A legendary grail get!
I love unique merch. I love rare merch. I love items that have many mysteries and secrets. And I received a package that held inside something that fits all three conditions perfectly.
Oh, Arceus I thought that I'll cry when opening the package. My hands are still shaking and I still cannot quite believe I have this little gem. I'm emotional every time I even look at it and... I should write here some backstory or something but... *inhales*
...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!
I'm sorry for that. I fantasized a lot what I would write in my post when I have a chance of getting one of these items and "having an entire cut of scream" was one of these things. I don't know when I'll have another chance for post like this, so you have to forgive me for that. From here I promise to be serious.
Ok, please scroll down to see His Majesty...
...
...
...
...
RAIKOU MIRAGE PLUSH!!!!
Yes, that's right! That ugly cute orange potat is one of the rarest (or THE rarest) Raikou plush in existence!
I hunted him down on some Taiwanese shopping site. I had his photo in my wishlist, in the "ultimate grails" section, but I didn't quite believe that I'll have a chance of getting him. These plushies are so rare... Almost like a true legendaries. I started actively searching for it recently, after getting back from collecting hiatus. And he appeared?! Completely unexpectedly?? It was just like in the real Pokemon world, where you can encounter a Legendary Beast by walking around in the tall grass! I still can't believe it!
When I saw him, I'm pretty sure I had a mini heart attack. I made some inhuman noise, then I screenshotted his listing and sent it to my friend along with some screaming, incoherent keyboard smashing, and repeating the most popular Polish swear word(TM). It was in the middle of the night, so my friend later woke up to a spam of about 50 messages... (I'm so sorry)
Then I messaged a middleman, waited for their reply, then waited for bank to transfer funds, waited for reply if they bought the plush. I literally couldn't sleep. When it was mailed I was picturing all bad things that could happen to it, from plane crash to somebody stealing it from my hands on my way from the post office. But now I can breathe with relief, he's safe with other Beasts in my collection.
And some more photos!
He's second one Raikou Mirage I've seen. First one was auctioned here in 2014 and it's currently chilling with other electric Pokemon in Gin's collection! Mine looks exactly the same except it has it's tag.
He has both paper tag and suction cup (I didn't see the suction cup in the photos, so it was a nice surprise). And it's in pretty good shape overall. He arrived with some dust stains, that were easily removed with wet cotton pads. His beauty therapy included also a process of straightening his teeth (they were bent upwards).
He's made of some velvety material, with muzzle and tail made of felt. His faceplate is made of some sort of vinyl (I guess), with plastic beads that are used to keep it in place. The stripes are painted on fabric, with some artistic freedom about their shape.
His mane is very round and thick, making his head look bigger. The cloud on his back is not curled, like in the official plushes, but ends with some unidentified shape. Also, he's lacking the tufts of hair near his thighs and the small round cloud on his rear. He doesn't have the white underside, and the claws are only on the top of paws. These details are really adding a charm to this plush - he looks like being sewn from memory, by somebody who saw Raikou only once and for a short period of time.
I didn't notice it at first, but the curls on his mane are made of a little bit darker fabric. At first glance it looks like being caused by different light angle or the fabric properties.
No-clouds butt!
So cute! The bright orange used for this plush really looks like it was glowing in the right lighting.
And even with the crooked eyes he looks the cutest. His open mouth make him look surprised (or screaming in never ending existential crisis... "are my colours shiny or not?")
I love him so much <3
I thought I share my investigation of the most interesting part - the tag! I was able to decipher what's written on it, and besides the normal "product name: plush toy", "materials: plush and cotton" and "not suitable for children under 3 years" there's a company name! There are numerous plushes with this type of tag and they all have been made and distributed by 振一商行 (Zhen Yi Shang Hang/Zhen Yi Business).
Quick Google search confirmed that it was indeed a company that specialized in toy and entertainment supplies wholesale, international trade and retailing entertainment machines such as claw UFO machines, vending machines and other game machines. I found that it was established on 14 April 1992. I couldn't find when exactly it has been closed (besides a website that claims that the company was functioning between 2003 and 2011, and that, considering what we know about mirage plush, is not possible).
The company address written on tag is Taiwan, Changhua, Dacun Township, Jiadong Rd 45, Section 1. Unfortunately Google street view is from 2016 so it didn't gave much information. The second, Chinese address (written in Roman alphabet) is probably where the plush has been manufactured. But that too, didn't bring much information.
That's what I found while studying the tag. I thought it may be worth sharing. If anybody has any other information (or is more skilled in googling things) - I would much appreciate your help. I was hoping that I could dig up some more information, but that's still something!
Thank you for reading!
(quick obligatory reminder that my sales are still open)
(Sales Permission granted on 26/05/16 by areica96)
Oh, Arceus I thought that I'll cry when opening the package. My hands are still shaking and I still cannot quite believe I have this little gem. I'm emotional every time I even look at it and... I should write here some backstory or something but... *inhales*
...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!
I'm sorry for that. I fantasized a lot what I would write in my post when I have a chance of getting one of these items and "having an entire cut of scream" was one of these things. I don't know when I'll have another chance for post like this, so you have to forgive me for that. From here I promise to be serious.
Ok, please scroll down to see His Majesty...
...
...
...
...
RAIKOU MIRAGE PLUSH!!!!
Yes, that's right! That ugly cute orange potat is one of the rarest (or THE rarest) Raikou plush in existence!
I hunted him down on some Taiwanese shopping site. I had his photo in my wishlist, in the "ultimate grails" section, but I didn't quite believe that I'll have a chance of getting him. These plushies are so rare... Almost like a true legendaries. I started actively searching for it recently, after getting back from collecting hiatus. And he appeared?! Completely unexpectedly?? It was just like in the real Pokemon world, where you can encounter a Legendary Beast by walking around in the tall grass! I still can't believe it!
When I saw him, I'm pretty sure I had a mini heart attack. I made some inhuman noise, then I screenshotted his listing and sent it to my friend along with some screaming, incoherent keyboard smashing, and repeating the most popular Polish swear word(TM). It was in the middle of the night, so my friend later woke up to a spam of about 50 messages... (I'm so sorry)
Then I messaged a middleman, waited for their reply, then waited for bank to transfer funds, waited for reply if they bought the plush. I literally couldn't sleep. When it was mailed I was picturing all bad things that could happen to it, from plane crash to somebody stealing it from my hands on my way from the post office. But now I can breathe with relief, he's safe with other Beasts in my collection.
And some more photos!
He's second one Raikou Mirage I've seen. First one was auctioned here in 2014 and it's currently chilling with other electric Pokemon in Gin's collection! Mine looks exactly the same except it has it's tag.
He has both paper tag and suction cup (I didn't see the suction cup in the photos, so it was a nice surprise). And it's in pretty good shape overall. He arrived with some dust stains, that were easily removed with wet cotton pads. His beauty therapy included also a process of straightening his teeth (they were bent upwards).
He's made of some velvety material, with muzzle and tail made of felt. His faceplate is made of some sort of vinyl (I guess), with plastic beads that are used to keep it in place. The stripes are painted on fabric, with some artistic freedom about their shape.
His mane is very round and thick, making his head look bigger. The cloud on his back is not curled, like in the official plushes, but ends with some unidentified shape. Also, he's lacking the tufts of hair near his thighs and the small round cloud on his rear. He doesn't have the white underside, and the claws are only on the top of paws. These details are really adding a charm to this plush - he looks like being sewn from memory, by somebody who saw Raikou only once and for a short period of time.
I didn't notice it at first, but the curls on his mane are made of a little bit darker fabric. At first glance it looks like being caused by different light angle or the fabric properties.
No-clouds butt!
So cute! The bright orange used for this plush really looks like it was glowing in the right lighting.
And even with the crooked eyes he looks the cutest. His open mouth make him look surprised (or screaming in never ending existential crisis... "are my colours shiny or not?")
I love him so much <3
I thought I share my investigation of the most interesting part - the tag! I was able to decipher what's written on it, and besides the normal "product name: plush toy", "materials: plush and cotton" and "not suitable for children under 3 years" there's a company name! There are numerous plushes with this type of tag and they all have been made and distributed by 振一商行 (Zhen Yi Shang Hang/Zhen Yi Business).
Quick Google search confirmed that it was indeed a company that specialized in toy and entertainment supplies wholesale, international trade and retailing entertainment machines such as claw UFO machines, vending machines and other game machines. I found that it was established on 14 April 1992. I couldn't find when exactly it has been closed (besides a website that claims that the company was functioning between 2003 and 2011, and that, considering what we know about mirage plush, is not possible).
The company address written on tag is Taiwan, Changhua, Dacun Township, Jiadong Rd 45, Section 1. Unfortunately Google street view is from 2016 so it didn't gave much information. The second, Chinese address (written in Roman alphabet) is probably where the plush has been manufactured. But that too, didn't bring much information.
That's what I found while studying the tag. I thought it may be worth sharing. If anybody has any other information (or is more skilled in googling things) - I would much appreciate your help. I was hoping that I could dig up some more information, but that's still something!
Thank you for reading!
(quick obligatory reminder that my sales are still open)
(Sales Permission granted on 26/05/16 by areica96)