I’ve been
on a struggle a fight with myself. I’m trying to quit collecting and am having
a hard time achieving what seemed to me as a simple goal. It seems chance-fate
shows me a highly desirable piece every time I think my collection is complete.
I have to quit because I know there is no more space left in my room to display
more statues, or so I believe, the architect is yet to plan my room (I have to
pass her the measurements of all the 1/5 and up I have). However I’m not aiming
for a crowded and convoluted display, I want it nice and clean although I know
that for the smaller pieces (1/7 and under) some clutter will be inevitable and
I can live with that but not with the main ones.
For me to
choose to acquire a statue, what I call “click” must happen. I don’t know how
to describe the feeling precisely but it’s something that touches me deeply,
enchant me in a certain manner being the artistry or (mainly) the beauty of the
figure. That’s why I focused the majority of my last investment on female figures.
Almost. Yesterday Blitzway Vito Corleone clicked to me since is simply the most
precise and detailed portrait I’ve ever saw, it beats Hot Toys accuracy and
make Sideshow portraits look kind of childish. I don’t have a special affection
by The Godfather trilogy, but the
perfection of the piece made him irresistible to me. Add to this I could snag
him with 30% off and I crossed the line once again. Hope it does not fall on
the Hannibal Lector incident by Blitzway and that they present a figure on par
with the prototype shown.
I will hope
for the better and this includes the online shop to accept that I applied the
discount coupon on pieces not valid in the promotion even though the site
allows the discount to be applied either way and I used this breach to buy some
of my pre-orders. Coincidentally the pieces that interested me weren’t under
the scope of the promotions. Time, master of all things, will tell. Regardless
of discounts, looks like a pull impedes me from quitting. Every time I think I’m
done, some amazing picture pops out of nowhere, from some unexpected place and “clicks”.
Before Vito Corleone, a piece (one of my forever favorite pieces since I
stumbled on her) popped in my life because I was following a thread on Facebook
about a totally unrelated figure and saw her in one of the comments. Was
instant click and I’m deeply in love for this girl. So much so, I really thought
I was done with collecting when I pulled all de complex strings to acquire her.
I really
felt I had found my last piece, I wanted something beautiful and exotic, preferably
an exponent of Chinese sculpture since I wanted to close my collection with
Gantaku’s Azure Dragon but spent the money acquiring SS New Trinity Superman to
use the discount of said shop though Supes never felt like the finishing piece
of my collection. Before Superman another figure popped out of nowhere and made
me believe that was the one to close my collection on a different meaningful artsy
way. The Tell-Tale Heart from Australian Jack Of The Dust.
I was
decided, since I had no more money on PayPal that my collection had come to a
satisfying end to me with the skull-heart. It really speaks to myself as I see
myself as I guy who more often than not acts and thinks with the emotions and
the piece translated it very well, apart being very different from everything I
had even kind of gross which I found interesting and funny. However, others
popped in my way and I ended ordering Vito Corleone yesterday. When I paid the
new Blitzway piece, I felt very bad, the thought that came to me was: “now I went
far too far, it must stop. I’m out of control. Have to put myself together and
though a figure ‘clicks’ to me again I won’t buy it. Enough is enough and I
went far more than enough for a character that means almost nothing to me.”
I confess I’m
afraid I’m addicted. I was addicted to drugs (I still am just chose not to use
them anymore because the damage was more than I could bear) I cannot transfer
my addiction to spend money on this ridiculously expensive figures. I live in
Brazil, these figures are all the more expensive when compared with how the
majority of the population here lives. Besides, my brother will get very pissed
with me, since I send all my orders to his home in the US so we can bring one
or two every time one goes or comes visit the other. I don’t expect to have all
the pieces I have on pre-order and already in his basement before the end of 2021.
That being optimistic. The architect will plan my room considering them, but
there will be many empty spaces for a good time. My SS Captain Marvel is still
at my brother’s for you to have an idea.
I tried to
cancel my Vito Corleone order, I even sent an e-mail asking the cancelation but
my fear of being caught using my coupon trick and have to pay all the discounts
I expect to have that amass more than 500 US made me send another e-mail cancelling
the cancellation. I hope very much that Vito is the last one. At least until
the new SDCC if the architect could spare space for two or three more figures
as I asked her. I never ever have so many P.O.s in my life this is a clear
signal of lack of control. The worst part is that my credit card account is
shared with my mother’s who hates my collection. I entered in an accord with
her I won’t spend with anymore figures, that the payments finishes in February
or March. I’m on that schedule (except for the Chinese girl who will only be
launched in September when I have to pay the rest of her value plus shipping to
Brazil) but she believes I just ordered one figure (Rebel Terminator) and I had
to invent a big fat lie to justify the charges on the credit card. Told her the
figure was launched ahead of schedule and that an overtax would be charged and
the installments would be higher. This covers three of my pre-orders. The only
excuse I have to give to Vito Corleone is that the site discovered my misuse of
the discount and charged me the difference (she knows about the trick, I told
her). I don’t like to lie to my mother but she controls my money given my
peculiar juridical state of civil incapability. I don’t work, nor I can marry,
vote or drive. She is responsible for me and responds legally for my actions.
It was the way I found to free myself from the system and live a life that I
could bear.
On a final
note, my room is where I sleep, write, watch TV/play games and keep my clothes,
DVDs, CDs, games, comics and books. I have around twenty 1/5 and up figures (here or on the
way) plus two or three dozens of smaller figures, PVC anime figures, toy art,
some videogame figures and some Black & White Batman. The architect will
have a hard time figuring my room out. And I’m not rich because we hire an
architect, in reality labor in Brazil is extremely underpaid and she is a friend
of a friend of my mother.
The last question
I leave to the reader is: is it possible to stop collecting and continue to
participate the community?
Here’s my
list of P.O.s. Hope you all have a great week! J
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