Headmaster Spike: The Real Deal or Dangerous New Knockoff?
Just under two weeks ago, I received an excellent second chance offer (well, by eBay standards, anyway) for a Headmaster Spike from a European seller with a 100% positive feedback rating. I received it earlier today and, while initially elated, I'm now suddenly paranoid that I might've had a fast one pulled on me, so I'm asking you fine gentlemen (and ladies) your opinion.
This is the culprit whose identity is to be verified:
When I got home from the post office, I compared Spike to my existing Headmasters:
Heightwise, the difference is negligible. However, his limbs don't seem to be made of the same type of plastic as most of the others. It's not shiny and smooth, it's slightly coarse, just like Grax's (Skullcruncher's partner). Also, the paint applications on Cerebros' eyes and on Spike's face are pretty damn sloppy, the former especially so. If this is real, then whoever was on duty that day at the Hasbro toy factory must've had shaky hands. Also, the screw holding the two halves of the body together is a metallic black, not shiny like with the other Headmaster exosuits.
On the other hand, the level of detail is excellent, as is the overall quality. The sprue breakoff points are clearly visible, so if this is a knockoff, it was definitely mass-produced. I've seen pictures of one of the old Transrepro versions of Spike up close and it looks nowhere near as nice as this does.
I've attached some additional pictures. Can anyone on this board who owns a real Spike tell me if I got lucky or if I got screwed? Thanks...
I'm comparing the pics to my Spike and the eyes and screw in the back are different. This might be a reproduction piece.
The screw in the back is silver with a more rounded head, while yours appears to be black with a flat head. The eyes look bad too. There are no smears on mine.
The screw in the back is silver with a more rounded head, while yours appears to be black with a flat head. The eyes look bad too. There are no smears on mine.
I noticed these differences as well. However, I've seen bad paint applications on Transformers before, so that could swing things either way. That screw really bothers me, though...
The moulding detail doesn't seem nearly as sharp as it does on my original; also the paint on the eyes does seem really sloppy.
One BIG thing, however, is Spikes chest. You see the indented details on his chest section (in line with the 3 lines on his upper arms)? The tops of those should angle inwards. They don't on yours. Look at the photo of Spike on TFU here: Fortress Maximus (1987) - Autobot Headmaster Leader - www.tfu.info
and you can see what I mean.
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