Alright, well, it's my first official posting on a few items, that I know a lot of people are looking to obtain this holiday season, as far as "Sailor Moon Toys" are concerned. (How do I know? Because people keep asking if I'll sell mine.)
This week, We're going to look at the Ultimate Wand. Vintage, 1997.
Holy Moon Chalice - Visually attractive, this item truly has the most flare of the 3. This item actually makes three different sounds! Along with the sounds, it does still retain the typical "lights up" value that Sailor Moon toys are best known for. In this case, the star in the center of the item lights up with every press of the tiny round buttons below it. The wings are beautiful. The paint is metallic, very nice. The item comes apart, far too easily though. The box is very attractive. If you can find it. My opinion? Excellent toy, and a MUST have for any Sailor Moon fan!! I personally bought mine off EBAY this year, for $150.00, Mint in BOX. If you're looking to obtain this item in a box, be sure to shell out anywhere from $100-$200.00 for it!
Eternal Tiaru - Here we have another typical wand from Sailor Moon. With metallic paint, and your average plastic. And then, just to add in a bit of 'flare', Bandai decided to add 2 sounds, with a dial making it speed up the sound, or slow it down. Of course, this item does light up as well. My opinion? Nice toy, nothing really spectacular about it. Might be nice for cosplay, and for making the Ultimate wand. Aside from that, it's "fun factor" is about a 5, according to my 5 year old. ^.^; I actually paid $88.00 for mine, in box. I would expect to shell out anywhere from $50 to $100 for one in box, and sometimes out. The Sailor Moon World one will go for considerably less.
Power Tiaru - The most nonesensical (is that a word?) toy Sailor Moon came out with. A marketing trick to get kids to buy this item, to make the 'ultimate wand'. This is one of the rarest of the three, mainly because it was one of the least popular of the 3. It makes NO sound, no lights, nothing. You just take it apart to make the ultimate wand. And in turn you end up with a pink wand, with a character on the top. Fun Factor? My daughter says a 2. If you're looking to obtain the ultimate wand, you're going to need this one. The only GOOD thing about this one, is the cute little PVC figure at the top. I paid $90 for this item OUT of box. You're likely going to pay a considerable amount MORE if you'd like it IN box.
Base of this all? While the Ultimate wand is gorgeous to look at, it's definitely not for cosplay purposes. The means of attaching them all together is FAR too flimsy and heavy, to withstand any real playing with. The paint tends to chip incredibly easily with any kind of rubbing. It's overall fun value is about a 2. Collectors value, is definitely a 10. Be ready to foot out a good $250-$400 for the lot though.
Next week, we'll look at the Eternal Compact! See ya then~!
