Bootleg Super Heroes minifigs - worth it or not?

[Brickmamba]

These bootlegs are very popular here in Malaysia as the originals are waayyyy overpriced and hard to come by. I personally have bought a few just for curiosity and personally there are quite OK. My personal favourite is the 90s Cyclops minifigure and the large hulk. Reason I bought the 90s Cyclops is because the official Lego one has not been released yet and is not the Cyclops I remember from the cartoon in the 90s. For the big Hulk the reason being is because he is in this very overpriced and money grabbing set (Hulk Helicarrier) which no way I am buying.

Then of course there is Green Lantern. Not only did they produced Green Lantern, they also produced the blue version, red version, yellow, orange version etc. Will TLG ever produce these figures?

Also there was the case where the bootleg TMNT minifigs actually arrived before the official sets were released here. All four turtles with splinter and shredder in a pack that cost less than RM 50 versus the official one which was never distributed by TLG; the choice is pretty obvious. Of course now the official ones are already released here, but the fever for the TMNT is long gone.

Right now I can see these bootlegs like LELE, Sheng Yuan, Decool etc making figures TLG never made like:-

1) Fantastic Four

2) Winter soldier

3) Different variants of Iron Man armor not yet released by Lego. Hall of armors is actually possible with these minifigs. Gold ironman, black ironman, war machine, iron patriot etc.

4) Green Arrow

5) Thor's father

There are even Dragonball and Naruto minifigures out there, but not by the 3 I mentioned above.

My conclusion is, not restricted by copyright red-tape, these KO companies make figures that the fans really want. However, to TLG, Marvel and DC it is not financially viable or some weird reason not worth it to produce. Also these figures come in packaging with BOTH DC and Marvel characters, something TLG will never do.

where exactly in malaysia, hmu

[Cara]

I've seen a lot of these decool figures second hand recently.

The bodies have a crisper edge and corner to the shoulders, not so rounded.

A lot of the printing was faded or sloppy (smudged), but if you get a good one then they are amazing in their similarity.

I saw the ninjago knockoffs and some Shredder and turtles this weekend and if you don't know that they aren't lego and know what to look for the well printed ones will fool people that don't know about the counterfeits.

[Robianco]

I actually picked up a set of the Sheng Yuan really cheap recently with Wonderwoman, Deadpool, a few others and a clone of Christo's Flash.... all figures I had original Lego versions of.

Sheng Yuan figures have rounded torsos like Lego and also have the same leg connections to the body making it closer still.

The Aquaman is almost identical... its VERY close to the official version. Putting the real one next to it highlighted the very small differences but it really wasn't much... and that's a side by side comparison.

Catwoman is very close but her shading is blue rather than purple... other that that it's very well done... only a single sided head though.

Joker was also very good... the whites and colours of his torso are actually brighter on the bootleg over the original... print was very crisp though... very good quality.

Then there's the Flash figure. Except for him only having shallow yellow print on the front of the legs rather than full boots it's a VERY good copy of Christo's game version of Flash.

I've bought lots of figures from Christo but £70 or so for one Flash figure always seemed a lot. This version cost me £1.50. I might even mask off and spray a pair of red legs to give a bigger boot area.

DeCool use a lot more silver inks etc in their figures but the printing can be a bit hit and miss... Sheng Yuan have really nailed their printing.. and are better with their moulds... especially now they replicate Lego legs rather than the tapered feet of the older versions.

That said... I'm really looking forward to the next wave of DeCool in giving us the Christo DK Joker and the Comic Con Spiderman and Phoenix figures.

Who knows what Sheng Yuan are planning next but... and I hate to say it... if they are as good in their QC as they have been and the figures are interesting these are a very viable expansion to the minifigure range.

Deadpool was as good as the Aquaman figure... very good printing and colours that were only noticeably different when side by side to an original version.

[KingPixels]

My Decool Fantastic Four arrived yesterday.

The plastic quality overall is really good, almost dead on LEGO's. Aside from the pointed shoulders I'm really happy with the torsos, which is all I really bought them for (I use official LEGO arms, heads, and legs). The hair pieces were good too, but next to LEGO's they lack detail and are a tiny bit glossier, and the colour is also a bit off. The inside of the torsos (where the legs fit in) are a bit too tight, which means that the legs bend inwards a few nanometres, but it wouldn't even be noticeable if I wasn't paying really close attention. I would use the Decool hip element, but the round part in between the legs is the wrong shape (it doesn't curve inwards at the top). The figures are still really good overall though, and it's great to have a decal-free FF in my collection.

If Decool fixed the shoulders on the torso moulds I would buy every minifig they put out (including the upcoming SDCC Amazing Spider-Man and Phoenix.

LeLe and Sheng Yuang both recently put out some Captain America figures (8 each) too. Those helmet pieces are going to be so useful!

[Robianco]

I'm not so sure about those LeLe figures but I'll be picking up those Sheng Yuang ones!

[agoodfella77]

Here's my $0.02 cents on the subject:

1) I am first and foremost a LEGO fan. It's what got me started collecting, it's what my son and I have been able to bond over. Nothing will replace this passion.

2) As a consequence, I have spent a small fortune (relative to what I spend on other "hobbies") and don't feel bad at all spending my money on other brands.

3) What I absolutely don't buy are complete rip-off / knock-offs -- i.e. something that is readily available for purchase in retail stores / online, etc.

4) When I say "readily" available, I don't mean SDCC variants. And here is the rub: TLG knows that these are popular and since they have already released them to the public, it isn't hard to incorporate them into future sets. I totally get that they want to offer some exclusivity in the beginning as an SDCC exclusive, but come on -- 1 year+ on? And then to add insult to injury they are recycling the same Spider-Man figure for the 6th straight set? Meanwhile these SDCC variants are selling on eBay for 300+ dollars? It's crazy! Now my dollars are starting to look elsewhere for some satisfaction.

5) And they've found it to a large extent. This is simple supply and demand folks. The suppliers are filling a demand. Plain and simple.

6) Some customs are clearly better than others -- and therefore costs are associated. With the Chinese makers the variance is very high -- YMMV for sure.

7) Having said that, I am fairly happy with the ones I have purchased -- including Odin, the Winter Soldier, Carnage, a number of Iron Man variants, pictures here (posted under my Flickr handle "agoodfella77":

Edited May 13, 2014 by agoodfella

[KingPixels]

Those Iron Man figs look great. What brand are they?

[Super Goblin]

Looks like a mix of DeCool and Shen Yuen.

I recently got the F4 in as well. Torsos look great but the heads and legs look like crap.

Also got three Hulks in.

[agoodfella77]

Those Iron Man figs look great. What brand are they?

These are a mix of true blue LEGO (each one that has been released officially in a set is represented), in addition to some DeCool and some Sheng Yang.

My favorite is the MARK I (far left, front row) -- this happens to be one of my very first MOCs.

[squirtlepower]

The newest decool set hit Ebay featuring Black Widow, Blue suit Wolverine, Toyfair Spider-man, Toyfair Phoenix, TDK Joker and Captain America.

Bought a set for $12, a little more than I would have liked to pay for bootlegs but Phoenix is my favorite female marvel character and my nephew has been obsessed with that Joker custom since he saw it. Hope Lego realizes soon that there is a market for these minifigures and maybe does a 16 figure series or works with DC/Marvel to release different characters. I hope something gives soon though because the quality on these is only getting better and eventually some people's collection will consist of more bootlegs than official figures. Customs aren't a bad thing, and that's how I view these. They're just done on a larger scale and I can either pay $40 for a custom minifigure or $2 for one, I'll choose to save $38 every time.

[KingPixels]

The newest decool set hit Ebay featuring Black Widow, Blue suit Wolverine, Toyfair Spider-man, Toyfair Phoenix, TDK Joker and Captain America.

Bought a set for $12, a little more than I would have liked to pay for bootlegs but Phoenix is my favorite female marvel character and my nephew has been obsessed with that Joker custom since he saw it. Hope Lego realizes soon that there is a market for these minifigures and maybe does a 16 figure series or works with DC/Marvel to release different characters. I hope something gives soon though because the quality on these is only getting better and eventually some people's collection will consist of more bootlegs than official figures. Customs aren't a bad thing, and that's how I view these. They're just done on a larger scale and I can either pay $40 for a custom minifigure or $2 for one, I'll choose to save $38 every time.

Could you post some photos of Phoenix and Spidey?

[Borex]

Ow that Phoenix is someone i also really want! Are they gonna make a dark Phoenix as well?

And by any chance also Spider-woman?

[squirtlepower]

Could you post some photos of Phoenix and Spidey?

Will do as soon as they arrive, unless someone beats me to it.

[addemlit]

I bought some decool figures from some ebayer and it's been two and a half weeks. How long do they usually take to arrive

[KingPixels]

I bought some decool figures from some ebayer and it's been two and a half weeks. How long do they usually take to arrive

They're from China, so any time from a week to a month. It varies.

[Robianco]

My SY Captain America set is on it's way... Someone is picking up the DeCool set with Phoenix for me at the weekend.

SY have released a new Batman series with all of the figures from the recent wave. They actually look perfect.

[Robianco]

The newest decool set hit Ebay featuring Black Widow, Blue suit Wolverine, Toyfair Spider-man, Toyfair Phoenix, TDK Joker and Captain America.

Bought a set for $12, a little more than I would have liked to pay for bootlegs but Phoenix is my favorite female marvel character and my nephew has been obsessed with that Joker custom since he saw it. Hope Lego realizes soon that there is a market for these minifigures and maybe does a 16 figure series or works with DC/Marvel to release different characters. I hope something gives soon though because the quality on these is only getting better and eventually some people's collection will consist of more bootlegs than official figures. Customs aren't a bad thing, and that's how I view these. They're just done on a larger scale and I can either pay $40 for a custom minifigure or $2 for one, I'll choose to save $38 every time.

Can you post a link to the auction seller?

[KingPixels]

Can you post a link to the auction seller?

Here are some:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xdecool+phoenix&_nkw=decool+phoenix&_sacat=0&_from=R40

[Robianco]

Cheers for that!!

On the new Batman set from Sheng Yuan the short legs on Robin and Penguin work the same as the regular lego legs. They have hips and short legs attached so they have movement.

I have all of the originals of those figures but I'm really interested to see how they work. They actually could be an improvement over the static Lego versions.

Edited May 20, 2014 by Robianco

[addemlit]

I bought the SY captain america set too just so I could get that Toyfair cap. I own all the original minifigs too so ill do a comparison when I get all of mine in

[Robianco]

I bought the Brickforge Super Soldier kit with the shield and the blue helmet with printed 'A'.

I think the torso on that SY version with the torn jacket will make that perfect.

The blue slip on caps on these might be useful... See how it fits on my Christo Cap A.

I'm looking forward to the Phoenix Customs stealth suit version from WS but this one will do for now.

Picked up the DeCool set with Phoenix etc for just under £6 today too so it's fingers crossed for some decent print!

[Super Goblin]

The new bootleg Batman set has short legs that are poseable for Robin and Penguin, too cool.

Edited May 20, 2014 by Super Goblin

[Robianco]

Seems odd that they'd go to that trouble when Lego have never bothered.

They look like they work pretty well too!

[Lordofdragonss]

The new bootleg Batman set has short legs that are poseable for Robin and Penguin, too cool.

Argh. I can't find any pictures!

[KingPixels]

Argh. I can't find any pictures!

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