Got my first CEL! PLEASE HELP.AM NERVOUS

Hello everyone I am new to cel collecting. I
recently purchased my very first cel!
It is from my favorite show Voltron/Golion.

Here is my problem. The Cel came with a non
matching background. A piece of the foreground(a
small mountain) is stuck to the cel. Should I or
can I remove it without damaging the cel or
foreground itself? I do not know where the
foreground or background came from but it works
well with the cel. Should I care about what happens to the small mountain as long as I can get it off without damaging the cel?

Here are some pictures, you be the judge:

https://auction.rinkya.com/shopping/status.php?action=itempage&url=http://page8.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/h54752636

What do you guys think? Does the background look like a production piece or a laser print copy from some random background?

Should I leave it alone or try to take it out and print out a laser copy of the matching background:

http://voltarchive.animation-web.com/Screenshots/LV/Ep20/cap173.htm

Can it be possible that even though the background is non matching it is still an original production piece? Convenitely enough the next episode from this cel takes place in the snow mountains. The style and drawing are very similar but did not find an identical screenshot to match the background.

What would you do if you were me?

Thanks for reading!!

Personally, I would leave it alone, since it's a vintage cel.

If it appears that the book part of the background would be easy to remove (and more importantly, wouldn't damage the cel), then it might be worth a shot.

Oh, and welcome to rubberslug and the world of cel collecting! Congratulations on your first purchase.

It's a production background--that's for sure. ^_^

You can tell by the edge of the background in the picture--see how on the left side, the background looks a little scruffy? That's how a lot of edges on original backgrounds look. Very rarely do you get non-production original backgrounds--only if the cel owner commissions one, and that seems like a very Western thing to do. Plus, that background is a book one--it consists of two background layers. So, whatever cel it goes with would be considered a "book" cel. Last but not least, the auction does not say that it is a copy background. The vast majority of auctions on YJ are pretty good about giving this information.

Basically, if you attempt to remove the cel, you're going to definitely damaged the background--a layer will remain stuck to the cel, leaving you with a huge hole in the background. You might damage the cel, too.

But, if it's hanging by just a bit of background, you might as well separate it. It's probably stuck on there good, though. Red is notorious for adhering like glue to sketches and backgrounds.

I would leave it as it is. Even though it isn't matching it looks pretty good. It is a relatively old cel and any extra fiddling with it will definitely [i]not[/i] do it any good.

Anyway....

Welcome to the wonderful world of cel collecting. Say goodbye to your wallet. ;P

First off, congratulations on such a great looking cel and setup! Cool!

The folks ahead of me here have given excellent advice. Leave it. ^_^

Now... if it were me, I'm notorious for needing to pick at mine that are stuck to sketches, and occasionally destroying a sketch in order to get the cel free. But I haven't had but a few stuck to a background. Haven't gotten many ~with~ matching backgrounds. ^^;
As with sketches, I'll sacrifice the background for the cel.
BUT, that is just warped little ol' me. ~_^

There are a few threads in here about how to handle going about getting something like this unstuck, but it involves humidity or small amounts of water, and a TON and a half of patience.
If you're neither patient nor twitchy about the cel being stuck, definitely leave it as is. ^_^


And definitely welcome to the poor but happy bunch!