Transformers collectors...found an oddity in Walgreens tonight. Refraktor. Not such an odd thing in of itself, but...look closer. That is *NOT* the retail release of Refraktor. Its the exclusive 2019 SDCC and later Hasbro exclusive G1 toy colors Viewfinder. Now...my first thought was a color variant of the regular retail. But the chest plate is CLEARLY different from regular retail and instead IS the SDCC version. Next while the box did not have tape on the side panel making it pretty easy to open...it was tacky where tape had been. So I thought...repacker. But I kind of have discarded that idea...what repacker worth his salt would put a Con Exclusive in a retail package to keep the retail version and just get a refund? Lastly...while this bad boy clearly does not have the shoulder add ons, he IS securely fastened into his plastic tray by his double ended factory straps. No repacker would have the reason...or likely the material to do that. I can only conclude... Factory error. Either way...might be something to keep an eye out for.
nah.. it's a repack, I'm not questioning that at all. Some people preferred the purple guys but wanted the extra parts of the sets... even saw some post about buying the set of purple for their collections, and getting the set for the extra parts to use with their purple set. Very possibly, at other stores, you might end up seeing the other two other color versions if this person did just that. This saves them the money of buying a 3rd party accessories set, a fancy box and a possible larger refund if the bought the box set at lower pricing than the 3 individuals.
Wow I find that really crazy...can't imagine doing all that with Con exclusives, but I guess it makes sense.
NEVER overestimate someone's intelligence first-off OR underestimate their dedication to their own dumb plan/idea. You won't always be right living by that rule, but on the rare time you're not you'll end up pleasantly surprised.
I noticed the gun, shield, and chest lens are all silver like the retail version and not black like the three-pack version. If this is a swap, it's possible that whoever swapped it didn't waste time swapping the gun and shield and simply swapped the chest lens to match them, but why would anyone want a mass-release Refraktor with accessories that don't really match him color-wise?
Simple explanation: Refraktor 3 pack is $70. Individually 3 Refraktors are $60. But this person probably wanted 3 single pack Refraktors with the extra accessories for camera mode. So they packed all 3 exclusives into single boxes and they have a Refraktor on their shelf with the extra camera parts.
I guess we will know soon enough if they show up in volume or they don't if it's a repacker or a factory error (like putting the Takara Chromedome head in the Titans Return Chromedome packets) It is an interesting idea that did come into my mind looking at it though - which is that if you had 3 sets of the exclusives you could have a unified repainted camera an all black and red one with black accessories would look rather neat I suspect.
The odds are terribly small for that, unless this is an unannounced release, but again, without the extra accessories, so I seriously doubt it. If you notice, the ties appear to be the arms and legs only as I don't see any on the body, which you can easily prevent snapping if you're careful. Heck, I tried to see how hard it is to remove them by simply using a tool to take one side out without breaking any, and it's not that hard. Putting them back probably is. As a swap, if this person had planned that all along, they would have done just this.
i don't see the waist tie though, it would be possible to squeeze a repack in with just the arm and leg ties still intact but the waist would be impossible
Repack, plain and simple. Logic be damned, I once acquired a Walgreens Exclusive Titans Return Brainstorm becasue some "genius" swapped out a Power Of The Primes Chromia at Walmart with it. Other than the missing Blurr gun, it was in great condition.
Just wanted to add ONE POINT in favor of the opposite: Hasbro has had a couple of Marvel Legends including Killmonger where late run orders of the single carded figure ended up being multipack versions with sculpt changes. As I recall, Killmonger got the 2 pack sculpt with the single carded colors/deco. So while a repack is likely with Transformers, Hasbro HAS been known in the past to make running changes that put boxed set versions in single packs if the single pack is reissued after the boxed set in a case assortment. I have seen these directly from the case with MLs. It’s never represented a CHARACTER change and generally only happened where the deco is nearly identical. Impactor would have been my first guess, possibly with the new headsculpt but the original deco or Mirage’s toy head from the boxed set. It generally the old deco on a newer version of the mold as a running change.
