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So, after finding my old Shinki checklist a little while back, I've decided to start collecting the ones I never got around to years ago. last week, I ordered an Arnval MK2 F.A.P and Partio from Mandarake, and they arrived earlier today. Nothing to really say about Arnval - she's awesome, of course, but since I already had my Tempesta from years ago, I already knew exactly what to expect from her, and she arrived in pristine condition, having never been opened.
Partio, however...the poor girl has been through some tough times. She'd been knocked down to a suspiciously low price, and the note on Mandarake stated that she was in 'New, unopened condition, but box crushed/damaged' and only showed a generic picture of a Partio in its box. When she arrived today, I saw immediately why she was so cheap - her box had been completely smashed to oblivion, with the seam on the side popped open despite the tape still being intact on both the box and her inner plastic trays (which were also thoroughly crushed). Air and moisture must have gotten through the breach, because she also had some small traces of white, fuzzy mold growing on her, as well as dark stains that I later realized were from flakes of rust that had come off of her badly-corroded screws. Despite this, she was still completely intact and had all of her parts, including her little black choker, and her second tray was totally untouched by mold or anything else; she also still had her instructions and Battle Rondo code perfectly sealed. Seeing all the tape still in place and the only signs of a breach being the burst seam, I strongly suspect someone left her in the warehouse years ago, forgot she was there, and dropped a pallet on the poor thing, only discovering her some time after the fact.
Whatever the case, I've given her a thorough scrubbing with disinfecting wipes, and aside for the screws, the toy herself is actually in very good shape, and I'm glad to finally have her.
