The figures sometimes attempt to be similar to the colors shown on the card artwork. In other cases, they are very off. But, the figures are spectacularly bad. They are definitive bootlegs if only for their horrendous quality and garish design.
Below you will see ten of the figures offered. There may be more. I'm not sure of the origin. But, some figures, like Cobra Commander can be interesting due to the different paint jobs. I own the Iceberg figure, but have never gotten around to opening him.
These figs were dirt cheap when the first appeared, often selling in the $5 MOC range. Today, they are still relatively cheap with the most popular figures running around $20 for a MOC figure. As an interesting display piece, the figures have some value. But, they are really, really awful in terms of quality.
I really like the Keel-Haul and Firefly.
ReplyDeleteI'd forgotten about these. It's sad...not merely their quality, but that the bootleggers made alley-viper and Viper legs, while Hasbro wouldn't recreate them. It's interesting they recreated all the accessories and sprues, as well. Any lazy bootlegger would've made a few accessories and reused them for all 10 figures.
ReplyDeleteThe Cobra Commander is interesting. Bootlegger's matched the Iceberg card art balaclava color that Hasbro didn't! Gold boots Firefly's worth a laugh. Yellow shirt Leatherneck is funny.
PS (There's typo in your third paragraph.)
Think I got the typo. Hope so, at least.
DeleteIf that Cobra Commander paint deco was on a high quality figure, it would be a really nice differentiation for the character. You don't see these as much as you used to anymore. And, the one I have is really, really terrible quality. So, I'm not as keen to pick up another any more.
Man, I've never even heard of or seen any of these. Peculiar Era to boot, but whatever. I wonder if these have any relation to the Chinese Bootleg Storm Shadow, that appeared around the same time.
ReplyDeleteThe Storm Shadow was of much higher quality. These look like early attempts at reverse engineering the molds from existing figures. Maybe these exist in large numbers in Asia and were easy pickings. I'd heard that some collectors had tracked down some additional info on who made these and why. But, I've never seen it shared anywhere and the inquiries I tried lead nowhere.
DeleteHola;Aquí en Bogotá se conseguían a finales de 1998;a 2000 pesos;Ví apartes de los aquí mostrados a Nigjt Creeper Leander y a Duke..El Color del Duke era Espantoso(Pantalones Naranja,Casco verde Botella y el resto Pintado Con Color Habano..El Material de las Mismas en Pasta,Se Rompían con solo mirarlos)
ReplyDeleteAnyone has any of these bootleg type Joes and Cobras open or not, because I am curious of the Plastic Quality on these. I'm not expecting 1993-2006 Hasbro Plastic Quality, and I'm sure the plastic may feel at bit weird compared to a official Hasbro Release, but are they decent enough is what I'm curious about that they are still moveable/playable without falling apart if you will? I wonder if the Missile Launchers can still actually launch the missiles, or if they are either just for show with no actual firing capabilities, or even if the Launcher works but would just fall apart after a few useages.
ReplyDeleteIf I didn't look carefully, I would of thought they were legit Hasbro Releases, but because the packaging doesn't have the Hasbro Logo, that's a tell that they are a fake, at least in terms of packaging. I suppose the back packaging on these would of also given some dead giveaways.
Not going to lie, in that if I ever saw some of these shown up at either Flea Markets, places that I know sells "Cheap" and "Bootleg" stuff, and/or Independently Owned Dollar/Bargain Stores, I may have consider getting a few, depending on their asking price. If the price is right, I may even consider getting some just for their weapons tree if anything.
The only 1 I would strongly consider for sure is the Version 2 Dr. Mindbender, if only so that I could use the Bootleg more to custom paint into the Dr. X character from the 1990's-2000's Action Man, especially since Hasbro did make a Official approx 4" Action Man figure in both O-Ring Style(In a Night Force 6 Pack around the Mid-2000's), and Modern Style(SDCC Convention Exclusive around the 2010's). This way, if I ever get a Real Hasbro Version 2 Dr. Mindbender, I can leave it as Mindbender. But I think that may also depend on the plastic quality as well. For the record, I don't have a 4" Action Man, but it's something I wouldn't mind getting down the road, regardless if it's the O-Ring or Modern Style.
The plastic quality is garbage. It's soft and will fall apart. I don't recall if the launchers have springs or not. But, the figures are crap.
DeleteWhen they first showed up, you could get them all for under $10 each. At that price, they were fine. I'd wager a carded one would break $100 or more today. And, they're not worth it for that price.
Someday, I need to track down the full story on these guys.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Good to know that it sounds like the plastic quality of the figures are really bad. Not good for my purposes then, since I would still need them to be useable/playable. Maybe if I really wanted to keep them in carded then, I suppose.
DeleteYou are right that under $10 each is okay, but if they are now over $100, then not worth it at all. Still, if I ever get lucky at finding any of these Bootlegs at a reasonable price, I may at least consider them just for the weapons at least, even if the plastic is bad, they could be good for display purposes(Like say for a weapons bunker or something).