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Hi, I'm new, so if this is not the correct type of post to make in this section, I apologize.

Anyway, the most troubling thing to me, as someone who is trying to collect all the Marvel figures are the Comic-Con exclusives. As a Lego purist, I generally avoid buying any sort of custom pieces, but I eventually caved and started looking for replicas of the Comic-Con figures. I found the Decool Jean Grey online for like three bucks, and it looks surprisingly very nice and almost exactly like the original figure (definitely beats shelling out $200+ for the real thing). Generally speaking, though I have had a lot of trouble finding replicas accurate enough to meet my standards. This past weekend I was at BrickUniverse in Raleigh, NC and I found a vendor selling a Spider-Woman replica, which I bought (I believe I have his business card, so I can provide details if requested). Otherwise, though, I haven't had much luck.

What is the general consensus on buying replicas over the real thing in extreme cases like this? Has anyone else found any good replicas of the Comic-Con figures that I haven't? If so, where did you find them?

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Welcome!

In the 'Community' section there is a thread about bootleg superhero minifigs. I too would like to get replicas of all the comic con minifigs (and maybe a couple of the actual ones someday!) but there's a user on Eurobricks called Robianco who posted a detailed list about how to get each one. If I was on my laptop I'd try and locate the page but I'm stuck on my phone. If you take a look over there I'm sure the guys there would be able to help more but once I can get on properly I will try and find the details for you! Robianco posted the list for me so he may have it still.. Really helpful and I imagine exactly what you're after! They are all good guys and gals over on that thread :)

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unless i win the lottery i wont be ever (allowed) to by the official comic con figures so custom printed ones will do me just fine as long as all parts were lego.

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Found it! It's currently on page 266 of the Bootleg Superheroes thread.. but either way here's the details Robianco helped me out with! Hope it helps.

I think it all depends on how much you're willing to spend on a custom compared to a bootleg alternative. Christo has done Shazam and Bizarro which are both perfect which will cost you around £25 each. I also have a Bizarro that was made from the SY set along with genuine arms, hips/legs, cape and a head from Onlinesailin and it's pretty much perfect also but cost around £5 in total.

For Symbiote Spiderman I'd get a Venom figure then maybe get a head from Firestar Toys. It's not pad printed but for just white eyes on black it'll look pretty good. Alternatively Muddy River Minifies on eBay sells a pad printed custom which is perfect for £15 but you've got £10 postage. With the Christo figures you would have three perfect SDCC copies on genuine Lego for £75 which isn't bad.

SY are bringing out a Sam Wilson in their most recent set so add genuine dual moulded legs, arms and hair to that and it'll be pretty much perfect and will cost around £4 in total. The DLP versions is good also but he print on the grey areas of the torso is a little dark so I'm hoping the SY version is might and more accurate. Green Lantern SDCC is either an older SY figure in the set of 8 Lanterns or the Decool version. I've kept my SY version as the Decool can be hit and miss on print alignment. I picked up a head from OLS years ago so I use that on mine.

Black Suit Superman is easy. SY did a set which has a perfect torso. Simply add a black cape along with Zod's legs and genuine Supes head and hair and that is also perfect... in total around £5 for that figure.

Green Arrow I'd go for the SY version as the printing is perfect but the belt areas are brown instead of black otherwise you can pick up a Decool one and hope the print is good. First one I got wasn't great then I got a pretty good one but I kept the SY version and changed the hood, head and arms for genuine Lego.

SDCC Batman 2011 version is in a SY vehicle set and is also perfect. I changed the cape, arms, legs and head to genuine Lego so it was as much genuine as possible but it's pretty much perfect straight out of the box.

Batman ZEA you can make from a mixture of Decool, SY and DLP. Head and cowl I've kept from the cool version as it's double sided head. Legs from the SY version and the body from the DLP as it has the accurate printing on the back. Add genuine arms along with a genuine cape and baseball bat and you're done for around £7 in total.

Collector just go with the Phoenix Customs version but you already have that. SY Phoenix along with Decool head, genuine hair and arms and that's also pretty much perfect.

Nobody has bootlegged or pad printed Spiderwoman yet although you can pick up a digital print version from Poppunkymunky Customs on eBay.

SY and Decool have both done Amazing Spiderman so just order a couple of each and hope for good print especially if you can find them on single sale on Aliexpress.

With Arsenal you have Decool, SY and DLP to go for. Decool copied my drawing of the figure on Flickr so the back isn't accurate as it was a guess but the figure is OK. DLP didn't print the silver so I wouldn't bother with that one. SY have it in their set with Sam Wilson so you get both if you pick that set up. I always prefer to replace anything I can with genuine parts such as arms, hoods etc where possible so give that a go.

Have I missed anything?

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Found it! It's currently on page 266 of the Bootleg Superheroes thread.. but either way here's the details Robianco helped me out with! Hope it helps.

Oh, thank you! I was unaware there was a thread regarding this, I should go provide info on where I got the Spider-Woman figure. Thanks for providing this. Very useful.

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I must admit that my standards are very high with regards to custom minifigures so I don't like to 'settle' for something simply because it's cheap.

With regards to this thread I think it would be better if it were moved to Community as it already has subject matter relating to bootleg parts.

I'd definitely go for the pad printed custom route over bootleg when possible. If you're going for Marvel then definitely pick up MRM's Symbiote Spiderman as a priority if you can still pick one up.

I stand by what I've said in my quoted post with regards to the others. One thing about the 2011 SDCC Batman figure is that all versions of it I've seen have had poor print... Badly aligned in parts and just general poor QC. The bootleg torso is just a clean and well printed alternative. Maybe one day if I find one at a reasonable price at the same time as having the money to spare I'll pick an original up but I'll stick with the version I have for now without too much worry. It's a rare case of a copy possibly being better than an original.

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It sounds like there's two different types of "replicas" you mention here. I would lump them into two categories: custom minifigures and counterfeit (bootleg) minifigures.

Custom minifigures use real LEGO parts (and sometimes 3rd party accessories) - The creator uses decals or printing to make the figure. Generally speaking, the designs are usually original (especially for the big name customizers).

Counterfeit minifigures are made up of fake LEGO parts and are often made out of a different type of plastic. There are two subcategories of counterfeit minifgures. There are those that are nearly identical copies of LEGO minifigures (ie: the Comic-Con exclusives), and there are those that are recolors or new characters that LEGO has not yet done. Some of the "Big-Figs" use entirely unique molds to capture the look of a character, such as Decool's Hulkbuster Iron Man and bigfig Groot. I still consider these counterfeit because they do not have the license to the IP, and they are designed to look like they could have been made by LEGO.

The Difference

Generally speaking, the quality of LEGO minifigures will almost always be better than the knockoffs. Counterfeiters aren't following the same levels of quality control as LEGO. Many do not use ABS plastic and, in some cases, the printing may be more prone to wear with use. One of the highest quality knockoffs is Decool. The designs for original characters are usually really nice, and the plastic appears to be of a higher quality than most other knockoffs. Still, the quality isn't quite on par with LEGO. I have gotten some and found some flaws that would have been less likely to appear in a stock LEGO set. One of my Fantastic Four minifigures had some marbling in the plastic (his head), and one had some print worn off their face (before having opened their bag.

Other knockoffs are hit or miss. There are a lot of bad ones out there that either don't look like what's advertised on the box or that are really bad quality (loose parts, cheap plastic, etc).

To Buy or Not to Buy

That is the question...that only you can answer. :laugh: I have some myself, but mainly got them for fun while traveling through Hong Kong and Thailand. I wouldn't personally recommend going out of your way to get them. Maybe the comic-con and "original" figs. Beyond that, I wouldn't bother. My main concern is what the long-term impact of these minifigures being in the market will be. I have a feeling more and more will turn up in used lots of bricks in the future. As a collector, I would also think twice before buying a "real" comic-con minifigure, because someone could easily get the fake version and resell it as the real thing. I don't have a lot of patience for people who knowingly do that.

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I must admit that my standards are very high with regards to custom minifigures so I don't like to 'settle' for something simply because it's cheap.

With regards to this thread I think it would be better if it were moved to Community as it already has subject matter relating to bootleg parts.

I'd definitely go for the pad printed custom route over bootleg when possible. If you're going for Marvel then definitely pick up MRM's Symbiote Spiderman as a priority if you can still pick one up.

I stand by what I've said in my quoted post with regards to the others. One thing about the 2011 SDCC Batman figure is that all versions of it I've seen have had poor print... Badly aligned in parts and just general poor QC. The bootleg torso is just a clean and well printed alternative. Maybe one day if I find one at a reasonable price at the same time as having the money to spare I'll pick an original up but I'll stick with the version I have for now without too much worry. It's a rare case of a copy possibly being better than an original.

Hi Robianco..

Any ideas where it is possible to pick up either the head by itself or the minifigure in full? I'd love to add this one to my collection!

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Hi Robianco..

Any ideas where it is possible to pick up either the head by itself or the minifigure in full? I'd love to add this one to my collection!

Is this for the Symbiote Spidey?

I'm not sure about the full MRM figure anymore as they're no longer available on his eBay site.

Getting the head from Firestar might be good for now at least:

https://www.firestartoys.com/Shop/Minifigure-Parts/Minifigure-Custom-Design-Heads/30684-Custom-Mini-Figure-Heads-~-Spiderman-~-Black.html

You can always contact him on his eBay account to see if he has one? I know a long time after him seemingly selling out of Dr Strange and Clea I managed to pick them up from him although Strange had no cape.

Edited by Robianco

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