[trebleshot]

Apparently, I now have something new to add to my Collector's Reference Guide.

Short and simple: a running change is a minor tweak to an existing figure and/or its packaging. A variant has more drastic changes, such as a new deco or even remolded parts.

Also with running changes, the original release is never re-issued/re-released again (except for the odd aisle reset/restock with older merchandise). Examples would be Thor's Odin (shield repositioned, paint scheme tweaked), MU Series 3 Marvel and Doc Samson (reversed card art, S.H.I.E.L.D. symbol's color changed), Green Goblin (pumpkin bombs moved) and so on.

A variant is an intentional re-deco/remold of a figure released separately from the original, but still identified as filling the same slot. It's not a running change, even if the original never gets released again, because it wasn't a minor correction or change in packaging to fix something. It was a deliberate alteration to a figure to produce something different. Examples include: Modern/Classic Havok, Warpath/Thunderbird, Dr. Strange regular/astral forms, the FF box set in modern and Future Foundation color schemes, and so on.

All running changes are variants, but not all variants are running changes. Variants can take the place of the original release, like a running change, but that's not always the case. Sometimes the original and the variant are at retail for equal amounts of time before going out of production.

Hope that helps clear things up. I'll also add a variant to the above text to my Collector's Reference Guide.