Odd Dollar General 2 pack find

[jestermon]

I didn't pick it up but this was an odd pack.

I know the turtle is reused but I don't remember seeing nun chucks for them.

I'm not even sure where the Casey came from.

[mikey2007]

They are reissues from the 2k3 series.

[tmntman]

The Casey Jones figure is actually new. Or at least it wasn't actually released during the 2003 line to my knowledge. The one you found is likely been there a while as the newer shipments now have the Turtles repainted with blue/red/orange/purple belts

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[***First of Two Latin Kings***]

It is interesting that they would release 2003 series minis NOW of all times (they seem so outdated) as well as a Casey sculpted over ten years ago but never mass produced before.

[Utrommaniac]

Are we sure it's not a bootleg, considering how various versions are just cobbled together in one package?

[DonnieLaForge]

Couple of things.

AFAIK, these have seen 3 different waves of "re-releases" at Dollar General. But they aren't exactly re-releases, as my final paragraph below points out.

First wave was 2 different 2-packs, with 2 turtles per pack, 2K3-esque paint jobs. These came either in 2015 or early 2016, IIRC - not sure.

Second wave was 4 different 2-packs, with 1 turtle and 1 other character (Splinter, Shredder, Casey, Foot Soldier) per pack, also 2K3-esque paint jobs on all. These came in 2016.

Third (and final, so far) wave was 4 different 2-packs, with 1 turtle and 1 other character (same as 2nd wave) per pack, this time turtles have a brighter green skin tone and character color bands/belts. These came out early 2017.

All of these waves had weapons and were in Dollar General.

The turtles are actually based on the vintage line sculpt for the Muta Force turtles, which I saw @tokka_oroku pointed out once on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWj2jpFB...by=tokka_oroku
http://www.tmnttoys.com/96figures/mutaforce/13051.htm

Lastly, at least one of the non-turtle characters has sculpt & paint differences from the single minis that were released during the 2K3 era. I have both the old mini Shredder, and the new one, and there are obvious sculpt differences that are not just paint illusions (though paint differs too). I can't speak for Splinter/Foot/Casey as I don't have those older minis to compare.

That's all I know!

[***First of Two Latin Kings***]

Sculpts can be altered in a computer program though, I would imagine. Seems pointless to release a 2002 style Casey Jones figure in 2016.

[Ninjinister]

Since these stores don't exist here I never saw a darn one of these.

[tmntman]

Originally Posted by ***First of Two Latin Kings***

Sculpts can be altered in a computer program though, I would imagine. Seems pointless to release a 2002 style Casey Jones figure in 2016.

You can alter a sculpt easily enough. But you still have to pay to alter or completely remake the molds that are used in the factory to produce the figure. That is one of the most expensive parts of production. So changes are no minor expense.

Originally Posted by Ninjinister

Since these stores don't exist here I never saw a darn one of these.

If it makes a difference, I just happened upon them for the first time today at a Family Dollar store. So they aren't exclusive to Dollar General. But they are the type of toy that you are only likely to find in cheaper stores like those two chains.

[Candy Kappa]

I didn't know Casey was a unreleased figure, that's pretty cool that it finally got out. I haven't seen the Retro releases in the wild personally, but I have the single carded (muta force pilot) Turtles from the 2k3 line that I bought when they where new.

[mikey2007]

Pretty sure Casey was released back in the 2003 line, I had the whole set. I had a dollar general near my house. I’ll have to check in storage when I go home for thanksgiving. It wasn’t a double pack if I recall right. They came as singles.

[Jester]

I never remember seeing Casey. I have several Foot, April, Splinter, Shredder, and the Turtles but not Casey.

[jestermon]

Originally Posted by Utrommaniac

Are we sure it's not a bootleg, considering how various versions are just cobbled together in one package?

No, it's official product.

[tmntman]

Originally Posted by Utrommaniac

Are we sure it's not a bootleg, considering how various versions are just cobbled together in one package?

As jestermon pointed out, it is definitely official product. But it is product made for a very specific niche market. Stores like Dollar General and Family Dollar are all about carrying products for as cheap as possible. But they still want to have some toys to offer and they would still rather have recognizable brands on their shelves rather than resorting to buying bootlegs. Toy companies know this, and many of them try to have some sort of low price option that they can offer them. For Playmates its the mini mutants. But Hasbro does the same thing with several of their licenses as well.

[Ninjinister]

Originally Posted by tmntman

If it makes a difference, I just happened upon them for the first time today at a Family Dollar store. So they aren't exclusive to Dollar General. But they are the type of toy that you are only likely to find in cheaper stores like those two chains.

It doesn't. We don't have that either.