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Series discussion #3: Mystery boxes & R/C boxes

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Series discussion #3: Mystery boxes & R/C boxes
Psycho Pixie

Psycho Pixie

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For those joining in the discussion after July 10th,
The original post was about JUST the animation art mystery box series.
However, it has been decided that this thread will be more suited to
discussing ALL mystery boxes, and reveal conceal boxes.
With a focus more on LR/LE sets.​

Whats the difference????

  • Mystery boxes do not show either of the pins in the box. What you are getting is a total mystery.
  • Reveal/conceal boxes have one of the 2 pins visible in a front window of the box.


For each set, if you want to discuss it...

  1. speculation on actual edition size, or number of boxes.
  2. why this series was excellent or horrible
  3. ANY information you have on releases, such as if the pins were always matched up inside or was it random? along with other helpful tidbits.


Animation art mystery box series:
  • With 84 designs, this is a HUGE set if you want to collect them all.
  • They cam in a color version, with a black art frame. and a blue sketched "chaser" which had a longer pin post and could be stacked on top of the color one.
  • Rumors of this being an unmarked le100 series are floating out there.... After some discussion here in the thread, I am going to go middle ground with this idea... IF they are unmarked le100's, that means fewer than 5000 boxes were released. Some estimate more like 13500 boxes. to make it more like le300-500 or so. If we go middle ground and say 10,000 boxes that's unmarked le200 or so. but 200, 300 or 500.... still not a shabby series of pins for trading!
Reveal/conceal Disney Girls:
  • Yes, that infamous set!
  • 20 standard pins, 1 chaser
  • Anyone else heard the RUMOR that theres only about 14 Rapunzels of this set in circulation? Another of our DPF members indicates it may be closer to 50-100 in existance. which seems a bit more relaistic. Still... No wonder it's crazy hard to get right?
  • These only got released one time if my information is correct.
Pixar mystery set:
  • 4 LR designs for each movie, 4 LE200 designs that are the same, but with gold accent.
  • Movies included: Toy Story, Ratatouille, Bugs Life, Brave, Incredibles, Cars, Wall-E, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc.
  • Released in 4 "waves" that sold out in MINUTES due to the CM's allowing more than 2 boxes per person.
  • China sellers have been selling LR scrap or counterfeit versions of several. And now we have confirmation that the LE's are not safe from the scrap/fake market either. This is sad, as they are a really neat set.
resort train collection:
  • 12 LR pins in this set. 2 of which were "chasers."
  • the 2 chasers, Ariel, and Jessica rabbit were listed LR as well.
  • ODPT site originally listed that only 2400 boxes would be available, this makes the series about an LE400 IF that number is correct.
  • It did not sell out instantly, even with the unlimited number of boxes you could purchase.
Reveal/conceal Carousel princesses:
  • Released once around the time the DLR princess fantasy faire was opening in 2013. With no forcast for future waves as yet.
  • This MUST be an unmarked LE, there could not have been more that 5000 boxes at MOST. One of our dpf members says the number was likely closer to 2400-3000. making this series about an le500 give or take...
  • 10 total princesses were released. only 9 shown on the box. Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, aurora Jasmine, Rapunzel, Mulan, Ariel, Tiana.
  • Merida was the unknown "chaser" There is no intel. to indicate of there were fewer of her than the others.
  • Rapunzel... yeah, people often call her "crack-Punzel" because her eyes are just horrible.
Monster U Reveal/Conceal series:
  • Released once so far, during the Monster U movie release.
  • 12 pins in this set. The 6 LR revealed in the front window are; ART, Mike, Sulley, Squishy, DON, and Terry/Terri.
  • The 4 LR concealed are; Rosie/Hss, Squishy's mom, PNK, EEK.
  • The 2 LE250 Chasers are; George/JOX, and Randall.
  • The concealed and the revealed were not matched up, there was NO telling what concealed pin you would get when you bought a box.
star wars Zodiac mystery box:
  • a total of 24 pins in the set.
  • 12 LR. one for each month
  • 12 LE500. again, one for each month I assume?
  • as a mystery box you do not know at all what you get, and the pairing in the boxes is definitely random.
  • Personal note, I bought a box just out of curiosity, the pins are decent sized, and pretty cute if your into star wars.
WDI: Star tours the adventure continues:

  • 32 pins in the series. le200 for all.
  • 2 le100 alternate colors for 2 pins as chasers. the 2 chasers were Besbin and Mandalore
  • Release dates in 2012. First at NFFC disneyana expo and then taken to the WDI location.
  • Released at multiple events, both in the box and later removed from box and put on backer cards.
  • AP and regular sets were framed and sold.
  • Discussion of this set starts in replies around #36, and continues past #50 of this thread.



Lets start with those. I will try to add more as they come up in discussions. There are numerous mystery box series out there, many open edition that just keep arriving on shelves. I figure we can discuss mostly the LR sets here.


a side note: Regarding trading when a series has known scrap/counterfeits... I STRONGLY suggest that when you buy a box, you put the pins onto a piece of the box. For reveal/conceal, I use the backer card that revealed pin comes on for the revealed pin, and the BACK of the box for the concealed pin. I put the LE special chaser on the front piece of the box that has the window. I find it looks pretty nifty that way. This will not completely reassure folks who are leery of the series due to the scrap/fake warning, but it will help a bit.

It also has a side benefit:: You will be able to see at a glance if it was a revealed, or concealed, or the chaser, based on the back card you created for it.


new mystery boxes releasing at D23 expo!

image linked to ODPT site info.
it says LR, I wonder if it will have an LE chaser???

#2:

image linked to ODPT info page.
Listed LE4000. again, do you think it will have a low LE chaser?
 
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Just found this thread, and to be honest, you scared me half to death with that LE 100 concept... although it does sound probable.

Most people I have talked about this with are also collecting the set. They/we are all missing some of the same chasers: Ariel, Mulan (although I have her), Tinker Bell (have her, too), and Peter Pan. Tinker Bell and Ariel's "rarity" may have to do with their popularity, if it is not the possibility of them being an LE 100.

If they are LE 100, that would mean there are not the same amount of non-chasers to chasers, making them, well, chasers (if that makes sense).

Do I think the series is a hit or a swing and a miss?
Personally, I think it is a bit of each. It is a great series, and with 84 designs, it sure would take a lot of spending to get them all, which would be good for Disney. The problem is, I don't know many that are collecting the set as a whole. Most just seek their favorite character and end it with that. Although, with that LE 100 rumor, I fear for myself (as a collector of the entire set) that they may rise in popularity.
 
I just got my first pin from this set in a trade yesterday! I got the Pluto 89067. It's really nice and bigger than I thought it would be. I'm hoping to get the chaser for it also. For those collecting the whole set I would love to see pics of how you display them...
 
I'm just missing three chasers - I love the set...but then, I really like all of the "blue line" pin series...and have most except for the "How to Draw" series :(
 
Sorry i have not updated and added more... I had actually edited and added up to #24, but then accidentally hit that "remove changes" button you see on the advanced editor page...

I had a small temper tantrum and gave up for a couple days. lol

We need to move that remove changes button to a spot NOT right were it can be clicked by accident or make an "are you sure" pop up appear. hahaha

I will TRY to get through #30 tonight after the kids got to bed.

For my buddies out there concerned that the le100 rumor will make them harder to get... I did not post that to make them harder, i promise. I was simply being honest about this series. A nice side effect might be that they trade better though... hmmmm.

I am posting these discussions to show some of the newer folks there are OTHER pins out there worth collecting. That the DSF, and Tangled and PTN pins are not the ONLY cool pins. In fact, the idea got started in direct response to some recent trade experiences at the tables. Too many times recently people have implied that I am not a "real trader" or that my book is not worth looking at because I dont have pages full of DSF, or PoDM, or DLRP PTN's... There is more to pin trading than that! I hope these discussions assist in creating awareness.
 
While I do not think these are LE100s, I do think that people are unaware of how limited Mystery Box pins are. We see and accept it with the R/C Girls, but there are several other mystery boxes that were released at the same time, that when you think about it, should have the exact same number of pins as those girls. But many people think of them closer to open edition pins, than what I believe them to be which is LE's of about 300-500. Since they are Limited Release, they could potentially be re-ordered, but most mystery sets come out and disappear, and are obviously not reordered.

For this series, they were released as a year long series on both coasts. I think based on the pins going out and then coming back into stock that several orders were made, and each order probably had 3000 boxes or so for WDW, half that for DL maybe. So lets say 3 orders each coast. That's 9000 for WDW, 4500 for DL or 13500 boxes in total, double to get 27000 pins. Series of 84 makes it 321 per pin. If an order is 4000/2000 boxes, and 3 orders that works out to 428 per. So, even with these, you get that same range LE 300-500 probably. All in all, not too shabby but treated as if they are nothing.
 
yes! mystery boxes do get treated like OE... even pins LISTED as LR's tend to be tossed aside or treated like OE. It really is to bad.

I THINK, DLR only received about 800 boxes for each release. I could be wrong. and WDW usually gets about double the number.
 
Now, lets all try to trade our Animation mystery pins for DSF PTDs and watch the fallout!
 
I think they are cute, but as someone else said, I would just collect the characters I want, not the whole series.
 
I think the discussion about this particular series needs expanding. I am considering putting together a thread topic about mystery boxes and the theories regarding edition sizes, popularity, and such....
 
i poped a thread up over at pintalk looking for some input. Some of the folks over there have Disney connections and might be able to shed some light, and give me information needed to get a good in depth discussion going.
 
So I'm gonna admit I passed up reading this thread a bunch of times until just now when I saw your post on pintalk. I think you'd get bigger discussion going if you opened it to all mystery box pins instead of just the animation art ones, I know lots of people like to speculate on edition size... and I'd like to read it!
 
movingthestars said:
So I'm gonna admit I passed up reading this thread a bunch of times until just now when I saw your post on pintalk. I think you'd get bigger discussion going if you opened it to all mystery box pins instead of just the animation art ones, I know lots of people like to speculate on edition size... and I'd like to read it!
Click to expand...

yes.. I think that is what i am going to do, this thread has shifted to mystery boxes in general, so I am going to edit the OP a bit and change it up. That will also take a bit of time, because i want to open the discussion up to some of the more popular mystery boxes for discussion.
 
I don't think they should put the same Conceal behind every reveal. That is a lazy bad habit they've gotten into. Now as soon as people know what's behind door #1 they only buy the valuable ones and leave the rest.

Another beef I have is when they have pins that are LE but don't stamp LE and they are treated as LR. The confection boxes were less than 1000 each and the train cars were listed on disney's website as LE1600 with chasers even lower. Yet all stamped LR. Stamp them LE if that's what they are.

The Gears Up boxes and the Sci-Fi Academy penny arcade boxes were my favorites.

I'd love to see a new series of pins where they have various LE ranges, like the old DS.com sets. 1 LE1000, 1 LE900, 1 LE800, 1 LE750, 1 LE500, 1 LE 350, 1 LE250, 1 LE100. That's what makes us go nuts, and make the lower LE's the better pins! muahaha.
 
I totally agree Mark. They should NOT put the same conceal in each reveal box. whats the point of reveal/conceal in that case right? Just sell them as 2 pin sets. I THINK they have only done that with 2 of the r/c sets in the last few years.

Has anyone else noticed that there are more and more mystery box series' appearing?
 
I put together the r/c Disney Shorts set. In fact, you were there when I bought them. The concealed ones are random. I bought 2 of each of the revealed pins and was able to get all 20.

I was able to put the Monsters U r/c set together and only have 2 extra pins. I can't say for sure if the pairing is random or not or if I just got lucky. But I can say 2 different reveal pins had different conceal pins, that's how I ended up with 2 extra pins.

I am trying to put together the Star Wars Zodiac set. Ugh, what to say about this? It's 12 pins and 12 LE chasers, I think it's LE 200 but I can't look at them right now. I have 11 of the regular set. I believe the one I'm missing is going to be a Rapunzle type thing. I have about half of the chasers. I have about 50 duplicates, including chasers. I can say for sure that this set's pairing is completely random.
 
Thank you for the input Andy! the Monster U series was definately Random conceal with each reveal. I bought 13 boxes and ended up with 4 of squishy's mom.... hahaha.

I will look at adding more of the box series to the OP list as we go. I didn't realize the star wars zodiacs are le200 chasers! wow!!!
 
Psycho Pixie said:
Thank you for the input Andy! the Monster U series was definately Random conceal with each reveal. I bought 13 boxes and ended up with 4 of squishy's mom.... hahaha.

I will look at adding more of the box series to the OP list as we go. I didn't realize the star wars zodiacs are le200 chasers! wow!!!
Click to expand...

The chasers are LE500, not 200. The Pixar mystery chasers were LE200.
 
You are correct, my memory did not serve me well. The Star Wars Zodiac chasers are indeed le500. But, geeze, there's still 12 of them. TWELVE!
 
Psycho Pixie said:
Reveal/conceal Disney Girls:
  • Yes, that infamous set!
  • 16? girls in the series right?
  • Anyone else heard the RUMOR that theres only about 14 Rapunzels of this set in circulation??? WOW. No wonder it's crazy hard to get right?
  • These only got released one time if my information is correct.
Click to expand...

20 regular pins, 1 chaser pin. Only released once, I think it was only released at DLR even though it was listed as released in WDW as well
I've heard Rapunzel more in the 50-100 amount, nothing as low as 14.


Psycho Pixie said:
Pixar mystery set:
  • 4 LR designs for each movie, 4 LE200 designs that are the same, but with gold accent.
  • Movies included: Toy Story, Ratatouille, Bugs Life, Brave, Incredibles, Cars, Wall-E, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc.
  • Released in 4 "waves"
  • China sellers have been selling LR scrap or counterfeit versions of several
Click to expand...

The Pixar mystery set sold out very fast each time a wave was released. Seems to me like the non-chasers are more popular
The regular to chaser was pretty high for this release - close to 60% regular/40% chaser for most people that I heard of.



Psycho Pixie said:
resort train collection:
  • 12 LR pins in this set. 2 of which were "chasers."
  • the 2 chasers, Ariel, and Jessica rabbit were listed LR as well.
  • ODPT site originally listed that only 2400 boxes would be available, this makes the series about an LE100 IF that number is correct.
Click to expand...

2400 boxes (per odpt) at 2 per box = 4800 pins / 12 pins = approx 400 pins each.
Chasers were of same frequency as other pins, more of an unannounced pin in the set than a true chaser. These did not sell out day of.


Psycho Pixie said:
Reveal/conceal Carousel princesses:
  • Released once around the time the DLR princess fantasy faire was opening in 2013. This MUST be an unmarked LE, there could not have been more that 5000 boxes at MOST. Input on this would be appreciated.
  • 10 total princesses were released. only 9 shown on the box. Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, aurora Jasmine, Rapunzel, Mulan, Ariel, Tiana.
  • Merida was the unknown "chaser"
  • Rapunzel... yeah, people often call her "crack-Punzel" because her eyes are just horrible.
Click to expand...

I believe there have been 2400 to 3000 boxes released so far, and they sold out pretty much instantly, you had to be in line at opening. I am not yet ready to say these won't come back yet in another wave/reorder. Give me a few more months and I may agree this was a one time release. These did have the same conceal with each reveal. My guess is 480 to 600 pins per princess at this time.
 
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