Let's start the year with a Grail!
Hello all!
Let me tell you a story.
I haven't been buying much for my collection in 2023. It has been an extremely stressful year for me. Not great for organizing or updating my collection either. I didn't get a lot of new items. My collecting has slowed down significantly. Not to mention, I've started a non-Pokemon side collection in 2022 that got a liiiittle bit out of control, and that's where most of my funds are going right now (forgive me, Arceus!). But after a particularly bad week in December, I was browsing Y!J trying to lift my mood with some online shopping. I had like two items in my warehouse already, and was determined to find something else to make the shipping cost worth it.
And then I've stumbled upon a listing for a Raikou plush.
It was an old, damaged Banpresto, appearing to be repaired by someone. It had new fabric sewn in the place of the damaged headplate. It's always the headplates with these Raikous! The piece had a certain "handmade" feel to it - it was from a different fabric, and had only one horn...? bump...? thing. Even the listing page had some kind of warning, something about junk or service that Buyee puts up on auction pages. I thought that disclaimer was concerning the condition of the plush itself. For a brief moment I felt bad for this Raikou - loved so much by a kid that some parent had to sew it a completely new headpiece. Now, having zero collectible value it'll sit unsold until the seller donates or throws it away. I started to sympathize with this plush. So I thought I'll buy it for myself. It can have a nice, calm retirement with other Beasts in my collection. And maybe I can even study the sewing technique to repair my own damaged Raikou? Its price was a little too high for a double in my collection, but I've already grew attached to it, and to the little story I made up in my head how it was played with years ago. It was already decided - I'll buy this plush, I just needed to find some more arguments. I took out my own Raikou to see if there are any other repairs made by the previous owner, and... Maybe I'll just write down how my thoughts went:
"Hmm, it looks fine overall. The whiskers may have been repaired too? Their fabric is different... ...Oh, its eyes got scratched, and the previous owner must've put some stickers on them. That's silly, it makes them look just like my prototype's eyes. The stitching on the tail is visible, just like the stitching on my prototype, haha. ...Oh, the paint on the stripes must've come off too - they put some stickers there too, just like on the proto... wAIT A DAMN MINUTE"
I started to study the photos even more closely to notice one last thing - the remains of a yellow tush tag.
Yes. It was not a repaired plush.
Welcome the Second Banpresto Raikou Prototype!
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!? HOW!? HOW? How this little Raikou sat right here unnoticed for who knows how long? Maybe it was even relisted a few times before. Nobody else bid on that auction, I got him for a starting price. How did the seller end up with it in the first place? They didn't have any other "suspicious" items on their profile - everything else were just regular used toys. I seriously can't believe it. It was just the luckiest random find ever. I seriously got emotional when I opened its package. ;_;
They look so great together! <3
If you want to know a little bit more about those Banpresto prototypes, I made a post about the ones I got in 2022.
I like to think that this Raikou and the second Suicune from my previous post are from the same stage of designing. They both have updated features, but are still distinctly different from the finished products.
Please enjoy some more of his photos. I photographed him with the released Raikou and with the previous version of the prototype, hoping to capture as many details and differences I could. Maybe I should name them to make writing this post easier for myself..? Ok. They're Prototype A and B. Best naming skills ever.
From the left: Prototype A, Prototype B, released Banpresto.
The biggest difference is the helmet. It's not vinyl, like on the first version or finished product. The fabric is like jersey(?), soft and elastic, and its underside is the same fabric as his body (you can see small sections of gray sticking out at the bottom). They were trying to make it from more durable material. Too bad they didn't decide to keep it. It still looks great and doesn't peel, and I like how the different texture looks on the plush. (The reason behind that vinyl on the headpiece is probably the fact that Raikou doesn't have a shiny cloud like Entei and Suicune do, so instead they decided to make a different element of the plush from different material. In my opinion, shiny storm cloud would have looked great, and make the plush series look more uniform, but I digress.).
I was not sure if I should post photos with all three plush together or split the comparison between only two plushes, so I kind of did both.
Prototype A and B.
Prototype B and released Banpresto.
That single sphere on his headpiece looks so funny XD I looked closely, and there's no glue residue around it, so I think it was only one from the start. I cannot be 100% sure though - the first version has two bumps, so I don't really see why this one would have only one.
Whiskers and fangs are from different type of felt (same as in the first proto, different from the released product), but this time two layers thick. Eyes have now an updated shape that match the shape of the face better. Raikou's fluffy cheeks are bigger, leaving no awkward gray space on the face like the Prototype A has. His left cheek has a loose stitch and is not attached to the shoulder, that's why it may appear bigger in the photos.
His paws are still way better than the released Raikou's paws, but worse than Proto A's paws (I'm not a fan of the "I tried to put on my jeans with my shoes on" weird cuffs). Front right paw has a small hole in the claw. :( The claws themselves are carefully sculpted.
Raikou's stripes are not painted, but made of that velvet-like adhesive, and have keep the same shape in all versions. (Btw, they're very soft to the touch, not coarse like the paint).
Most important change: the butt-cloud got approved! XD The tail is from the same felt as the whiskers, made of two layers with visible stitching. Unfortunately he doesn't have his tush tag, but you can see it was yellow and made from a single layer of material. The released Banpresto has white tag folded in half forming a loop.
Comparison between Prototype A (left) and B (right).
Comparison between Prototype B and the released Banpresto.
I hope you enjoyed their little photoshoot! That's all for today's post! ^^
Thank you all for reading. <3 I really wanted to share with you this story, haha. I think it's amazing how a true gems can be hidden in plain sight where they're the least expected to be seen!
Owning one prototype of a favourite Pokemon is a blessing. Owning four of them is beyond expectations. And now having five!? I don't even know how to describe my feelings. When I started collecting almost ten years ago, I never expected to come this far. I never expected to hold a piece of merchandise history, and be able to show it to the world. I'm really happy I was able to find this Raikou, and I'm happy that it has found me.
Is it bad that I still want more? Or is it just how being a collector is like?
Let me tell you a story.
I haven't been buying much for my collection in 2023. It has been an extremely stressful year for me. Not great for organizing or updating my collection either. I didn't get a lot of new items. My collecting has slowed down significantly. Not to mention, I've started a non-Pokemon side collection in 2022 that got a liiiittle bit out of control, and that's where most of my funds are going right now (forgive me, Arceus!). But after a particularly bad week in December, I was browsing Y!J trying to lift my mood with some online shopping. I had like two items in my warehouse already, and was determined to find something else to make the shipping cost worth it.
And then I've stumbled upon a listing for a Raikou plush.
It was an old, damaged Banpresto, appearing to be repaired by someone. It had new fabric sewn in the place of the damaged headplate. It's always the headplates with these Raikous! The piece had a certain "handmade" feel to it - it was from a different fabric, and had only one horn...? bump...? thing. Even the listing page had some kind of warning, something about junk or service that Buyee puts up on auction pages. I thought that disclaimer was concerning the condition of the plush itself. For a brief moment I felt bad for this Raikou - loved so much by a kid that some parent had to sew it a completely new headpiece. Now, having zero collectible value it'll sit unsold until the seller donates or throws it away. I started to sympathize with this plush. So I thought I'll buy it for myself. It can have a nice, calm retirement with other Beasts in my collection. And maybe I can even study the sewing technique to repair my own damaged Raikou? Its price was a little too high for a double in my collection, but I've already grew attached to it, and to the little story I made up in my head how it was played with years ago. It was already decided - I'll buy this plush, I just needed to find some more arguments. I took out my own Raikou to see if there are any other repairs made by the previous owner, and... Maybe I'll just write down how my thoughts went:
"Hmm, it looks fine overall. The whiskers may have been repaired too? Their fabric is different... ...Oh, its eyes got scratched, and the previous owner must've put some stickers on them. That's silly, it makes them look just like my prototype's eyes. The stitching on the tail is visible, just like the stitching on my prototype, haha. ...Oh, the paint on the stripes must've come off too - they put some stickers there too, just like on the proto... wAIT A DAMN MINUTE"
I started to study the photos even more closely to notice one last thing - the remains of a yellow tush tag.
Yes. It was not a repaired plush.
Welcome the Second Banpresto Raikou Prototype!
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!? HOW!? HOW? How this little Raikou sat right here unnoticed for who knows how long? Maybe it was even relisted a few times before. Nobody else bid on that auction, I got him for a starting price. How did the seller end up with it in the first place? They didn't have any other "suspicious" items on their profile - everything else were just regular used toys. I seriously can't believe it. It was just the luckiest random find ever. I seriously got emotional when I opened its package. ;_;
They look so great together! <3
If you want to know a little bit more about those Banpresto prototypes, I made a post about the ones I got in 2022.
I like to think that this Raikou and the second Suicune from my previous post are from the same stage of designing. They both have updated features, but are still distinctly different from the finished products.
Please enjoy some more of his photos. I photographed him with the released Raikou and with the previous version of the prototype, hoping to capture as many details and differences I could. Maybe I should name them to make writing this post easier for myself..? Ok. They're Prototype A and B. Best naming skills ever.
From the left: Prototype A, Prototype B, released Banpresto.
The biggest difference is the helmet. It's not vinyl, like on the first version or finished product. The fabric is like jersey(?), soft and elastic, and its underside is the same fabric as his body (you can see small sections of gray sticking out at the bottom). They were trying to make it from more durable material. Too bad they didn't decide to keep it. It still looks great and doesn't peel, and I like how the different texture looks on the plush. (The reason behind that vinyl on the headpiece is probably the fact that Raikou doesn't have a shiny cloud like Entei and Suicune do, so instead they decided to make a different element of the plush from different material. In my opinion, shiny storm cloud would have looked great, and make the plush series look more uniform, but I digress.).
I was not sure if I should post photos with all three plush together or split the comparison between only two plushes, so I kind of did both.
Prototype A and B.
Prototype B and released Banpresto.
That single sphere on his headpiece looks so funny XD I looked closely, and there's no glue residue around it, so I think it was only one from the start. I cannot be 100% sure though - the first version has two bumps, so I don't really see why this one would have only one.
Whiskers and fangs are from different type of felt (same as in the first proto, different from the released product), but this time two layers thick. Eyes have now an updated shape that match the shape of the face better. Raikou's fluffy cheeks are bigger, leaving no awkward gray space on the face like the Prototype A has. His left cheek has a loose stitch and is not attached to the shoulder, that's why it may appear bigger in the photos.
His paws are still way better than the released Raikou's paws, but worse than Proto A's paws (I'm not a fan of the "I tried to put on my jeans with my shoes on" weird cuffs). Front right paw has a small hole in the claw. :( The claws themselves are carefully sculpted.
Raikou's stripes are not painted, but made of that velvet-like adhesive, and have keep the same shape in all versions. (Btw, they're very soft to the touch, not coarse like the paint).
Most important change: the butt-cloud got approved! XD The tail is from the same felt as the whiskers, made of two layers with visible stitching. Unfortunately he doesn't have his tush tag, but you can see it was yellow and made from a single layer of material. The released Banpresto has white tag folded in half forming a loop.
Comparison between Prototype A (left) and B (right).
Comparison between Prototype B and the released Banpresto.
I hope you enjoyed their little photoshoot! That's all for today's post! ^^
Thank you all for reading. <3 I really wanted to share with you this story, haha. I think it's amazing how a true gems can be hidden in plain sight where they're the least expected to be seen!
Owning one prototype of a favourite Pokemon is a blessing. Owning four of them is beyond expectations. And now having five!? I don't even know how to describe my feelings. When I started collecting almost ten years ago, I never expected to come this far. I never expected to hold a piece of merchandise history, and be able to show it to the world. I'm really happy I was able to find this Raikou, and I'm happy that it has found me.
Is it bad that I still want more? Or is it just how being a collector is like?