OK, You want the event with pictures, here goes!
The new crates are somewhat different from the ones that Vanessa came in:
http://www.vanessa.realdoll.dreamhoster ... rating.htm (You really need to update, dear!). So I am going to give this as a abridged tutorial as well, I know there are a few of you who are also near Arrival Day. First though, let's set the mood:
http://www.wtv-zone.com/ChrisZCorner/me ... NewBSG.wav (open in another tab or window)
"Whatcha got in there?" The driver asked.
"Would you believe me if I told you it was a Cylon?"
"Don't know what that is."
"Oh. Well when ya get home, look up Battlestar Galactica
on the internet." I told him.
Yeah, That's it:
The Box. It is big, and it is heavy! The furniture dolly that the mover had brought was just a small platform with four tiny wheels on it, useless on the crush & run driveway. Fortunately I had a
real dolly, with a strap. So I looked under the crate (the back panel) and located which end the bolt was that indicated where the mounting bracket was; this is important, as that is the top end. Before you do anything, check the "tip&tell" on the side
and look over the crate to see if there is any damage. Mine had a small dent on the backside, just below where the mounting plate is, probably from bouncing on that "dolly" he had under it in the truck. But it didn't look serious:
If your crate looks
badly banged up, don't do
anything until you have called Abyss! (The number is on the sticker).
The door of the crate is no longer held shut with an army of super long screws (thank the Gods!) there were just three medium length screws on the edge opposite the hinges, and a large clip, just pry this off, it's only snapped onto the crate.
"But Wait! There's more!"
However, even after unscrewing the three bolts the door still wouldn't open! So I started looking for another screw. It turns out that Abyss
does put one more screw in, but it is on the
end of the crate (or the top, if it's standing upright), and this is screwed in from the end, not from the door, so if the crate is upright, you will not see it.
OK, after I finally got all the screws out, and the door swung easily open on it's hinges.
Hey, this looks familiar!
Unlike Vanessa's, Sharon's crate had no "yellow sheet of paper" taped to the plastic. In fact there was no literature at all outside the sheeting! But I knew what it said already (read Vanessa's page to read it yourself) So I commenced pulling out the staples holding the plastic on. You could just rip the plastic off, but I didn't want
anything sharp in her path, so I pulled them all out, removed the sheet, and got my first look at Sharon!!
When they say "Pictures do her no justice." Trust them, they mean it! I thought she looked a lot like the "real" Sharon Valerii in the production photos, but staring at a "real" Cylon face to face gave me the chills (in a
very good way)!
I checked the damage to the crate on the inside too...
But as I thought, it was nowhere near bad enough nor in a location to have caused Sharon any harm.
Vanessa came with a plastic rose stuck betwixt the front foam and her belly, which she complained about the thorns sticking her. I guess Abyss took her complaint to heart because no rose came with Sharon, Maybe they felt the Valentine teddy was enough. As far as I was concerned,
she was enough! The instruction booklet
was inside of the box though, and it has a step by step procedure for removal, which I followed, more or less. But I won't quote it here, y'all can read yours when it comes. Assuming you can tear your eyes off your simuloid, that is! After I had gotten my eyes back in their sockets and my tongue off the ground (don't want to trip on it!), it's time to get rid of all that foam. Yup, you guessed it;
MORE staples! There are also a few boxes under her foot. One is the extra face (F9) the two others are the accessory kit and a pair of shoes.
"Hey! What is this? Those aren't Colonial Issue! Get them off me, they're too tight and I hate stiletto heels, I feel like a street walker in these things!"
"Sorry Sharon."
The instructions, and Vanessa's page recommends the best way to remove the foam piece from behind her back is to slide it down and maneuver it out from between her legs; I disagree. What I did was to carefully extend one of her arms forward and maneuver it out from her side. That way I didn't have to worry about trying to squeeze it past her nice pert butt. It came out very easily this way. Once I got all the foam out, I checked the insides to be sure there weren't any more staples.
Okay, now for the tough part, getting her
out. The instructions (and Vanessa) tell me about a wing nut behind her neck that I am supposed to loosen. Using the brush I bought, I untangled her hair and moved it all over her right shoulder. I found the nut, but it was
already loose. Not by much, certainly not enough to endanger Sharon. But it certainly wasn't tightened down. So I unscrewed it almost all the way out, but left it on the bolt for safety, carefully moving her arms out in front of her so they wouldn't bang against anything I gave Sharon a test lift. However, rather that grasping her under the arms or around the waist as directed by the booklet (and Vanessa's page), I instead wrapped my arms around her hips and grabbed the back of her thighs just under her butt. Just as if I was intending to frak her standing up. This I found was a very secure way to lift her in a standing position, as it let me use my legs to lift and she naturally leaned forward into me as I leaned back to counterbalance her weight.
Wow! it turns out she was
not as heavy as I had feared, I was able to lift her with no problem! Then again, thirty years of long distance bicycling has left
me in a lot better shape than many people my age, so be prepared! Anyway, after a few more practice lifts to get used to handling her weight I set her back down on the hook and unscrewed the wing-nut the rest of the way. Getting the wheelchair, I placed it in the best position to transfer her over to it from her mounting bracket with the easiest and least amount of motion. I then locked the wheels and spent a few minutes practicing how I was going to move her from the hook to the chair. Vanessa recommends this and I second it, Although I had little trouble with the weight, these things are not air-gurlz or foamys! Sharon weighs in at a hefty 85 pounds, and the B6 is one of the smaller bodies. So be careful when you seriously lift yours for the first time!
Positioning myself on her left side, I wrapped my right arm around her waist and my left under her thighs. Gently lifting her legs up until they were in a sitting position and I was bearing her weight I lifted her off the hook. Bringing her safely away from the mount, I settled her into a bridal carry and set her down on the chair. Walking behind it I slid my hands under her thighs and pulled her back into a more comfortable sitting position.
Now it was just a matter of propping open the front door, wheeling her up the ramp and into my room! Getting the chair into the room was a bit tough, mainly because of the size of the chair. But once there it was a simple matter of transferring Sharon from it to the bed. She was already in a sitting position, so it was a lot easier than changing from standing to "bridal carry". Once I got her settled, I posed her, made up her hair and got her all nicey-nicey looking for her first real photo.
Here she is, y'all!
“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
~ George Washington
The truck pulled in at 11:32 hours EST. Unfortunately, the battery in my digital camera died about halfway through her unboxing, just before I was ready to remove the plastic! I have it on the charger now. I want to capture all of her unboxing, so Sharon is going to have to wait a bit.
(*"P-mail", that wonderful letter that says "Congratulations! Your order is currently in Production...")
