REAL VARIANTS TALK AHEAD

I have learned from Wolff that figures from the same COO family normally share the same mould. This is because they were produced from the same steel moulds, the only difference being an altered country of origin. Wolff: pls correct me if I am wrong, I can handle it.


Sofar so good, till I realized something today when answering a post on SWUK Forum, something which does not fit in the grand scheme.

I am talking about the Imperial Commander having COO #4.



Both Kenner and Ledy figures having COO #4, share the same mould as seen in the pics that AJ posted a while ago in the LL thread.
Note that all figures have the hooked left thumb. Seems logic cause these figures were produced from the same mould (or set of moulds that were nearly identical).

Imperial Commander COO #4: Kenner (left), Ledy (middle), Kenner (right)



Imperial Commander COO #4: Kenner (left), Ledy (middle), Kenner (right)


I guess that COO #4 was derived from COO #1 by filling in "Made in Hong Kong" in the steelmould, resulting in a 'no COO' on the right leg. So COO #1 and #4 belong to the same family, and you might expect that both figures share the hooked left tumb.

However this does not seem to be the case, or at least not in the figures below. The left tumb is straight (left figure, COO #1) or hooked (right figure, COO #4). This indicates that different moulds were used though the COO family bond suggests otherwise :scratch:.
BTW: The COO #4 in the pics below is a Ledy, but that is not relevant for this discussion IMO.

Imperial Commanders from the same COO family: COO #1 (left), COO #4 (right).


Imperial Commanders from the same COO family: COO #1 (left), COO #4 (right).


Imperial Commanders from the same COO family: COO #1 (left), COO #4 (right).



Might the figure on the left ne assembled by using limbs from different COO families?


Variant collectors: Your input here is very welcome!

I have several real Imperial Commander variants. I should be able to set some time aside in the morning to dig them out and see how my thumb/coo combos compare to yours. I'll post back tomorrow!

I have to check my MIHKs now, but my guess is simple for now:

Does that thumb look like a "natural" molded thumb??? No it doesnt IMO....this thumb was altered in time so the IC could better hold his blaster!

This is simply a modification like on an big head Han etc.....the thumb was changed at some point. It is possible that there is also MIHK ICs with that thumb!

Ill do some research and we will maybe find out when (talking from the molds in this coo family) this modification happend!

I already wondered why I never noticed that...the reason is simple: My MIHK from that "family" has the Trilogo/LL thumb.

So there is no 2 options left:
a) the one above is overstock assembled
b) the thumb was altered while producing MIHK ICs (thats my guess)

Well....to spot if the one pictured above is the same we have to closely no check whcih mold belongs to which coo family. This can be tough.....the arms can be nearly the same on all familys. When I have spotted the differences I will check yours again if its a "wrong" arm or the original unaltered mold from the same arm!

hmmm...seems I was wrong...its simply a wrong arm IMO....difficult to spot but the mold of the arms belongs to another "family" IMO.

So it could be overstock assembled together.....anyone else seen this HKK with that thumb??

I havent seen one, but was wondering something. Is it solid across like it was molded that way or could it be flash that was never cut off? My reason behind that is if you look at pix #4, you can see a line across the thumb where it looks like it was suppose to have been cut. If it was, it wouldve been a normal thumb. Sorry, I dont have photoshop skills to point it out clearly where Im talking about.





Look at the point where the thumb turns. you can see it like it was suppose to cut at that point.

I've got a couple of straight thumb Imperial Commanders with COO #1

Strangely I never managed to find a similar "Made In Hong Kong" curled thumb IC I was happy with. All half a dozen or so attempts at buying one listed as Hong Kong and pictured with a bent thumb ended up having various degrees of removal of the Hong Kong. A fellow variation collector however ended up with two minutely different COO #1 "Made In Hong Kong" curled thumb figures in his first two attempts!

IMO as Wolff speculated the different left thumb is simply a modification, the thumb was changed at some point so he could hold his blaster better.

Rog.

Alright gang, don't know if this is relevant o the actual thread discussion but wondered if you could help on another Imperial Commander question. Light brown/ginger hair.

Up until a couple of years ago I still had my childhood Imperial Commander, a survivor from the 'big sale' cheers mum! Either way, when I began my adult collection, I noticed all IC's had dark hair yet mine from childhood had light brown/ginger hair and a noteably pinker face. He also had the hooked thumb. I absolutely knew it wasn't fading as I could always remember it that way as a child. Eventually I found another and bought it. Everything was the same, the hair colour, the pink face, the hooked thumb and the same COO. I no longer have my original, but here is the new one:


The COO:


head sculpt and hair colour comparisons (middle one):



One thing I can absolutely say for certain is that this figure came from either a Palitoy or a Tri Logo card, either way bought in England.

Don't know if this helps the original thread, but it's here either way.

P.S sorry for the slightly blurry pics, the wife has forced my away from my usual 'Photo' room to do important work that will pay the bills, Women! Know your priorities!

there is a few strange haircolors on the no coo known:

Haha, Thanks Wollf, Great pic. Strike a pose Vader!

Hey guys, i've checked my Imps and my HK coo #1 also has the curled/hook thumb.

I focus so much on coo's that i forget about these other little factors sometimes

Lee_m wrote:

I focus so much on coo's that i forget about these other little factors sometimes

As promised I have checked my Imperial Commanders.
My examples with COO #1 & COO #4 both have the hooked thumb as expected. My straight thumb figures have COO #2 & COO #8.

Sorry for the poor picture quality but the natural light levels are low this morning.

[img][/img]

WOW, never seen that before !!!! Awesome variant.

Quickly checked mine lot ... no luck there, all normal hands.

Just found one online. Now I have one !

This thread is the business !!!

_Rog_ wrote:

I've got a couple of straight thumb Imperial Commanders with COO #1

IMO as Wolff speculated the different left thumb is simply a modification, the thumb was changed at some point so he could hold his blaster better.

Rog.

my COO #1 is a straight thumb . Now I want a curled thumb MIHK as well

WOW!!

This is the type of discussion where I was hoping for and we all learn something at the end of the day.

Thanks for all your input and ideas, it is great reading.

Cheers

aussiejames wrote:

_Rog_ wrote:

I've got a couple of straight thumb Imperial Commanders with COO #1

IMO as Wolff speculated the different left thumb is simply a modification, the thumb was changed at some point so he could hold his blaster better.

Rog.

my COO #1 is a straight thumb . Now I want a curled thumb MIHK as well

Do I need a straight thumb HK now????. ....... Nahhhhhhhh......I dont think so.......

aussiejames wrote:

my COO #1 is a straight thumb . Now I want a curled thumb MIHK as well

found one

Congrats, AJ!!

I managed to get two new Imperial Commanders.

Both have COO #1. One with curled the other with straight thumb.

Imperial Commander COO #1: Reddish brown hair, straight thumb (left). Brown hair, curled thumb (right).


Imperial Commander COO #1: Reddish brown hair, straight thumb (left). Brown hair, curled thumb (right).


Imperial Commander COO #1: Reddish brown hair, straight thumb (left). Brown hair, curled thumb (right).


I wonder now whether there is any match between the hair colour and the type of thumb for COO #1. :scratch:

The curled thumb COO #1 that I posted earlier in this thread has dark hair like yours Marco.
Hopefully AJ will confirm, but from the front, his example also appears to have dark hair.
If this variant happens to be scarcer than COO #1 with a straight thumb, then it may have had a relatively short production run. In which case (IMO) it makes sense that all examples would have the same hair colour.
It would be usefull to establish exactly what cardbacks this variant is found on in order to establish a time frame for its production.

Both my straight & curled thumb #1 have dark brown hair. Now I want a red hair straight thumb

aussiejames wrote:

Both my straight & curled thumb #1 have dark brown hair. Now I want a red hair straight thumb

me too

really cool find. Now I have to go dig mine out and check.

Found 2 Imperial commanders with curled thumb in my collection . 1 with no COO and one with HK. Will post pics asap.