Buyer Beware: Generation 1 Knock Off Carded Constructicons

Got the email...
As requested, price & pics withheld.

STAFF EDIT:
Anyone interested in buying vintage G1 items beware, there are new high quality knock offs out on the market.

Constructicons

We urge our readers to use caution when purchasing vintage items on the secondary market. Make sure to educate yourselves on the product and be aware whether the item you are interested in purchasing is an authentic item or a knock off.

so...... your not going to post pics? You already posted the email, might as well post pics!

Well, the email requested that no one do it, so I was holding back on them out of respect for the sender...if a board official says it's ok, I will.

how much will it cost?

Wow! Thanks for all of the info.

Damn people...I am just letting you know that it's coming soon...if you are on the mailing list, you'll see the pics and the price. I didn't put them in because the seller who sent the email asked for them not to be posted on a board.

Hell....here it is......
$80

ccccccccccooooooooooooooollllllllllll

I'm not going to buy it because I already have Devastator but they look nice

These look really nice. Where can I get a set?

nice and yes people chill out honestly as he was asked not to and it was on the email he posted he should not have been pressured to post the pics

Another "Hoooooly moooooly" on my part. Those look great, and judging by the pics, these are quality "replicas" like Mirage. But $80? I think $60 is a more appropriate price.

Considering that I once got a near-complete, near-mint vintage Devastator for around 60 bucks, I'm inclined to agree.

Me too. A very nice and complete Devastator can be had for about what these KO's sell for, I really don't see the point.

I asked for this at the KO maker a year ago.
Glad to see my wishes have been heard!
Ordered!

I couldnt stand knowing that i had a fake devastator in my collection, no matter how well it was duplicated.
and i agree Houndvoice, you can go on ebay and get a REAL devastator for the price. Knocks offs, i dont get it.

Anyone interested in buying vintage G1 items beware, there are new high quality knock offs out on the market. The latest in the KO world are carded G1 Constructicon figures, and carded Micromaster teams.

Constructicons

Micromasters

We urge our readers to use caution when purchasing vintage items on the secondary market. Make sure to educate yourselves on the product and be aware whether the item you are interested in purchasing is an authentic item or a knock off.

Ugh!
KO's trying to be the real thing.. I hate that... Ioffer.com.. I hate that even worse! I'll never ever use that site again.

Those micromaster sets look spot on.

Anybody care to explain the differences between the KO and originals?

Wow, that is actually very nice. Price is a bit high, but nice nonetheless.

Wasn't this reported yesterday?

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transf...le-carded.html

I don't know..I use Ioffer all the time, and I love the KO's. I've always had great experiences with them..I already have the original Gen-1 guys..Now I get them all nice and boxed up like.

I need Hook! But definitely is not Knock Off...!!!

And this right here is why AFA/CSG will continue to make money like crazy. People that want the originals will have to start buying graded items to tell the real originals from the KOs, unless there are some glaring flaws/issues that I'm not seeing that someone can tell me about.

how can you tell if the micromaster set is KO?

I saw a bunch of them at eBay (exact same item) and what I think is european TF packaging (CMIIW)

I'm curious about this because my local store (I'm in Indonesia) carry the micromaster set for about 8 us each.

The look legit on first glance (I guess that's the problem with 'perfect' KO, eh?)

oh and I think I know the seller from ebay: It's sad to say that I have.. troublesome experience with him (and he's expensive, imo)

Hey Ruination04, i sent oyu a pm and was hoping you could help me. Any chance you could pm me with the seller's email address, or just put it up here? Thanks!

Man, I hate KOs. Looking at the three micromaster teams, weren't those the same that BBTS offered from a warehouse find? Not that I would ever think that BBTS, a store I've had nothing but good experiences with, sold KO junk intentionally, but it's a strange coincidence. Perhaps the stuff offered by the "please don't post this mail or my scam might be ruined" seller was molded after the items found in the warehouse?

These are crap. You can see how cheap the bubbles are they are practically falling off the cards already. This would explain why there are so many carded constructicons on Ebay recently. Why not support the US economy by buying a legit open one from ebay for less? i don't get it these are so overpriced! More cheap chinese plastic crap.

I'm honestly torn. Being on the receiving end of a KO sham and getting an incredibly junky yellow Cliffy with passable Beachcomber and Hubcap, I would rather have some way of knowing if I'm getting the original. The Blue Bluestreak coming out is a different matter, as we know that there was never a blue Bluestreak released in G1 packaging. However, if these are as high quality as some would lead us to believe, I might consider it. I just want to know up front if I'm getting official product or repro.

That has been the main problem I have seen with these G1 replicas. Several times I have had to reglue the bubbles myself to maintain my "MISB" look. After all is done, they look really good next to my Encores, TFC's, Comm. Series, etc.

Although this particular email did not come from KOtoys, GenZhao (Mike) said he would have them available soon.

Those Micros are most likely legit. They're the same teams from the warehouse find and the cards look to be in the same warped condition. Look at the way the light hits the cards. I have all three sets and they are not recently made. The card stock is bent at the corners, and when you open them up there is even a bit of corrosion on the screws.

Since the warehouse find there would be no profit in knocking these off at any rate. You want to make bank on small TFs, the Headmaster repro people are way ahead of you.

IMO, those constructicons which are no doubt the same Zhong Jin-produced ones as those in the giftset are of a lesser quality than the originals. Some joints being to tight to move, others floppy-loose and chrome so thick legs, like Long Hauls, won't straighten. Suffice it to say, I was disappointed after hearing a lot of folks talking up the quality on some of these KOs.

I'm inclined to agree. I saw a MOSC set of them in hand last summer and besides being on a bilingual card, they're the same as the US figures; no errors, manufacturing differences (card or figures) that I could see.

The dead giveaway is the missing asst. # that should appear to the right of the bubble in the bottom right hand corner. These are shamelessly produced; notice how they cleverly placed the figure in front of the hasbro logo. cough cough. Zhong-jin may you burn in gobot hell.

I doubt the micromasters are kos. More likely dead stock...

I agree on the Micros, these look identical to the ones I picked up at Auto Assembly in August in terms of the card creases and the corrosion you mentioned. They're legit.

SON OF A BITCH!!!! I bought all 3 sets from BBTS a couple weeks back. The condition of my cards suggests they are real (as some have said). Here's hoping I didn't just get scammed.

You're probably fine. They wouldn't have gone to the trouble to try and make them look 20 years old, and THEN list them as KOs.

I just cancelled an ebay deal with those micromasters:
G1 Hot rod patrol
G1 Military patrol
G1 Monster truck patrol

All were multi-lingual cards.

All 3 cards together they were BIN $47.45, so you can easily find out who the seller is. The seller also had no less than 10 sets available... They were cool about me cancelling the deal though.

I've no idea if they're KO's or not, but I didn't want to risk it. Though IF they're KO's, the sellers won't be making much of a profit.

Just to inform you guys, research what you're (maybe not) buying!

I bought those MM sets last year. I see such nagging and hell raising here concerning these figures it's absolutely laughable. Their quality is top notch, if they are KOs (which I think they are not) they are EXCELLENT KOs, as there is no difference between them and my original MMs from childhood, apart from tight joints on these "new" MMs.

I understand the feeling certain people have for KOs, but getting the afforementioned Hot Rod patrol (be it a legit or KO) for that kind of money is a steal. I've been searching for that team, on and off for years, and that set came as a god send, so I personaly don't care.

I also think that people that raise such a ruckus over KOs should ask themselves why do they collect tfs. If it is to relive their childhood and have the figures they always wanted as kids, I see no problem in getting KOs that are worth the price they going for. Calling every KO as junk shows how much the person calling them such knows about the whole matter and should just simply shut up.

come on, ko's suck man. i personally wouldnt want a toy trying to be a hasbro/takara toy, i want the real thin. why anyone would spent 60 to 80 and more on a ko just blows my mind. there are so many good ORIGINAL tf's out there that people are parting with, just buy those man. support the general economy and dont get ripped off.

its because some people are capable of creating KOs like this: basically a replica. great quality, sometimes tighter joints than you can find with a used g1 toy. the look and feel of it being "new".

Knock off doesnt always mean those cheap, scaled down, badly painted, fragile, non-poseable toys you find at a dollar store or big lots

Well I haven't seen 6 carded original constructicons for 80 bucks for a while.
Link please??

I don't know a thing about the MMs and really don't care for them. I just wanted to report the news on the upcoming Constructicons. I have the KO gift set and I love it. It goes great with my others as I have said before.
I wish poeple would quit saying how you can get a loose complete original for the same price. I don't want that so quit saying that! Give me an original authentic MISB Devastator gift set for $80 and we'll talk. Until then, I am fine with KOs that look like the real thing filling in holes where I can't afford the real one. Or where a reissue simply does not/can not exist.
I do feel bad for people who get tricked into thinking they are authentic however.

Well, I do need a G1 Devs to stick all those CrazyDevy pieces on to... hrm.

Maybe cheaper for originals on the bay.

As has been stated OVER AND OVER, some people want the genuine article, some are happy with a copy of it.
For me, a KO, no matter the quality, is just junk. I wouldn't pay a $ for it. Please respect that, as I respect people 'accepting' it as original.
To be lured into buying a KO set on ebay fex, for me that's the ultimate problem. I've got no problem with KO's that openly identify themselves as such, but the recent release of G1 cars has me quite annoyed.
It is a REAL problem for people trying to collect the real article.

Is THAT so hard to understand???

I understand perfectly people who collect for collecting's sake, and want their collection to be pure original.

I understand the problem of KOs being advertised as originals, but since the "purists" know what they're looking for, I see no problem in getting themselves informed a little more on which are KOs and which are original. That can only enhance the end feeling of owning an original piece. So I absolutely see no reason why their is so much crying over the new KO releases, unless people want to own and brag about the original collection with as little effort as posible. Which blows the whole point of collecting IMO.

And sorry, I do hate to get technical, but the definition of junk certainly doesn't fit my G1 Sandstorm bootleg or the MM patrols I bought last year (if they are KOs) or any other KO/bootleg I have on display. I can certainly make a difference between what is junk and what is isn't when KOs and bootlegs are in question. Since you haven't "dirtied your hands" with such "junk", you have no authority to express your opinion on any KO/bootleg figure unless you actualy had an on-hand experience with them or their quality is a wide-spread knowledge.