Knock-off figures - general discussion

[stargatedalek]

I like that one better than the original. The paint isn't much worse, and they got creative giving it weird extra spines and crests and stuff which Papo was afraid to commit to despite also not making it accurate.

[Stegotyranno420]

In my opinion, it looks terrible, it takes the best things about the OG and removes them. And the proportions are WAY off. Its like if you cut the spine you got a Crystal palace megalosaurus

[Fenestra]

I'm pretty sure that the body is from the Papo Spino, except the head and hind legs, and the sail was taken from the PNSO Spino.
The tail looks like Papo in the beginning, but not quite at the end....maybe it was a proto type?
Where the head and hind feet come from, I don't know.
It sure is a Frankenstein. 

[stargatedalek]

In my opinion, it looks terrible, it takes the best things about the OG and removes them. And the proportions are WAY off. Its like if you cut the spine you got a Crystal palace megalosaurus

The proportions are identical. It adds extra material to the head and arms, and possibly the of the tail. But the body remains the same.

[Stegotyranno420]

@stargatedalek the majority of the tail, the neck, the head is much more skinny than the original. And you can see the ribs on this one, unlike the papo model

[stargatedalek]

@stargatedalek the majority of the tail, the neck, the head is much more skinny than the original. And you can see the ribs on this one, unlike the papo model

No, you can see the ribs on the Papo model. An those parts are all the same as the original.

[terrorchicken]

Just found out looking around AliExpress  they even sell knock offs of those Safari and Collecta prehistoric plants! In case anyone's looking for these for dioramas. I have most of the genuine versions of the tree ferns and cycads but not those pine/fir looking ones. I dont know what the original molds are from but I really like them!

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32906367938.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000014.3.77927e71Or5McL&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.33416.210123.0&scm_id=1007.33416.210123.0&scm-url=1007.33416.210123.0&pvid=e99b787b-274f-46a1-ba3d-25b6850b0372&_t=gps-id:pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.33416.210123.0,pvid:e99b787b-274f-46a1-ba3d-25b6850b0372,tpp_buckets:668%230%23131923%2322_668%23888%233325%2317_23416%230%23210123%2319_23416%234721%2321967%23928_23416%234722%2321972%237_668%232846%238109%231935_668%232717%237567%23995_668%231000022185%231000066059%230_668%233422%2315392%2379_4452%230%23189847%230_4452%233474%2315675%2357_4452%234862%2322449%2369_4452%233098%239599%23223_4452%235108%2323442%23328_4452%233564%2316062%23199

[CarnotaurusKing]

Lo, this unholy chimera of Safari and CollectA.



@Doug Watson :

[Lynx]

Lo, this unholy chimera of Safari and CollectA.



@Doug Watson :

Not gonna lie, that figure is pretty good for a knockoff.

[Chubi]

As for myself, i'm completely in favor of bootleg and knockoff IF the company producing the figure one's looking for went into liquidation ; and or decided to never produce said model ever again.

If the only way to get the figure is from second hand, the company either gave up on the product ; or consider having made enough money out of it. Now if the figure is still selling on the secondary market and the company's doing nothing to capitalize on the potential money they could make, relaunching the production for it, to bad for them ! They refuse to let me buy their original product, i'll go see what the competition has to offer (if said competition exists).

Now, this only applies if the figure can't be found on the primary market, obviously. However, it's true enough knockoff are a rather budget-friendly way to buy a figure ; and if inferior quality is good enough for someone, why should them be forced to spend more on "quality" them can't necessarily afford, nor maybe, even care for ?
Some of us like to paint over their already handpainted figure ; why pay the full price if you're basically buying the thing for its sculpt to paint over ? Once again, it's the company's fault to not proposing a product adapted to its consumer's expectation/ budget.

So while i understand the importance of respecting one's property ; i can't blame those exploiting the shortcomings of some company if they failed to make a product adapted to their consumer-base. On another hand, if one's fine with paying the price of an original figure they're looking out for, then it's better to buy it ; to support the company as well as their artist ; and ensure we all get more figures coming our way.

[Dinoguy2]

A post in the Classifieds board made me realize how sophisticated some of the more recent Carnegie bootlegs are. This Miragaia sculpt looks REALLY close to the original. Same mold lines and everything. Is it possibly somebody else got the original mold from Safari? Or is it just a really good pantograph job? Here it is along with a similarly faithful Nigersaurus bootleg (another retied figure - mold swiped from the factory or being used in off-hours for bootleg production runs?)

[SidB]

I've seen a hollow version of the Miragaia in Dollarama in the past, but it also had obvious seams. This looks closer to the original.

[Halichoeres]

Lo, this unholy chimera of Safari and CollectA.

Not gonna lie, that figure is pretty good for a knockoff.

I don't think it's a figure, I think it's just artwork. Or am I missing something?

[Baryonyx]

Hi, does anybody recognise what the dilophosaurus in this lot from La-na Time is based on?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/10Pcs-Small-Dinosaur-Animal-Figure-T-Rex-Mammoth-Mosasaurus-Stegosaurus-Kid-Toys/254308075953?_trkparms=aid%3D555023%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIMRVI%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20210125103153%26meid%3D71c3221330864d49be61af2db318cbd6%26pid%3D100040%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D24%26sd%3D254308075953%26itm%3D254308075953%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2046732%26algv%3DSimplAMLv5hPointwiseWebNoToraCoCoViewsNoHighIdfOrRoundRobinBlenderWithPromotedViewItems%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p2046732.c100040.m2060

I assume it is a bootleg or vague copy of something as a few of those models come from Favorite co. sculpts.

Thanks!

[stargatedalek]

Can confirm otherwise. While the (generic) pose is similar it is a completely different sculpt.

These dinosaurs are from a line that showed up a few years ago by an unspecified manufacturer. All completely new sculpts and all available in a few different formats (small, articulated, mid sized vinyl and very large vinyl). Sadly the vinyl versions of the Dilophosaurus and Pachycephalosaur were apparently scrapped because they wouldn't stand.

As for Favorite, I guess you mean the Parasaurolophus? It to is definitely a different sculpt, this is a scaled version of the vinyl one seen here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Large-Dinosaur-Figure-T-Rex-Brachiosaurus-Stegosaurus-Soft-PVC-Collector-Kid-Toy/254398656742?hash=item3b3b5770e6:g:LQYAAOSwGLddsSNH

[Baryonyx]

Ah, thanks ? @Stolpergeist and @stargatedalek ,
While they are new sculpts, I think the Pachycephalosaurus and Apatosaurus are based on the Favorite Series 1 counterparts  and indeed the Parasaurolophus on the Series 2 model. They are not direct copies since they are reposed and of course much cruder in detail terms but I think it's where the 'inspiration' came from.
I imagine it's a similar case of the progressive dilution of an original sculpt with the Sideshow statue ? @Stolpergeist pointed out.

Shame if the mid size version of the Dilophosaurus isn't around anymore! Although it's skinny I think it is quite nice. The colours are quite appealing on that mini one too!

[stargatedalek]

Inspiration or not, they aren't bootlegs. If this is enough similarity to be considered bootlegs than Papo figures are well and beyond being bootlegs.

[triceratops83]

I saw a ripoff of a Doug Watson Triceratops in Kmart today, in a pack also containing a Collecta Daxiatitan facsimile. Same size and everything but a lousy paintjob and seam down the middle.

[Dinoguy2]

Inspiration or not, they aren't bootlegs. If this is enough similarity to be considered bootlegs than Papo figures are well and beyond being bootlegs.

"Bootleg" means unofficial or unsanctioned / unlicensed. Nanmu and Papo figures are 100% bootlegs, even though they are original, expensive, high-quality products, because they are selling Jurassic Park designs without paying for a merchandising license from Universal. Their products are technically illegal - just because Universal hasn't sued them, doesn't change that. They're illegally selling someone else's intellectual property, and selling illegal products = bootlegging.

"Knock-off" is a cheap imitation of more expensive product. When some company copies a Papo figure and sells it for less on AliExpress, they're selling a knock-off of a bootleg 

These two terms are often used interchangably by collectors but they have very different meanings.

Something like Rebor is somewhere in the middle. They don't quite make straight-up JP copied designs (usually), like Papo and Nanmu do, but change them in some way that makes them look a little unique. So it is plagiarism, but not bootlegging.

Another way to look at it is that a knockoff is a copy of a specific figure (like the Nanmu Apatosaurus is a cheap version of the Sideshow Apatosaurus right down to pose and color), while a bootleg is an unlicensed representation, usually of of a design or character from media (the Nanmu T. rex is not based on any specific other model, but it is a new representation of the JP character produced without the OK from Universal Studios).

Something merely "inspired by" is not a bootleg or a knock-off. Sometimes it's obvious what the artist used as a reference, but that doesn't necessarily rise to the level of plagiarism. I don't think that Dilophosaurus Baryonyx posted is a knockoff or bootleg, possibly inspired by Sideshow, but honestly both it and the Sideshow ones are such generic, 2000s-2010s era representations of Dilophosaurus they could be inspired by anything.

[DragonRider02]

Transformers Collectors call companies who make original, unlicensed figures '3rd Party' while those who knock-off already excisting products are '4th Party'. I guess Papo and Nanmu could be called '3rd Party Company' when it comes to JP figures?