Bbobrob's collection thread--just a hop, skip, and a jump away!

A rather unceremonious update :sweat_smile: But I wanted to update the Expedition reverses I’ve acquired since the last post for this part of the collection. You know, in case it comes in handy for… somebody. I did fulfill my goal of reaching 75% completion for this set for 2024, so I’m happy about that! I think a lot of the ones left are rares or popular pokemon, so things have slowed down a bit. But I also just haven’t been looking as much. I think I’ll try to bring some focus back to these reverses next year to try to get ever closer to completion.


I do have a lot of non-TCG items to update on, but I want to give those items a proper write up instead of just slapping them on this post. Given that I’ll be busy with my own Secret Santa research and shopping, the update probably won’t be for a while. But I should have lots of items to show next time!

14 Likes

A long-awaited update has finally come! It’s been almost a full year since I’ve updated on the Hoppip/Skiploom/Jumpluff collection, and there’s been a few Buyee packages in-between then and now, so I have a fair amount of things to show. But my free time has been quite limited, so I figured, instead of trying to gather everything for one giant update, doling out the collection updates piecemeal is probably the better way to handle the forthcoming updates.




Friendly additions

First, I’ll start off with collection additions that have come from E4 members (@joponnes, @mrbubbles, @connorc) from E4 events or other means.

The hanafuda card, the Frito Lays buildable Hoppip, and the Carddass cards are all pieces I’ve had my eye on but hadn’t acquired yet. And I’m very happy and grateful to have received these additions through fellow E4 members. This just makes them all the more special :slightly_smiling_face: (Also, now that I have the true buildable Hoppip item release, I’ll probably break out the bootleg one from South America and actually build that Hoppip)


Plushes

I am quite fond of plushes, but I don’t like how expensive they are compared to other items, so my plush collection is quite limited at the moment. But with the help of @connorc (with the Hoppip), I’ve completed the Pokemon Fit/Sitting Cuties series for this line. And the plushes are absolutely adorable!

I mentioned it before in the Secret Santa post, but I originally thought I had ordered the whole Fit line through Buyee, but when my package arrived, I quickly found out the Hoppip was huge and not the Fit plush. I think it’s a Banpresto plush, but I had made the mistake because I bought a slightly cheaper listing with a not-very-good close up picture and thought it was the Fit plush because of the stitching and the design of the leaves. But it just turned out that this Banpresto plush just has a very similar build to the Fit one :sweat_smile: But happy to add a giant plush to the collection too!


Topps cards

Great additions, and I’m very happy to have the complete line. One seller also had the German version of the Hoppip card, so I just picked it up because why not. (I quite like Hoppip’s German name)


Ensky/Amada/Korean stickers

Shown in the top row are the Korean bread stickers, which I’ve just started to pick up. I was lucky to have found one with a sealed Hoppip too.

The sticker on the bottom left is an Amada Skiploom from the World Hobby Fair set, and I’m very happy to have found this one as this completes my World Hobby Fair set for the Hoppip line. After this, as far as I’m aware, I’m only two more stickers away from a complete vintage Amada/Ensky set for Hoppip/Skiploom/Jumpluff.

The middle is the Jumpluff Pro AR sticker (I think also by Ensky?), which also completes the evolution line for this set. I forgot what company the bottom right sticker is from, but I’m quite happy with that one too as I don’t often see stickers from that set. Overall, some great sticker pickups!


Miscellaneous stickers

I really love the colors in the top row of stickers—they’re so bright and cheery. Gathered from nidokingdom’s Instagram post, they are a product of Showa Note. I think the bottom set is a set of flake stickers. Don’t know/don’t remember the company, but I’m glad the listing I bought had (hopefully) all three variations: normal, metallic-ish, and clear. I thought there were only two in the listing (and therefore in the set), but was happy to find the third.


Pochibukuro (gift envelopes)

I didn’t know these were a thing, so after finding this listing, I now have another random product to look out for! In case anyone is interested, the front of the bottom right one is below:


Calendar and newspaper cutouts

I’ve already talked to @Quuador and @joponnes about the seller/listing I got these from, but I picked these up from a seller that has a bunch of species-specific listings that often contain calendar items and sometimes random items that look like newspaper cutouts. I noticed similar items in Quuador’s and joponnes’ collections, so it seems this seller has been supplying species collectors for many years!


Lenticulars

I love lenticulars, so I was, of course, very happy to add these to the collection. They all feature the entire evolution line, which is awesome. The item on the left is a sealed Greek Tazos from the Tazos 3 set. The middle item seems to be an official item from Simplified Chinese set related to Cheetos (I’ve seem a similar-looking item in a different language but forgot what set it was). And the right-most item is a bootleg that looked pretty neat at first, but the lenticular effect is actually quite awful. It’s hard to cycle through the evolution line without the picture looking like some awful mutant combining all three pokemon. The individual pokemon can be found in the gallery below.










TOMY Ponjan tiles and accessories


Ponjan is a kids version of mahjong. The Hoppip line was lucky enough to feature in two sets: one regular size and one travel-version size. The second picture is of the box for the travel version, which also features Hoppip, and the last picture is a score sheet from the full-sized version that features the Hoppip line. There are additional game accessories featuring Hoppip, but I’m not too bothered with acquiring them and actually actively chose not to, due to one of the pieces being a whole game board which is really big and unwieldy for storage.




That’s it for now! Hopefully I’ll have more time to sort through more items to post about in the near future. In other news, the Expedition reverse set is well on its way to completion. I’m hoping to have the next update on that be the final update/complete set, but we’ll see how progress on the last ~10% of cards goes.

Thanks for visiting!

16 Likes

Great update. You’ve been busy! I really enjoy the hanafudu cards. Those plushies are adorable! The calendar pieces are a really nice addition.

4 Likes

Amazing update. Always fun to see the wide array of non-tcg stuff. I love the lenticular collection. They are really fun to have and I also enjoy them. Thanks for sharing such a great update.

Cheers!

3 Likes

Super nice to see the collection grow and happy i could be part of it, it’s still extremely fun to see what the different kinds of merch gen 2 pokemon has gotten and what they do share with gen 1 pokemon :slight_smile: at least the piles from that one mercari seller seem to have the exactly same kinds of items :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: also yey, topps!

4 Likes

Still extremely behind on updating this collection thread with my non-TCG things I’ve acquired over the last year or so :sweat_smile: But I can give a few updates on other collection areas, since some of them might be informative for Secret Santa.

For the Hoppip/Skiploom/Jumpluff Japanese and English TCG collection, I should be completely caught up now. I only had a few easy slots left to fill that I was just procrastinating on, since they could picked up at any time (3 of 4 missing cards were just English EX code variants). I’ll find some time in the future to update with pictures of the last cards and the complete binder. Not sure if I want to expand the collection to include cameos in the future, since a few cards are cost-prohibitive for me (e.g. Pokemon With You Wagon Pikachu and Tropical Tidal Wave), but I’m considering it.

For the Expedition reverse set, I’d like to say I finally completed it, but one card ordered off TCGPlayer was incorrectly labeled (received Cloyster 8 instead of Cloyster 42), so I’m just one card away at this point. I could just grab that last Cloyster at the price point available, but I’ve been patient this whole time, so I don’t mind waiting for a price/condition I’d be happy with. I’m extremely glad I had started this collection years ago and already had most of the more expensive cards out of the way before the rise in prices this year. I think Gengar 48 was the only >$60 card I had to pick up this year for this set. I also recently got lucky finding a relatively cheap and nicely conditioned Totodile 135, which I was very happy to pick up. I thought the Totodile would be the last card I would need to complete the set, since not that many come to market and the LP/NM ones were generally priced higher than I wanted to pay. Basically at the finish line now!

With these two main collections essentially being completed, I’ll likely start to pursue some side collections with more deliberate intention/focus.

One of these side collections is Wooper/Quagsire and Chinchou/Lanturn species collections, with one of each art at “max rarity.” Originally, I imagined this to mean reverse holo or holo variants for card arts and intended it to be mostly English (to incorporate those sweet, sweet EX era reverse holos), but I recently decided to pick up a few cards that somewhat expanded the framework (e.g. Russian reverse holos and unlimited L2 mirrors), opening up other languages and other “tiers” of potential rarity. I also already have non-holo variants for some cards that I’ll likely just slot in. In the end, I think I’ll just have fun with these collections and not be too strict about anything :slightly_smiling_face: Below are the current “max rarity” cards I have:

Wooper/Quagsire

Chinchou

Lanturn


Another side collection I’ll probably try to complete is a max rarity (reverse holo or holo) Sachiko Adachi artist collection. I might take this a bit slower, as I think the EX TRR reverse holos have seen increases in this boom. I thought I had more progress than this, but I may have been thinking of non-holo cards I had :sweat_smile: (Also not sweating the languages for this collection either, since I was able to pick up a nice German EX Deoxys Zubat)


Overall, with my main collections completed, I think I may slow things down next year. I haven’t had as much free time lately, and I was spending a good chunk of it searching for Expedition reverse holos or random things for Buyee purchases this year. I think a No-Buy-October-like break would do wonders for me in terms of organizing cards that need to be organized, thinking about where to go next for the collection, completing some E4 articles I intend to post, and even allocating more time to non-Pokemon collecting things (e.g. crafts). For now, though, it’s time to do Secret Santa snooping and shopping!

21 Likes

I love the Chinchou/Lanturn side collection! That’s one of those cute pokemon I just can’t resist.
Also, Adachi is a great idea! I don’t see many collecting them, I’m intrigued .

5 Likes

Excellent update, thanks for sharing! The L2 unlimited mirrors definitely caught my attention! Congratulations, glad you decided to add in the Japanese and not keep it English only!

4 Likes

A Sachiko Adachi collection is such a great idea. One of few tcg illustrators I’ve considered doing a master set of. Not many cards which is good, and a colourful mixed medium. Please share your progress in the future, I’d love to see all the cards together in a binder!

5 Likes

@decoypalmette Yes, I love the designs for Chinchou and Lanturn (though the large belly for the latter can be a bit much in some interpretations :sweat_smile:). I love so many of the Gen II designs, probably more than Gen I, even though I grew up with Red/Blue.

@Frosty.Puppy I happened to spot the unlimited L2 Lanturn mirror on Ebay for a good price while searching one day and picked it up. At the same time, I already had a Buyee order at the warehouse, so I just looked up L2 Chinchou mirrors and found an unlimited one also for a decent price (maybe Chinchou’s lack of popularity was helping here), so why not! I did also happen to see an unlimited L2 Lanturn Prime mirror listing (the GOAT!) on Mercari, but it was too rich for me. Maybe one day if I get lucky :slightly_smiling_face:

@Drew12 I was also considering a master set for Adachi (might upgrade after I finish the max-rarity one), since I don’t recall any high-difficulty/high-cost variants, and the art is admittedly better appreciated without the darkened background for the holos/EX era reverse holos. It would hardly be a dent cost-wise too, which is another plus. Although I do love their compositions, I am also happy that the set would be small and pretty contained, as they aren’t a prolific TCG artist (and may not have any more cards from here on out).

5 Likes

I like your side collection ideas and also the Pokemon chosen. I think Wooper line is great since it features some really great and underappreciated cards. My favourites from the ones you have are the fountain (gym promos in Japanese) by Saboteri. They are just super wholesome and beautiful artworks. Same with the Chinchou line.

Amazing job in curating all these collections and side collections so far. It is very impressive to have multiple collections on-going. I can totally imagine some time needed to breathe and just connect back with what you have. So I wish you a good break from active buying and fun time arranging and getting organized.

Thanks for sharing this lovely update.

Cheers!

6 Likes

Thanks for the comments! Yes, the gym promo Wooper/Quagsire are awesome! I enjoy both the cosmos holo English version and the non-holo gym promo version and already have both, so both will find a place in the species collection.

Prior to their photo session here, all these cards were just sitting in random piles and had to be pulled out from a bunch of different places :sweat_smile: Some of them are still just sitting in the original toploaders/sleeves they were received in, so some organization is definitely needed!

3 Likes

Definitely love the side collection goals, especially as it’s refreshing for a strict framework purist like myself to see some loose rules for a species collection :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: but also, first in the world all languages Adachi master set when? :thinking:

3 Likes

Ohh, that actually may not be a bad idea :thinking: I’ve been somewhat intrigued by an all-language collection but am intimidated by the large number of cards for a full-evo-line species collection. An all-language Adachi collection could work since they seem to not be illustrating any more cards and have a somewhat limited set of arts. Also, not sure how many languages there are in the EX era, but I imagine it’s fewer than the 11 total or whatever.

Will definitely keep this in mind for the future!

4 Likes

That would be fun to witness! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: the limited amount of languages of ex era would help but then there’s the code variants :see_no_evil_monkey: portugal may also be a more tricky one even if iirc there wasn’t any reverse holos, and the few s&m reprints add some more languages

3 Likes

Oh yes, the code variants—forgot about those :sweat_smile: At least there isn’t any weird (and scarce) stamped cards that I’m aware of (e.g. championship prize card, other limited release variant, etc.). Maybe I’ll try to map out the cards if I find some time next year, and we’ll see where it goes :slightly_smiling_face:

3 Likes

3 Likes

Ahh this is rad all around. I put together an artist binder with Sekio, Narumi Sato, and Naoyo Kimura (Kimura being my fav and I feel like they all have similar styles). Have you seen the Medicham V from Evolving Skies? I know you said that you were on the fence with cameos, but it seems made for you.

4 Likes

Welcome to the forum! And thanks! Yeah, the three artists you mentioned do have very similar styles—their arts all feel so “soft.” I haven’t continued the Sekio collection since just buying all their (cheap) cards in a short period of time wasn’t a method of collecting that felt fulfilling to me, but I think I’ll revisit it in the future (probably will just buy everything off TCGPlayer again, since it’s most cost efficient :sweat_smile:).

I am aware of most of the cameo cards (I don’t have a list—just generally remember them in my head) but had forgotten what the Medicham V art was. I revisited the card since you mentioned it, and you’re right—it’s great! It has the full evolution line and a great vibe. I’ll probably pick it up at some point :slightly_smiling_face: I am not sure if I want to have cameos as a true collection goal, but I pick up some cameos now and then, especially if I run into them in person.

Thanks for visiting!

3 Likes