I've seen at least 4 but hear there are as many as 12.

Some people will swear up & down that there's only one & that all the rest are customs or fakes. Other people would have you believe that they personally saw dozens hanging on the pegs. My guess would be closer to the 10-12 ballpark.

Some people will swear up & down that there's only one & that all the rest are customs or fakes. Other people would have you believe that they personally saw dozens hanging on the pegs. My guess would be closer to the 10-12 ballpark.


Mine was indeed real. I have been tracking them for a few years and I know of at least 20.

When it is all said and done I think there are about 50 out there.


(ok back to the shadows)

Mine was indeed real. I have been tracking them for a few years and I know of at least 20.

When it is all said and done I think there are about 50 out there.


(ok back to the shadows)

I don't doubt that yours is real. I haven't seen any posts by you that seem like you're talking just to impress people. I was just pointing out that, depending who you talk to, you can get wildly differant numbers on this one, & I don't thnik there's any way to know for sure. Unless everybody who has one comes out to be counted, & I don't expect that to happen, either - if there's proof of many being out there, the value would drop quite a bit, & a lot of people dropped $1000+ as an investment, not always as a collectable. I hope you're right with the number being around 50. It still doesn't mean they'll ever be cheap, but maybe there's a shot at finding one for under a grand. :D

Don't believe what you hear.... Why? No one and i mean no one can say for sure how many of them were made. Same goes for the 1997 Black skinstone on Rock 'N' Roll... Those are just as rare as the Leopard Destro... Don't be fooled to pay big bucks for any of those.... They are cheap plastic and poorly made.... So unless you got money to waste??? I'd just pass on them for any high price's....

And i know their were 3 Carded Leopard Destro's back in 1997 at our Toys 'R' Us here. And their was a Witness to this also. An Employee who works their when i got mine also collected 3 3/4" G.I.Joe figures and he saw then as i had all three in my hand... And he was going to buy the other two. He no longer works their... But if i can only find him now... But i ave tried and no luck. He Moved out of town years ago and went off to college....

So i'd say their could be only around 50 made... But more likely around 500 to 1000 tops!!! And that's no Joke!

Captain-DC

It does npt really matter how many there are. What matters more is the supply and demand for the figure.

Having said that I think the fact that a few just showed up packaged from China reflects that some found their way into production. It does seem a good fact that the number found in one shop in Hong Kong equals the same number that were in the original assortment in a sealed case.

I personally have had 2 in my hands and both came from a trip to Hong Kong from an ex employee. The story I was told was that the remaining figures after they were not approved for production were given to kids at a birthday party for a factory boss and the remaining ones that found their way to collectors can from the model room of the factory.

I would guess that there were no more than 60 or 120 made. I base that on the fact that model shop temporary spay masks usually last about 60 applications and then need to be thrown away. Since the figure was never approved for full production i am not sure there would have been production spray masks as their cost is not expensive but not cheap.

As far as the Afro Stars and Stripe versions I have 3 mint in box and 1 loose figure in my collection and have seen more.

I would venture to say that the PDD is one of the most sought after figure in Joe Collecting and will always hold its value. What has amazed me (Remember that I come from the diecast car world) is the under value of test shots and prototypes. These are some of the rarest joes most collectors will ever have a shot at and yet they are CHEAP! For sure they are way under valued if this ever hits main stream big like I expect it to in 2006 or 2007.

one day ill come accross an old lady at a yard sale who is cleaning her sons stuff from the attic. in that box will be a pdd and ill ask how much. "oh sonny give me 10 bucks for the whole box"


that will be the day

I was out of joes at the time but worked right down the street from TRU in Hurst, TX. I stopped in there looking for a gift for my nephew. Having not bought a Joe in years I looked at them. Seeing Destro with a leopard print kinda made me laugh. CC kinda looked funny also to me is why that stuck in my mind for 6 years or so till I heard about the PDD. Then some months ago talking to one of my friends here who happens to live near that TRU said he kinda thought he had saw it.

Now I would not put my life on this fact but having nothing to gain from this.
I wish now I would have bought that. Would have been something nice to have saved to sell when I needed it.

I don't know how many were made but to say there could have been 1,000 of them is really out there. That would make them nearly as plentiful as let's say most Convention pieces like the Crimson Baroness or Air Viper. I think we can agree that is not the case. Simply put if there were that many, they would show up much more often for sale.

Simply put if there were that many, they would show up much more often for sale.

Or he's being hoarded by the collector dude from the Simpsons.:D

I know at least one of them is destroyed. About a year ago, a friend of mine was inquring as to my joe collection, and was asking how mine stood up to what was out there, and I was showing him some of the stuff that was out there. I decided to show him what I consider to be the rarest US figure, the PDD. Before I even tell him that it's rare, he says that his nephew had that figure down in Georgia; he was a little kid, so to make a long story short, you can add/subtract 1 from everyones total.

Anyone have a link to a picture of this fig?

Before I even tell him that it's rare, he says that his nephew had that figure down in Georgia; he was a little kid, so to make a long story short, you can add/subtract 1 from everyones total.
I liken these stories to those of all the people out there who swore up and down that they got a rocket firing Boba Fett in the mail during the pre-ESB days. Lots of people remember getting one, but none of them have them anymore.

My feeling is that there aren't very many PDD's out there. There are more than people probably might think as many change hands very quietly. But, there still aren't enough to affect the price of one in the open market. I would say it is possible that one or two PDD's slipped out to retail, but not in enough concentration for the multitude of stories about them to be accurrate.

I remember seing a picture of someone at a con or something after having ripped the arm off of one at the elbow

Does he come with a chalice and pimp cane?

I remember seing a picture of someone at a con or something after having ripped the arm off of one at the elbow

That would have been me at San Francisco. I took it apart to show the quality and construction.

The construction of the PDDs is all preproduction quality, so the rivets hadn't been fully fitted (they were too big, so they didn't fit in the holes). The final production version had the holes made bigger to fit properly the counter sunk head of the rivet.

As for quantity, last I knew, Hasbro would only confirm low teens. I've seen a couple of pictures floating around now of a carded one, but it's the one that had been used by Hasbro as the production approval sample, and never released.

For those that may still have me listed as having one, I do not. I sold it for $2000 about a year ago.

John M.

1 or 2 hit retail? You haven't been hearing it right.... Their were 3 Leopard Destro's here in 1997 and their was a Witness also who saw all 3 of them besides me...

These were not a Hasbro made figure line. All the 1997 and 1998 were put out by Kenner in Ohio those years. They are gone! Those people are gone. Any Records they may of had if any are gone! No Hasbro employee will ever know squat about those 1997 or 1998 Kenner figures. They had no part of it and none of the Kenner people are around and no one these days at Hasbro will ever know who or what happened when Kenner was doing those two years.

Same with Kenner did G.I.Joe: Extreme! Hasbro won't know nothing now about what Kenner did or might of did... Same goes for Palitoy in the old days in the UK they were the Action Man Action Force makers. Then went out of Business... Hasbro later went to the UK itself. But Hasbro will never know who worked at Palitoy or what Palitoy made of did or not did.

Same with stores here. We have two Meijer stores one at each side of town. One gets stuff in? And the other store doesn't get the same stuff in. And you ask them about them and that is the Manager? And they don't know anything about the item's that the other store may of had? So that alone says it all.

Far as only the 3 being in the store? I wouldn't count on it for a Million Dollars people. These were bought then by parents for their kids... And those Kids opened them. They were most likely destroyed as they played with them. And with the 1997 and 1998 figures being cheaper made quality they would sure break easy. Same with the Toys 'R' Us figures Hasbro is making now in the 6-Packs! They have gone to cheap Quality and poor paint aps... Looks allot like 1997 and 1998 made stuff to me... Or i should say Funskool Quality?

Far as my Regular 1997 Destro and the Leopard Destro? They look about the same Quality to me. The head on the Leopard Destro is a little lower down? But that's about it. Otherwise they seem no different in quality to me.

But think what you all want to. You will never know what happened and that's it... If you buy one these days at those price's? You must be loaded? If so i could use some $$$ over here to buy the rest of the figures i need in case you want to throw any away??? ;)

Well?

Captain-DC

1 or 2 hit retail? You haven't been hearing it right.... Their were 3 Leopard Destro's here in 1997 and their was a Witness also who saw all 3 of them besides me...

These were not a Hasbro made figure line. All the 1997 and 1998 were put out by Kenner in Ohio those years. They are gone! Those people are gone. Any Records they may of had if any are gone! No Hasbro employee will ever know squat about those 1997 or 1998 Kenner figures. They had no part of it and none of the Kenner people are around and no one these days at Hasbro will ever know who or what happened when Kenner was doing those two years.

Same with Kenner did G.I.Joe: Extreme! Hasbro won't know nothing now about what Kenner did or might of did... Same goes for Palitoy in the old days in the UK they were the Action Man Action Force makers. Then went out of Business... Hasbro later went to the UK itself. But Hasbro will never know who worked at Palitoy or what Palitoy made of did or not did.

Where do you come up with this stuff? That's the most ludicrous thing I've read in a long time.

Captain-DC,

Hi! First, I would like you to know that I have a lot of respect for you and your collecting know-how - and I definitely credit you with being the first person to bring a carded leopard variant Destro (PDD) to the attention of the collecting community! Thanks for that!

However, there do seem to be some things about the history of Kenner and Hasbro that you don't have quite right.

Kenner was bought by Tonka in 1987 -
Hasbro bought Tonka (including the Kenner division) in 1991

Here's a URL reference:
http://www.kennertoys.com/history/history3.html

Any items put out under the Kenner banner from 1991 on, were genuine Hasbro items! Also, I have the HASBRO catalogs from the years you mentioned in your post, and the "Kenner" items are included in it. If you would like photos, feel free to email me:

airedevon@comcast.net

Hope this helps!
Aire

far as the 1 or 2 figures being in retail your wrong. We had 3 and if you haven't been reading the web? Other people saw it at their Toys 'R' Us in 1997 as well. And most of them didn't buy it. So 3 were here and more of them were seen... So that's counts your 1 or 2 for retail in the Bud!!!

And yes i also know that Kenner was owned by Hasbro. Who don't? But if the Kenner people are the ones who worked on the 1997 and 1998 figure lines and they were... They were in Ohio Office at Kenner. Hasbro is in Rhode Island. So what did Hasbro do after 1998? They closed the Ohio Kenner down for good. And let those people go. Another words they were all nothing but employees and they all were fired. None of those people work at Hasbro these days. And no one at Hasbro knows what they did at the Kenner Office in Ohio at that time.

They had a right hand and that was Hasbro in Rhode Island... And the left Hand was Kenner in Ohio. They cut off their Left Hand and it's gone. And theirs no way to get that Hand back now. So th let Kenner go and the Employees are gone. And they won't ever be able to get it back. So anyone at Hasbro now has no idea what was done back then by Kenner. That's all i'm saying. One hand they say washes the other? In this case Hasbro cut off their Left Hand and they won't be washing the other ever again.

If you follow? Fine! If you don't that's ok. I;m Old School and you might not follow my old school ways and that's ok with me. :)

But don't say we didn't have three of them here at our Toys 'R' Us as you don't know what your saying then. As we did have 3 and their is an Eye Witness to all three of these then he Worked their and i think he even bought those two Leopard Destro's even. So in that case if i can track him down ever? I'm the one who pointed them out to him and will ask to them if they want to sell them or not if i find them?

That's all! Their is no need to reply back to this thread. It has had way to mush treads or the past year alone. No need to keep it going. Just let it Drop. Far as who owns them now? Or if they changed hands? This tread was useless as we don't know who has them now or what they went for. So their was no reason for a thread as we still don't know squat as who has what r what it went for. And i really don't care who has them myself. I'm not selling any of my figure lines period... So no need to ask. And i don't collect Prototpyes.... And to me the Leopard Destro was a retail bought figure here in 1997 and i don't see it as any Prototype figure and i sure woudln't own one if it was. As it never would of been at Retail and it was.

And so that's enough on that.

Captain-DC

Wow...





10 characters

Double wow! :-)

Captain DC, the Cincinnati operations (Kenner) was not closed until 2000.... Doesn't really matter - but ....

And many of the Kenner designers and other personnel stayed with Hasbro even after that. (And definitely much of the property - designs, molds, artwork, paperwork, etc was retained by Hasbro - not just thrown away :-) I was at Hasbro hq myself a couple of years ago and I had a great time talking to employees who had been with Kenner before Hasbro bought it -- We talked about toylines they had designed while at Kenner like Bone Age, and Star Wars, and many others....

Take care!
Aire

I guess we were put in our place.

Nice way to make friends - telling us whether we can talk about a Joe subject or not.

Thorn, this picture is for you -- (If I remember correctly - you asked for a "PDD in a diorama" picture in another thread -- hopefully, you're reading this thread, too :-)

http://www.castledestro.com/airedevon/pddbaroness.jpg


Anthony, thanks for the PDD - I love him!!! (maybe not as much as Baroness does, but hey... ;-)

Aire

Looks like the cat is out of the bag, Aire. :)

Thorn, this picture is for you -- (If I remember correctly - you asked for a "PDD in a diorama" picture in another thread -- hopefully, you're reading this thread, too :-)

http://www.castledestro.com/airedevon/pddbaroness.jpg

Sorry for the bad picture quality - if you really want, I will retake the picture so that it is clearer (I haven't torn down the display yet.... :-)

Anthony, thanks for the PDD - I love him!!! (maybe not as much as Baroness does, but hey... ;-)

Aire
I guess that settles it, there really are dinosaurs on Cobra Island! Nice pic, I don't know the story behind it, but it looks like it would make some strange kind of sense, in a Land of the Lost kind of way. ;)

CGC, thanks! :-)

I really do like the PDD figure (a lot!) - But as hard as I tried, I just couldn't bring myself to insert him in a "serious" diorama... so, I decided to have fun with him instead :-) And yes, that is indeed Cobra Island!

Aire

Nice picture, Aire! One of these days I'll take a drive up north to see your collection first hand.

Iron Snake, that would be so cool! Joe collectors always welcome!!! :-)

...These were not a Hasbro made figure line. All the 1997 and 1998 were put out by Kenner in Ohio those years. They are gone! Those people are gone. Any Records they may of had if any are gone! No Hasbro employee will ever know squat about those 1997 or 1998 Kenner figures. They had no part of it and none of the Kenner people are around and no one these days at Hasbro will ever know who or what happened when Kenner was doing those two years....Far as only the 3 being in the store? I wouldn't count on it for a Million Dollars people. These were bought then by parents for their kids... And those Kids opened them. They were most likely destroyed as they played with them....

I appreciate your opinion with regard to the PDD, but I do not agree with your argument... My understanding of corporations and mergers and acquisitions comes from studying corporate law, but I don't receive my J.D. for another two months, so maybe anybody reading who is also a lawyer and who specializes in corporate law or mergers and acquisitions could help me out here...

As to the Kenner/Hasbro distinction... when corporate entities are merged, or when one is acquired by another, the two corporations can become one entity, or one can end up being the parent, having acquired the other as a subsidiary, etc... I am not sure whether Hasbro acquired Kenner, or whether the two companies merged, or what happened here, but I am quite confident that whenever the merger or acquisition happened, all the records and all the employees of Kenner did not go 'poof' and dissappear. An example of how this operates in the practical world is: If Corporation 'A' has a contract with corporation 'B', but corporation 'A' is acquired by corporation 'X', then the contract obligation is not going away because of the new ownership of corporation 'A.' The successor corporation (corporation X) to the contract will most likely be obligated to perform the contract. This is just one example of why one cannot assume that the records are 'gone.' The successor is not going to just toss all records, ignore current deals, and breach all of the acquired corporation's contract obligations. I would argue that this results in maintenance of records.

As for no one knowing what went on at Kenner during that time, that seems nigh impossible, unless we have some sort of extermination camp for ex-toy company employees. Although I do agree it is possible that none of the Kenner people remainded at Hasbro (it does happen often that an 'acquired' company's employees end up being the first to be either fired or offered retirement packages in corporate restructuring). However, I am not familiar with what happened in the situation involving Kenner and Hasbro... but I am familiar enough with mergers and acquisitions to know that an argument that puts forward these sort of 'definite' propositions, is in all probability a specious one.

As for the proposition that "... those Kids opened them [and the figures...] were most likely destroyed as they played with them....", I can only offer that I don't buy it. First of all, the idea that they "were most likely destroyed" seems a conclusory opinion that 'kids playing with toys = destruction of said toys." Additionally, I think that if so many of these PDD's had reached the toy shelves and had been bought by parents for their kids, then we would actually be seeing more of these surface due to the high demand and the price collectors are willing to pay for them. In my opinion, when people are willing to pay high dollar for certain items, the market and the people who own these items tend to find a way to come together.

Again, I personally appreciate your enthusiasm and your point of view, but happen to dissagree. Of course, I could be wrong.

When the company I worked for bought out a competator they got rid of 98% of the old employees. A few stayed on but not many.

1 or 2 hit retail? You haven't been hearing it right.... Their were 3 Leopard Destro's here in 1997 and their was a Witness also who saw all 3 of them besides me...

I've been hearing you right for years. I just don't believe your account nor any of the other stories of these figures appearing at retail. How is it that all of these people saw PDD's hanging on retail shelves, yet no one bought one? If tons of kids out there had these (which I highly doubt since the '97 line as a whole was marketed towards collectors), it has now been 7 1/2 years since that release and at least some of those kids would be old enough to have sold those figures on Ebay. Yet, none appear.

The persistence that these were released at retail only hurts collectors as a whole. It allows unscrupulous sellers to hide customized PDD's in large figure lots and people will think they are real since the figure could have been had at retail. I've seen at least one auction where this was tried. People buy into these auctions because they think a few figures might have slipped out at retail.

I don't like seeing other collectors ripped off. And, sustaining the notion that the PDD was anything other than a pre-production variant only increases the likelihood of that happening. I don't see why any responsible collector would want that....

I can understand the "Wow" comment, truly. DC's posts are definitely not the easiest to decipher. Sometime I think a "huh?" might be appropriate, but he's really an ok guy. He has alot of enthusiasm for 3 3/4" action figure collecting, and actually has great info on lines like Corps, Power Commandos, Bronze Bombers, etc. He's been collecting for a long time and does have quite a bit of knowledge.

It's the delivery that could use some polishing, but the energy and love for Joes is definitely there.

BTW: Aire, that Faamba looks so SWEET in that diorama! Of course the Leopard Destro does, too. I agree that it makes it seem "Land of the Lost"ish. Unique and cool to view. Thanks for sharing that pic.

-Peter

HOLY Cool! man, that is a great shot, and a lizard!
awesome setup
it is ABout Time we got to see a good quality photo of PDD thanks!!

the other good shot is in ac's army battle, PDD and the Destro bots, but the photo qualitiy is super low.
yeah, yours is a tiny bit fuzzy,. but still a major improvemet, thanks!!

HOLY Cool! man, that is a great shot, and a lizard!
awesome setup
it is ABout Time we got to see a good quality photo of PDD thanks!!

the other good shot is in ac's army battle, PDD and the Destro bots, but the photo qualitiy is super low.
yeah, yours is a tiny bit fuzzy,. but still a major improvemet, thanks!!
Do you have a link to that? I'd like to see it.

Do you have a link to that? I'd like to see it.

http://www.castledestro.com/abb/special/pdddestrobots.shtml

http://www.castledestro.com/abb/special/pdddestrobots.shtml
That is too sweet. I've seen it before, and everytime I see it I get this bizarre urge to army-build Destros.

Pimp Daddy Destro is the Greatest figure ever!!!

All Hail PDD!!!!


Can someone make a Pimp Lady Baroness!!!?

http://www.castledestro.com/abb/special/pdddestrobots.shtml
Lol
Thanks, who's the little guy? :D

I was reading the many messages regarding what appears to be the most controversial GI JOE ever made and I felt I had to write you all.

First, I was one of the buyers recently who bought one of the PDD MOC of the seller from HK. I felt this was a golden opportunity to own this rarity from a reputable seller and I jumped on it hoping it was the real thing. Once I recieved it, I immediately sent it out to AFA to be graded only knowing that it could either be authenticated or discovered to be a fake. Well, I got neither. It turned out that they could not grade the item because too much of the bubble (40-50%) was lifting even though it is still attached on almost 95-98% (IMO) to the card. But, they did say that they could find no evidence of tampering and trust me I think they spent more than the norm trying to find any shred of evidence of it being a fake because of how rare this is.

As far as the grand debate over this rarity, that is what I think makes it so damn special. It is one of the coolest looking joes ever to be made when it wasn't considered even good enough to keep in production (Even hasbro/Kenner didn't understand how cool it was at the time!) And just like that guy here who said how stupid it looked when he had the chance to buy three, now he probably just loves being able to look at it as many of us do. I truly think it was just a figure that was not ready to be appreciated for how cool it was. I just wish they would have at least used better glue so mine would stay on the freakin' card!

Anyway, thanks for all your informative posts. I have really learned a lot of history of this figure from this message board.

Thanks,
Downright Cool

Hello Downright.

I can see that you are new to the board, and welcome! Are you new to Gijoe collecting?

The PDD MOC auctions were certainly were interesting, for sure. Did you purchase the one with the PDD head turned to the left/legs turned to the right in the bubble or the second auction with the PDD facing forward?

A few people had mentioned buying this and sending to AFA for verification. But, I was thinking that it would probably be an item that would be pretty difficult for them to even attemp to grade. Since it would be the first "MOC" version of this they've received, would they compare the packaging to the regular release Cobra Command Team? Or, can it even be compared to anything?

Due to the controversy regarding carded versions of this figure, I'd venture to say that AFA might be "playing it safe" by not attempting to grade it. Because there is so little info it around, if they graded it and it turned out to be fake or manipulated, they'd suffer a big reputation hit.

Again, welcome aboard.

-Peter

Actually, I bought the second one with him facing forward. I'm also very very sad to say that I found out after I wrote here that the bubble in some spots had come unattached to the card during transit to AFA similiar to the other guy's situation with guru-planet. (Just not nearly as much) I knew it was lifiting before I sent it to them hoping their archival case could stop it from coming undone. It hurts just to say this, had it not come undone in trasit to AFA, I think AFA would have surely graded it. They said there was no evidence of tampering even with the bubble lifting away from the card like it did. I would also have to speculate that they would have graded it against the normal cobra command team only with the Leopard Destro Version.

I'm not really new to collecting, I've been following joes since the 82 straight arm snake eyes was first put on the shelves in Toys R Us back when I was a Toys R Us kid. But I am new to expanding my collecting knowledge with the more rare items such as this.

I'm am highly disappointed though, if the loose PPD's are fetching 2-3000K I know the carded would have really been worth A LOT more someday.

Downright

Just saw this post. Gotta few thoughts.
(1) I own 2 Pimp Daddies and I think acmirro is very accurate in the current count. 20 is about what I have seen or heard from SOLID sources. Although it is hard to guess about a final total when all is said and done. It's taken 8 years for these 20 +/- PDD's to come out.
(2) Anyone who collects prototypes and preproductions discovers general knowledge about how these figures are tested and how some early variations are not released. I agree with The Joe Company on most of his points. But I was told numbers on the test paints were a little lower. In the 36 to 60 range for Hasbro figures. Either way, they are still super rare.
(3) I also agree with him on the Black Rock and Rolls. (I think you bought one of those MIB ones from me about 2 years ago.....hehehehe!). I had owned 3. Sold 2 and kept 1. Those R&R's are rare, and should be considered a true production variation. I got 2 from my TRU in town and one from ebay guy who lives in the USA. However I believe the PDD is a preproduction test!!!
(4) Captain DC is credited with being the first person to publicly acknowledge this Destro variation. He has stuck to his story for many years. So I believe that he got his at retail. I have no way to prove otherwise. But I strongly disagree to the possible numbers that could have been released in the stores. I think everyone I have asked, says theirs came from the Orient in the form of a test and not from a Toy R Us shelf. A test in the same way those unreleased Wal-Mart "Parachute" Storm Shadow and "Parachute" Snake Eyes test samples were found. On a mock up card somewhere in MI if I remember right. So it proves there are errors that make it to store shelves. But that doesn't mean it should be considered a genuine production variation.
(5) I got my 2 PDDs from a Chinese lady who attended the birthday party where her kids got these PDDs handed out to them. Just as The Joe Company stated.
(6) John Missal is correct about the elbow rivets. The preproduction Pimp Daddies have that larger pin and/ or smaller holes. Giving credit to this being a test piece that was later fixed in the normal retail version.
(7) I agree with Aire, about Hasbro/Kenner companies. Aire was in the real GI Joe Head Quarters in RI, so she knows better than anyone about these types of things. Congrats on getting a PDD. I am very happy for you. And very cool diorama.
(8) Downright, thanks for sharing you picked up those carded ones. If you are looking for more info, you might want to try some searches for old posts about the Pimp Daddy on this site. But I made sure to sight the names of everyone above that actually own (or did own) the pimp daddy. These people are all very knowledgeable and respected in the Joe community. (sorry if I missed any PDD owner who posted...it's late here 3:50AM...).
Any other PDD owner on this board? I am usually in lurking mode, but had to come out and back up those people who know a lot about this subject.
Yo Joe,
Ron Conner
G.I. Joe Book Author @ http://www.backinthedaytoys.com
G.I. Joe Toy Dealer @ http://www.treasuresntoys.com/gijoe334.htm
G.I. Joe Fan Site Webmaster @ http://www.treasuresntoys.com/webcamp.htm

I'm going to stand by my guess and stick with the 200 I've been saying for about a year now...

If you think about it, a normal run is 10,000 (or somewhere around there). 200 of 10000 would be roughly 2 % of the normal run. Seems like a logical and low enough to be plausible. So far we've seen roughly 20 over the last 8 years.

I be there are many more than we think out there.... and to be honest, other than the myth driving the price, I don't see why its taken off in price lately.

$1000 tops and as more are found I bet the price slowly drops. It took a while for them to start coming up, but look at how many have appeared in the last year, and a few MOC to boot!

I think this might be the case of hype and myth more than anything else...

But then again, its all speculation on my part, so take it for what its worth.

Tanner

What has amazed me (Remember that I come from the diecast car world) is the under value of test shots and prototypes. These are some of the rarest joes most collectors will ever have a shot at and yet they are CHEAP! For sure they are way under valued if this ever hits main stream big like I expect it to in 2006 or 2007.

I think many collectors are afraid of false prototypes. I don't believe the prototypes of recent figures that are sold by sellers in Hong Kong are real prototypes. So why paying 20$ for an ugly figure that might be a fake???

I am reading a lot about people who bought them retail but has anyone ever seen a picture out the of PDD still in original packaging? I just read a guy who said the bubble was a little messed up. Can you take a picture and submit online for proof? I just want to see the packaging.

Travis

I'm going to stand by my guess and stick with the 200 I've been saying for about a year now...

If you think about it, a normal run is 10,000 (or somewhere around there).

Is that true? I know in the DeSimone guide Volume 2, he said the last of the 1994 stuff (Star Brigade, etc.) was produced in a minimum production quantites of 10,000. If that's the minimum, what is a "normal" production quantity? SInce 1997, has 10,000 been the normal number?

SInce 1997, has 10,000 been the normal number?

Nope. TRU typically orders ~20,000 of their exclusive figure sets. You can be sure that Hasbro's full retail products are produced in much greater numbers.

http://www.castledestro.com/abb/special/pdddestrobots.shtml

Wow, a year later and you dig that thing up...It makes me wish i had not sold it LOL>

The little PDD is Pimp Daddy Stikfas Kevin. He was the co-star of a bunch of oddball dio pics I made when i got my PDD. PDD and PDDSK Hanging at the Cantina, macking on the wimmen...stuff like that.

I also did a pretty in-depth essay on the PDD and it's physical differences from the other uses of the mold. It was on the Prototype forum on GIJoeHQ's boards, but when his site got hacked by those Neo-Nazis, that info was lost forever. I still have all the pics i used, but the text is all gone, and it was LONNNGGGG. I don't think i could remember it all. Did anyone save it? Pete maybe?

I don't think i could remember it all. Did anyone save it? Pete maybe?

I totally wish I had, Kevin. That was an incredibly informative post...one of the best in recent memory

Unfortunately, I too thought it'd last in the internet ether for perpetuity! Stupid hackers... :(

-Peter

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/hottoddy74000/358d043b.jpg



I tried to set this up to show you guys some pics. I hope it works.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/hottoddy74000/41354f62.jpg

Downright

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/hottoddy74000/4677804e.jpg

Here in this pic you can see when a flash is used it gives off that dark red look some challenged that the sellers photo's didn't have.

Downright

Thanks, they may be the best pics of a PDD I've seen. I've seen other good pics, but not focused close ups.

After it became obvious to me that this carded PPD was the real thing, I had the seller tear apart his warehouse to see if he could locate anymore. A couple weeks ago, he did come come up with one more carded PPD except the card is in really rough shape and the bubble is lifting too. Maybe C-7.5 to C-8 rating on the whole card. But the actual PPD figure is a real beauty, IMO maybe the nicest looking PPD figure in exsistance (c-9.5+). So now that I have two PPD's and I need to raise some cash, I may put one up for sale and/or take it to auction. Probably the one in the pics I posted here. If anyone is interested go ahead and send me a private message.

Thanks in advance,
Downright...

After it became obvious to me that this carded PPD was the real thing, I had the seller tear apart his warehouse to see if he could locate anymore. A couple weeks ago, he did come come up with one more carded PPD except the card is in really rough shape and the bubble is lifting too. Maybe C-7.5 to C-8 rating on the whole card. But the actual PPD figure is a real beauty, IMO maybe the nicest looking PPD figure in exsistance (c-9.5+). So now that I have two PPD's and I need to raise some cash, I may put one up for sale and/or take it to auction. Probably the one in the pics I posted here. If anyone is interested go ahead and send me a private message.

Thanks in advance,
Downright...

I still think it's a little suspicious that both of these PDDs came from Hong Kong and have extreme bubble lift. Given the number of bootlegs that come out of Hong Kong and China, these could easily be fakes.

Sure you make a good points, but the seller in HK (a highly rated powerseller with some pricey items from time to time) is actually known for producing many old TRU Joe exclusives and prototypes like these and these carded PPD's sat in his store room under pressure for 8 years not properly stored like they should have been. To clearify myself, the first one I got was completely sealed almost all the way around. There was no question about it. I couldn't see how anyone could have inserted or removed the figure given the condition of the seal. I inspected it for days and I could find nothing, nada. Honestly, I should have just packed it better when I shipped it to AFA. That might have held it together. And AFA could find no evidence of tampering even with it lifting and I'm pretty certain they would have graded it. So just because it came out of HK and is one of only a few carded samples to exist does not make it a fake.

Downright

one day ill come accross an old lady at a yard sale who is cleaning her sons stuff from the attic. in that box will be a pdd and ill ask how much. "oh sonny give me 10 bucks for the whole box"


that will be the day

i'll beat you to that Garage Sale too :p

Hi... just wondering.. does anyone want a PDD?

sir JABBA the Drunk: you have PDDs right??

:confused: :confused: :confused:

[quote=diesel]Hi... just wondering.. does anyone want a PDD?



are you saying you have one for sale?

One of the guys over at Joecustoms.com found a carded PDD in the Phillippines a year or 2 back, and posted pics he took with his camera phone. I don't remember the guy's username, and I'm pretty sure the post was deleted long ago, but I do remember seeing it. Maybe that's one that's been previously unaccounted for.

[quote=diesel]Hi... just wondering.. does anyone want a PDD?



are you saying you have one for sale?


sir im not saying i have... just wonder how much will a true collector pay for it.
im also intetrested in this set.;)

Loose (Legitimate) ones currently sell for between $1500 and $2000. I have sold two, and traded one. I cannot reveal the sale price of the first, but the second was traded at $2500 and the third was sold for $2000.

John M>

sir im not saying i have... just wonder how much will a true collector pay for it.
im also intetrested in this set.;)
As opposed to a false collector? ;)

John just gave a couple prices, but keep in mind, who is selling will also affect the price. From an established collector with a strong reputation in the community, other collectors will be much more confidant that what they are buying is legitimate & backed by a knowledgeable & ethical compeer - & therefore not mind exchanging such a large dollar amount. If somebody relatively new to the scene shows up with on or more figures that are generally very hard to come by, people may be a little sceptical - even though it could very well be a legitimate find. In that case, the sale price could likely be significantly less, & may even require an intercessor for the exchange to ensure both parties follow through with what was promised.

It doesn't happen often, but often enough that most collectors know to be watchful. Occasionally some shyster will try selling a custom or recard being passed off as the real thing. If you are in the market to buy a PDD, make sure you know who you are buying it from - a grand or two is an awful lot to drop on a twenty dollar custom!

THanks for the help sir.

;) Does anyone know where to buy this variant?:confused:

;) Does anyone know where to buy this variant?:confused:

Why don't you check ebay? You might be amazed what you can find on there sometimes. :)

Just be prepared to shell out some serious bucks, though.

Dan

Yeah some one is selling a PDD at ebay. WOW!


Unfortunately, i cant bid coz i dont have an EBAY accounts.:(

i want it so bad but i cant cough that money up. i wonder if the selelr will let me make payments. like a layaway plan or something?

:D
i want it so bad but i cant cough that money up. i wonder if the selelr will let me make payments. like a layaway plan or something?

sir, you can email him... if you have an EBAY account.:D :D :D

I have a set of the commando arctic cobra comman teams...

yes gai.. those are part of the series of PDDs

nice catch