SoulDoll Zenith Discussion ~ Part II

I'm also a little unsure if I want the kid or zenith mermaid. The kid size would take up less room and be less expensive but... I really love Serein's sculpt more.

 

@solinvictus : Great point! It will be interesting how Soul Doll engineers the mermaid tail! They've always been a little bit "out of the box" when it's come to fantasy parts. I know my Souldoll Vito Riris has these hinged wings that allow them to fold (rather than strung/magnetized like other wings). If they go for a fully articulated tail, that would be so cool!!! Although the doll artist in me cries at the amount of chipping related touch ups it would need haha

@InnocentSin : Yes... the choice is difficult... to be practical or totally grandiose. I think both sculpts are luckily very similar...I think that Elfin looks like a mini version of Serein... but maybe more sad/pouty? But it will be better to see them all painted and styled to get a better feel for them.

...and then my naughty brain says "Double the discounts, means double the dolls!"

 

@InnocentSin both sculpts are beautiful, but I'm also liking Serein face a bit more - at least the human version. I would not be surprised if the mermaid version allowed to get both mermaid and human heads.

@Dybbuk yeah, the chipping might be awful... but I think I would still prefer more segments haha - can't wait for Souldoll to show us more of them!

EDIT: Souldoll uploaded a new video with promo pictures and... NOOOOOOO those are just mermaid-y outfits

I see where they are coming from, as this way you can easily change them to just be human dolls and the outfits themselves are pretty, but I really was hoping for a fish tail I could paint and decorate, so can't help but be a bit disappointed (my wallet, on the other hand, is probably very happy lol)

It's a good option though if someone would want some sort of water fairy with those ears.

 

So Souldoll showed the mermaids on their instagram and they don't have actual mermaid tails at all. I don't know whether to be disappointed or relieved.

Edit: Oops, just looked and they posted here too!

 

@InnocentSin I'm in the same boat as you - on one hand, I'm a bit sad as I really wanted a fishtail, but on another hand I can be happy I'm saving money on this occasion. The purple skin is very pretty at least even though I would be more tempted if it was grey or blue skin. But I'm sure Souldoll will sooner or later make something to my taste in the future - as they've done in the past

 

I am honestly just glad as I just put myself on a no-buy until September . But I do think for a costume solution they did very well and the outfits look amazing.

 

I saw as well just now!!!!

You know as a doll artist I would have loved to have customized a mermaid tail, but I also love this "no fuss" mermaid outfit (which is beautiful btw) that can give the effect without the headache and upkeep of the painting work.

One of the things that Souldoll stands out to me for is their outfit craftsmanship and this is no exception. I'm also loving the deeper purple color used. I may have to get me an early birthday present lol!

I definitely would have loved to see their take on mermaid engineering but perhaps another time they will attempt it.

 

yes - they are amazing at outfits, and as an alternative to resin parts, they've done them extremely well - the choice of fabric, the way the ruffle starts at the knee, so the bend is not as jarring, and the side fins... I have a couple of their outfits and the quality of sewing in real life will definitely be there.

In general I actually love mermaid silhouette dresses, so at least the promo pics will go to my stash of mermaid dresses pictures haha

The faceups and transparent hands are super pretty as well - if I had plans to own a water fairy doll, I would go for it, but on this occasion I will wait to see what they will come up in the future instead.

 

@solinvictus : I'm sure they will make more beautiful dolls to tempt us all with! And agree how they did the fin with the iridescent ruffles produces a nice illusion.

I really hope the head pieces are part of the outfits. I'm glad the transparent items come with them at no additional cost... but now just to see how much all the rest would cost...

 

Despite my initial disappointment I did cave and get a mermaid, Elfin. As much as I love how grand the zeniths are, kids are easier on my wallet. She'll make a lovely sea nymph.

 

Congrats @InnocentSin ! The overall concept and fullset of these beauties were gorgeous. I don't blame you for caving. What color resin did you get for her?? Did you get the outfit too? I really want one too but having a hard time deciding still. UGH!

 

I'm the same. I dont really want a large doll. But i absolutely adore Serein

 

Yes please show us when you get her!!

I actually really like that they did human legs. I personally like fantasy aesthetics without fantasy parts if that makes sense

 

I got her blank in coral purple and I chose not to get the outfit. The outfit's lovely but I have different plans for her look.

I'll definitely show her off once she arrives!

 

@InnocentSin congrats! She's so lovely and it will be interesting to see her in a different style

Aaah everyone's enthusiasm about those gals is slowly wearing down my resolve not to get any of them down haha I really don't need another doll project...

 

I'm just checking this thread to see everyone's opinion about the Souldoll mermaids because this will be my 1st Souldoll. I actually have 2 mermaids from AS and their bodies are beautiful. If Souldoll wants to beat that they have to come up with better design, so I'm not that disappointed when they made the outfit instead.

I do like the purple skin, but was hoping it would be lighter like violet. I like the ears too but not sure about the end of the ears. May have to cut that part I'm actually thinking to make Serein into a butterfly elf Her ears don't make me think of mermaid unfortunately.

How is the Souldoll box btw? Is it hard to string the zenith body? The custom in my country is so strict they will take photos and google the name just to find out the real cost, so I'm thinking to have her ship unstrung. But since she's my 1st Souldoll I'd like to get the box and cushion if they're worth it. If the box is too soft maybe I'll forget it.

 

Welcome to the souldoll family @Quinn.nnp In terms of stringing the body you are in luck, because Souldoll posted a video on how to do that on their youtube channel:


My personal recommendation is to add like a 1-2cm or so to the length they show, as Souldoll strings their dolls REALLY tight.
I've restringed both the old zenith and new zenith body and it's not super difficult to put them together, but then again I have quite strong arms... At least for me, it wasn't more difficult than restringing other companies' bodies.

I normally display 1-2 dolls max at a time, so I get dolls in boxes to keep somewhere meanwhile. The box and pillows look very nice, visually, sturdiness comparable with most standard other dolls (the ones I could compare as similar are soom, luts. A tiny bit less sturdy than feeple65 box I have)

I'm still on the fence myself - I got really hyped with the faces and actually started designing on what I would like to do with one, and then got disappointed when there was no resin tail.... but I'm getting slowly turned around...

If I decide to get one in the end, I will go for white skin, as I wanted to make a ghostly mermaid, but Souldoll's unusual resin colours normally are very beautiful and glowy in real life (got few tans and a light blue one) so if you go for the one you will not be disappointed. There is another video on their channel actually that might show the purple a bit better than the heavily photoshopped promo pics:


I think your idea for butterfly fairy is such a nice concept and would work well with their fantasy parts

hope this helped a bit!

 

@solinvictus thank you for a detail explanation. I actually asked them for a video on how to dress her so I can decide whether to get the outfit or not haha. If her face isn’t my favorite I’d not considered, but aesthetically I like the sculpt.

When you said Souldoll strings tightly, does it affect the posing? All my doll except Supia strung very tight too but it helps with posing.

I paid the 1st installment but won’t see her until 6mths later as I have so many unfinished dolls right now lol

 

Jumping in to the convo xD In my opinion it does. When the doll is too tight it gets kicky and unstable. My Souldolls have been so tight that I've been forced to cut the string just to unstring them because I couldn't pull the string out enough to unstring them otherwise. But last time I asked them to not string my doll as tightly and she came perfectly strung.

In the instruction video he's not stringing as tightly as what I've received. That's close to how I measure my string, but he's also using a thinner string than I would use for a Zenith. But as you can see, he can easily hold the string with his fingers while he puts on the hands and feet. That would be impossible with the super tightly strung dolls I've received from them.

I find their boxes sturdy but big. Also very pretty: it has ribbons to hold the doll pillow in place. I'd use them for storage under my bed but unfortunately it's like 2cm taller than any other doll box I have and just doesn't fit under the bed. So yeah, big.

 

@Yenna I was thinking the same thing. There's no way he can just keep the string with one hand without struggle. I asked my guy friend to pull FL feet for me and it took us a while to do it

I like Souldoll pillow but not sure about the box. And with the box shipping is expensive. Without the box and discount it's only $29 compare to $71. I wouldn't mind but I have to pay separate shipping cost of the head to artist so yeah it will be more than $100

So they will send the doll parts with the strings right?