That weird Jack Stone mascot - where has it been?

[Bioman]

Soo… This might seem like a weird topic at first, but it’s the oddly specific stuff like this that gets me interested.

One thing I like to do when I have nothing better to do is browsing Brickshelf. I think you all know what Brickshelf is, if not: it’s a Lego image hosting website that was very popular during the 2000s and has kinda died down by now, but it’s still up and has a few active users. I find it interesting to browse through the images, look at random folders and whatnot. But I digress.

One day I came across a folder of the Lego Store in Hamburg, uploaded in 2003, on the store’s opening day. 2 images showing the street in front of the store feature this slightly creepy fella:

Jack Stone! He’s wearing his A.I.R. outfit that was common in the 2002 sets. Since I kinda like Jack Stone, I was intrigued by this guy. The face is so weird…

But that’s not all. Some time later I came across a folder of someone’s trip to Legoland Günzburg in 2007, and there’s a photo of a signboard showing the upcoming events in the park. One of them is for a Halloween party, and it features this:

There he is again, now repainted white and turned into a vampire!

Now I’m obviously curious and wonder where this mascot has been used in all places. Have you seen it before?

Here’s the original folders on brickshelf:

Lego Store 2003: Brickshelf Gallery - Opening Day LEGO Brand Store Hamburg Germany 2003.10.04
Legoland 2007: Brickshelf Gallery - LEGOLAND Germany visit 10th and 11th july 2007

Credit to the original uploaders.

Sorry if this topic seems unecessary or uninteresting for most people, I just wanted to share my observation.

[Monopoly]

This thing is hideous, I love it

Unfortunately I don’t have any information on it, but I’m interested to see where this search goes

Update - found another picture from that same Hamburg store, link to the source here: LEGO-Store Hamburg 04.10.2003 Eröffnung

After translating the text on the page, it seems this picture is right from the opening day of the store

[Ghid]

I would like to think that Jack Stone canonically became a vampire

As for the costume being “turned into” a vampire, it seems like a completely different costume - you’ll notice the shaping on the mouth is a rather simple mold of a curved smile unlike the vampire design, which has cheek lines and a molded lower lip to properly cast the shadows we see.

The hair also seems bigger and more exaggerated in the front on the vampire costume, but without clear pictures of the original it’s hard to tell for certain.

[Bioman]

Hmmm, that’s true, you have a point. Although if we look at the third image, I think the hair does match up. It’s probably a thing of the perspective/angle from which it is viewed.

As for the mouth, yeah it’s pretty different. However, I think it looks like it’s just a sticker or painted on - sure, there must be a opening for the person inside to breathe, but I don’t think the entire mouth is an opening, thus making it easy to change its shape.

Another thing is the shape of the nose - triangular and pointy - which looks the same on both costumes.

I also found another pic where he’s visible, but this one really doesn’t help much:

Update! More interesting discoveries!

Would you look at that, a relatively high quality picture! This time he’s got mouth cheeks and eyebrows which look basically identical to the vampire.
@Ghid If Jack Stone actually became a vampire, this must be the costume they have converted. This adds the further question is it’s actually the same one that was seen earlier in Hamburg, though I believe the extra details are just stickers - more “proof” on that is below.
The image is dated June 2007 and was taken in a Legoland - there’s no comment on which one, but I’m sure it’s Günzburg judging by what we’ve found so far.

Source (scroll to bottom of page): (TB11BKE) Travel Bug Dog Tag - Legoland - Jack Stone

There’s also this image which is confirmed to be from Legoland Günzburg. It also features eyebrows and cheeks. Sadly, there’s no date.

Source: Günzburg und Legoland

And while writing this post, I came across this image. Also from Günzburg, there’s again no date. Interestingly he’s only got one cheek line here, strengthening my thought that it’s just stickers.

Source: Willkommen bei www.Steinpark.de - Die LEGOLAND(r) Deutschland Fan Seite! - Jack Stone & Co

All these findings show that Jack must’ve been some kind of “meet and greet” character at Legoland until at least 2007. Maybe he became the vampire after that?

Also just found out there used to be a Jack Stone stage show in Legoland. That one doesn’t use the costume, just a decorated actor - which is logical for these stunts - but I still thought it’s a funny discovery. It’s at 12:00 in this video from 2002. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QKZ85rieF0Q

[Monopoly]

I think it’s very interesting that the only appearance of the less detailed Jack is from the store opening.

I think that initial appearance may have been intended to look like the version seen everywhere else, but the finer details couldn’t be completed in time so he showed up to the opening with minimal face printing. Once the event was over they had the time to finish the costume off, hence his appearance with eyebrows, eyelids and cheek lines ever since

[Bioman]

I think that is true. It sounds plausible for the costume to simply be unfinished in time for the store opening.
I just tried removing the finer details from one of the later images I found, and they look almost identical now:

Yes it’s a very crappy edit but it gets the point across that these are the same costume (maybe not the exact same single costume but definitely the same mold).

Now I just gotta try finding out more about vampire Jack, that one’s still a bit of a mistery…

[Wekua]

Took a wild gamble and searched Bricklink to no avail

[Bioman]

Ok, pretty sure there must have been at least 2 suits at one point. I found this short video which briefly goes about Legoland’s history, including some footage from opening day in may 2002. Jack is visible in a few shots, and it’s the version with only one cheek line.

LEGOLAND Chronik - 20 Jahre LEGOLAND Deutschland

Since this was filmed earlier than the Hamburg store’s opening in 2003, it’s funny how this specific costume already got the full detail treatment while Hamburg did not.