Instructions on how to spot a bootleg figurine?

Kingdom Heartless · Post by **Kingdom Heartless** » Sun Oct 12, 2008 11:19 am

It's getting harder to tell the difference, since a lot of the bootlegs look pretty damn good.

What are the best ways to spot a well done fake?

For example, the Cell in this one looks pretty good, but I'm pretty sure it's a fake.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Dragon-Ball-Z-DB ... dZViewItem

Acid_Reign · Post by **Acid_Reign** » Sun Oct 12, 2008 12:13 pm

I’m not an avid figurine collector, but personally I wouldn’t buy unless I could verify or be reasonably sure of the authenticity of whatever it is I was looking for. It might help to have a specific item in mind, i.e., X-model Vegeta by Bandai/Irwin/etc. That way you can at the very least do a comparison between the packages and/or actual figure of the prospective buy and something you know is the real deal.

But in general, if something looks off, that should raise flags. In that link you posted, Broli’s hair and skin tone are much darker than they normally would be. SS3 Goku’s hair looks strange as well, though I can’t really tell if it’s worth noting at that resolution. Most honest sellers on eBay will usually respond well to requests for better pic or product information, if they have the time.

That’s about all I can offer you. Good luck!

Minigt · Post by **Minigt** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 3:43 am

Definately a bootleg. There a dime a dozen on ebay. You need to be looking for a known brand - Bandai or Banpresto. If in doubt ask the seller if they ship it with the box. Likewise you will find the Toei sticker on all officially released product boxes, excluding the American released Bandai products. Hope this helps.

Kingdom Heartless · Post by **Kingdom Heartless** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:03 am

It appears that most of the ones that are located in China and such are bootlegs, I guess.

Probably safer to only buy from Ebay within Australia.

Kingdom Heartless · Post by **Kingdom Heartless** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 10:30 pm

Argh, I bought these, but now I'm thinking the Trunks and Kuririn are fakes.

TheGreatness25 · Post by **TheGreatness25** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 11:10 pm

Is it because the Trunks one has Kami's logo on it and the Krillin one has Gohan's logo on it (the one Gohan had on his shirt as a kid)? If they look good and were not too expensive, who cares? I can't tell that they're fake. Maybe looking up close or something. But don't worry, "official" toys usually look terrible to me anyway.

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 11:33 pm

I don't think that Trunks is a fake. I've seen and examined it in other stores before, and everything seemed in order. It's just ugly.

Kingdom Heartless · Post by **Kingdom Heartless** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 11:57 pm

SSj Kaboom wrote:I don't think that Trunks is a fake. I've seen and examined it in other stores before, and everything seemed in order. It's just ugly.

Do you mean the Mirai Trunks or the Trunks in the box?

Because I mean the Trunks in the box. I'm also not sure about the smaller figures at the bottom.

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 12:00 am

Kingdom Heartless wrote:Do you mean the Mirai Trunks or the Trunks in the box?

Yeah, the chibi Trunks in the box.

Minigt · Post by **Minigt** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 12:02 am

Both the Trunks and the Krillin ar not fake. That is how Irwin released them.

Kingdom Heartless · Post by **Kingdom Heartless** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 12:04 am

Minigt, I could kiss you.

But you've gotten yourself into a world of trouble. I may rely on your advice with this stuff too much.

Do you know anything about the others?

TheJoo87 · Post by **TheJoo87** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 1:54 am

Kingdom Heartless wrote:Argh, I bought these, but now I'm thinking the Trunks and Kuririn are fakes.

Irwin Fully Articulated Series
Nappa, Master Roshi, and Bulma are from Series 1
17 and 18 are from Series 4
Great Saiya Man is from Series 7
Teen Trunks is Part of a Secret Saiyan Warriors figure from Irwin

The Freeza is a Super Battle Collection Figure

The two Chibi Trunks, Krillin, and Minoshia Figures are AB figures repackaged from Irwin
The Super Saiyan Gohan and Janemba are AB Bendable Figures repackaged from Irwin

Kingdom Heartless · Post by **Kingdom Heartless** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 2:38 am

Irwin Fully Articulated Series
Nappa, Master Roshi, and Bulma are from Series 1
17 and 18 are from Series 4
Great Saiya Man is from Series 7
Teen Trunks is Part of a Secret Saiyan Warriors figure from Irwin

The Freeza is a Super Battle Collection Figure

The two Chibi Trunks, Krillin, and Minoshia Figures are AB figures repackaged from Irwin
The Super Saiyan Gohan and Janemba are AB Bendable Figures repackaged from Irwin

Wow, thanks heaps! That's a real relief, especially since I'm paying twice as much as I originally planned to. It's unlike me to spend so much on figures, but I want to start improving my Dragon Ball collection. And I'm really obsessive and refuse to display anything bootleg. So it's good to know they are all liscenced goods.
I guess now all I have to worry about is whether or not I should take the packaged ones out of their packages.

Levlik · Post by **Levlik** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 1:02 pm

Kingdom Heartless wrote:Argh, I bought these, but now I'm thinking the Trunks and Kuririn are fakes.

Kid Trunks and Krillin definitley aren't bootlegs. I bought that very same Trunks in 1999 and had a friend who owned that same Krillin. The only reason the box looks different is because that's how it was in the late 90s. I distinctly remember that background.

ultimateemail5000 · Post by **ultimateemail5000** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 1:46 pm

Search on eBay, for the becketts that came out in 2001-2003, I think it's a silver cover with Trunks, they have a huge article about DB bootleg figures. Actually if I knew where my copy was I'd scan it and post it.

Minigt · Post by **Minigt** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 7:32 pm

Kingdom Heartless wrote:Minigt, I could kiss you.

But you've gotten yourself into a world of trouble. I may rely on your advice with this stuff too much.

Do you know anything about the others?

Kissing's not neccessary but I'm happy to help any time.

shinmaru · Post by **shinmaru** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:57 am

Kingdom Heartless wrote:It's getting harder to tell the difference, since a lot of the bootlegs look pretty damn good.

What are the best ways to spot a well done fake?

For example, the Cell in this one looks pretty good, but I'm pretty sure it's a fake.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Dragon-Ball-Z-DB ... dZViewItem

Bootleg figures are more crapy in the details

Kingdom Heartless · Post by **Kingdom Heartless** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 2:16 am

It's harder to tell, since not all authentic ones look this good-

Comparing them to the authentic ones like this-

Brangeta · Post by **Brangeta** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 6:42 pm

When I look at these boards I laugh too much when it comes to the figures--Minigt should always be listened to! lol.

The Krillin and Trunks are both officially licensed AB rereleases by Irwin.

In the first post, those are unlicensed copies of official figures. You'd be surprised how nice some of the bootlegs are though. However, every bootleg I've ever purchased smelled funny and likely had lead in the paint.

Lead is a thickener that is used to make paint more opaque so it takes fewer coats. Oil paint is FULL of lead, but nobody makes a big deal about paintings done with oil paint, because they usually don't end up in someone's mouth.

As a rule, I don't like bootleg figures, because of the smell they all have. If you for some reason have great ventilation in your home or office, to the extent you won't be smelling the figures, then they are fine in my opinion.

The only bootleg I currently own is this one:

It's 7 inches tall, and a bootleg of a 3.5 inch red Shenron. It smells funny, but is good quality. I wash my hands with soap after I touch it...

Kanzenshuu

Instructions on how to spot a bootleg figurine?

Instructions on how to spot a bootleg figurine?

Re: Instructions on how to spot a bootleg figurine?