...Well I did say in my last post that my next wouldn't be so boring! =P How much more thrilling can you get with a bit of everything all in one post!?
So why has this next update taken me sooo long? I've been super busy recently with an awful lot of sculpting commissions (Which will be opening up again soon for anyone interested! =P) to work on and ship out upon completion, we've been planning a move over to England and the biggest delay? Waiting for parcels to slow down and stop arriving! Seriously! No sooner had I convinced myself I'd get around to my collection update...I had something else ordered and told myself to wait until that came! It was a very vicious cycle! =< Luckily, parcels have slowed down now...I still have a very small handful of gets to show you once they arrive, but nothing of the magnitude I'm about to bombard you all with now, don't worry! Small and manageable gets posts are the way forward from now on =P
Onto the VERY image heavy gets! You have been warned!!
We'll start of with my main collection! Pokédolls! =D I've not had -as- many of these filter through my mail, but what has got here have certainly been gems! Really stoked to have these guys in my collection now! =3
So first up we have...
Groudon!! One of my Pokédoll mini grails!! Okay so he's not -that- rare compared to the likes of other grail worthy dolls like Salamence or Smoochum...but I just adore this guy so much and I knew once I saw that cheesy -yet somehow grumpy- grin, I -had- to have him! Could I find him for a decent price that I was happy enough to pay though? ...No. Until I found this guy on eBay for a cracking £7.99 (or $12.50)!
Only thing wrong with him we was very loved and had no hangtag... (Wait...Lureche settling for Pokédolls without hangtags!? Hey! If a Pokédoll's a bargain, I'll have it! =P)
Poor little pilled bambino...
...Until I came at him with a tape dispenser! (Seriously, what an ingenious idea, comm! Thank you for introducing me to this method of restoring up loved plush!)
And look! A tush tag! I did say he only came without a -hang- tag after all! ;) But...is he all he's cracked up to be? Do I have a legit Groudon Pokédoll in my collection now...?
Of course I do!! He may have came to me all loved and smelling strongly of detergent after a wash...but Groudon's "S" sticker hung on in there and was all I needed to see to be absolutely thrilled with my little grumpy bargain! <3 Squeeeee!
And here he is, looking all handsome! <3
My next Pokédoll get is actually a little milestone! =D She's the 20th Pokédoll in my collection! 5 years ago I never thought I'd get past having just 2 Pokédolls (Snivy and Serperior were my first two!) Yet here I am now with over 20 Pokédolls at this point! I know that's a very modest number to some of you guys on here, but I'm very happy with the steady pace I'm collecting these adorable little blighters at! The little interludes between purchases just lets me sit back and appreciate each Pokédoll as they come, and I'm very thankful for that! <3 So who -is- number 20!?
It's a Japanese Minky Espeon!
This little madam has been eluding me for some time now since Umbreon arrived to me last Christmas. I have some weird little complusive thing where I have to have "sets" of things and it bugs me to no end until these "sets" are complete! So the fact that Umbreon had no Espeon to accompany him with was a little niggle in the back of my mind... No worry now though! She's here and she's even got her hangtag with her too!
Albeit a ripped one xD I was aware of this upon purchasing her though so it's no big deal! Thankfully it hasn't run down into her adorable Pokédoll artwork =3 I wonder has anybody got any advice on how to well..."fix" a ripped hangtag? I know it'll never be perfect again but I'd like to stop this rip to a halt before I move so that it's not worsened. I know I could always tape it down...but tape is ugly and I'd like to keep the appearance of the tag as clean as possible ^^ If you've any suggestions, please let me know! =D
So what's my favourite part about my 20th Pokédoll? HER TAIL!! Asafdgsh!! It's so cute and tiny and perfect and I love Espeon's tail design at the best of times...but a tiny chibi fluffy minky one!? I can't handle it!
And here's what purchasing Espeon was aaaaall about...<3 Reunited at last! It's an America meets Japan love story here! They're just the sweetest together and I'm so happy my 20th Pokédoll purchase helped make this little couple happen! =3
Next up is Shinx! Another eBay bargain and a strange one to say the least! Shinx wasn't even on my Pokédoll wants list for some weird reason o.o I like Shinx. I love the Pokédoll design. It evolves into the badass Luxray. Why in the world was this NOT on my wants list!?! xD My mind works in strange and wonderful ways sometimes... Shinx here was actually sold by a seller on eBay who I can only assume didn't really know what they were selling...£2 ($3.13) was the price on this lil' guy and apart from a few specks of dirt and such...he was in lovely condition with tush tag and all! He's a 2007 Japanese minky release and is increeedibly soft and squishy <3 Perfect for a cheeky snuggle now and again!
Now...the only thing that irks me about this Pokédoll is the fact that he doesn't seem to have an "S" sticker on his hang tag or any glue residue where one may have been. I know Shinx is a very commonly bootlegged Pokédoll and the bootleggers themselves are getting very clever at making accurate looking dolls. This annoying little home truth alongside Shinx's veeeery cheap pricetag at the time has me slightly worried I may have hastily stumbled into purchasing a bootleg Pokédoll. Everything looks fine on him. His stuffing is all proportionate, his stitching and embroidery looks nice and even and his hangtag dates all seem to add up with Shinx Pokédoll releases. It's the lack of "S" sticker and the cheap price that has me wary. So if anybody on the comm has a 2007 JP Shinx Pokédoll that they know for -sure- is genuine, please can you let me know if (A) It's perfectly normal for this release to have no "S" sticker on the hangtag and (B) if mine looks up to scratch compared to yours (proportion, stitching, etc...) It'd be a huge help if you could put my mind at ease! =D
Now onto perhaps my luckiest Pokémerch find of all time.
A Wailord Pokédoll! Arrrgh!? Whut!? How did I even get a hold of this!? I'm broke. I'm an IRL "Bad Luck Brian". Yet this rare little gem got into my hands somehow!? Am...am I awake right now?
Now here's where it gets interesting. Wailord here actually came from the exact same seller that I purchased the "Mystery Shinx Pokédoll" from. So now you're screaming at your screen "It's a Bootleg!!". Well. Wailord was certainly priced like a bootleg. Just like Shinx, I snapped this chubby soul up for a BIN price of...
$3.13.
Let that sink in a while. $3.13.
That's -cheaper- than your average bootleg Wailord Pokédoll on eBay.
He arrived in absolutely pristine TTO condition. Not a mark on him. Incredibly soft and unpilled velboa fabric. At this point...I was worried. I mean...nobody lets a perfect little Wailord Pokédoll go for this cheap without it being bootleg...right? But...His tush tag looks so...right!
...........
When I saw this. I think I just...keeled over and died a little bit. WHAT!? I lucked out and got a LEGIT Wailord Pokédoll for $3.13!?! Happy dancing ensued from this moment onwards. Wailord was on my wants list. I thought I'd never be able to get him. The moral of this story is NEVER say never. Oh. And jumping in and buying cheap Pokédolls without a second thought just because you see it's a Wailord and it looks remotely legit in the pictures doesn't always end in tears! Miracles do happen, kids and fairies ARE real!!
Phew. I'm mentally exhausted and that's just the Pokédolls out of the way! Lets see some purple now!! It's Ekans and Arbok time ladies and gents!
The poor snakies have been a little bit neglected recently. I just keep putting off buying merch for them, convincing myself I'll just buy it all in lots one day. I never do. I always get distracted by something else...I'm sorry Ekans and Arbok. I love you from the bottom of my heart! I really do! =< What I -have- managed to buy are all these lil' things! We have - starting from the left- An Ekans Battle Roller figure, an Ekans Tazo, an Ekans Battle Museum figure complete with all this little flavor text stickers!, an Ekans 151 Tin can badge with an adorable "Ohsnap! Busted!" sort of face <3, a HUGE Ekans "Real" figure (Seriously...this fella is bigger than my Ekans Kids o.o He's super wide and heavy to boot aswell! He's soo perfectly sculpted too! He looks just like Anime Ekans <3) and finally an Ekans Hanada Stamp badge! This came mint in his box which you can see too! 10 points if you can spot a peeping Ekans on the box! =3
Poor Arbok is even more neglected than Ekans...I'm so so sorry my pretty little cobra =< But I finally managed to get a hold of one of Arbok's chibi stampers!! =D How adorable is his little face!? And the ink is still there! I keep meaning to stamp little Ekans and Arboks all over parcels I send out but I always forget! If you're one of the many who didn't get a little inky snake on your parcel, I'm so sorry! I'll be doubly generous with the adorable reptiles the next time! <3 I also got my mitts on my first of probably too many metal Arboks! This one believe it or not...is the gold variant. It totally looks copper in this picture. I assure you, he's gold xD And finally, an Arbok 151 tin can badge! How smug can one snake look!? =D The answer is...very!
Too posh and precious to be pictured with the rabble above is my Arbok GRAIL! Yes, that is a -clear- Arbok Bandai Kid figure! The only other one that I have -ever- seen online belongs to our very own marphoria and I remember being so very envious when I saw the beautiful jewel colored wonder in amongst her snakey army! I'm sorry Mar, but it's true! xD You had me a green eyed monster! I knew I just had to have this gorgeous crystalline looking beauty down as my Arbok holy grail after hearing how rare it was and how long it took Marphoria to track down. Did I expect to track it down within my first year of collecting Ekans and Arbok? Goodness no. Did I go crazy and bid on the huge lot of clear Kids that contained this little gem just for her? Hell yes. And I have not one single regret about doing so. My boyfriend and I very quickly made the money back that we threw at the lot on Y!J thanks to you guys and your very generous offers on my clear kids (seriously, thank you guys! I probably wouldn't have Arbok here were it not for you! ='D) and Arbok now takes pride of place in my modest little purple snake collection! I'm truly humbled to own such a rare and precious 'Bok! <3
Ahaaa! But I'm not finished! Just one more snakey get to go! The absolutely precious 2012 release metal charms! I've decided I need possibly...30 sets of these. I want them clipped onto practically everything I own. They're just too gosh darn cute and tiny and I really want to be able to EkBok-ify EVERYTHING. Sadly...I think I'll have to make do with just one set of these little guys for now...but my time will come.
So thats my collection all up to date. Thank you for looking and happy collecting!
...Not! You thought I was done? That I only collect Pokédolls and Ekans line merch? Think again! I've got some new kids on the block now!
Introducing...my brand new and slightly obsessive...NIDO LINE COLLECTION!
Yup. Thats ALL 6 of the poison type rabbitrhinosaurs! (Seriously guys...I love you to bits...but just what -are- you!?)
This little family orientated line has always been a firm favorite of mine to the extent that I always have to have them in my game playthroughs where possible and I've even used both Nidoking and Nidoqueen competitively in my online battle teams! When I first began deciding which favorite Pokémon of mine to start collecting...it was a very tough descision between Ekans and Arbok and the Nido line (aswell as Rhyhorn and Kangaskhan but I don't think I'm quite ready to start two more side collections just yet! xD). Ekans and Arbok obviously won that little battle...but then I began to think "Why not both!?" and so there were eventually no losers in the battle for my collecting affections! The Nidos really compliment the Ekans line aswell with them both being gen 1 poison types and a beautiful shade of purple and blue. They just look -right- together!
Of course, it's only the proper thing to do to introduce the ladies first...
Nidoran female! Though I stated the Nido line gang were Rabbitrhinosaurs...I'm leaning towards Nidoran Female being more guinea pig =P Here from left to right, we have a Clear Nidoran F Bandai Kid figure (I think this is the older release without the blue paint on her ear? Correct me if I'm wrong, guys!). A Nidoran F Sticker (I'm not clued up at all with flats xD Is this an Amada sticker or something else...?) A Nidoran F Tazo, A Nidoran F Tomy figure...one that I was expecting to recieve from FJ as a loose figure but surprised me by turning up MIP! YAY! A full set of all the colours of Nidoran F Chibi Stampers (woooot sets!) and a Banpresto Nidoran F money box! What an adorable novelty item! I'd store my loose change in her...but the stopper is pretty hard to put in and out so I'm afraid I'd never see my money again once it's been hoovered up by Nidoran xD But what can you do, eh? =P
An obligatory "Lit up" shot of my lil' baby Nidoran! =D What a gorgeous shade of light seafoam!
Next up of course is Nidorina! Unfortunately I haven't got much related to her at the moment and it sucks since she's one of my favourites of the line, but I'm super happy with what I do have! The Tomy is another MIP suprise from FJ and the Nidorina Clear Bandai Kid is from the same lot I got my clear Arbok and Nidoran Female from! =D Talk about killing two birds with one stone! I could have sworn that I took a lit up pic of the Nidorina clear kid...but I can't seem to find it anywhere so ho hum! xD
And last of the grills is of course Nidoqueen! The clear kid (yet again!) was from the lot I got all of the above clear kids from and I managed to get two stickers of her too! My absolute favorite has to be Bellyflop Queen! I know it's kinda sad for poor Psyduck to be getting whooped like that...but the sadistic side of me just finds this sticker quite the ribtickler... xD
Light 'er up!
Now onto the lads!
First up of course is Nidoran Male! Here we have another plot twist MIP Tomy figure, A Nidoran M Tazo, A Nidoran M TFG figure, a Nidoran to Nidorino lenticular card, the corresponding Nidoran Male part of my Nidoran money box set and a Nidoran M mini skateboard which I funnily enough found unexpectedly on eBay whilst searching for my Ekans grail, the Ekans Mini Skateboard! Go figure, huh? =P
Seems years since I last saw this generic anime Nidoran Male pose <3 Nostalgiaaa!
Next up is probably my all round favorite of the Nido line! Nidorino! Of course...true to form. If I actually like a Pokémon? Chances are I have very little merch of it! xD *facepalm* No prizes for guessing where the clear Nidorino kid is from! We also have an unusual little miniature Game Boy style card dispenser with my spikey lil' fella featured as the first card! And of course, a figure I've been wanting since I saw it in the toy shop during my childhood...the biiig chomping attack action figure! You push his back legs inward and his jaw rattles and bites in a big noisy flamboyant show! Wonderful! <3
Here's a closer up picture of the miniature card dispenser! Cute no? =D
And here's who else was contained inside! Look! Kangaskhan and Rhyhorn! It's a sign that I should start their side collections! *shot*
Aaand my pretty pink baby aaall lit up, showing off his fancy spots!
And finally, the big boss man himself!
Nidoking! This guy pretty much dominates my Nido collection! He's got so much merch compared to the rest of his family, it was pretty inevitable that he'd steal show!
One of my very first Nidoking finds happened to be a postage stamp of all things! Very strange! I fell in love with the pose and artwork of this one though so I had to snatch it up! Next to that is another (Amada?) sticker with another Nidoking pose that I just love! <3 "Come at me, bro!"
Behind these guys is a postcard with Nidoking featured on it! Punching the ground like an angry oaf! <3 Next to that we have more metal charms, shame the clear kids and the Tomy figure is blocking Nidoran and Nidorino xD The clear kids are a bit of an anomaly to me though. As you can see, they're both very different colors! The first is more like a "Pinkan Island Nidoking" while the second is a more natural looking King! Both have the exact same stamps and years on them though and were from different lots...so I'm wondering if there were two different releases of Nidoking in the same year? Has Pinkan Island King suffered from discolouration by sitting in the sun? Or maybe there was a production line error? I've actually seen quite a few cases of different colored Nidokings on Y!J which makes me think it's a little more than someone just sitting them out in the sun too long... Can anyone shed any light? =D
Beside all those fellas, we have an incredibly grumpy looking Nidoking keychain (seriously...don't mess with him!), a Nidoking sticker box which sadly no longer has any Nido line stickers inside =<, a little Chibi stamper Nidoking (aaaargh his adorable little face!!! <3) and one of my favorite pieces of my Nido collection..the buildable wind up figure!
Which I took pictures of while he was all mint from the box before building him! There was quite a few parts that went into making this fun lil' guy =3 He walks around the place like a champ now though and does a wonderful job at wrecking my displays when I let him loose <3
Here's a better pic of the metals charms I mentioned earlier after the clear kids after manouvering around those rude Kids and Tomys =P
Some more little oddities! The blue token is from a board game which I have now forgotten the name of... and the coin...well it's just lovely and shiny and wonderful <3
Heck! The Nido's even have their own special card binder! Spoilt much!? The artwork on this is absolutely stunning though and even though it was an absolute pain to track this binder down from a place that would actually deliver to the UK, I've finally got it and it was well worth the hassle! <3
Inside...is perhaps a little less impressive! I do have all the original set of Nidos though! King and Queen are both holos!
...And Nidoqueen is a misprint! She's from the Jungle set ofc...but she has no Jungle symbol! Intruiging!
And in keeping with the TCG theme...I found this booster pack! How much more perfect for my collection could this be!?! Nidoking AND Arbok!? After doing more research into the Ex Dragon Frontiers set, I found that the Nido line and Ekans line do indeed feature in a few of the set's cards! So what did I get upon opening my pack?
A holo Electabuzz, Totodile, Natu...
Pupitar, Smoochum, Cyndaquil...
Horsea, Strength Charm and Vibrava.
No Ekans. No Arbok. And No Nidos. Tough luck huh? =< Oh well! All the above cards are available for anyone to trade or purchase! I think you know which cards I'm after by now if you've stuck around this long =P
And here's how my collection looks now! Getting even more crowded, right? Looks like my next big purchase will have to be some Ikea Detolf cabinets! That'll be of course after my big move...and my next big gets post will have to wait until then too! It's time to be a mature adult and save up for important things like that rather than merch!
A huuuge thank you to dezchu, absol, skdarkdragon, akeyma, dezi_kitsune and Rare Candy on Storenvy (I know a member of the comm runs this store, I just can't remember who, sorry! Dx) for feeding my collection habit with all your wonderful merch! =D I -think- I've left feedback for you all but if not, please let me know and I'll get right on to it!
I've also gone and started myself a new collection site on Weebly! Oh yes! It's still a massive work in progress at the moment, but I've got the majority of my collection's pics up on there now which anyone is free to use for their own wants posts and lists if they so desire! =D I've named it "Shed Skin" after Ekans and Arbok's in game ability and it features all of my collections so far! Pokédolls, Ekans & Arbok and Nidos! It also contains my wants lists which I will get around to updating at some point! if you don't mind a messy, outdated and incomplete site, take a look! xD
Visit my collection site, Shed Skin by clicking here!!
And last but not least, I've got a pretty big update for my sales page! Everything needs to go to help me save up for my big move and I'm seriously considering bundling everything up into a huge eBay lot before I leave to get it out of the way so if you've been after anything in my sales post for a while, now is the time to get it before I switch into ruthless mode! >D
I've also updated my sales with new items! I have a new lot of Clear Kid figures in which includes Attack Pose Tyranitar, Aggron, Barboach, Cherubi and much more!
Click the snakes below to be transported and amazed!!
Thank you so much for sticking with me for this long old post, guys! Happy collecting! =D