OK... OK... My Bad!
If you can just summarize all that into a variation description for the checklist, then I'll be on my way...
I have no idea what the deal is with the sculpt differences. I have never read, heard nor seen anything that is similar. It is especially odd because of the Hong Kong on both. At least we can delete that from the list of 'whys'. Maybe they did alter or define the sculpt with the addition of the metallic plastic coating...
So, dust', what are you doing now? Going square millimeter by millimeter with a high powered magnifying glass on an Ugnaught's apron to identify the fiber patterns and add a new mauve color variation to them? Just kidding. You are definitely a worthy variation/error enthusiast! I'll look into it some more and see what I can find out...