The Soom 2016 Body

Soom SuperGem Body 2016 and 2012

So here is a new, 2016 Soom Male Super Gem Body (formerly under a Brett, I think) along with Bird, a Soom Tremo, who has the 2012 body. The newer WS body is actually lighter in weight than the older one, and a lovely pinky-white shade, and a bit translucent--almost identical to my old IOS G in heft and color. The body, like Bird's body, does not really like to sit upright with the legs extended--just like every Soom I have owned, so I was OK with that. Same magnet hand system, same 2-part stringing with the legs on one circuit and the head on another, as shown by Bird in this post.

Aside from being slightly taller and slimmer, the 2016 body has different elbows. The "peg" up inside the 2012 arm that annoyed and confused so many people is gone, with just this vestigial bump left to support the elbow in extended poses. Mostly it works quite well.

If you are looking at a photo of a Super Gem and you can't tell which year it is, look at the inside of the elbows. The 2012 has a little ridge along the bottom edge, the 2016 does not. Here you can see that the 2016 has bigger hands as well.

The 2016 has bigger feet, so you will need different shoes. The legacy shoes will not fit. The "Bear Claw" foot IS a 2016 foot, but it is the old size. I was not sure if it would even go on the new ankle ball, but it does; though the sculpt of the leg in back makes the smaller foot look odd.

 I was ok with that, but the thing I found the most disappointing is that those beautiful legs...

..Just want to collapse at the knee....

It's a combination of the new height, plus the bigger curve of the leg, but most importantly Soom didn't put long enough "teeth" on the back of the knees to stabilize them. The teeth do have a tendency to snap off on falls, but they add a lot to the stability of the legs:

I just stuck a wire in there. You could also tighten up the strings (I prefer them loose) or try some hot glue sueding; I find the wire is the most reliable --I had to put galvanized wire in there (like coat hanger wire) because the holes drilled in the calves were too small to take my usual coated wire.

Here are the two bodies back to back:

Here the 2016 is wearing the even larger fantasy hands :D. You can see how his legs have more of a swooping curve than Bird's more upright legs.
Even with the leg problem, I am very glad to have him--he's tall, he's beautiful, and he's hopefully going to hold up an incoming IOS 80 head, so I am so glad he looks like he might be a super resin match. I have a visiting Infernale head, so I took the Infernale off his own body and tried him on the Soom 2016, and he fits great--better than on his own default body, in fact:

IOS heads sit "on top" of their necks to give a greater range of motion, but it looks odd if you are not used to seeing it. Here is a view up under the neck:

I almost forgot to mention that the knees on the new body don't have the "slipcover" that the 2012 does--that gave Soom problems in manufacturing, I think, because there were a couple batches where the covers were missing or if they were present, didn't fit well. They look nice-- but the fit has to be Iplehouse-exact, with perfect casting and sanding. I can see why they were left off the new body.

Anyway, there it is. If you order one, buy some wire and enjoy him anyway--he's a pretty boy. Also, leave the feet alone. I had the worst time ever swapping the feet--I just hate resin hooks and these were especially balky to get the elastic over when the doll was strung.

 Here's the head I am waiting for--an IOS A2, which probably won't ready until April at the earliest, because IOS is swamped with orders:

Snooty Elven Prince Persimmon. :D