The story you are about to read is true. Only the fabrics were changed to protect the beanies. I am a beanie hunter. It was a cold day in January, 1998. I was working day watch out of San Diego, Ca, when I first spotted them at a local Hallmark. Iggy the iguana, born August 12, 1997, and Rainbow the chameleon, born October 14, 1997. As I looked at these newly released beanies from Ty, I quickly realized something was very wrong. I collected several samples to take back to the lab for further analysis. Here are the results of that preliminary analysis: 

The first thing I noticed was that the beanie tagged Rainbow was not a rainbow color at all, but rather a blueish color. Next, I read the poem on Rainbow's hang tag:

Now, I look over at Iggy, and he is sitting there in this rainbow colored fabric. Let's have a look at his poem:

Well, almost perfect... seems to me from this preliminary evidence that Rainbow got Iggys' fabric, and vice-verca. But maybe it's just the tags that got switched. Hmmm. Looks like some further investigation is required here. What do real chameleons and iguanas look like? For the answer to that question, lets go to the zoo:

It appears that the iguana has a "spine" and the chameleon has a "veil". So the beanies are tagged correctly after all.

Now, let's examine the 5 versions of Iggy the iguana:

Iggy #1 has Iggy hang & tush tags, rainbow fabric, a green felt spine, no tongue, red eyes, hang tag (5th gen) attached to left front foot, and PVC or PE pellets. He made his first appearance around January of 1998. This may have been the first production runs of Iggy the iguana.

Iggy #2 has Iggy hang & tush tags, rainbow fabric, a green felt spine, no tongue, red eyes, hang tag (5th gen) attached to spine, and PVC or PE pellets. He made his first appearance around January of 1998.

Iggy #3 has Iggy hang & tush tags, rainbow fabric, a green felt spine, a red forked tongue, red eyes, hang tag (5th gen) attached to spine, and PE pellets. He first appeared around June of 1998. What a mess!

It looks like the factories in Asia finally got it right! This latest version of Iggy now has Iggy hang & tush tags, blue/green tie-dyed fabric, a green felt spine, no tongue, yellow eyes, hang tag (5th gen) attached to spine, and PE pellets. He first appeared around August, 1998.

February 20, 1999 - Several visitors have been reporting sightings of a new Iggy configuration. It seems that the hang tag has been moved to Iggy's foot! While on routine patrol at my local Hallmark, I spotted this new variation, and secured 2 samples. This latest version of Iggy now has Iggy hang & tush tags, blue/green tie-dyed fabric, a green felt spine, no tongue, yellow eyes, hang tag (5th gen) attached to left front foot, and PE pellets. Is this just another mistake, or a permanent change? Hard to say, but Ty might have a reason for not wanting the hang tag on the spine. This hang tag move also appears on newly released Canadian versions of Iggy. Note also that the tush tags on these beanies are not the new hologram type with heat sensitive heart.

NOTE: Since Iggy has now been retired, Iggy #5 is the final configuration for this beanie, not counting possible future Teenie Beanie Babies or Beanie Buddies versions.

Now, let's take a look at the four versions of Rainbow the chameleon:

Rainbow #1 has Rainbow hang & tush tags, blue/green tie-dyed fabric, a veil, no tongue, yellow eyes, hang tag (5th gen) attached to left front foot, and PVC or PE pellets. He first appeared around January, 1998. This may have been the first production runs of Rainbow the chameleon.

All fixed!!? This latest version of Rainbow has Rainbow hang & tush tags, rainbow fabric, a veil, a red forked tongue, red eyes, hang tag (5th gen) attached to left front foot, and PE pellets. He first appeared around August of 1998.

NOTE: Since Rainbow has now been retired, Rainbow #2 is the final configuration for this beanie, not counting possible future Teenie Beanie Babies or Beanie Buddies versions.

On May 21, 1999, McDonald's Restaurants launched their third Teenie Beanie Babies promotion. In the lineup this time is none other than "Iggy", which is really Rainbow in Iggy's fabric! This Teenie Beanie is also tagged Iggy, making this the first mistagged Rainbow! This design is obviously based on outdated information, but with millions being produced, it was probably too costly and too late to stop production. I "borrowed" this photo from McDonald's web site. If they sue, I'll claim I was overcome by Happy Meals. I hope to see an Iggy Teenie Beenie next year, but since they already have an Iggy, will they have to call it Rainbow?

In January, 2000, Ty introduced several new Beanie Buddies styles, including Rainbow in the correct fabric! Will there be an Iggy Beanie Buddie? I certainly hope so!
 
 

FABRIC - It is possible (and probable!) that the tie-dyed (or is that Ty-dyed?) rainbow fabric discussed herein has two variations, namely a darker, "sherbet" coloring, and a lighter, "pastel" coloring, similar to "Pastel Peace" the bear. After examining dozens of beanies, I did notice that some of the beanies have a lighter, softer shade of coloring, but I cannot tell if this is a different material altogether, a different section of the same fabric, or color variations from different fabric suppliers. I have tried to sort a group of 24 beanies into "pastel" and "sherbet" color groups, and the more beanies I look at, the more confused I become. Some of the beanies have "pastel" and "sherbet" coloring on the same beanie! Many of the variations may have been made in both flavors. Let's just say this is a "gray" area, and I have not yet determined which variations had which shade or shades of the rainbow colored fabric. And you thought only real chameleons changed colors!

FABRIC (UPDATE) - Special thanks to Roger who I think has discovered a very important clue about "pastel" vs "sherbet" fabric colors. While examining several specimens of Iggy #3, Roger noticed that the red inspection stamp on the inside of the tush tag was oriented differently for the "pastel" vs "sherbet" colored beanies. I inspected every Iggy #3 in my possesion, and found that on "pastel" colored beanies, the stamp is oriented perpendicular to the direction of writing on the outside of the tush tag, and for "sherbet" colored beanies, it is oriented parallel to the writing! With this knowledge in hand, it is relatively easy to sort the "pastel" colored beanies from the "sherbet" colored versions of Iggy #3. None of my Iggy#1 or Iggy #2 beanies have inspection stamps, but appear to have been made with both "pastel" and "sherbet" fabric colors. I also found an Iggy #3 with no inspection stamp, and I can't tell if it's fabric is "pastel" or "sherbet" colored!

PELLETS - I am not sure if PE (polyethylene) pellets replaced PVC (polyvinylchloride) pellets in the early versions of Iggy and Rainbow,or if different factories (Ty uses several you know!) in Asia were just using up different stock as part of the same production run. Only Ty knows the answer to that question, and they're not talking! Click here for a photo of some PE pellets.

TAGS - Rainbow was most likely designed to have his hang tag attached to his foot because there was no other practical location for it. This is where it is attached on all versions of Rainbow. Iggy #1, and the final version, Iggy #5 exhibit this tag placement as well. The hang tags were never switched on Iggy and Rainbow for any production run, not counting Teenie Beanie Babies. The designs were manufactured with swapped fabric and eyes, and the addition or removal of a tongue. The beanie with the spine has always been tagged Iggy, and the beanie with the veil has always been tagged Rainbow, except for the occasional hang tag or tush tag errors found on these and many other beanies over the years. From evidence I have gathered from many visitors, these errors seem to be confined to Iggys and Rainbows manufactured in Indonesia, and sold in the UK and Canada. With the introduction of Iggy #3, a red stamp with a number in the center appeared inside the tush tags. I am not sure exactly what this number represents, but it could be a factory identification. Some of my Rainbow #1 beanies have this stamp, some do not. The corrected Iggy and Rainbow both have this stamp as do most, if not all of the newer beanies.

TY MEMO, WEBSITE, & MERCHANDISE - I have heard that Ty sent out a memo shortly after the release of Iggy & Rainbow which stated that the tags on these beanies were switched. I have not seen a copy of this memo, so I cannot verify its existance. Even if it does exist, I believe that the people at Ty were just as confused as everyone else about these beanies. Up until January 8, 1999, (see below) their website still showed the wrong photos for Iggy & Rainbow, even after releasing the correctly configured versions of these beanies! The Series I trading cards for Iggy and Rainbow released by Ty also reflect this error. Perhaps there is just too much merchandise already manufactured for Ty to go back and change it all. There are calendars, books, notepads, posters, etc. And yet they have released the corrected beanies. I am sure they are aware of this situation. I imagine people will be confused when they look at a calendar or guide book, and then at their new beanie, and they don't match!

On Friday, January 8, 1999, Ty updated the Current Beanie Babies page to reflect the CORRECT photos for Iggy and Rainbow, unequivocally collaberating the evidence I present on this page! On March 31, 1999, the photos were moved to the Retired Beanie Babies page. Series II Trading Cards now reflect correct photos for Iggy and Rainbow. Special thanks to Dorothy for sending me the new trading cards, as well as the calendar pages.

Some time in May or June of 1999, Ty changed Rainbow's picture on the Retired Beanie Babies page to that of Iggy in Rainbow's fabric. It seems that the folks at Ty who work on these web pages just don't know beans about Iggy and Rainbow!

I just checked the Retired Beanie Babies page, and Ty has fixed Rainbow's picture. It is now correct, but very tiny! Yet another "error" to add to the list! 

IN CONLUSION - Not since the Royal Blue Elephant has there been such a mixup of fabrics, making all of the mis-fabriced beanies potentially very valuable in the future, assuming the beanie market is alive and well. I have already noticed dealers in my area raising prices and starting to pay closer attention to these beanies. A lot of people ask me which version will be the most valuable? I won't speculate here, because I don't have enough information on how many of each variation were manufactured. And due to Ty's unpredictable shipping patterns, there may have been more of one type of variation distributed in a given geographical area than another. Time will tell us the answer to that mystery. In the meantime, I will be placing any of these beanies I see under citizens'arrest!

Here's a chart to help you sort out your Iggys and Rainbows. Photos are available by clicking on a beanie name. Use your browser's BACK button to return here after viewing a photo...