This post is about the G1 variants. Creating variants is a major way a toy company can employ the "collect them all" gimmick without having to design new sculpts, produce costly new molds, etc. They just release the same figure in different-colored plastic or just different-colored paint.
And boy does it work.
Finding all the variants is one of the most rewarding things for any collection-oriented hobbyist.
I am going to attempt to unravel the mystery of the Generation One figure variants. I should note that I did not collect TDD at the time that they were in stores, which for G1 was 2000-2002. So, piecing together this information is a bit of an adventure in urban archaeology.
It seems that at least two versions exist for most G1 figures. The usual way to explain this is that there exists one "regular" sculpt with one or more variants. In this case, I refer to the regular version as the design most similar to the character's artwork as it appears on the poster, website, trading card, packaging, etc. I will also mention that this regular version is not necessarily the one that was manufactured to be the most common.
The TDD variants arise from alternate waves, as well as, specialty marketed multi-packs and deluxe-packs.
Alternate Waves
The use of "alternate waves" is an unusual way to release toys, but I am pretty sure this is how they were released. Let me explain.
The typical way a toy company will release a variant figure is as a package-type alternative. Other than that, the company can release the variants either as store (or even event) "exclusives" or as "chase" figures. The "chase" figure has some degree of intentional scarcity (less of them were produced as compared to the regular figures) and the company intends for you to "chase" after them to complete your set.
However, I do not think that the TDD single-pack color variants are "chase" figures in this sense. Tech Deck Dudes were released primarily within a "Crew," which is what we usually think of as a Series. A Crew typically consisted of six different characters. I am of the belief that each character's figure had two versions within the single-packs. Although the same "regular" versions appears for the artwork on all packages, I do not think the other versions are true "chase" figures. I could ultimately be wrong about this, but I have bought enough random lots to find the variants showing up just as often as the regular versions. Again, I am only talking about G1, and yes, even in G1 there are a couple exceptions which come from the latest crews (14 and 15) which typically only have one version each. This is probably because the designers we already phasing out G1 in order to start manufacturing and marketing G2.
Anyway, what it looks like is that each Crew had two (or even three) different waves of single-pack figures. I do not know how the "alternate waves" were released -- this is something that someone who worked for X-Concepts might be able to someday answer. Here are some possibilities to consider:
1. Two waves were released at the same time within the same case. So, both versions would appear at the store at the same time. If, within that case, there are three versions in one color and only one in a second color, this strategy is called "short-packing." The version produced in fewer numbers becomes a "chase" figure as described above.
2. Different waves were sent at different times. This is the "rolling stock" strategy of Hot Wheels. One wave appears, when that is running low (or more typically just as a scheduled delivery) a different wave shows up for the re-stock. If the first wave does not sell well, a second wave will probably never be ordered to replace the first.
3. Different waves were sent to different stores. This could have been done intentionally or unintentionally. For example, Wal-Mart would have gotten one wave and Target across the street would have gotten a different wave consisting of variant figures (yet in the same Crew). Or, possibly a top-tier retailer would have gotten the dominant wave, and later a discount store could have gotten an alternative wave.
All three of these are pretty common release strategies for toylines. Ultimately it does not matter, I suppose. These are just things that I tend to think about. I also have a suspicion that multiple Crews were released at the exact same time. Not just that they could have appeared in the store at the same time -- but that they were actually part of the same release and the same shipment. For example Crew 1 and Crew 2 were on the shelves at the same time, when the new shipment came, the box contained both Crew 3 and Crew 4, and so on.
Overall, these are the conclusions that I draw (concerning the majority of the G1 figures):
1. At least two distinct waves of figures were made for each Crew.
2. Each figure has two versions from within the single-pack stock.
3. Typically there is a third or fourth version of most figures from some other pack-type.
4. No version is intentionally rarer (per manufactured scarcity) than the others.
5. The most common version seems to be whichever variant was in a 3-pack.
If a particular single-pack version seems rarer, I suggest that it is either just due to the randomness one encounters when scouring the secondary market, or there is some selection bias at play.
For example Tiki was made in light-brown, dark-brown, and cherry-brown. In the course of collecting TDD, I have encounter these an equal number of times each. You might personally like one shade of brown better than the others, but I doubt any one shade would have a decidedly stronger preference among a large group of people.
On the other hand, Rozz* appears as purple, gray, and green. I have come across Rozz fewer times in green compared to either gray or purple. I find the purple G1 Rozz the most often in random lots, followed by gray, with green being the least common. My feeling is that the green figure is not rarer by design, just more coveted. Green is just the most popular color for an alien. Hands down. Green will be the first to leave the store and the last to be culled from a kid's collection. Plus, green is the "regular" color for Rozz as he appears in packaging, on the poster, and in the trading cards. Green Rozz has become the rarest over time because of this tendency and not because it was released in fewer numbers. That is my hypothesis anyhow.
*I wanted the idea to stand, but I have since found out that G1 green Rozz is, in fact, a pack type variant. The first wave of 3-packs were JC Penny's exclusives. They lack magnets and are quite hard to find. All following G1 3-packs had a wide-distribution and are almost always the most common versions of each figure.
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