This is not a standard retail release.
This example features a highly unusual and likely short-lived blister packaging variation commonly referred to as “pips”—small raised bumps located at the corner areas of the plastic bubble. These appear to have been an experimental design element, possibly intended to reduce scuffing during shipping and case packing. This packaging style was ultimately abandoned and is not documented in standard release references.
According to noted Transformers historian Karl Hartman, this “pip” variation may have been part of a limited regional test release in the Midwest, though those examples are exceedingly scarce and rarely surface.
To date, this variation has only been observed on three Beast Wars Deluxe figures:
This figure comes directly from a factory-marked “samples” case that was shipped from the manufacturing facility overseas to a Kenner/Hasbro production supervisor Jerry Palmer for internal evaluation.
The original case contained:
This listing is for ONE figure only (Tarantulas), but the case origin is provided to establish authenticity and context.
The figure has remained in this case since the late 1990s and has been in my possession for the past decade after acquiring the collection from the Palmer estate.
The packaging itself is in exceptional condition, with no noticeable flaws, typical manufacturing variances. However, is likely the finest example of a "pip" packaging variant in existence in the universe.
While it is not being definitively represented as a prototype, it is entirely possible that this figure was part of the final evaluation process prior to full production and not one of the scant aformentioned few released in the mid-west.
A rare opportunity to acquire a factory sample Beast Wars figure featuring an unusual and undocumented blister packaging variation (“pips”), sourced directly from a Kenner/Hasbro production supervisor's personal collection; and it likely the finest condition example known to exist.
This represents a unique intersection of: