What's Your Statue Arrival Process?

[Wizard]

So, here I am in my home with a new statue having arrived several hours ago. The journey for this particular statue began over 12 months ago. Now that it's here, I'm excited to open it up and see if it meets that time duration of hype and expectation. So, why haven't I already done that?

I started collecting less than two years ago. I've come to focus mostly on 1/4 size pieces with a handful of smaller 1/6 pieces.

My process of incoming new statues tends to be the same.

1. I receive a tracking number and proceed to check the damn thing at least 10 times a day until it arrives. Is there a more giddy feeling for collectors when you see on the tracking site that the statue has reached your home town?

2. The day of arrival. DHL, FedEx, UPS, or USPS.

3. Bring the box inside. Look for any crazy wear and tear. Place it either on the floor or my dining room table depending on the size.

4. This gets me to the thread's question - Why don't I immediately open the box?

Rather, I let it sit as I anticipate the opening of the brown box. Weird right? I get a strange sense of satisfaction over the statue finally being in my presence despite it being buried in a sometimes battered shipping box. I feel no compelling rush to rip open the box and visually pour over every centimeter.

Hmm, is my mentality the "hunt" being better than the "capture?"

Once I do get to opening the box, I deliberately go at a slow pace -- Oh, let me read that insignificant writing on this part of the box. Ah, this piece of plastic or tissue paper should be neatly placed over here.

And then the statue is revealed.

This is when your heart takes an extra pump in either glorious delight or WTF. Fortunately, I have never experienced the latter with the misguided exception of Sideshow's exquisite Conan Fury of the Beast. I thought one of the Beast's fangs was broken off from the sculpt, but then I realized that was part of the sculpt.

So, the statue then sits on my dining room table in all its glory. I spend a good 10-15 minutes hand-rotating slowly the statue. Finding those bits of unexpected artistry is always a delight. The statue stays there for at least the night when on the following day I place it on a display shelf...and then it's on to the next hunt.

Does this process sound familiar or do you go about it differently?

[built2shred]

I read the email of incoming statue and do this for the next 2 hours

[BGMchocolate]

For me it goes a little bit like this:

D-Day: The statue is suppose to arrive at my house, I check my tracking and jump with joy to see "out for delivery"

I wait anxiously for the rumbling truck to a stop in front of my house. I just love the bass sound of that truck engine. I hear a knock on my door, I greet the delivery person like they are Santa Claus himself, and then sign my John Hancock with barely contained excitement.

Carrying the big box to my living room table, I set it down to marvel at it's size. Oh yeah, it's definitely the statue alright. Or maybe the company sent me rocks. Or maybe the Albanian mafia hijacked my package and placed a dead body in it. I take a picture of it.

I grab my crafting knife and cut open the tape holding the box's flaps together. Fumbling with urgency, I free the inner art box out of the brown shipper. Ah, the package designers sure did a splendid job with the design. I take a picture of the art box.

Like a Russian doll, there are layers to this unboxing, but this is just 600% more fun. I pull free the foam casing from the art box and settle it on the table. Using my crafting knife again, I cut the annoying tape barring my way from my ultimate goal. I gently and slowly separate the top half of the foam. Here it is, months of waiting is at an end. The separate pieces of the statue lay before me. I take another picture.

I pick up, inspect, and put down every piece. Base, torso, arms, and head. (in that order) This is the part where dreams can be shattered, spirit torn asunder. Luckily the statue arrives with no QC problems. I take a picture of the assembled artistic glory.

The display space for this new addition has been prepared well in advance. I gently place the new statue in there and close the glass door. I stand back and take a long look at how this new statue lends itself to the overall aesthetic of my collection.

With my cellphone unboxing pictures in hand, I then blog about my statue's arrival. *Note* Bloggers got to blog!