The difference is that this is a variation that makes alot of sense, which suggests heavily that it was intentional. Not an error.

it makes NO sense at all. Grune NEVER wore that gold armor as a thundercat. He got it AFTER he joined with Mumm-Ra. So there would be NO reason to put a Thundercat symbol on it.

I dont see how this can be confusing or remotely a possibility

:confused:

Once again, it's an easy way for Bandai to give kids a heroic version of Grune. They can't make an alternate armor version this early in the line.

The difference is that it's just as likely if not more likely someone mixed up the emblem tampos. Grune is the only non-ThunderCat figure that has the exact same shape were the his emblem goes and he's the only cat villian. The mistake is just to easy to make.

Heck, one page back is a Mumm-Ra in Tygra box. That's not a variant, that's an error. Someone switched the boxes. Same principle.

As I posted ages ago, its deffinatly a VERY small error that was released. Not a intended varient :)

I finally saw my first Lion-o from the classics line, and i saw why noone bought it. On his belt it was the right way on him, but the thundercats logo was upside down. Definetly a factory error. I passed on it as well. Instead I got the thundertank. I am impressed by it, but the claws seem a tad flimsy and fall off easily. I dont want to glue them on, but its a bit annoying. I got my grune same day, and he does have the mumm-ra logo.

I asked Bandai... and this was the response... Sounds like I was wrong and this is a Variant...



We greatly appreciate your passion for the ThunderCats property and Bandai America's toy line. Bandai is aware of the variant and while we are not at liberty to discuss the details of this item we believe that it is in line with the show's story arc.

Thank you for your inquiry and we hope you continue to enjoy our line.



I'm not a fan of variants but cause it's thundercats i may have to get..

So glad that this is indeed a variant! Means that I will at-least have a shot at getting one!

I still think its BS. Makes no sense whatsoever to put a thundercat logo on a charactor in an outfit that doesnt exist.

Ha! It's an elaborate conspiracy, right? It makes PERFECT sense to give kids an easy, heroic version of a cool character. He was a "good" guy, and this variant represents that. Again, they CANNOT make a whole new armor for him this early in the line.

so.....in your logic, we might as well slap a thundercats logo on Mumm-Ra, cuz you know, he worked with the thundercats to get the eye of Thundera a long time ago, right?

To take the exact same charactor in the exact same outfit with NO changes whatsoever except for the logo of the team they are playing for is REDICULOUS to ask collectors spend more on a charactor with almost NO changes to the figure at all. If Grune with a Thundercats logo is a variant, then Bandai is taking direct nut shots on us. thats crap on their end to take advantage of us with such a small change.

not to mention I can hardly call this a variant, with only 3 known to exist. Its not worth their time and money to produce so few, with ZERO marketing efforts and not wanting to comment on it. Bandai might know about the "variant" but since they dont want to comment on it, maybe they dont want to admit the mistake. Maybe down at Bandai, they call factory errors, variants.

Grune is actually a cat, and worked under Claudus and alongside Panthro. And could actually be considered to have been a hero. That's how he's different from Mumm-ra.

And when you get right down to it, this isn't a collectors line. The 4" line is aimed directly a kids. Kids like my little brother, who think that the coolest Thundercats are Panthro and Grune.

I don't know how much you know about other companies or lines, but Marvel Universe is notorious for releasing "secret" variants like the dark red Daredevil that was confirmed spotted like twice for at least a year and was only recently widely released. Companies don't always announce variants, and they aren't always widespread.

I am very aware of variants. Usually its more defined then a 1/4" sized design change. The problem I have is that the outfit/armor he is wearing when he is on the same side of Mumm-ra, he never wore as a Thundercat (or up to this point). so it doesnt make any sense to make him a Thundercat in the Forces of Evil armor. Grunes armor was totally different when he was a true Thundercat, as I pointed out in a previous post.

If you are correct that the 4" line isnt aimed at collectors but at kids who want to play with them, You think kids are going to hold out on buying the evil Grune until they find one one with the Thundercats logo? So again, by your logic, they just want a Grune regardless of the logo? So then Why would Bandai spend money and resources for the variant that kids dont care about? Or you would think they would just totally omit any logo and have an empty red circle, so then he can play for both sides, therefore saving Bandai effort and money.

HIS ARMOR IS A MOOT POINT. They CANNOT make a whole different armor for him this early in the line! The hero/villain logo is probably way more important to most kids than what version of his armor he's wearing. And even if it's not, there's nothing that can be done about it at this point. Grune (either version) is pretty hard to find right now. He seems to be about the rarest of the 4" figures. I'm sure Bandai would love to make both versions more available. But that's more up to retailers.

And I very much doubt Bandai spent alot of extra money, resources, or effort on this VERY SIMPLE DIFFERENCE. It's just something cool they did. Whether you personally like it or not, I'm sure there are alot of people that will.

Saint Phe, i cant understand why you are so adamant that you are right about this. i accept that its POSSIBLE that this is a very cheap variant based on the pre-evil grune, i also accept that its POSSIBLE this is a variant based on a future post-evil grune. i just dont think either of these is LIKELY.
if this is a variant based on a future grune then why are there no actual retailers claiming to stock it? i see wilykit and kat both have hoverboards and weapons that we have yet to see in the show but you can see these things online at TRU/amazon/Walmart. There is no secrecy and we can all assume that Panthro will eventually build them the boards. if grune is a variant then why can i not look this figure up with a seperate item# that clearly states it is an intentional figure?
i dont understand your claim that they CANNOT produce 2 seperate Grune figs as well. they were able to make Lion-o, Tygra and Mumm-ra in both 4" and 4" deluxe. it seems that if 2 Grunes were actually INTENDED then we would see a normal 4" figure based on his original garb where the deluxe would only show his new armor and weapon inventory.
bottom line... yes your claim is POSSIBLE. its just highly IMPROBABLE. especially with Bandai not wanting to talk about it... wouldnt they be up front about something they are proud to offer customers?

exactly!

I dont understand the claim about why Bandai "CANNOT" make a new Grune in different armor?

lolwut. It was Indycat (you) that was implying that anybody that thinks this is a variant is stupid. And why would retailers announce a variant? Variants also usually don't have a separate item number, and companies like Hasbro are often secretive about variants.

Lion-O and Tygra only have doubles because they needed cheap, underarticulated figures to pack with the thunderracers. Nobody else has an alternate outfit within the 4" line, so why would Grune have one this early in the line? Especially when they could change one tiny paint app to give kids a heroic version. Bandai specifically called it a variant and said they felt like it was in line with the show's story arc. And once again, I'm sure alot of kids would be thrilled to find this, whether you like it or not.

If you are implying that Si3ge and I are the same person....try again, we are not.

also....

I didnt not say it was stupid, I said it doesnt make sense. according to someome who emailed them, yes, Bandai called this a variant. However, it doesnt mean it was made on purpose. Even a mistake is a variation of the original. I dont understand why you think kids would be thrilled to find this when you said yourself that "kids" dont care what his armor looks like or whats on it as long as they simply get a Grune figure.

not to mention why would I bring up a 4 day old post to argue with you some more? I obviously know we both arent going to agree.

yeah i see how youd think that. i only had 1 post and we both liked each others post. i just read this thread a few days ago and got excited, tried to find one for myself with no luck... did find a normal 1 tho at TRU. anyways..
im not that guy i just went to "like" the nearest post that backed my opinion when i decided to make an account and throw down my 2 cents.
i dont think anyone is stupid for thinking either way... im just sayin its a really out of place "variant" if it was intentional when compared to the variation in all the other characters.
it does seem possible that later in the story Grune might turn good and still retain his weapons then just change his emblem but i will be more inclined to believe that if more than 2 ever surface.

it's an error. heck i've heard someone say they saw a classics Lion-O with his symbol upside down. Is that a "variant" too? Even someone very early in this very thread said they contacted a Bandai rep about this figure who said it was "a very small error."

Sadly for me the only store in my area to even get in the Deluxe figures is Toysrus and I've only seen it there three times, one of which is when I bought mine. No variants all regular symbols, but I'd like to pick it up if I find it.

I'd still hold onto it, sometimes the Errors are worth money down the line. Maybe you can goudge a Scalper for once, and get some payback for the rest of us. LOL

As I posted.. in the e-mail from Bandai they have indeed said it's a variant. They even said it fits the story line and that's why they did it. So yea, it's a variant, grant it the armor is wrong (sure bandai did it that way to save money) dont believe me contact Bandai yourself.

I sent them an email probably about the same time you did. The day after you posted your answer, I got the same reply.

And did you ask about the liono with an upside down thundercat symbol? Or deluxe mummra in tygra packaging? I cant wait to hear how they explain that. And yeah i read your original post but someone else posted that they too spoke with bandai and got the opposite response. Like i said... ill believe it if more that 2 ever show up.
And what is this "we believe it is in line with the story arc". Thats not a yes or a no at all. They might as well have just said "i dunno lol".
Can we please just drop this until theres solid confirmation and not a bunch of "beliefs" being thrown around?

:(

I realize nobody is changing anybody's mind here, but here's an update since si3ge brings up the reported "opposite response".

I sent Bandai a reply to their first email (which was the same answer as the one shimey013 got). I mentioned that someone on this forum reported that a Bandai rep told him it was an error and I asked for further clarification. Here's exactly what they said:

"We’d be interested to know who was representing Bandai with the comment you mentioned but our previous answer remains official response.



Thank you,



Customer Service

Bandai America"

I'll drop it now; I don't even remember how I got mixed up in this. Variant or not, I don't want it because I prefer Grune as a bad guy and I'm not a completist collector.

Noticed a tiny packaging varient on the new Classics figures.

It looks like figures from the first waves sent to stores have no character names printed on the clear front bubble, while the next wave sent out have their names printed in silver on the bottom right corner.

Cell phone pictures:

http://emob241.photobucket.com/album...g?t=1317143697

http://emob241.photobucket.com/album...g?t=1317143705

VERY GOOD OBSERVATION. these have moved to the top of my list so i can hopefully find some without the name

I have a variant Grune with the Thundercat symbol. Anyone interested in it PM me offers. I found the mumm-ra symbol version so I really dont need the thundercat one.(Hasn't been opened).

pics plz

I have one hanging up on my wall at home, and they're two selling right now on eBay

click link below to see /buy
Thundercats 2011 Deluxe Grune the Warrior Variant, Error NEW! | eBay

enjoy.

gee, thanks for scalping. ^

I'm not the one selling. I was saying I have one on my wall... and I found 2 on eBay.

was basically saying there seem to be a lot more than 2.

What I feel happened is that the first run of Grune figures went out with the Thundercats symbol. The error was noticed, and the figures were re-painted with the correct Mumm-Ra symbol over the Thundercats one. But enough of the factory error figures hit retail, enough that they can be classified a variant. (Not an intentional one, but a varient none-the-less.)

I feel that if it were an intentional varient then the Grune figures with the Mumm-Ra symbol wouldn't have the Thundercats symbol painted underneath. And with my post above about the Classics packaging error, it proves that the factory has made some errors in production.

It will be interesting to see if any others show up.

tiny bit of a theory here: Perhaps the Thundercats Grune was a half-assed attempt not to spoil the big plot twist of Grune being a bad bad man in the premiere? I mean, even most people who actually watched Thundercats in the 80's couldn't tell you who Grune was, much less their kids.

It's rare if its a mistake Congrats and take care of it!

I tend to agree with this as the Thundercats logo has BAI above the barcode while the Mumm-ra logo has BAI-R1 potentially indicating a revision.

Yep it reminds me of the old Start Wars POTF figures where it be .00 or .0? whatever indicating a revision. The T-Cats figures all have that BAI stuff. my CN Logo Tygra Racer has Bai-1 on it so wonder what the difference is between that and BAI version. Theres a few figures in my collection that appear first run and have the revision code.

Do you know if any made it as far as a BAI-R3?

Just found a 6" Lion-O variant last night in a store called Roses. I'm going to start a new thread with pics. Check it out.

I can never see enough variants, I will check it out...