Rubber Straps

Rubber Strap Collection (ラバーストラップコレクション) is a series of phone charms released by Kotobukiya for their ES Series Nino line. The first set was released July 2010, while the second and third were released in July and August 2011, respectively.

All three sets are sold as full complete boxes of 8, with a retail value of 3,776円 ($50.35). This makes the charms 472円 ($6.29) each. As with many items in the Hetalia series, the first box also came with an Animate-exclusive gift for those who bought directly from their store. The set's secret character, Romano. Sets two and three have secret characters as well: Sealand for the second, and a combined Chibitalia and HRE for the third. However, these bonuses are not available through Animate this time.

The rarity of these straps leads to second-hand prices being everywhere. The regular common ones will range from 200円 ($2.67) to 1,500円 ($20), while the secret characters can be anywhere from 2,000円 ($26.67) for Romano to 7,000円 ($93.33) for Sealand.

Item Details
Each strap is about 50mm in height, made of a soft rubber, and features the character's image on front, with a plain back save for copyright information. They all include a phone strap decorated with a small round metal charm of their flag's design.

The first set's lineup is North Italy, Germany, Japan, America, England, Russia, France and Canada with a store-exclusive Romano. The second has China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Denmark with a store-exclusive Sealand. The third includes Prussia, Spain, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania and Poland with a store-exclusive Chibitalia/HRE.