The Stickers!
Recently, I acquired a Rhino Alien from Japan. As noted in previous posts, like this one here, many of the later figures from the line were simply US cards with a Japanese sticker on the bottom rear. On the front, nothing special.
While inspecting & comparing this new Rhino with one I had in my collection , I noticed that there are 2 versions of these stickers! See below.
Upon even further examination, it would appear this isn't exclusive to just the Rhino. The Mantis appears to have to 2 sticker versions as well! You can see mine below, and the other version here.
(Like how I snuck the Mantis into this article?)
I haven't seen any other figure with these card back sticker variants. We'll call them "single sticker" and "double sticker", respectively.
This just reinforces how variable and inconsistent the Japanese release of these figures were. This variability combined with their rarity really makes collecting a complete set *extremely* difficult.
If you notice, both versions of Mantis seem to be packed with the Rhino Alien "Ice Storm" mini comic.
I was ready to turn around and sell this Rhino figure, as I already had one. Good thing I inspected it first!
Thanks for reading!
