New information has recently been released about the additional variants and figures available in the upcoming third series of Funko’s Pop! Vinyl Walking Dead line.
We’ve already told you about Rick, The Governor, Prison Guard Zombie, and different variants of the Governor. The latest additions to be announced are Zombie Merle Dixon and Daryl Dixon wearing his trusty poncho!
There is a LOT of dispute on the internet about just where you can get some of these figures. There is much debate stating the Merle Dixon zombie and Poncho Daryl figures are Hot Topic exclusives. I haven’t seen any official word on that as of yet. Since the Merle zombie figure is already popping up on various toy sites for pre-order the Hot Topic exclusive angle might not have any truth.
We’ve also heard talk of the Blood Spatter Governor being a Fugitive Toys exclusive, but we’ve already posted and verified it’s available for pre-order on sites such as EntertainmentEarth.com.
Here’s what we’ve seen being reported:
The Walking Dead Pop! Vinyl Series 3 Normal Line
• The Governor #66
• Rick Grimes #67
• Prison Guard Walker #68
• Merle Dixon #69
The Walking Dead Pop! Vinyl Series 3 Exclusive Variants
- Bloody Gauze Eye Patch Governor Pop! – Previews World Exclusive #70
- Zombie Merle Pop! – Hot Topic Exclusive #71
- Poncho Daryl Pop! – Hot Topic Exclusive #72
- Blood Splatter Merle Pop! – Conventions Exclusive #?
- Blood Splatter Governor – Fugitive Toys Exclusive #?
The figures ARE coming. Just whether or not these retailer specific exclusives are truly only available via the listed retailer is still being heavily debated across the internet. At this point I wouldn’t trust any single report too much until I see it come from Funko directly. Either way the Zombie Merle figure is awesome and a must have. Daryl Dixon fans are sure to love the new poncho version. Estimated release date is mid July to August. Stay tuned for more details!
Updated February, 2020:
It’s been nearly 7 years since we posted this and we still get emails and questions from collectors. What an exciting (and confusing) launch this was! So cool to see The Walking Dead and Funko still touching the lives of fans and collectors to this day.
To be honest, things got even a bit more complicated after we made this post. Two more exclusives or variants were added after our original post.
We never were happy with the way we listed things in this post, so we decided to update it. The normal figures are as posted above. We were pretty right on with the exclusives and variants but there was an addition and a change or two. When you end up with exclusive versions which are essentially variants then combine a variant of that exclusive variant you end up with a variant of a variant . . . and a migraine.
Hopefully this will clear things up a bit for collectors. Here’s how it all ended panning out to the best of our knowledge.
The Walking Dead Funko Pop! Vinyl Series 3 Checklist with All Variants:
Normal Releases
• The Governor #66
• Rick Grimes #67
• Prison Guard Walker #68
• Merle Dixon #69
Exclusives and Variants:
- The Governor – Bloody (Blood splattered variant of #66) – Fugitive toys Exclusive #66
- The Governor (Bandaged) – Previews World Exclusive #70
- The Governor (Bandaged, Bloody) – Previews World Exclusive #70
- Merle Dixon – (Bloody) Pop! Vinyl – Tampa Bay Comic-Con 2013 Exclusive #69
- Zombie Merle Pop! – Hot Topic Exclusive #71
- Poncho Daryl Dixon Pop! – Hot Topic Exclusive #72
- Poncho Daryl Dixon (Bloody) Pop! Vinyl – Hot Topic Exclusive #72
- Prison Guard Walker (Bloody) Pop! Vinyl – San Diego Comic-con 2013 Exclusive
Daryl Dixon:
In series 3 there were 2 Daryl Dixon Funko Pop! Vinyl Figures: Poncho and Bloody Poncho. Both the Daryl Dixon Poncho and the Daryl Dixon Poncho Bloody/blood-splattered versions ended up being a Hot Topic Exclusive.
The Governor:
This one still confuses us from time to time. The Governor had 4 total figures in Series 3. One normal. One exclusive variant of the normal figure. There was one Exclusive version and a bloody version or variant of that exclusive. Don’t worry. We’ll talk you through it. There was the regular “The Governor” figure with his black eye patch. #66. Then there was a “The Governor (Bandaged)” figure numbered #70. It was essentially the normal #66 Governor with a white gauze eye patch instead of the black eyepatch. It was a Previews World Exclusive. Then, wait for it . . . there was a bloody variant of that exclusive. We commonly refer to it as The Governor (Bandaged,Bloody). It too was a Previews World Exclusive. Was The Governor really that popular we needed 4 figures of him? Funko thought so.
Merle Dixon:
There were 3 total Merle Dixon figures in Series 3. We had the regular Merle Dixon #69. There was a bloody variant of that, still #69. Merle Dixon (Bloody) was a Tamba Bay Comic Con 2013 Exclusive.
Finally we have Merle Dixon (Zombie/Walker) #71. The Zombie Merle Pop! was a Hot Topic Exclusive figure. Essentially they made a zombified version of the regular Merle Dixon figure for Hot Topic and gave it its own number. To our knowledge we never got a bloody variant of the Merle Dixon figure.
Prison Guard Walker:
There were only 2 Prison Guard Zombie Pop! Vinyl figures. Funko released the normal version: Prison Guard Walker #68. There was also a bloody version which was a San Diego Comic-Con 2013 Exclusive.
What does “Exclusive” mean?:
It means this version was exclusively sold via this retailer and their line of stores etc. For example, the Hot Topic exclusives were only available in Hot Topic stores, their websites or other sales channels they controlled.
Where to Buy:
Anyone looking to add these figures to their collection today will need to turn to private collectors or other resellers. We typically start with ebay.. Here are current listings for some of the Daryl Dixon poncoho figures on ebay:
You could also try amazon but we rarely see the older exclusives and variants listed there.
https://amzn.to/37f3k0L
These are awesome …need to get me some!!!
Need to get me some of theses lol
my family and I have been looking for Dixon Pancho . Some retailers have said what u just stated, Thank u for letting us know. We would love to purchase them both. We will keep on waiting. Your Funko Fans in San Antonio, Texas
A big ZombieGift.com hello to the Lopez Family! I had completely forgotten how confusing this launch for the Series 3 Walking Dead Pop vinyls was! In the end it was our understanding that BOTH the Daryl Dixon Poncho and Daryl Dixon Poncho Bloody variants were both Hot Topic exclusives. Of course these were exclusively available via Hot Topic way back in 2013. Anyone looking to add one to their collection now will have to find another collector or third party reselling them.
Our go to source for this type of thing is usually eBay. Here are current listings on ebay: https://ebay.to/31O8ZtF
You could also try amazon but I rarely see the poncho Daryl available there. Current Daryl Dixon pop vinyl listings on amazon:
https://amzn.to/37f3k0L