone else's here.

 

She is gorgeous. I shall always spread the elf love!

 

@LiselT WOW look at her! She's stunning!

 

@Littlebirdzoom Thank you! I am just trying to figure out her personality now as I fuss with her!

 

Hey kids! It's been a while...

So, quick question about the new and old bodies. Will the old hands swap to new bodies? During my catch up read through the old discussion, I recall that the new bodies hands are connected with magnets?

My Breccia needs some love. So I've decided to strip her and go in a new direction. New Blush, new face, the whole deal. Eventually, I want to match her to a boy (no idea who yet, sculpt wise, but there are some favs), and said boy will likely go in a elegant demon theme, to match the kitsune theme. I want to use Breccia's fox hands, on a new male body...