Question about Invisible Beaker

[Resa]

Well, this is the first time I've been to this site and it's been quite helpful. I do love the muppets, of course I grew up with them! I stumbled on this site while doing some research... I don't know if anyone will be able to help me in this forum, if not I'll post somewhere else.

So I was doing some cleaning and found the palisades series 1 Lab Playset that I had bought a few years ago from a local Toys R Us. The reason I bought it at the time was because it came with an Invisible Beaker. I didn't really know anything about this series of figures at the time, but I figured it was either a defect or some sort of limited edition set. I took it home, packed it away and forgot about it until recently.

Well I decided to get online and do some research, so I have found that the invisible Beaker was released in the bag as a special edition and so on. Now I went back to look at the labset package, because it wasn't in very good condition when I bought it. Well, it looks like the package was opened, but I can't really tell if the beaker was every completely removed or not. But WHY would someone replace the regular beaker with invisible one and then take it back to the store?

Has anyone heard of the invisible beaker being sold with the lab playset? I'm just trying to figure out it was packaged by mistake, or if it's more likely someone replaced the painted figure with the original. (again I don't know why someone would do that but then who knows why people do a lot of things!) Anyhow if someone could give me some input that would be great! I'd appreciate it!

 

[The Count]

Hi and welcome to Muppet Central. The Invisible Beaker figure was never included with the Muppet Labs playset. In fact, the Invisible Beaker figure was never intended for mass release to the public, as it was an Industry Exclusive figure, attainable only as a party favor for VIP attendees at Wizard World Philadelphia 2002 or the first 500 people who joined the Palisades Toys Collectors Club when it initially started in August of 2002. Why anyone would remove and replace the Beaker figure that came with the playset is... Well, the playset figures were never offered carded individually on their own, there are people out there looking to add the regular signature versions of those figures to their collections but don't want the whole playsets, and decided to be sneaky about getting said figures while leaving the playsets at the stores. Deplorable, but it shows that some people will stoop to such measures.

Hope this helps and have fun exploring the rest of the forums.

 

[rexcrk]

Wow what a find! Good for you hehe

 

[TK1994]

Aren't there two invisible beakers? One where he's clear and one where he's half visible? I only have the latter....but I heard there was another one.

 

[The Count]

Hi TK and welcome to the craziness here at Muppet Central. To answer your question and clarify some doubts...

There were three special Beaker figures made with clear translucent plastics.
The first of these was known as Vanishing Cream Beaker, who has a clear or invisible upper torso, while the lower half of his body is still perfectly visibly painted. This exclusive was released in a tall thin box, along with a tube of vanishing cream accessory as the specific convention exclusive at Wizard World Chicago 2002.
The second figure was known as Invisible Beaker, a completely translucent figure. This figure was released in a special baggy with its own header card as the Industry Exclusive at the VIP party at Wizard World Chicago 2002. Of the few ways you could've gotten this figure was to have been one of the first 500 people to join the Palisades Collector's Club back in August of 2002.
There is also a third version of the figure... This is the Vanishing Cream Beaker mentioned above, but instead of being packed in his exclusive box, he was sealed away in a baggy just like Invisible Beaker. This item is what we've come to term as "Error-Bagged Vanishing Cream Beaker".

Hope this helps and have fun exploring the rest of the forums.