An Awesome Sneasy Get!
Edit: My dotdotbuy tutorial is up on tumblr here!
Hello everyone :D I found something very exciting last week, and it arrived at my doorstep this morning after a very brief trip from China (thanks to EMS).
First, some backstory: I recently spoke to Hamsterbomb27 about the Sneasel TFG piece, which was a part of their wants list. I knew that the TFG existed, but it seemed to be extremely rare - and indeed, they said they'd never seen one for sale before. Out of curiosity, I did a little searching and happened upon an old comm post where someone had seen the TFG go on sale on Taobao. I'm not sure if anyone actually purchased it at that time, but anyway, that sparked my interest. I've actually perused taobao before, but as we all know, China is ridden with bootlegs and it's pretty unlikely that you'll find anything authentic or of interest, so I very rarely take a look around there. TFGs seem to be an exception, though, and I thought, huh, wouldn't it be cool if a Sneasel TFG happened to be floating around on Taobao right now?
Well, I didn't find the TFG, but what I did find was the Jakks Pacific Cheebee Figure! I knew that this guy existed from seeing a few wants lists, and a couple old comm posts about the cheebees. Jakks announced the line and showed them at toy fairs, and apparently, a few from the first set actually were released to the public - Pikachu, Munchlax, Croagunk, Pachirisu. However, some didn't quite make it - among them Meowth and Sneasel. I guess these were slated for the second set, but the line was cut - perhaps because Jakks stopped making Pokemon toys around the same time?
I was shocked to find such a gem. The listing's title (according to my translator) said that these copies were "display models," so I wonder if they were specifically used to show off at Toy Fairs, and then stowed away in a warehouse for six years when the line was scrapped. The listing also said it was a "Genuine Bandai" product, despite the producer being Jakks Pacific. Were some Jakks toys made in Bandai's factories, or was this a mistake on the seller's part? Or maybe they were moved to Bandai's storage for some reason?
Though the listing's picture seemed legit, I was still a little worried about authenticity until I had Sneasel in my hands. Lo and behold, he looks 100% legit to me, and boy is he a cutie!! I'm so ecstatic to own such a rare item, and of one of my favorite evo lines, too! :) While I don't collect Sneasel like I do Weavile, he still holds a place in my heart and I'm interested in Sneasel items that intrigue me the most. Along with the V-Trainer that I have, the Cheebee is certainly one of the best Sneasel items I could add to my collection! <3
Finally, some pix!
He's actually a little bigger than I anticipated! I suppose he's about the same size as those Funko Pop figures are? I don't know if those were popular or even around back in 2009, but I was thinking that Pokemon wanted to cash in on the chibi vinyl figure craze. He's made totally of vinyl and has a decent weight to him (around 4oz). The tail and head and moveable, and he stands about 4" tall (6" to the tip of the feather ear), 4" wide (from cheek to cheek). I actually don't really have room for him on my shelf right now haha so I might have to do some weeding.
He's not in pristine condition, there is a little bit of paint rubbing on the tip of the cat ear, and the right paw has some imperfections - looks like the paint was nicked before it dried completely. But I wouldn't expect something like this to be 100% mint, especially if it truly was traveling around at toy fairs.
I think my favorite part of this figure are the long, wispy-looking tails. The sculpt is really cool-looking, and I love that you can pose them to stick out the side so you can see them even if Sneasel is facing forward. Plus the big kitty ear is cute :3c
The stamp of authenticity! 2009 Jakks Pacific. He's six years old :')
Honestly, it kind of fascinates me how things like these end up in the hands of the public. I guess companies just throw stuff in storage, then clean them out when they need to make room? How did some random seller on Taobao end up with it? I love the fact that even rare, unreleased items can still make their way to collectors.
I used the Chinese deputy dotdotbuy to purchase this guy, and I defintiely reccomend using it if you're in need of such services. I'm in the midst of making a guide on how to use it, which will be posted to my tumblr and detail how I purchased Sneasel. The guide is finished! Here it is on my tumblr. I realize that my theme makes it a little difficult to read it, mainly due to the text size... I will be reposting it to LJ at some point, but until then I hope everyone is able to zoom in/read it okay.
Well, that's enough rambling for one day. Thanks so much for reading and/or taking a look! I asbolutely love rare items like this and I'm so happy to have li'l Sneasel in my collection. <3
If you have time, please also take a look at my sales. There's nothing new there at the moment but, ya'know, never hurts!
I just got back from a brief camping trip, so I'm also still going through my inbox and have yet to get back to some people. I apologize if I'm slow, I will get back to you soon :)
aaaand lastly, I'm still on the hunt for clear Weaviles. These are my top wants right now and honestly the only thing I should really be spending my extra money on ^^' If you have any leads or are selling please do let me know!!
Pics by Soital <3
