DTB: Are Later Batches of Minifigure Releases Different? (POGO)

 The short answer to the question of later batches of Minifigures being different is yes. But is it always the case, we're not sure. I have been buying minifigures I already own months or years after they were first available and I have noticed some differences in colors or alignments, but they were small enough not to care about. This one is a whole different deal though.

These are two Commander A Minifigures (PG461) from PG8127. I got the one on the left around June 2018 while the one on the right was received around last month (September 2020). 

Can you spot the difference? The earlier release (on the left) is using UV Printing while the one on the right is using Pad Printing. Most people prefer Pad Printing because it's more like Lego's Minifigures and more importantly, POGO's UV prints are too thick that the designs sometimes looked pixelized.

The funny thing is, I would usually prefer POGO's Pad Printed Minifigures over their UV Printed Minifigures, but in this case, their Pad Printed Minifigure has so many scratch marks [as seen on the face and torso]. (Lol, even though they used an arguably better printing method on the later release, it's still showing signs of poor quality control)

This is something most collectors will probably not encounter since you typically don't buy the same Minifigure again, but I do for when I do my figbashes. I've yet to see other POGO Minifigures that were initially UV Printed but are now Pad Printed. But, I'll try to order an Elsa Bloodstone Minifigure soon since she's from the same set as Commander A to see if she'll be pad printed this time.

If you're confused about UV printing and pad printing, here's how Lab9 describes it in their FAQs:

There's still a lot we don't know about how these Chinese, Lego-alternative brands operate, but it's good to know that they do later batches as it would mean fewer supply issues for us collectors.

  If you want to see our MOC Minifigures/figbash collection, check here!

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