The perfect summer convention exclusive toy

It's that time of year again, when we start reviewing all the SDCC exclusives. And by "reviewing" I mean "judging." We talk a lot about what whether exclusives are good or bad choices (independent of whether they're good or bad toys), but what qualities are we looking for? What should the perfect con exclusive be?

Original
an exclusive needs to be something you can't get anywhere else. A new sticker on the packaging proclaiming it an exclusive isn't enough; the toy inside actually needs to be different, even if it's just a new color scheme. For instance, the Revoltech Eva Unit 01.

Different
but not too different. Yes, that seems to be a contradiction, but think about it for a minute. It's better to get a simple repaint or new accessory than an entirely new character. If you didn't get the Ghost of Lobster Johnson, you could still get the regular one, right?
Unnecessary
that may sound like an insult, but it's not - a company should never make a must-have character as a limited exclusive. It's cool that Mattel gave us a She-Ra, but you don't think people who couldn't get to San Diego would like her, too?

So ideally, the perfect summer con exclusive would be a repaint of an existing or upcoming mold, rather than a new character, so that that no one is missing out if they can't fight the crowds to get it. However, it should be different enough from the regular edition that buying it is worthwhile, even if you have the figure it's repainted from.Is that asking so much?

It's a fine line to walk, but the company that does it well is one fans can respect.

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