Exactly what is Pathfinder going to use his brush cutter on in the desert?

- R

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Outback's beard

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I think this Dusty is what you are also looking for Thomas?

http://www.yojoe.com/archive/unproduced ... aint.shtml

No, I was assuming that Dusty was to have been part of that 1998 set simply because he was a Desert Trooper. But that set was apparently always intended to be Outback, Pathfinder, and Dial-Tone.

I've never seen this Dusty figure before, and it's a shame we didn't get him, either. He certainly would've worked well with the 1998 group, had any of them been released.

*Sigh* This is getting depressing...

Like I said, I think if the second MCC had been molded in a different color, it would've sold better.

You sure these weren't bootlegs that just happened to look like the unproduced figures? Prototypes don't tend to be produced in bulk. I'm not saying somebody didn't manage to get their hands on a limited legitimate production run that was turned out by Hasbro before the figures were canceled. I've heard of stranger things than that. But I'm sure we've all seen some of the interesting "unofficial" figures that have cropped up on eBay.

The paint scheme protos weren't produced in bulk, but test shots in random colors were, and those along with painted protos all came via one of the insiders that were selling "midnight run" figures. Figures produced off shift using the toolings to make an extra buck out the back door of the factory in China. This is also where a couple of the PDD's came into the country, one of which I owned, so I know they weren't bootlegs. They were legit Hasbro toolings, but many were "unauthorized" but many were the test runs of some figures like those desert figures you speak of.

They call that GRAY market. Nike Collectors have a really hard time dealing with GRAY market product because it is indistinguishable from the real thing since it was made by the exact same factory using the exact same materials.

Thanks for the clarification, LobsterOverlord and Dremel.

Didn't know it also happened with Nike, but not surprised. Probably happens with a lot of consumer products.

yeah Nike collectors have a heck of a time with the gray market midnight runs. It isnt authorized product but at the same time it is nearly impossible to prove that it isnt.

I should say that I KNOW that the midnight runs are considered GRAY market. I assume the factory seconds are considered GRAY market. Casting prototypes (the unpainted figures just done in multicolor plain plastic) that are probably suppose to be disposed of, are most likely NOT considered GRAY market. They are most likely considered special collections to the collectors (Hasbro of course does not like it but the collectors should) since this is about the only way that these items would ever make it to market.

The "midnight chinese" was nothing more than a theory of where these were coming from. Several years ago, it was debunked. If you look at the actual process of producing the figures, it is easy to see that there is no way that a small group of people could stay after work and press "go" on a big machine that makes all the toys.

Not sure about Joes but for NIKE the midnight runs are not done by a small group of employees. It is a higher up if not the factory owners themselves kicking them out like knock-offs with the only difference being that they are exactly the same as the real thing unlike knock off Italian items that are always a lower quality.

Whether it's grey market or midnight run...whatever you want to call them, they were factory produced, either legitly, or not, without the intention of making it to market (product cancellation, or what have you) and have ended up in the US market. Most of them, extremely cheaply, and being capitalized upon by a select few with the right connections. These desert figures were among them, and it just floors me, how much people are willing to pay for them.

Hasbro has confirmed at conventions over the past few years that it is pretty impossible to fake a run of figures. The whole "midnight chinese" thing seems to be something that was perpetuated by Hasbro when they didn't want people purchasing things that hadn't passed quality control, defied confidentiality, and trampled on product that was intended to be exclusive to certain retailers.

No, they were not intended to ever be available but they are collector's items and thus retain a value. That's what makes them collectable. And they do have historical significance in regards to the brand.

A lot of the decos on the "midnight chinese" that Hasbro originally claimed were not real, have been found on official pre-production
samples via former designers as years have gone by. Further verifying the legitimacy of the items. As for the desert HQ figures, I only know of 3 complete sets and one or two complete sets. The rarity alone dictates the price and/or value. Not hard to understand why they are so valuable. What something costs to make does not factor into its rarity, appeal, collectability, or value. At all.

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