Hi all.. So, I was on Ebay earlier searching for missing figures in my GB collection, and came across a couple VERY sketchy auctions:
I’ve also seen Slime Blower Ray up a few times. These auctions have multiple quantities and are re-posted every time they end.. The location is China.. What do you make of them? are they fakes, or possible factory leaks? I must say, I’m pretty tempted to go for a MM ray, but I don’t want any bootlegs in my collection. input please!
Ive seen auctions from that singapore ebayer before, and its always something weird like venkmans head on a spengler body, etc so I always avoid those even though Im tempted. for instance he has a RTBY Egon but it looks like the head is from the GB2 box set (darker color plastic) not sure about the vigo auction, that is really bizarre, they arent using “stock” photos (from mattel) or photos from sdcc, it looks like they put the figure in a photo scanner. I advise people to stay away from that auction even if it looks legit, I will wait until december
I bought a GB in an auction like those. When I received him, it was obvious that he was not an official figure. The paint was slightly off and his plastic had a different feel than all the others.
I commented about it being fake and the guy’s response was, “I must have grabbed a bad one. I’ll ship you out another.” The second one eventually arrived, and while it was better than the first, it was still counterfeit.
I work in purchasing so have a good handle of how the Asian marketplace works. Usually, when they want to sell knockoffs what you actually get is a figure from the original factory where, in this instance, the mattel figures are made. Some guys in the factory (sometimes even the owner) will just decide to “keep the line running” a bit longer than usual and pocket the extra items. Occasionally this means they have to hand finish some parts which perhaps are done elsewhere or they don’t have time to complete in the factory.
So, in conclusion, the mold at least will be exactly the same as with the mattel figures (no one in Asia is going to shell out for mold in order to make knock offs, there just wouldn’t be enough profit in it).
I suggest this is what is happening with the Vigo figure. One things for sure, mattel will be sending some guys straight out there for a spot check to try and nip it in the bud, and will have some firm words about confidentiality with their suppliers,
Adam_Fozz
Don’t bother, seeing as Ray who has two right arms.
all of this.
when i was a major collector of gijoes, i got into army building. there werent many ways to get a bunch of the same viper type, it was either getting vintage ones and collecting 1 by 1, lucking out finding 6 packs(which took like 20 years to actually happen), or it was getting them from china/singapore/korea/taiwan in ebay lots.
they’re entirely the same mold, same paint applications(i never had any issues) as the original toys, and it was much cheaper to buy a lot of 5 RAH sculpt scrap irons from a comic pack than to buy 5 comic packs that had scrap irons in it, and two other figures i didnt want to armybuild.
dont knock it until you’ve tried it. just be aware, they’re not meant for the paint application collector and you do have to keep an eye on the body parts.
Not only that, but is it just me, or does he have 2 left hands too?
I didnt notice Rays arm before, that is effed up. I hope no one falls for it.
NO google glass, so there is an offer
I recently got a winston slime blower back when it came out. For some reason I got two. Both the head were different and one had a BLACK slimeblower. No paint at all
LMAO he most definitely does.. didn’t even catch that!
I got a Court Room Venkman from the guy selling Marshmallow Mess Ray above, he appears to be the real deal, the outfit feels like the one Peck wears, the head is exactly like Venkman with the proton stream, and the pack is identical to all the others
Most likely this is factory rejects being pieced together and smuggled out by factory workers to middle men. The GB line black market is not profitable enough to make bootleg production worth while. We see a lot of this happening in the transformers and star wars collecting fandoms. That explains the mismatched parts. Another possibility is unofficial night runs, where one of the factory bosses is in on the scam and runs the molds over night to make excess to sell.
There are a lot of toys in China that are smuggled out. I got my Temple of Doom Indiana Jones figures that way for waaaaay cheap and nothing is wrong with them except each figure is missing 1 accessory. I feel kind of slimy (pun intended) doing it, but it’s either that or deal with scalpers. Lesser of 2 evils.
Protoncharger, why would you buy multiple Scrap Irons for army building? He’s a named Cobra, not an army builder guy.
I’ve bought one of those, its not arrived yet so I’ve tried to cancel it. I expect its still gonna turn up though. Feel like a total idiot for not noticing-too wrapped up in getting something cheap, I suppose.
I’ll report back on what its like when it shows up…
Had a reply from the seller, stating if Ray does arrive with odd arms if I send him a photo he will send me a second, correct figure. Thought that was pretty fair.
easy. his head is the only thing that made him a named character. i was in to customizing gijoes at the time too, i think i ended up abandoning the idea but they were supposed to be a new firefly and a group of specialists he worked with.
Well my loose ‘Mess’ Ray arrived today and, thankfully he’s fine. No dodgy arms or legs, ok he’s missing the accessories, but he was cheap enough and he’s good enough to have out on display.
Shot from my 'phone:
his head looks even more squished then usual 
True but if you wanted to use them as cheapo alternatives for spares or customs it’s cheaper than buying boxed figures, don’t you think?
