Ok, thanks to Jason Jupiter I got my hands on a set of the reproductions that are flooding the market right now. I wanted a set so I could do a comparison to help people from getting screwed over. Here are some comparison shots of the following: Spike, Lord Zarak, Black Zarak lord Zarak.
Here we go:
first of all is
Lord Zarak, reproduction is on the left( the eyes are fuzzy and not as tight as the original, the details are actually sharper than my original, also my repro had a rounded head where as the original is squared off)


reproduction is on the right (Spike the eyes are more darker yellow on the original, also the blue is darker on the reproduction)




With all of them you can mainly tell by the rivets. The original is smooth and is actually a rivet. The reproduction is more of a metal rod that has been drilled to mushroom the head.

I hope this helps. I am gonna break down and buy the Japanese head masters and do a comparison to help. If anyone has good pictures send them to me and I'll list them. We need all the help we can get to prevent people from selling them as originals. Once again I have no problem with repros as long as people sell them as such.
MegaMus

 

Hey if anyone can get pics of an original Grand Max Spike so I can do a comparison. I got a reproduction grand max spike but I don't have an original. I just need close up shots of the details just like I did with the legs extended in both modes. I would also like a shot of the female rivet end.
thanks MegaMus

 

i am sooooo frickin glad my fort max came with his spike.......i don't have to worry about it being a reproduction

 

Thanks for doing this Megamus.

Also on the Spike notice how on the chest details (around the bicep area) the original has boxes that are angled on the top of the box while on the repro the tops of the box detail are flat.

 

Great pics and comparison megamus.

I just wish the manufacturers would mark these as KOs, maybe with a simple "KO" stamp, so even noobs and folks not browsing forums can ID these themselves. If that ever happens I'll consider buying some KOs.

 

at least until some one decides to KO/Repro Cerebros which hasa fair chance of happening eventually

 

nice megamus, i think the best way of telling any of the headmaster repros now are by the rivets.

on the japanese shuffler fake they used different rivets, cobra zartan pointed out some differences in colors and the eyes are hand painted instead of screened.

 

Cool, I am hoping someone can get me pics of the Japanese Reproductions so I can add them here. thanks again Bro

 

I can take photos of the shufflers after work dec 24th

Shuffer is missing his takara 87 stamp, blue on elephant eyese is a lighter shade and is handpainted the red on the robot eyes is also hand painted.


The details on the zarak I was given are also hand painted.

 

I have tried over and over to get a shot of the date stamp on my legit shuffler but I cant get a decent photo

 

..best I could do


LEGIT



KO

 

where can i get these????

 

You need a macro lens. If I have time, I'll try to take pics of the stamps tonight.

 

Very practical thread guys...
Keep em coming  

 

what are these heads? im new so i never seen these heads before. are these parts which came with the original g1 80s transformers sets? or are they something sold separately to add onto current transformers? so what i mean is how did the originals 80s came?

 

The originals were indeed produced by Takara in the 80's. The came in little boxes and were exclusive to Japan only. They are very hard to find and usually go for big money especially Shuffler. They also came in chase colors of white which go for insane money. I started this thread because the reproductions are so close that I wanted to make sure people could identify them. I believe the differences are mainly the stampings and the rivets. Although without the others in hand I cannot make a good comparison yet. If anyone knows where I can get the other reproductions LMK. I just want them for photos so if you have good close up photos that will work also.

 

thanks for the info, anyone has pics of the originals? in the box/package the way they came in. i want see what the package looks like. so what were these for? i didnt see headmasters yet. so are they add ons to the original toys? or just same parts but recolored variants? btw did they come as a set in the 80s? or sold separately?

 

Cobra Island Toys - Transformer Archive the rest are in there too, but they were sold separately, there are white versions, that were given away with throttlebots (i think)

 

try taking a picture using a magnifying glass directly infront of the lens.

 

thanks for the info, was these sold on card back in the 80s? or did each of the headmaster heads come with a transformer?