Amber, Soiled Spirit

 I ordered her in May and she is here already!! Unpainted, because at the time Covid was making it hard to get faceups. Wish me luck in painting her up today :D Soom has made a few really good changes in how they make dolls--I wish they had done these years ago because some of the simplest changes will help the most. The new certificates have the actual name of the doll on them! I can't tell you how many times I have mixed up Soom certificates here and had to flail around to match the correct card with the correct doll.

The other new thing is that there is now a second original certificate for the *body* as well so when you split a doll, there is no sad little photocopied "certificate" that goes with the body, or worse, when you let go of the original certificate with the body and then realize that you want to sell the head later. (sad face). The Owners manual is the pink thing you see in the back, all updated with the current stringing and parts. There is now a rfid chip in the head also:

It's the bump behind the hook, where the Soom Seal used to be. There is supposed to be one in the chest in the body as well, but she is strung so well I was unwilling to pull her apart to look. I don't know how much this adds to the cost of the doll, but the fact that you can easily prove a real Soom doll is a real Soom should help the company stamp down counterfeiters. Soom's willingness to reissue old, beloved molds helps too :D 

Finally, there are new boxes:

I think they are elegant, and if they contain less paper, they don't feel flimsy at all. Inside is the usual pillow, which to be honest I don't like as much as the styrofoam inserts Granado uses, because the zippers break; but I think some people use them as a way to transport the dolls to meets. Amber came with an amusing solution to the ear-versus-the-face-protector problem:

I think I would have put a bit of bubble wrap around the headcap, but it all survived the trip. Amber is now imaginatively named "Bambi", and once I get her face painted and into a dress, I will take more photos. This body is my all-time favorite body for size and posing, it's just perfect--I have the version with the mobility thigh, which I highly recommend. She also came with smoothed seams, which I really appreciate. Overall this release looks like it was made with care and love.

Oh, and the name? The original release of Amber was "Pure Spirit", and now this is the jaded version, supposedly :D In fact this individual doll will be "Spoiled Spirit" as I now have some jewelry making supplies!