Battat Mini Dinosaur Variants?

[Carnoking]

So I recently pulled the trigger on a group of Battat Mini Dinosaurs in order to get a few that I still needed. The plan was to sell the duplicates, but when they show up I see they all look different.



Here are the mini Utahraptors. My original one (left) has softer, charcoal markings and a jet black eye while the newcomer (right) has sharp, black markings more in line with the full sized figure, more brown on the head, and a yellow eye. The cream on the underbelly is also very muted (almost non-existent) compared to my first version.



My original Styracosaurs (left) has more blue stripes but less of the blue-grey dorsal coloration. The base color itself seems different, with the newcomer (right) being more mustard yellow.



The Gallimimus pair have different colored stripes, with the new one (left) being more brown and the original (right) having more red tones to its markings. The stripes also seem more uneven on the original with the markings on the newcomer being simply brown bars. I'll also note the new one has painted toe and finger claws.



The Amargasaurus duo seem pretty close but the coloration on the neck sails is different, and the new one (right) lacks the ringtail pattern of the original (left).



Now with the ceratosaurus pair, the original (left) has more cream tones on the underbelly, a different shade of green along the back, and a red tipped horn while the newcomer (right) looks more like the standard full-sized figure.





The original Edmontonia (left) is much less saturated than the newcomer (right), and the newcomer features more precise paint on the shoulder armor.



And finally, there's the Ouranosaurus duo. This is the one with the most obvious difference in my eyes in that there's just a sharp drop in quality, with the newcomer (left) looking a lot more sloppy in execution.

As a general note, almost all of the newcomers seem more glossy in finish and feature bigger eyes than my originals.

Can anyone offer any insight with this? I understand that variation is to be expected in mass produced figures but some of these things feature very noteworthy differences. Are these variants? If so, is one more special than the other? I'm still thinking about parting with the duplicates but would prefer to keep the "better" offerings. Or are these just examples of gradual declines/improvements as the line went on?

Any knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

[Ikessauro]

I did notice that with a pair of CEratosaurus I have. Since I love collecting variants I kept both. I suppose they differ because they might have tried to simplify paint application in later runs to make it easier. This might have created the "sloppy" look in some of them.

Let me know if you decide to sell any of them, I'd be interested in buying the variants I don't have.

[SidB]

It would be interesting to hear what D @Dinoguy2  would have to say about this. You'll likely know from his Carnegie thread and his site that he's made a special study of the processes that accompany the sculpting and ongoing production of figures over the course of their lifetime. I know that Carnegie Safari is his specialty, but I suspect that his knowledge extends beyond these boundaries.