This one does actually look like some one crazy has painted it, it's everywhere! Including what lloks strangely like a brush stroke on the sleeve and not a spray ap??

You can check ebay for that coo:

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Vintage-Kenner-Star-Wars-Action-Figure-Bespin-Guard-White-Complete-1981-ESB-/141106445514?pt=US_Action_Figures&hash=item20da997cca

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Vintage-Star-Wars-Bespin-Security-Guard-COMPLETE-1980-Empire-Strikes-Back-/231023229746?pt=US_Action_Figures&hash=item35ca0ebb32

http://www.ebay.de/itm/VINTAGE-STAR-WARS-BESPIN-GUARD-ACTION-FIGURE-1980-/400357026262?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d372369d6

http://www.ebay.de/itm/STAR-WARS-VINTAGE-1980-Bespin-Guard-3-3-4-Loose-Action-Figure-C7-/131039870412?pt=US_Action_Figures&hash=item1e8295bdcc


http://www.ebay.de/itm/White-Bespin-Guard-ORIGINAL-Weapon-MUSTACHE-VARIANT-Vintage-ESB-Star-Wars-C9-4-/121049482326?pt=US_Action_Figures&hash=item1c2f1c8456

More needed?? You can see very good IMO how that face is similar or near similar to yours. It just belongs to that coo!

PS: Forgot to say: ohh...if Pomse has such a variant...then it is a true variant! I am sorry...

This comparison pic should lead you to the sleeves:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/STAR-WARS-VINTAGE-ESB-WHITE-BESPIN-GUARD-X3-VARIANTS-/380704117776?pt=UK_ToysGames_ActionFigures_ActionFigures_JN&hash=item58a3bbd410

The one on the left is yours...pnkish sleeves I would say...as all others from that kind of coo...some more...some less.


Anyway....Ebay is a good research data. Whenever you have a question about "comon" HK coos just check ebay...it is so easy and you normally have more figures there to compare the in your collection

Thanks for all the links Wolff  

so it seems that the head sculpt and cuff colors are normal for that coo family  

which only leaves the white collar as the true oddity on Marco and I's figures :scratch: 

If everyone believes that they look handpainted then I would have to agree that they are customs too   

Out of curiosity though - were there ever any other figures that had parts handpainted that are known ? Perhaps touch ups done by factory workers on figures that missed the spray ops along the way and were caught by quality control before they were packaged ?

I am just baffled by the similarities between the figures since they were purchased by me over such a long timespan - guess I just got lucky and managed to find 3 identical custom figures that were scattered out over the US all from one crazy kids collection  

I'm off to buy a Powerball Lottery ticket now - with this much luck I'm bound to win  

General Kahn wrote:

This one does actually look like some one crazy has painted it, it's everywhere! Including what lloks strangely like a brush stroke on the sleeve and not a spray ap??

James, could we see a close up picture of the sleeves on your remaining two.  1 of them kind of looks the same as the one Marco has.  Maybe Marco could get a better picture of the sleeve area as well. Could it be the artists signature?  I'm not saying that it is or is not a custom at the point.  But the paint jobs seem to be a little sloppy.  Definitely hand painted.

Where there any early versions produced for the traveling toy shows and sold by the Kenner vendors? Would they have to be hand painted at that point in the proccess?  There would have to be ones created for photo shoots, like the one on the back of the Palitoy cardback.  Would Kenner have made a small batch of 50 or 100 figures to start with before they finalize the paint apps?



Definitely an interesting figure worthy a debate at this fine "Gentleman's Club".

Clint, that is the one Marco has. James sold Marco one of the two from that pic and sold the other one prior to that as a beater figure. James now has one and Marco has one.

I have never seen these other than when James showed them to me about a year ago and I have been steadily looking for one (on ebay for the most part), with no luck at all. I agree that they look handpainted but the face paint application does look somewhat unique to them. the left eybrow is higher and almost touches the hat, the eyes seem to be lighter paint, the hands are lighter color than others, and the mustache seems to be bushy on the left side and thin on thinner on the right. I assume this could be explained through playwear but to have it happen that exact way with both figures and a third example that was the same is very odd.

I think though that without a carded example and with the lack of larger numbers showing up these would/should be considered customized. I mean even if these were produced in small numbers of 100 or so surely there would be more that would have turned up than just these 3 examples? And if these were used for photo shoots then what photographic evidence is out there? Has anyone seen a photo with a white collar bespin guard other than the prototype one that Wolff showed?

Like Bryan, after speaking to James last year i searched for a while for another one of these but couldn't
find one and forgot all about it until now tbh. James makes some good points about the similarities of the figures
he has and you really do have to be open minded when it comes to 'loose variant discoveries' but after seeing
more pictures and better close ups i would agree that the neck is sloppily hand painted and i really can't see it
being factory done like that.

Thanks guys for all your thoughts !!
 
I will just have to write these guys off as customs  
 
unless a carded example shows up there is no way to know if the figures are authentic