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There are some hardcore collector's out there who like differentiate between chase variants, in-game variants, store exclusives and the like. That's not me.

As (I hope) you've noticed here on SCL, I like to keep things simple. This is why I stick with the label of Variants. These are figures that VARY in some form or fashion from their base figure release with the game. I'm focusing more on the figures and less on their relationship to the game.

With that being said, let's dive in…

PART 1 – Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure (SSA) Variants

A quick note that applies to all the SSA Variants below:

I think it is safe to say that since these figures have been out of production for some time now that all the variants have made it out of the retail stores. This means that all the prices of the figures will be inflated and you will have to purchase them from a third party if you wish to add them to your collection.

While eBay and Amazon are the most common points of sale, they are often come with the greatest markups. All I can say is keep your eyes open. You never know where they might pop up down the road.

Blue Bash

Blue Bash

Blue Bash is the result of a poll on the official Skylanders Facebook page. The fans were asked if they would like to see a translucent blue, red, or green Bash. Obviously blue won the vote. The figures were sold exclusively at Toys R Us. For about a year after its release this figure was quite easy to find. Now as the years go by, fewer are being seen on the market.

NOTE: You can still find pictures of the green and red Bash online. They were created just to show the fans what their choices were. I would assume that they were nonfunctional prototypes and I’m not even sure if they still exist. So they are not included in the list of variants.

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Chrome Spyro

Chrome Spyro

Chrome Spyro was a special gift to attendees of E3 in 2012. As you will find with most E3 Exclusives, this figure is quite rare. We don’t have a precise number, but these exclusives often fetch the highest prices.

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Crystal Clear Cynder

Crystal Clear Cynder

Alternate Names: Crystal Cynder, Clear Cynder

These figures were inserted into random retail shipments. If you were able to find any of these in a store, it was like finding gold. Clear Cynder was only available in a Single Pack.

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Crystal Clear Stealth Elf

Crystal Clear Stealth Elf

Alternate Names: Crystal Stealth Elf, Clear Stealth Elf

There are a lot of Stealth Elf figures out there, but this one is probably the rarest to date. Like Crystal Cynder it was inserted into random retail shipments, but Clear Stealth Elf can be found in the Triple Pack (with Wrecking Ball and Sonic Boom) as well as a Single Pack.

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Crystal Clear Wham-Shell

Crystal Clear Wham-Shell

Alternate Names: Crystal Wham-Shell, Clear Wham-Shell

Clear Wham-Shell seems to be a bit more rare than the other clear figures. There are some who say that he was exclusive to the Skylanders Ultimate Bundle that was offered by GameStop. Others believe he was dispersed in random boxes like many of the other variants.

I can’t say either way for sure because the only people I know who have a Clear Wham-Shell bought him on eBay. In any case, this is a very hard to find character.

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Crystal Clear Whirlwind

Crystal Clear Whirlwind

Alternate Names: Crystal Whirlwind, Clear Whirlwind

Crystal Whirlwind is an odd variant. It was not released along with Spyro's Adventure even through it is a Spyro's Adventure figure. Crystal Whirlwind is a variant of the Series 1 Whirlwind. However, this variant was not released until two years later when SWAP Force was being released.

There was a lot of confusion about this variant when it was first discovered because of the timing of its release, but it has since been sorted out.

In Europe LG joined forces with Skylanders and created a special version of Skylanders Battlegrounds that only works with select LG Smart TVs. In this pack they included three completely random Spyro's Adventure figures. For a few lucky folks, they got their hands on this new, extremely rare variant.

To date we do not believe this figure has ever been release outside of Europe.

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Dark Spyro

Dark Spyro

Dark Spyro is easy enough to get your hands on if you’re willing to buy the 3DS Starter Pack. However, if you’re looking for a single pack, it becomes much harder. Dark Spyro was eventually released in a Single Pack, but it was only available in the UK.

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Flocked Stump Smash

Flocked Stump Smash

Alternate Names: Fuzzy Stump Smash, Furry Stump Smash

In April of 2012 Frito Lay ran a rather unusual promotion with Activision. You could call one of two 800 numbers. If you chose the right number you could win this Flocked Stump Smash or another random Skylander.

According to the official rules of the promotion there were only 7334 of this figure produced. While we don’t have official production numbers for all of the variants, we do know that this is one of the rarest.

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Glow-In-The-Dark Warnado

Glow-in-the-Dark Warnado

Similar to the Crystal Clear variants, these were just inserted into random retail shipments. Warnado was found in both Single and Triple Packs. Along with Wrecking Ball though, he continues to be one of the rarest Glow-in-the-Dark figures.

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Glow-In-The-Dark WreckingBall

Glow-in-the-Dark Wrecking Ball

Although Wrecking Ball was in a Triple Pack, I do not believe this variant was ever found in a Triple. Glow-in-the-Dark Wrecking Ball was only found in random Single Packs.

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Glow-In-The-Dark Zap

Glow-in-the-Dark Zap

Zap finishes out the Glow-in-the-Dark trilogy for Spyro’s Adventure. Zap falls in line with Wrecking Ball as this variant was only available in the Single Pack

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Gold Chop Chop

Gold Chop Chop

The SSA Gold figures are among the earliest variants made available. Like most variants they were found in random retail packages.

Gold Chop Chop is only available in a Single Pack.

NOTE: These Gold figures turned out to be quite easy to replicate if you were willing to put enough time and effort into it. Unfortunately this means that there are a number of fakes on the market. While you should always be cautious when purchasing variants, be extra careful when considering the Gold variants.

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Gold Drill Sergeant

Gold Drill Sergeant

*See Gold Chop Chop for important notes.

Gold Drill Sergeant can be found in both Single Packs and Triple Packs (with Whirlwind and Double Trouble)

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Gold Flameslinger

Gold Flameslinger

*See Gold Chop Chop for important notes.

Gold Flameslinger can be found in both Single Packs and Triple Packs (with Drobot and Stump Smash)

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Green Gill Grunt

Green Gill Grunt

Green Gill Grunt was rather annoying to obtain first-hand. It wasn’t just as simple as buying another Starter Pack you didn’t need, you actually had to buy an entire console. As a “Microsoft Exclusive” Green Gill Grunt was only available in an Xbox 360 Skylanders Bundle. Then, to top it off, this bundle was only available at Walmart.

This was not a great deal if you just wanted the new figure. The good news is you can now find the lone figure for sale online.

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Legendary Bash

Legendary Bash

All Legendary Skylanders are exclusive to Toys R Us.

The first Legendary figures (Bash, Chop Chop, Spyro) were available as a Triple Pack. There are no Single Packs of these figures.

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Legendary Chop Chop

Legendary Chop Chop

See Legendary Bash

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Legendary Spyro

Legendary Spyro

See Legendary Bash

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Legendary Trigger Happy

Legendary Trigger Happy

Trigger Happy, the fourth Legendary character joined the group in his own Single Pack. Once again Legendary Trigger Happy was a Toys R Us Exclusive.

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Metallic Purple Cynder

Metallic Purple Cynder

Metallic Purple Cynder was one of the last SSA variants to be released. It is also one of the hardest to get your hands on. It was never released in stores.

Metallic Purple Cynder was handed out to attendees of Toy Fair 2012 in New York.

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Pearl Hex

Pearl Hex

Pearl Hex is somewhat similar to Metallic Purple Cynder and Chrome Spyro. It is similar because it was also handed out at a trade show. However, Pearl Hex is often considered the rarest of the SSA variants because this particular trade show is not in America.

Pearl Hex was handed out to attendees of Toy Fair 2012 in Nuremberg, Germany.

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Red Camo

Red Camo

Alternate Names: Fruit Punch Camo

Red Camo is an odd variant. It was not released along with Spyro's Adventure even through it is a Spyro's Adventure figure. Red Camo is a variant of the Series 1 Camo. However, this variant was not released until two years later when SWAP Force was being released.

There was a lot of confusion about this variant when it was first discovered because of the timing of its release, but it has since been sorted out.

In Europe LG joined forces with Skylanders and created a special version of Skylanders Battlegrounds that only works with select LG Smart TVs. In this pack they included three completely random Spyro's Adventure figures. For a few lucky folks, they got their hands on this new, extremely rare variant.

To date we do not believe this figure has ever been release outside of Europe.

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Red Drill Sergeant

Red Drill Sergeant

Red Drill Sergeant was simply a Walmart Exclusive. It was quite plentiful when first released. Now it is out of production and you will have to purchase from a third party.

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Sidekick Gill Runt

Sidekick Gill Runt

The Skylanders Sidekicks were first introduced in the summer of 2012. Activision partnered with Frito Lay for this special promotion.

You were required to purchase a variety bag of Frito Lay chips. In this bag you could find an order form to send away for one of four Skylanders Sidekick. If you wanted all four characters, you needed to buy four bags of chips. Outside of the cost of the chips and shipping and handling, the Sidekicks were free. This was a good promotion that many people took advantage of.

In the beginning of 2013 these Sidekicks reemerged, but this time they were at GameStop. You could acquire one Sidekick with a $25 purchase. Not quite as good of a deal, but it afforded those who missed out on the first promotion a second chance.

Throughout 2013 GameStop held a number of different promotions in which you were able to get a free Sidekick (as long as their supply lasted). GameStop is still the only retailer to offer these figures.

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Sidekick Terrabite

Sidekick Terrabite

See Sidekick Gill Runt

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Sidekick Trigger Snappy

Sidekick Trigger Snappy

See Sidekick Gill Runt

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Sidekick Whisper Elf

Sidekick Whisper Elf

See Sidekick Gill Runt

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Silver Boomer

Silver Boomer

As many of you know regular Boomer is already quite difficult to find. So needless to say a variant of an already rare character is even more ridiculous.

Silver Boomer is only available in a Single Pack.

NOTE: Sadly, the Silver variants fall into the same class as the Gold variants. They are rather easy to fake. So if you ever see a Silver figure that is not one of these three, you know it is a fake.

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Silver Dino-Rang

Silver Dino-Rang

*See Silver Boomer for important notes.

Silver Dino-Rang can be found in both Single Packs and Triple Packs (with Zap and Hex)

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Silver Eruptor

Silver Eruptor

*See Silver Boomer for important notes.

Silver Eruptor can be found in both Single Packs and Triple Packs (with Chop Chop and Bash)

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Continue Reading: Part 2 – Skylanders: Giants Variants