It was around 7 years ago that Mutant Bigaro [ミュータント ビガロ] became the first of the original 4 to receive RealxHead's [リアルヘッド] trademark 'Gold Mist' paint treatment.
Owing likely to tight production schedules, the Gold Mist Bigaro was produced on two different colors of base vinyl: translucent slime green and black. The slime green vinyl figures probably used the remaining supply of Bigaros from the slime green set released at the end of 2006 (technically becoming the fourth slime green Bigaro to be produced). I also suspect (but have not confirmed) that the slime green base figures were only sold in Japan at the Super Festival at which the Gold Mist Bigaro was initially sold. Once RxH produced the overseas allotment after the show, there was sufficient lead time to pull the figures in proper black vinyl. The slime green base figures are considered something of a rarity among RxH collectors and have commanded a significant premium in the past.
On a whim, I recently picked up an unopened Gold Mist Bigaro for around USD $20 from a store in Japan. You can probably tell where this is going, but upon opening the figure and separating the head piece, I discovered that this was one of said rare slime base figures.
Absent opening and disassembling a Gold Mist Bigaro, there is, unfortunately, no easy way to identify the slime base figures. From the outside, you may be able to see the slightest hint of green around the shoulder joints where the paint failed to completely fill in the indentation (suggesting that the figures were painted while assembled). If you are able to open up the figure, identification becomes much easier. Some of the green may show through at the top of the neck flash. The arm flash within the body of the figure will also likely be unpainted and green. If you look at the figure in front of a strong light, there will be areas where the paint is thinner, allowing the light to shine through. Above are a couple of photos of my figure, enhanced to better show the green color.
If you are on the hunt for odd variants such as this one, it may be worth your while to keep an eye out for Gold Mist Bigaros for sale. I would probably keep to examples sold from Japan, as I believe those sold in the U.S. are primarily on a black vinyl base.
Additional photos to follow:
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The slime sets were sold at
ReplyDeleteWorld Character Convention 23 way back in 2006. They were bagged, and you didn't know what you were getting.
The Slime Bigaro was an unintentional chase figure because a high number were rejected due to bubbles (IIRC.. it is rather a long time ago). It seems likely those rejects were repainted to make the gold mist Bigaros.