Did I make a mistake purchasing a brand new Angelgotch in its packaging?

[ashi.thyst]

I am pretty sure it is completely unopened. Will the batteries have corroded and rendered it unplayable?

And a side question. Can I use a #0 Phillips screwdriver or do I need to prioritize searching for a JIS one?

 

[psychotama]

Hi. I have personally had great luck with batteries. I've bought tons of NIB vintage tamas and never once had a corrosion issue. So, hopefully you'll be fine. It is wise to change the batteries when you do get it though.

As for the screw driver, anything that's small enough should work unless the screws are super soft, which happens sometimes with those tamas. I don't have a JIS and I've been ok.

 

[Knighttchi's Ballad]

From what I've read, corroded batteries are a possibility but not likelihood. Additionally, it seems that corrosion can be chipped off and thus it is possible to make corroded contacts usable.

As for the screwdriver, my practical Father proved to me that the screws of vintage tamas are not special when he unscrewed them easily with our set of small Stanley screwdrivers (I think Stanley might be some Canadian brand, and not necessarily special). The screws he took out were from an English P2 and English Angelgotchi, which I'm assuming are the same as the Japanese ones since I've never read anyone mentioning the screws were different between localizations. Additionally, he summed it up that it would be impractical to use special screws for a toy like that as it would be too much of a hassle.

One thing I should mention is that my father has likely perfected his technique for taking out screws since he remarked, when I asked him to take my Angelgotchi's screws out again, that I may not be used to doing it. Another thing, save the tab from your Angelgotchi since I've heard of many people putting it back in to save battery power. It shouldn't do any harm if it is used with new batteries, although I hear storing tamas long term with batteries in them is not recommended.

 

[ashi.thyst]

Thank you both.

I'd quote, but I'm on mobile.

 

[asmexus]

I had some trouble with battery leakage on my unopened angelgotch when i bought it, but i was able to clean it up and it works just fine.

 

[ashi.thyst]

I had some trouble with battery leakage on my unopened angelgotch when i bought it, but i was able to clean it up and it works just fine.

 

[ashi.thyst]

I had some trouble with battery leakage on my unopened angelgotch when i bought it, but i was able to clean it up and it works just fine.

Can you tell me what battery leakage looks like and do you have any tips on how to clean it if it comes that way?

 

[cheesy-tchi]

Can you tell me what battery leakage looks like and do you have any tips on how to clean it if it comes that way?

In my experience you will know when you see it. The color will be odd, it may appear damp, etc. If you need to you can open up another tama of yours and compare. As for cleaning it my dad has advised me to use ACF50 (or something else that says 'anti corrosion') and some q-tips. Be gentle and make sure to allow the tama to dry fully before putting the battery back in.