Quote Originally Posted by UltraMarginal View Post
There was a second production run anything with an embossed batch number on the box greater than

H2511
which translates to August 25, 2011.

The second production run supposedly fixes up a lot of the issues that plagued the first, however I've heard there are still a few points on it that are pretty fragile. I guess it just needs careful handling.

I have noticed prices for this gradually rising on eBay for the last 12 months. sitting between $250 and $300 in most cases of late. It's a bit rich for me at the moment, especially when the hasbro one was $80. A lot of sellers are cagey about telling you the batch number as well because they know that the original run isn't very popular.
It really is luck of the draw as to whether you get a good one or not. i think more than likely if you get one it is bound to have at least one problem. Flawless ones are just so hard to come by. Hasbro ones have less issues but its colour scheme is nowhere near as good as the Takara version.

If I were to buy another takara version I wouldn't get a MISB one. I'd get one that has been opened so the seller can confirm any issues.