test shots/prototype figures

[test]

Ok so I just won another eBay auction earlier for my 3rd thundercats test shot figure.
I now have...
4" wave 2 liono with gauntlet
4" grune
4" Panthro

I really like collecting these obscure figures but just wanted to fish around for a little more info on them .... They always seem to come from China and seem to pop up at random.

I know a couple of other users "english" lol who also collect these and just wondered what their relevance is within the creation process and also how they end up appearing on eBay (im guessing the seller is often an employee of the company as 2 of my figs are from the same guy who must be smuggling them out of the factory)

Hoping to get my hands on some of the 6 inch test shots but they rarely seem to crop up.

[Cat's Pajamas]

Sounds cool, can you post some pics?

[test]

Yeah absolutely i'll put pics up as soon as they're all here cos i'll wanna show them off lol..... the Liono test shot was delivered friday and im just waiting on the grune and panthro (tracking number indicates that grune should be here any day now) grune looks cool as he's completely un painted. I recently got the grune varient moc too thanks to my girlfriend so I have 3 different grunes now lol Will try and put some pics of him up too

Ive added the seller to my favourite seller list as he seems to randomly put them up from time to time. Might actually message him and ask if he would consider giving me the heads up every time he gets one and if he will get any more of the 6 inch ones.

[tallgeeseblue]

ahh,
so your one of the others. I have been picking them up as well. I've got
4" tygra deluxe
4" wilykit
and the 4" cheetara (coming)

[englishw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by test

Ok so I just won another eBay auction earlier for my 3rd thundercats test shot figure.
I now have...
4" wave 2 liono with gauntlet
4" grune
4" Panthro

I really like collecting these obscure figures but just wanted to fish around for a little more info on them .... They always seem to come from China and seem to pop up at random.

I know a couple of other users "english" lol who also collect these and just wondered what their relevance is within the creation process and also how they end up appearing on eBay (im guessing the seller is often an employee of the company as 2 of my figs are from the same guy who must be smuggling them out of the factory)

Hoping to get my hands on some of the 6 inch test shots but they rarely seem to crop up.

Yeah, you've got it right... employees of the manufacturing company smuggle them out. Test/first shots are simply tests of the mold. After a final sculpt is approved, a hard copy is made. From this plaster or resin hard copy, the mold for the figure is created. First/Test shots are then made from that mold (often before any copyright is added to the mold) to test it. They test the mold for several things, but mainly that the type of plastic they want to use works well with the sculpt and that the joints all work and the figure goes together well. Nobody outside of the company has any way of knowing how many test/first shots of each figure are created, but it isn't many.

I love the entire toy creation process and love collecting these pre-production figures. So far, these are the ThunderCats first/test shots I have:
- 4" Lion-O (wave 1)
- 4" Lion-O (wave 2)
- 4" Panthro (wave 1)
- 4" Cheetara
- 4" Wiley-Kit (with a Wiley-Kat left arm instead of a Wiley-Kit arm)
- 4" Grune
- 6" Tygra

I also would love to get the other 6" figure test/first shots. Maybe when an auction comes up, we should talk and take turns bowing out of the bidding so we don't drive the price up too high ;o) Hehehehe

[Mummra]

Picked this up recently.





The figure comes complete with copyrights and magnet.

Came from a seller out of Malaysia that also had the Gold Lion-o and Tygus loose both standard/non-prototype figures.

Any guesses on what this figure was meant for?

I believe it's a final production figure of Mumm-ra for the Armor of Plundarr toy. I know it was in development per this old MTV Geek interview from below:

Quote:

Maul: One of the biggest challenges we faced and continue to face is figure-to-figure sizing with in each scale of the line. Panthro is huge, Cheetara slim, Snarf is tiny and Mumm-Ra is monstrous. The huge size differences from character-to-character is a dramatic aspect to the series but a particular challenge when we try to stay as close to the true scale seen in the animation. We believe that we’ve executed exceedingly well to this point but it just gets trickier as we go along and introduce some of the characters that are extremely large or small. In fact, (spoiler alert) when we release WilyKit and WilyKat in the 6” collector scale we will be offering them together in one package to ensure the collector gets the value they deserve. In addition, there are a few characters like Mumm-Ra’s final form that are so big we will be releasing them in an entirely different scale just so that when placed next to the rest of your 4” collection it all aligns with the figure-to-figure sizing featured in the series. Certainly a challenge but one that the team at Bandai strives to overcome.

Source: MTV Geek – Wilykit, WilyKat, and the Storm Charger: An Interview with Brehan Maul on Bandai’s ThunderCats Toys!

If in fact this figure is stockpiled somewhere it gives me a little hope for wave 3.
If not I have the new series equivalent of the Mad Bubbler.

[englishw]

That is AMAZING!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mummra

Picked this up recently.

[grune7]

I've got a first shot Wiley Kit but I keep getting outbid on the rest. For some reason they're going for alot more than back around christmas time.


That could just be a first shot of wave 2 Mum-ra. The info could just be left over since it was the deluxe mold with new wings. As much as Bandai cheaped out on the pack in figures I can't imagine them packing in a fully articulated Mum-Ra with wings as the pack in with the Armor of Plundar.

[test]

Thanks englisw .... some great info and congrats on the 6 inch tygra test shot (thats gonna be a valuable one)
Certainly seems like were the ones driving the price up lol ..... I did see the 4" cheetara alongside the panthro I just won and although I really wanted to put a bid on both I was set in my mind to only treat myself to one of them as Im saving for the icon heroes tank and minimates too ..... and after a long decision process I decided i wanted panthro more lol.... so looks like tallgeeseblue got the cheetara :-) congrats mate.

That Mumm-ra is epic ... You may just have another bubbler like you said lol ..... although I really hope its sn indication of wave 3 on the horizon..... I'll certainly be checking for more of those lol

Im sure we'll see a few more over the coming months and hopefully we can all get some 6 inchers although I can imagine the price will be considerably raised if were all fighting for em lol ..... it would be nice to form a bowing out agreement but I cant see it realistically happening as we all want em so bad.

Anyways im glad that we are all able to enjoy these unique figs ... I also find myself fascinated by the creation process and this thread has brought up some great info for me as i was a little cloudy on the exact details about them.

I hope I see another classic liono test shot come up .... I noticed one in the completed listings on ebay so hopefully more will surface.

[Mongor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grune7

That could just be a first shot of wave 2 Mum-ra. The info could just be left over since it was the deluxe mold with new wings. As much as Bandai cheaped out on the pack in figures I can't imagine them packing in a fully articulated Mum-Ra with wings as the pack in with the Armor of Plundar.

Agreed. I think the Stormchaser Mumm-Ra would be the more likely pack in for the Armor Of Plundar keeping in mind the lower quality pack in figures Bandai released. If the Plundar Armor would have had the same gimmick as the Armor Of Omens, that happy meal Mumm-Ra would work perfectly. Perhaps he would have been painted completely black knowing Bandai.

[Cat's Pajamas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mummra

Picked this up recently.

That is an awesome figure. I'd be all over it at retail...

[grune7]

I've got a Tigra on the way now. I tried to get a Lion-o too but a couple others musy have wanted it really bad, that was the highest I've seen one go for yet.

[englishw]

I apologize for bumping up the bidding on your Tygra ;o) lol

[grune7]

Thats ok. I probablybumped up your Cheetata, Grune, and Panthro, if not more of them.

[IndyCat]

Sorry....no other toy will ever achieve bubbler status.

[test]

I had to force myself to bow out of the latest auction for liono and tygra because im getting too carried away with these proto's .... but mark my word I'll stick a 100 pound bid down straight away if I see any six inchers crop up

[grune7]

Don't you mean no other Thundercats toy? As seen on Toy Hunters The rocket firing Boba Fett brings more money than the Mad Bubbler. As for the new series its hard to tell there are a couple items we know were in the works, the 6" Wiley twins and the 8" classic Cheetara. Plus who knows what else got atleast to the hard copy stage that we don't know about yet, The other classic characters could exist as 8" or 6" prototypes. There could be 4" Atticus, Kaynar, Vultaire, Jaga and Pumyra at the very least. Theres also the armor of plundar, and feliner. As far in advance as the show was made it only makes sense that work started on them even if they never made it into production. Its the stuff we don't know about that could reach that high level.

[englishw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by test

I had to force myself to bow out of the latest auction for liono and tygra because im getting too carried away with these proto's .... but mark my word I'll stick a 100 pound bid down straight away if I see any six inchers crop up

You and I will be bidding against each other, my friend. I have a 6" Tygra first shot, but I have a deep desire... no, a need... to get the others. lol

[IndyCat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grune7

Don't you mean no other Thundercats toy? As seen on Toy Hunters The rocket firing Boba Fett brings more money than the Mad Bubbler. As for the new series its hard to tell there are a couple items we know were in the works, the 6" Wiley twins and the 8" classic Cheetara. Plus who knows what else got atleast to the hard copy stage that we don't know about yet, The other classic characters could exist as 8" or 6" prototypes. There could be 4" Atticus, Kaynar, Vultaire, Jaga and Pumyra at the very least. Theres also the armor of plundar, and feliner. As far in advance as the show was made it only makes sense that work started on them even if they never made it into production. Its the stuff we don't know about that could reach that high level.

Yes, I should clarify. No Other THUNDERCATS TOY (NONE) will reach Bubbler Status. As for Modern Thundercats toys...not a chance in hell of even coming close.

[test]

Hahahaha see you on ebay my friend ;-) that is if the 6 inchers do indeed surface at any time in the near future.
Seems to be just an influx of the 4" figures as of late. Im insanely jealous of your 6" tygra test shot i must say .... grrrrr lol

[englishw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by test

Hahahaha see you on ebay my friend ;-) that is if the 6 inchers do indeed surface at any time in the near future.
Seems to be just an influx of the 4" figures as of late. Im insanely jealous of your 6" tygra test shot i must say .... grrrrr lol

You could make me an offer, but I would probably decline it. It would have to be pretty insane for me to give up that awesome piece. lol

[grune7]

I've never understood why the mad bubbler is considered the holy grail of Thundercats. I would think Red Eye would be considered better. Both are unproduced figures and Red Eye had alot bigger role on the show. Thats one thing that bugged me on Toy Hunters. You can see Red Eye I think Jordan even picks it up and plays with it but never says anything about it and then goes gaga over the Mad Bubbler

[englishw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grune7

I've never understood why the mad bubbler is considered the holy grail of Thundercats. I would think Red Eye would be considered better. Both are unproduced figures and Red Eye had alot bigger role on the show. Thats one thing that bugged me on Toy Hunters. You can see Red Eye I think Jordan even picks it up and plays with it but never says anything about it and then goes gaga over the Mad Bubbler

Could it be because the Mad Bubbler was advertised and Red Eye was not? That's just a guess though since I don't know if Red Eye was advertised or not. I know the Mad Bubbler was. I've also heard that Toy Hunters was completely fabricated. Jordan knew of and had seen that Mad Bubbler as well as others before... it was all for the camera and to generate hype.

[test]

Dont think I could afford to part him from you englishw lol .... or at least not at the moment considering all my recent purchases (my poor paypal account has taken a beating with all this sdcc stuff lol)

Oh and regarding the mad bubbler .... I honestly think its a horrendous looking piece of work , but the air of mystery about it and the fact it was lost for so many years has just made it on object of desire for every thundercat fan (myself included) .... I find myself so in awe of it , but then when I stop to think about it and actually look at the pictures I cant help but think "why am desiring this thing so badly... is it just the monetary value or the fact that everyone wants it therefore so do I lol"

I don't even understand why they decided to make this thing considering he only appeared the once .... surely there must have been higher priorities like more lunataks and warrior maidens , mandora etc etc ..... what were LJN thinking hahaha.

I loved Toy hunters and cant help but wonder if maybe a second episode is on the way revolving around the recent sdcc .... fixed or not I just loved seeing the toys (my thundertank is waaay better than that guy's one though lol.... it has personal value because I built her myself from 4 wrecks lol she's my baby)

[IndyCat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by test

Oh and regarding the mad bubbler .... I honestly think its a horrendous looking piece of work , but the air of mystery about it and the fact it was lost for so many years has just made it on object of desire for every thundercat fan (myself included) .... I find myself so in awe of it , but then when I stop to think about it and actually look at the pictures I cant help but think "why am desiring this thing so badly... is it just the monetary value or the fact that everyone wants it therefore so do I lol"

I'm the same way about Tongue-A-Saurus....so I had to have him!