Thanks for the heads up and great photos, “Dale W.”

The new re-release of Charlie Checker is technically a variant but personally, I will not count it as a variant.

Basically, it’s a slightly different shade of yellow tail-light … doesn’t really pass the 4-foot rule (can you see it from 4 feet away?)

It’s slightly darker … me’h.

Compared to the previous re-release (bottom).

He’s in the new 2-pack with Dexter Hoover.

BUT he might be a variant if he’s lost his raise windshield. A few diecasts have retained them so if you have a 2018 Charlie Checker, did he lose his raised metal eyelids? (see below).

For those who really want to collect ALL the variants of Piston Cup Race Official/Charlie Checker, you have plenty to choose from:

He appeared first in the Walmart 8 CARS & cards as Piston Cup Race Official.

He was quickly re-released in 2008 as Charlie Checker but strangely his RED tail-lights were changed to yellow. Weird.

Otherwise, exactly the same from 2007 to 2018 (not always available but one of the more frequent re-releases). WITH raised windshield/eyelids? Or did he lose them? A few diecasts have hung onto them.

However, in the lenticular year of 2010, he was “released” an a segmented face (along with lenticular eyes) – there was no classic release from 2009 to post CARS 2, 2013? so by then, most all the segmented releases went back to unibody all-metal.