What the...???

[skywalters]

OK fellas. Was at Walmart the other say and found this odd piece hanging on the rack (about 3-4 back):

http://members.cox.net/skywalters/GIJ/GIJ_huh_1.JPG

Is this some kind of hoax? Has anyone seen anything like this? Because I haven't. I can't tell if someone did a custom and then replaced Firefly with their own creation. Or is this some kind of prototype? Is it from a completely different toy line?

Here's a closer look:

http://members.cox.net/skywalters/GIJ/GIJ_huh_2.JPG

As you can see (maybe), the paint job is not perfect. The chest detail actually looks factory, except for the red grenades looks kind of sloppy. The face paint looks a little loose in the mounth and eyes. And there's some kind of black mic on HIS left side of the head (in the mold).

His hands are also unusually large. He's got the t-style crotch...

To be honest, the back looks like the original tape was lifted off, and then new tape put down. There's areas where the new tape doesn't match up where the original tape was that has some dust on it. And there's some litho that's ripped along the right edge.

The only thing I can come up with is somebody wanted to play a joke and placed a custom back in the package and returned it. But I don't see why someone would do that.

The only other explanation is that someone slipped this in in the factory...but again, why?

Hmmmmm... ANYONE?

[Ridureyu]

that's a Corps! figure. somebody pulled the Ole' Switcharoo in the store.

I got a Snake-eyes/Storm Shadow pack that was used once, too. nothing missing or broken, though.

[Short-Fuse]

They took out the figure they wanted and put in a junk one in it's place, then returned it. This would not happen if they went back to the single packs.

[gunless]

or even if they stopped using SCOTCH TAPE to hold the damn packs closed!!!

[Ridureyu]

It would still happen if they went back to single packs.

[Short-Fuse]

It would still happen if they went back to single packs.

I was assuming that they would go back to gluing on the bubble instead of tape.(I was hoping for 80's style cards with awesome art) Didn't see much figure swapping back in then. (I am a dreamer, I know...)

[Ridureyu]

yeah, I agree with gluing the bubble. The reason why it's tapes is so that collectors can display their collections on their cards after opening the figure. it's been done more successfully with LARGER figures, but just doesn't work for something in the Joe scale.

Believe me, I like using this idea to store something bigger when I need to stow it away somewhere.

[skywalters]

Pretty lame...I feel like a dork for buying it now...

[red25thta]

Dont feel bad. I thought I found one of those also. They had swapped Figures around and Acc's. After I saw the back had peeled up I figured it out (G)

[Alkie Ewok]

it's annoying how much this seems to be happening now, not only with figure swapping but slicing into bubbles with a razor and taking stuff out.