AFRAID OF THE NEXT SDCC

I’ve finished my collection (counting the P.O.s) but for one piece that I’m negotiating with the factory, Gantaku, the Balance of Nine Skies Azure Dragon SHCC version. It’s all almost set. Therefore, I already consider it a P.O. Being that way, here’s what’s yet to come:

Putting them all together got me wowed at how many pieces I’ve pre-ordered. It’s a lot to me. All have a special meaning to me, each one gave the “click” and I deeply like them all. Certainly, to my parameters, is a great finale that will slowly arrive in the months to come. And may take years for all of them – along with others – make their way from my brother’s US basement to my room in Brazil. Maybe I will have to wait until 2020 to have them all here. But my room is already being planned by an architect to accommodate all the figures I have and the ones yet to arrive. I hope she can figure it out because my room isn’t that big.

Well, with these statues, I feel I finally completed my collection. The sense of fulfillment is very pleasant, something I never experienced before in around fifteen years of collecting. I think I’m done and I’m very glad I did. It’s not a big collection. I have several Japanese PVC figures I can’t even dare to name, but I can list the resin ones. You will realize I have the tendency to choose underrated statues, having no grail whatsoever. Here’s the list I passed to the architect with the measurements (which I will not mention here):

- SS Hulk Life-Size Bust (green version)

- SS The Thing Maquette (from the infamous movie)

- SS Daredevil OG (the one before the Daniel Bel one)

- SS He-Man

- SS Capitain America Allies Charge Against Hydra

- SS Captain Marvel

- SS Red Sonja Queen of Scavengers

- SS Rebel Terminator

- SS Harley Quinn

- SS The Little Mermaid

- Gentle Giant Babydoll

- PCS Blanka Player 2

- Volks Rei Ayanami

- Prime 1 Batman Beyond White Version

- Diamond Select Marvel Milestones The Thing

- Bowen Man-Thing

- Bowen Silver Surfer Faux Bronze

- Bowen Spider-Man Symbiont Museum

- Bowen Spider Man Museum

- Custom Wolverine Beast Mode

- Gantaku Azure Dragon

- 5 DC Collectibles Batman Black & White

Well, that’s about it. I pre-ordered Harley Quinn yesterday in a leap of faith because the architect isn’t counting with her and I don’t know if Sideshow will deliver on the painting of the figure, what worries me the most, since it is a complex painting scheme, especially the portrait. The architect isn’t certain about Azure Dragon as well. The remodeling will take place in February next year and I believe everything will fit, even though a lot of empty spaces will remain until all the figures arrive in Brazil, the biggest of them to Prime 1 Batman Beyond, a figure I can’t fully grasp the size since I’ve never seen a 1/3 upclose. It will be the second centerpiece of my collection with a dedicated place to it. The other centerpiece being Hulk LSB that will be right at the entrance of my room to cause the impact that this is not an ordinary room but, I believe, a magical room with so much to see and grasp, especially in Brazil, specifically in my region (Northeast) where I don’t know anybody that collect statues. And it will be a pleasure I can only imagine being in a room surrounded by these fantastic characters. I am pretty sure my life will be happier when they come out of the boxes and go to the shelves, all protected with glass, of course, since I don’t have the patience to dust them off. Only Hulk will be “free” because I think a glass box would diminish its impact. I guess Hulk is the figure I love the most, the one I would never let go. Even though it will be very difficult to sell any of my figures for two reasons: first, I’m in Brazil and second, I will have to throw away all the boxes. There’s simply no room for them in the apartment. I don’t know what will happen if I have to move. And I don’t want to think about it. My plan is to stay here till my last breath but chaos-destiny is very unpredictable, one can only wonder. Excuse me, I will smoke a cigarette, can’t do it inside the apartment (where I live with two persons that hate smoking, my mom and my stepdad).

Underrated corner

Well, even though I believe I acquired all the pieces I can possibly desire I am afraid of the next SDCC. Sideshow keeps pushing boundaries regarding portraits, especially female ones. In addition, I geared my collection towards girls. I believe no one will surpass the ones I already have but I thought that when pre-ordered Red Sonja and had to eat my words due to Harley Quinn, Rebel Terminator, and The Little Mermaid. Luckily, I survived unharmed to SDCC 18 but nobody knows what’s just around the corner. And this thought is unsettling to me. I asked the architect to plan my room taking into account free space for three more figures (now two, since Harley Quinn wasn’t on the plan) but I don’t know if this will be possible because I think she didn’t take into account my PVC anime collection with around two dozen figures from 1/7 to nendroids. Anyway, the future worries me because I can’t get “clicked” by any other figure and the possibility exists. What doesn’t exist is room for it. I won’t be able to sell the less desired figure and replace it with a new one because I won’t have the boxes anymore. I could just stop visiting the communities but they are a source of joy to me, I won’t do it. Maybe since my collection is complete I will gradually lose interest in the community but I hardly think so.

I just hope my room becomes a marvelous enchanted place to be. And that I can resist the temptation if it comes. I’m almost certain it will come. Got to be prepared and enjoy the feeling of having every piece I desire. I closed a cicle in my life, a long and delightful cicle dedicated to this hobby and its amazing pieces. I’m done with what I have and it feels good. I thought I would be taken by a sentiment of emptiness but it’s quite the opposite. I feel full, complete, satisfied, happy, and very, very curious about how my room will turn out. How will I feel being in it? How cool it will be to spend some time watching my pieces, these fifteen years of great hits and terrible misses, gaining experience and sharping my tastes, being wowed and disappointed. Was a hell of a ride. But it’s over. Once I achieve the pre-order of Azure Dragon. The rest is waiting. Then contemplating the small world of wonder I built to myself. Living in it. Loving it. Proud of it even though no one gets it. I totally get it and it is all the matters. Until next SDCC… better not to think about it. Live and let live. Thanks for reading.

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NOBODY UNDERSTANDS WHY I COLLECT FIGURES

Statues... statues...

Nobody, absolutely nobody I know understands why I collect statues of pop culture icons (in my case Marvel and DC heroes and foes mostly) and understands even less when get to know how much each piece costs me (I keep this info as secretive as possible because to the average person it is just too shocking). I quite don’t get why I do this. I guess I feel a mixture of passion, enchantment, obsession and compulsion for the statues and happen to find them pieces of contemporary art. All those surrounding me sees them only as pretty expensive and pretty big toys. I guess some part of me never grew old completely or normally, like an underdevelopment of the self that makes me wish the same things I wish to have as a kid but on a completely new level of artistry and beauty. Yes, my first drive to choose a figure is beauty. Not only female beauty (which is the new focus I’m giving to my collection) but an artistic beauty that makes me think and feel that The Thing and Hulk, per example, are beautiful artistic expressions of high-end technology sculpting. No one, even most of collectors, can grasp what I see or feel towards a gigantic head of Hulk with an ugly angry expression. But I see it and I see it every day, several times a day because he’s right beside my computer. I confess I feel a mixture of bless and guilty for owning my humble collection. Things weight heavier for a person living in the third world where so many need the basics to survive with some dignity, where misery is just outside the building for all to see. Yes, when I imagine what one of these poor people could do with the money I spent on my new statue I feel very guilty. I don’t know why I am so blessed, I’m here by a mere trick of chance and this hurts me as much as it relieves me.

It’s not easy to be a collector. If a date enters my room, the first thing that will probably cross her mind is “what a childish ridiculous man! I better leave as soon as I can!” Lol. This probable (or improbable) she will never understand my hobby as nobody around here gets it (apart from my nephews. They love my room and it is not even remodeled to accommodate my pieces yet, have just a few out of the boxes. What they dislike is that they cannot play with them. Lol). But there’s a prejudice regarding collecting figures I don’t know how to fix. Or if can be fixed on the short-term. It’s maybe a too new and niche market the society (especially in Northeast Brazil) is not ready or open to grasp. It’s too strange adults collecting super-hero figures to no end like most of us do. They already grasp women with obsession with shoes and purses and whatever woman beauty needs, men that collects lighters, cars, perfumes, stamps but they just don’t get 1/4 scale figures and up. I must admit I have a prejudice with 1:1 full body figures myself! Lol.

The fact that people don’t get my hobby will stop me from collecting? I wish they could but they can’t, because I’m addicted to it. Space is the only thing that can make me stop. And fortunately or unfortunately space is running low. I hope with the remodeling to have place to four more statues. There are some statues here that I wish I could sell but there are no boxes and I live in Brazil. In addition, I have a craving for non-grail sculpts that lose their value on the aftermarket. But this is not really an issue.  

Due to look so many times to them I kind of get tired of watching the same thing and feel my eyes ask for new sights. I hope with more statues at display it solves the issue. And I plan to change every month the statue that will be beside my computer so to always have a new sight even if the cycle repeats itself (I don’t have a huge collection, you see). I never thought I could get tired of see the same faces but this is happening to me. I don’t know if it happens to you. Would like very much to know your thoughts in this regard.

About addiction. I was far worse, I lost control once and spent seven thousand dollars in one month, almost all the money I inherited from my passed father. It was crazy, very crazy. I had a good explanation to myself to each and every new purchase I did. Later on, I sold most of the figures for ridiculous prices on eBay. I’m not a good dealer at all. Lost F4F Skull Kid, Bowen Chromed Jocasta (from which only 25 were ever made) and OG Chicken Deadpool to name a few. My life as a collector was a bumpy one. Thank god, I put the train back on track and became hyper-picky regarding which statues to collect. I have two I really intend to buy: Sideshow Little Mermaid and Sideshow Rebel Terminator. And have two very distant dreams that are Prime 1 Batman Beyond Golden Version and Sideshow Swamp-Thing (yes, I know it is made of PVC :P). Apart that I have a mild to intense interest in acquiring Sideshow new Harley Quinn (I think her expression unmatched but need to see the production pieces since she has a very complex painting scheme). I only have the money to buy Little Mermaid though. I plan to sell some figures I have at my brother’s in the US to gather money for Rebel Terminator and maybe Harley depending on the results of the sales. I have a pension that is controlled by my mother who is my legal tutor since I’m considered civil incapable by the law. She is very hand tight about money but I’ll try to convince her maybe by the end of next year to acquire Swamp Thing or Batman Beyond Golden Version but I have my mind prepared this just won’t happen. Of all persons she is the one that understands the less my strange habit. As a fellow community member said to me, Facebook groups are the place where we can find and discuss with people who really understands and loves what we do. That’s the plain truth. I feel ashamed to share my collection with others around me but I’m very proud of it with myself. I find relief to meet people like you who understands the hurdles and pleasures (and there are plenty of both) of this hobby no one dares to accept. Or that accepts with a strange expression on their faces. To like it, is too much to ask. Sometimes I stop to think and realize I’m the crazy one. That everybody around me is right. What they’ll gonna do with my pieces when I’m gone? What the purpose of acquiring so expensive figures? Why fill an already tight room with a ton of oversized super-heroes? And the answer that eases me comes from I quote my father repeated often: “a thing of beauty is a joy forever”.

Rest well my father your other two sons are doing great with their lives and you would be proud of them and of what they accomplished. I was always the failure and will always be. Now with a bunch of extra-expensive toys to look at. But I write. I said my dream was to write and you mocked me at the time. I fulfilled my dream. It’s quite different from what I expected. Wasn’t prepared for all this loneliness. But writing fulfills me. It’s what I love to do and what my soul needs as much as my body needs air. Of course, a new love would be the greatest aid I can dream to my life, the end of my loneliness. But who would love a man who plays with toys at 41? Lol.

FIGURE PAINTING VS. SUN – POP CULTURE SHOCK ANSWERS

I’ve always been worried about my statues get sunlight, then, through the miraculous world of cyberspace, I had the chance to ask directly to the manufacturer about the eternal dilemma: figure painting vs. Sun. Here’s the answer:

My take to this answer is that indirect sunlight exposure will not damage the painting, and if does it will take several years to do so. My collecting room (which happens to be my bedroom) has one window. So as long as I keep my figures away from the window I won’t have to worry about discoloration. What are your thoughts about the matter?