SAILOR MOON WANDS CAN GASHAPON SET REVIEW

Finally completed the Bandai Sailor Moon Wands Can Gashapon set so here is my review! I bought them from Ebay in sets of 4 over several months.

They came in opaque pink plastic bags without the cans. These wands are also repackaged in boxes sold individually in the US. I'm pretty sure they are the exact same thing.

I paid about US$26 to $29 per set, including shipping. They originally retail for 500yen each in the machines.

These are miniatures, not life-sized. They are made of lightweight plastic and are inexpensive display toys which require simple assembly and come with a transparent stand each. They contain small parts.

Set 1 includes Sailor Mars & Mercury's Transformation Wands, Sailor Moon's Moon Stick and the Cutie Moon Rod. They were released in Nov 2014.

Closeup of Mars and Mercury. The bottles are just sitting in the holders and will certainly fall out if you decide to do some twirling! They may also slip out when tilted.

The bottles are filled with coloured water and glitter. The caps do not open and are glued shut, the glitter tends to stick to the walls of the bottle. The stars slide over the caps with a C-shaped fastener. These are not tight and will remove easily.

Back view. They don't look as nice as the fronts and are no frills.

The stands are a nice addition for displaying the wands, however they are quite flimsy! Most of the wands tend to fall off the stands when wobbled or held, as they are not tightly secured or heavy enough. This may seem trivial, but I've toppled the wands many times which is very annoying to say the least.

The Moonstick is my fave. However, the lousy stand came loose again and the stick fell onto my floor and badly nicked the crescent's gold. The gold does not hold up well and is very thinly applied. These are just gachapon standards so keep in mind they are like children's toys grade; kitschy, and for fun only!

The faceted globe on the top has an iridescent coat. It looks to be glass. Good thing I didn't crack it!

The goldtone plating on the crescent was not perfect when I received it initially. The surface was scuffed and dull on some areas, and a gold-polishing cloth did not buff it off. It could be from shipping or the packaging process so that is another thing you should expect, unless they were in the boxed form.

Back view.

The nicks on my moonstick... sigh. Keep them in a cabinet and don't ever touch them again and they'll be alright.

For some reason the gold started wearing down at that corner (left side) of the Cutie Moon Rod, revealing white!

I really don't know how that happened, so that's another piece ruined!! You can't see the flaws before unpacking as they are in opaque bags. Maybe you will have better luck!

Set 2 includes Sailor Jupiter and Venus' Transformation Wands, Sailor Moon's Heart Moon Rod and Moon Kaleidoscope. They were released in Feb 2015.

Venus and Jupiter's wands are similarly made to Mars and Mercury's except the bottles are filled with coloured sand.

Again, the caps are glued shut. I noticed the goldtone on the symbols tend to scuff and are a bit patchy.

These are cute.

Back view.

Heart Moon Rod (Spiral Heart Moon Rod).

A size comparison.

The translucent pink wings can be moved a little bit manually. The 'buttons' don't actually press.

The kaleidoscope effect part is made of prism stickers sealed behind the plastic.

Set 3 includes Sailor Neptune, Uranus and Pluto's Lip Rods and Sailor Chibimoon's Pink Moon Stick. They were released in April 2015.

I prefer they include Saturn! Apologies to Chibiusa's fans but yeah give me Saturn anytime.

Obviously this set would appear more coordinated if it was all the outer senshis, but I guess Chibiusa is more popular than Saturn? Or Saturn's lip rod is just too obscure it doesn't deserve a release?
So will there be a Saturn wand after all, since the set is incomplete?

Back view.

I like the planets they are nice, fat and shiny. Sorry I separated Neptune and Uranus lol. Pluto's wand is the silver one. Some fan-made cosplay Pluto wands are painted purple or gray, possibly due to the anime.

This set has no major problems except for this FINGERPRINT on the glaze! Someone at the factory didn't wear gloves hmm?

The lipstick is made entirely of plastic. It retracts, but is a bit stiff and wobbly.

Chibimoon's Pink Moon Stick is okay, but pales in comparison to Sailor Moon's.

 

Very tempted to get the compacts now! I do not have space for the entire wands set so I only put the Sailor Moon ones up.

In conclusion, the pros are: they are affordable and cute, and for someone who wants a wand set in a good display size. The cons are: the quality is lacking, and a serious collector may not like the cheap plastic material and accents.

Q POSKET PRINCESS SERENITY

Got the matching Princess Serenity to the Q Posket Sailor Moon (read about it here)! Very pretty, something about the proportions that are quite appealing to me! Some people might be uncomfortable at her alien eyes but I dig this chibi style. She was released in Oct 2015.

There are bootlegs around but this is the original one, I got her from La Tendo for S$26. Why would anyone get the inferior bootleg that costs around the same price anyhow? To identify the bootleg, just look at the box. The original does not have a window so you can't see what's in it, and it comes with the bandai holographic sticker (in my country at least). I recall the bootleg has matte, not so smooth irises on her eyeballs whereas the original has smooth, glossy irises. I took a quick glance at one of the local shops selling the bootleg and almost got fooled.

She comes in three pieces. This time there is no prop stand for her head.

The amazing thing is she has feet! I mean they could have just have a flat bottom. Love the details that goes into this. Her head screws on tighter than the Sailor Moon one which is better. She is also easier to fit into the stand.

The drapes in her dress are very nice. The white pearlscent paintwork has a golden shimmer against the light.

Her hair also has a pearlscent yellow effect. There is a mold line on top right of her head, facing front.

 She weighs heavier than she looks.

Her skintone is actually a bit pinker and intense in person. Her makeup is an orange tint. Her moon crescent on her forehead is golden.

I absolutely love her, usually I skip Usagi as Princess Serenity but this one is too cute to resist! I am eyeing the petit version 1 and 2 that comes with the inner Sailor Scouts + 2 versions of Sailor Moon, but all the stores package them in sets of three, and I don't really need another version of Sailor Moon in the same pose. They are also too small to oogle at lol. We shall see!

SAILOR SATURN BANPRESTO GIRLS MEMORIES

Added another Sailor Scout to my collection, Girls Memories figure of Sailor Saturn, released by Banpresto. She is my fave character after Moon and Pluto (my blogpost here). I wish for a Luna Human version please!!

Tomoe Hotaru is the youngest Sailor Scout so naturally she is the shortest of all the characters, besides Chibiusa. Her height is about 14.5cm excluding her weapon. She also weighs much lighter than the other Sailor Scouts because of her smaller size and short hair. The figure is made of PVC and ABS.

Comes in three simple pieces. She is nicely sculpted and nothing too out of the ordinary, she is elegantly posed.

Her expression is gentle and following the anime version. I love the manga version where she has a bit of a melancholic (sometimes sinister) vibe going on.

There is a mold line on the hair and looks like it is blowing in the wind which is a nice touch. Her brooch is just greyish silver I would prefer it a bit more sparkly.

Yes I will be completing the set slowly, whenever I can get them at a good price. I also bought a Princess Serenity by Q Posket so that will come in the next post!

GLOOMY X TO-FU MIX FIGURINE

Gloomy x To-Fu Mix figurine by Play Imaginative. Well I saw this in the store (T-O-G) and had to have it although it is an older stock from 2011. It embodies two characters that I like - Tofu Oyako and Gloomy the Naughty Grizzly Bear. Also matches the other pinks on my table! I paid S$7.00 for it. May get the strawberry one too but this will do for now as I have no more space on my desk! I found an old blog post about my small collection of Tofu Oyako items here and this looks similar to the ones at a 2009 Comic Con.

I had to rip the package open because it was the glued-on plastic shell on cardboard type.

It is about 5 inches height. The cubed head revolves. It doesn't weigh heavy but tends to keel over because of its oversized head. Also it is standing on one foot with the other lifted off slightly, so it loses its balance easily. I am propping it against a shelf since the wind from the ceiling fan keeps blowing it over! The body is made of matte plastic with printed details. The foot that is lifted seems to be ill-fitted - I wonder if that was the reason for it being wobbly, or if it was made on purpose.

The back of the figure. He has a bloody nose and an additional smaller tofu on top. The top one is fixed on the larger cube and does not revolve. The head appears to be hollow. The arms are fixed. Yes it has a butt crack!

I am putting Tofu's face towards the front as I like its expression and the little tofu waving on top! I prefer Gloomy without the muzzle so it will stay hidden for now.