Identifying Bootlegs - Revised Edition
Updated: Mar 21
So it has been awhile since my last post on this subject, and I've been asked if it was possible to do another version on my older post and have a little bit more depth to the piece.
Most of the traffic we get on this website or even on our Facebook group/page tends to be collectors asking if we can check their figures to confirm whether they have purchased a fake or not.
More often than not, they sadly have purchased a fake. One of the key things we hope to achieve with our community is not only raising awareness about upcoming products and their releases. But also to ensure that those both new and old to the collecting world are making sure that they are purchasing from an authorised/reputable retailer.
My aim for this revised document is to do a list of the bootlegs alongside their authentic counter to hopefully educate the reader. I will also aim to keep it updated with each new bootleg that we discover.
The following topics are what we will cover here;
Price
Packaging
Product Quality
How do I report a bootleg product?
Bootleg Vs Genuine product
Price
So you are looking for a good deal on a BISHOUJO, but ever though that the price you are seeing might be too good to be true? For example, current new prices for BISHOUJO are around the USD $119.99 mark (approx 12,000-15,000 JPY), with Limited Editions coming in around USD $130 (approx 14,000 JPY).
However we have seen some bootlegs go for around USD $35.00-80.00 online, and these tend to be a lot of the more popular pieces - this alone should set of red flags. Many of these tend to be shipped directly from China, and primarily use stock photos only or few have been seen on eBay with a different base from the final product.
There are occasions where collectors can be selling older pieces and without their original box, so do check their images and if unsure - ask! You are within your right as a buyer to ask for more images, and this will help you in the long run and also ensure you don't purchase a bootleg.
Packaging
Packaging can often be the first clue as to whether or not you are purchasing a genuine product, or a bootleg.
Kotobukiya will always have their logo on the front of the box, at the top right hand corner above the window. Many bootlegs will show images of the packaging online and it will be missing the logo completely, choosing only to keep the licence logo.
Font can also be changed, as well as the art edited to be off colour to the original. There has however been a very rare occurrence of a bootleg using packaging with the Kotobukiya logo on it - although we have only heard of this happening once.
Below you can view a slideshow with images of packaging for products that contain a bootleg.
Product Quality
The biggest giveaway is the way in which these products look. These knock offs tend to come with poor paint application, warped features and often with a really bad lean. We always recommend checking the official photos posted by Kotobukiya and if it doesn't look right, then don't buy it!
Many bootlegs are also sold with a very plain base or something similar to what is shown in prototype photos (black disc).
List of bootlegs that we are aware of:
Lady Deadpool
Psylocke V2
Chun Li Battle Costume
Supergirl Returns
Spider Gwen
Harley New 52
X-23
Spider-Woman
Tiffany
Chucky
Freddy Kruger
Jason Voorhees
Street Fighter Alpha Cammy
Michael Myers
Domino
Pinkie Pie
Dark Phoenix (Rebirth)
Twilight Sparkle
Pennywise
Poison Ivy Returns
Black Cat Steals Your Heart
Pennywise
Darkstalkers Morrigan
Loki
Thor (Jane Foster)
Leatherface
Leatherface Chainsaw Dance
My Little Pony: Princess Luna
My Little Pony x Hatsune Miku
My Little Pony: Fluttershy
Darkstalkers Felicia
Darkstalkers Lilith
How do I report a bootleg product?
If you are ever unsure if you have received a bootleg or not, we were previously advised by Kotobukiya to contact them at questions@kotous.com. However, please understand that they cannot provide you with an official product as a replacement for the counterfeit.
You can also let our community know by using one of the links noted at the bottom of the blog post, or even emailing this website. We'd be happy to check if you have photos to confirm whether it is fake or not.
We are here as a resource for our fellow collectors after all!
Bootleg V Genuine product
As promised, below you will find each of the known bootlegs alongside their genuine counterpart. I will ensure the bootleg photos will show first in the slideshow, with the genuine images shown after.
Lady Deadpool
The bootleg Lady Deadpool releases tend to have warped faces, for both the original and Limited Edition version.
Psylocke V2
The bootleg Psylocke has been discovered with not only different packaging, but a warped face.
Chun Li Battle Costume
Please be aware that Chun Li on release has a clear base as with the rest of the Street Fighter figures, images used were of prototype.
Supergirl Returns
Supergirl has been found to have a warped face, and also poor quality sculpt of the body.
Spider Gwen
Overall poor sculpt, and warped face.
Harley Quinn New 52
Harley has poor sculpting on the hair and face. Colouring is different and the statue has a really bad lean.
X-23
X-23 has been found to have an extremely poor face sculpt and the base is also wrong on bootlegs. Photos of genuine piece were provided by one of our community for reference purposes.
Spider Woman
Packaging and base is wrong, and again warped face.
Tiffany
Tiffany has been spotted with a really bad lean and extremely poor paint job, primarily noticeable with her hair. A side by side image was taken by one of our fellow collectors, after I reached out to him years ago about his bootleg - which he didn't know was fake at the time.
He was then lucky enough to buy the official product and provided us with a side by side comparison for our records.
Chucky
Bootleg has warped face and also incorrect packaging and base in comparison to original release.
Freddy Kruger
Freddy bootlegs have been shown with poor sculpting and paint jobs, as well as the base being different from the official releases.
Jason Voorhees
The Jason bootleg has very flat paint job and very different base from the genuine statue.
Street Fighter Alpha Cammy
Cammy had a somewhat warped face and poor paint job for the bootleg, with the colouring being very flat in comparison to the genuine piece.
Michael Myers
Myers bootleg is depicted with a poor sculpt and paint job and a warped face.
Domino
Domino was an odd situation, as the bootleg was actually available before the actual statue had released. This ended up having different colouring to the genuine product, so its pretty obvious that it is a bootleg.
Dark Phoenix (Rebirth)
Face is warped and overall poor sculpt.
Pinkie Pie
Pinkie Pie bootleg is very poorly sculpted and with a very bad lean on the statue. Packaging can look very close to the genuine release but of course missing the all important logo.
Twilight Sparkle
A collector actually reached out to me via Instagram about this one, where the statue they received had slight differences to the genuine statue that they thought they ordered. Mainly the hair was a bit of a giveaway as it would flow differently from the genuine piece. The pony was also very flimsy and came away from the base.
Mary Marvel (Shazam!)
Face is warped on bootleg, and also incorrect packaging with typos.
Poison Ivy Returns
Face is warped and hair does not match official release sculpting. Body proportions are also wrong in comparison to genuine product.
Black Cat Steals Your Heart
As with other statues, the face is warped on this one as you can clearly see my the messy sculpt of the mask. From the images it looks like it could have a really bad leaning issue as well.
Pennywise
Pennywise has also been spotted on eBay, and like many bootlegs it can be seen with a low price and coming from China. The obvious difference with Pennywise is the face paint application, it is very simple with a lack of shading in comparison to the real statue.
Darkstalkers Morrigan
Morrigan was spotted on eBay recently by a few of our Facebook community. A visible bootleg photo has since been found and shows that the eyes and expression are somewhat warped.
Loki
Bootleg of the second edition of Loki was found online. As you can see from the photos below, there is an obvious difference between the two.
Thor
Same with Loki, there is a massive difference in quality between the bootleg and the authentic version.
Leatherface Chainsaw Dance
Leatherface can be seen with a poor face sculpt, poor print quality and the chainsaw is also curved which isn't the case with the authentic piece.
Leatherface
Leatherface can be seen with a poor face sculpt and very bad paint application which is more so noticeable with the bloodstains on the apron. The extra mask accessory is different from the authentic statue.
My Little Pony: Princess Luna
Bootlegs of Princess Luna have been spotted online, however we only have the one image so far. Many of the listings use the stock images, so please be aware of this.
My Little Pony x Hatsune Miku
Poor material quality version, as well as overall cheap look.
My Little Pony: Fluttershy
Proportions for Fluttershy's face are off, as well as incorrect foot stand colours. Figure is also on a really bad tilt.
Darkstalkers Felicia
Quality of the face does not match that of the original release. Photos aren't very clear but from what can be seen the sculpt is certainly off on the face most of all. Box has the telltale signs of a bootleg by missing the logos.
Darkstalkers Lilith
Lilith's sculpt proportions are off in comparison to the original, as well as the face being different.
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