You are correct my friend! The manufactured “03” stamp definitely turned out to be the lighter version. Thank you! 😁👍🏼

Just a follow up, finally found a "03" ecto1 in the wild and it is the non over spray version! Thanks, Jay!

The "black one" could be a mistake. Maybe they thought during the production "hey, this doesn't look that good" and changed the style for the rest of the cars.

I've been waiting for this video to drop before I pull the trigger on one. I'll def be looking for the '03 mark and will def let you know what I find. Thanks for the great detective work!

Early February I got an online order shipped to me, it was the charcoal Ecto 1 with 03161 stamped on the back of the box.

Bought mine off the shelf at a Target. Box is stamped 02, car is the burnt version. I found with some patients and careful use of rubbing alcohol I was able to dial the burn marks wayyyy back. I took a lot off the grille as well. now the black is just down in the cracks and crevices. I think it looks a lot better now.

Tried 2 separate 03 versions I found in store. Both were "extra crispy". Rolled the dice on an 02, and bizarrely it was half way between your pair. Had the overspray but not as dark as my previous 2.

You rock man! I took a gamble and bought the 03 version at Target just now, and it is indeed the lighter version. Many thanks!

Mine is non-charcoal and it’s 03101. I ordered it for in-store pickup. Great videos man!

I was unaware of a variety until I saw this video. I had 2 ordered online and I checked the box both said 03, I just went to target and picked up one that said 02 and it was a charcoal version. The 03 are more movie accurate. Thanks for this video!

Nice vintage RGB ecto1 Modification. Do you have a video about it? I'd love to see more of it and how you made it so much better looking on the top!

To add to the confusion, I received one that was IN BETWEEN. Mine was an 03 (03161 to be exact).

Way back when i was looking out for variations myself with Star Wars figures i was discussing the datestamp with fellow collectors and people that actually work for or with Hasbro commented. It corresponds with the production run the item was produced in, month, day, year. So 03161 for example is March 16th 2021.

I agree with your theory that something happens to the ecto 1 in the movie

Thanks this is very helpful!

Just bought a 03... however while it wasn’t EXTRA crispy / charcoalish, the 03 I got was like in between... not super dark, but more on the medium to light. Doesn’t look as clean as your 03. Returning because it came with 2 rear antennas, instead of one of each. I guess this will give me the opportunity to try another 03. 🤷🏻‍♂️

The five digit code is exclusive to Hasbro products, but it is on every Hasbro product, from these to even Magic the Gathering cards. It's a manufacturing date. The 0 represents the year the product was made. In the instance of both the variants, it's 2020 of course. The next three digits are the day of the year. So if you have 02451, it was manufactured on the 245th day of 2020. The last digit is a factory I believe, but it is essentially meaningless for anything of note. So, every single one of these that is 03xx1, was absolutely manufactured after the 02xx1 ones.

I'm in Winnipeg, found (and bought) the first and only one I've seen at a local TRU, stamp number began with 03 but it is the charcoal version. I was more concerned with the cracked ladder it came with, especially since it's $70 Canadian.

Every time you say “extra crispy” I think about chicken wings... lol

About the lack of paint on the front end, I painted and detailed mine and made a video comparing it next to a stock unpainted one. Check it out here if you guys like: