The Undiscovered Playthings

Here’s a relatively new set of Transforming toys. Whether these are really bootleg Transformers figures or not, I’ll leave it up to you.

Fortunately, these were pretty cheap. So I snagged some extras and (gasp!) actually took them out of the package so you could see them in ‘bot form.

Check it!

Now this is actually a pretty small package. Which probably explained why it was so cheap for me to buy. I’ve found that joints that sell bootleg toys equate size with cost. So the bigger the package a toy is on, the more expensive it is. The card these toys come mounted on measure in at about six inches by six inches.
The vehicle above is the first of three in this series. Yes, all the figures in this set come in some nice bright colors.
Did you notice how the bootleg toy makers slapped the warning label right across a pic of a robot? Yeah, that was a genius move. Something I’ve come to expect from bootleg toy makers.

This red and yellow vehicle looks like it’s supposed to be a police car. There is absolutely no detail on these cars. No stickers, no logos. Nada! Zip! Zilch!

I peeled the warning label off the top right corner of the card so you could take a look at the figure pictured on the front. I took this car out and transformed it into ‘bot mode. But I don’t get it. If these things are meant for ages 5+, then why the heck can’t I put this thing back into it’s vehicle mode? I’m completely stumped by this one.

Here’s the card back:

None of the vehicles in this set are featured on the card back. Which makes me wonder if these other figures can be had. Maybe if I keep an eye out, I’ll find them? The fire truck looks really interesting to me.
Okay, I’m not into Transformers folks. So if any of these are actual bootleg figures of any Transformers, give me a shout out and let me know. Otherwise, if it’s left to me, these things will never be identified.

These figures all stand at about 3.5 inches from head to toe. I think I put this one into it’s bot mode correctly. I tried pulling and tugging on various parts of the figure to see if there was anything I might have missed in the conversion. But nothing gave way.
Do Transformers come with weapons or any accessories? None of these figures did.

This guy I was never able to put back into vehicle mode. That yellow piece right in the middle of the figure, well, I couldn’t figure out where/how to position it back to it’s original place when it was in vehicle mode. So this guy’s gonna stay as a robot until I figure it out. I guess I’ll play around with the thing whenever I sit down to watch some TV.
By the way, these figures are really poorly made. The pieces come out of the sockets pretty easily and if they come out more than a couple of times, they never become secure again. That explains why the arms on this guy aren’t positioned into any kind of threatening position.

This figure’s my favorite of the bunch. Only cuz he looks like a bad @$$ dude that you definitely would not want to mess with. Heck! He scares me.
Best thing about this figure is that everything snapped right back into place when I put him back into vehicle mode.

Well, that’s it for this set of Transforming toys. I am so glad that these weren’t outrageously priced at the shop I discovered them at.
Maybe, just maybe someday I’ll come across a Transformer that gets me hooked on the series.

Here’s a single figure from a bootleg series that actually consists of six different figures. I only bought the one cuz, well, at four bucks a pop, I didn’t want to spend all that cash to get the whole series.
But I figure I’d give a put a little something up for any Power Rangers fans that might make their way here.

I have no idea what this figure is called in the Power Rangers lore. So I’ll just call it Pinky.
Now you’ve got to be completely blind to miss the Power Rangers theme going on here. I admit, I know nothing about the Power Rangers or any of the different Power Rangers series. I mean, when did the dinosaurs start to show up?  Not only that! These are transforming dinosaurs!

Like I said earlier, I only bought Pinky. But the card back shows the other figures in this bootleg toy series. Now when it comes to bootleg toys, usually the colors of the figures don’t match what is shown on the card. But this go round, the bootleggers got it right. As a matter of fact, they actually used their own figures in the photos.

Now Pinky measures in at a whopping nine inches if you measured her from the tip of her tail to the tip of her nose. There’s a button right on Pinky’s orange thigh. But I’m not sure if it does anything except maybe release a joint during the transformation. There’s no indication of light and sound on this thing. Plus the bootleg toy makers didn’t leave a hole in the bubble to make the button accessible.

Here’s another shot of Pinky. Nothing special that I want to point out here. Just thought you’d like to see Pinky from another angle.

Would anybody care to translate the text up above? Y’know, that drawing doesn’t look like Pinky at all. She’s not mean and ferocious looking like that. Why, she’s kind of cuddly looking if you ask me. Why would the bootleg toy makers want Pinky to look all fierce and whatnot?

Now there are tons of Power Rangers knock offs all over the place where I live. Usually I pass on them because, well, quite frankly, if you’ve seen one bootleg figure, you’ve seen them all. Now if I find a Power Rangers bootleg or knock off that’s pretty cool (like Pinky here), then I’ll at least pick up one figure for review.
There’s some other PR bootlegs that I plan on heading back to snag. I actually kind of like this particular bootleg toy series. So don’t be surprised if you find a review of another dinosaur from this bootleg toy series somewhere down the road.

I have too many bootleg toys. Seriously. I have toys I don’t even remember buying. Like the ones in this post. How I could forget I had these is beyond me.
The bootleg toys in this post are from one of my all time favorite series of books that was made into some fantastic movies. Yet I forgot I even had them? WoW! Really. Just WoW!

Now I never bought the toys from the Lord of The Rings movie. But I am pretty sure that the card art work has been taken from the original Toybiz packaging. Arwen up top comes with a sword and a Frodo card. All the figures come with a card. But the cards are put in at random. So the character in the card doesn’t match the actual figure it comes with.

Above is the Ringwraith. On the back of the card, the bootleg toy makers posted pics of all the figures in the bootleg toy series. For some reason, they did not include the Ringwraith or Arwen. Why? I guess only the bootleg toy makers know.

I think this is Pippin or it could be Merry. Not quite sure and I’ll explain why in a bit. But this guy has some kind of elbow disease. Which would explain the look of pain and anguish on his face.

Now the back of the card features other figures available in this bootleg toy series. I couldn’t find a couple of them. So I’m guessing I don’t have the complete bootleg toy series. Like I mentioned before, Arwen and the Ringwraith are not pictured on the back.
Now about my confusion as to who the hobbit I think is Pippin or Merry…  There’s a figure in the top row of five figures that is identified as Ran (or maybe Ban? I can’t tell, the text is kind of blurry on the card). Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t remember this character. So I’m leaning towards the idea that maybe the bootleg toy makers just misidentified the figure.

Now for the close ups…

This Arwen figure just gives me the creeps. Brrrrrrrr……..

I’m sorry, but did people actually pay good money for the ‘real’ Ringwraith figure? I can see why I paid for a bootleg toy (the novelty of the thing). But why would anybody want a figure with no head? I bet Toybiz got a good laugh when they created this figure. Still, I can see it being really easy to customize.

Finally, Merry, Pippin, Ran or Ban. You pick the name. Yup! This guy’s just not feeling very well. Maybe it’s the anguish of knowing he’s not a ‘real’ toy, but instead, just some cheap knockoff.

Anybody who knows anything about Hobbits, knows they have hairy feet. Well, above is a pic of the bootleg toy makers attempt at Hobbit feet. I’d give them an F for effort. But come on, at least they tried to give some detail to the feet.

Well, that’s it for this first batch of LOTR bootleg toys. More are coming and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you.
The Lord of The Rings series is one of my all time favorites. I still remember when I read The Hobbit and then found out there were more books with Hobbits. I was just a kid and the trilogy was a bit more for me to grasp. But I enjoyed it and since that initial reading, I’ve read the series five more times.
Yeah, Lord of The Rings is special to me cuz it led me to reading other fantasy series (and this from a guy who prefers science fiction!)

Well, technically, this bootleg toy set isn’t called Superman Come Back. But it’s printed on the card and gave me a good chuckle.
Anybody want to guess what Superman Come Back is actually based on? Yeah, you got it. Superman Returns.
Remember, he’s fighting for THE PEACE OF THE WORLD

I gotta tell ya, I love this packaging! It’s epic fail all around. There are stolen pics from the Superman Return movie, animated Superman and the bootleg toy makers even put in their own original toy pics on the packaging. The dinosaur (and I think it’s a figure stolen from the Power Rangers) comes with Light and Sound. Is it just me, or does it look like the dinosaur has some flames coming out of his @$$?

I love this card back. It’s one for the ages in bootleg toy history. The cheesy poses of the figures pictured on the card back crack me up.
You’ve just got to get a better look at some of these pics.

Isn’t that some funny stuff or what? Superman on a motorcycle because you know, sometimes flying just won’t cut it. Isn’t there another word for fly-horse? But then again, this fly-horse has two wheels. Wouldn’t that make it a motorcycle?

I’m digging the eyes on this figure.  The bootleg toy makers simply painted the whole eyeball blue. Would you agree with me if I said that this figure is absolutely not based on any Superman figure? Take a good look.
Heh, I’m not even gonna mention the S logo on this guy’s chest.

All I got to say about the figure above is Bwah hah hah ha! Yes folks, this is a classic Superman bootleg toy set. One for the ages.

Another failed attempt at Superman. By the way, there’s another set like this one with Superman riding a blue dinosaur. I guess there’s no need for a cape on this figure.

I forgot to take a pic of the fourth figure in this set and well, it’s a lazy summer day. So I’m gonna go outside and play. But here’s a crappy video for you to check out just so you can experience the light and sound feature of the dinosaur in this package.

Cheers!

Well, since the second  Transformers movie is coming out, I thought I’d toss out this little gem of Transformers bootlegs that will make you gawk, howl, shy away from, chuckle at, covet, examine…
I bought these a few years ago in some discount shop in a, well, in a not so well off neighborhood.
There’s a whole series of figures in this set. But I’m pretty sure these are the only two I’ve got.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I’m completely ignorant when it comes to Transformers toys. I did a quick search to see if I could find any real toys that resembled this packaging and came up with nothing. Of course, I didn’t really search too hard.
The cards aren’t your typical bootleg toy packaging with a square/rectangular shaped card and square bubble. These figures are mounted on a card that actually has angles. Imagine that! Same goes for the bubble. The packaging actually looks pretty good!
Who these figures are supposed to be? Well, I’m gonna run an image search and see what turns up.
Well friends, I had no luck. So if anybody wants to lend this poor ignorant fellow a hand, I’d appreciate any comments you drop indicating what characters these guys are supposed to be bootlegs of.

You can’t see all of the bubble, so I thought I’d show you this:

ROBOTS IN DISGUISE  That’s a Transformers theme, right? If you look really close, you’ll see SUPERDUTY HERO just above the word VEHICLES. Whatever that’s supposed to mean, I have no clue.

Ta Daaa! The back of the card.

You should see me when I’m trying to ‘transform’ transforming toys. It’s an effort in futility. These figures don’t come with any instructions, so if I had to try and transform them based on these pics, well, it would wind up being a wasted day for me. I kid you not. Chris Doyly has these Lego Knockoffs and it absolutely amazes me that he can actually construct something out of them.
It looks to me like I’ve got the figures shown in the top right and the lower left of the card back.

Want a closer look at the ‘conversion’ pics? No? Well, too bad cuz you’re getting one.

The two figures pictured above are the ones I wish I had. Oh well….

These figures don’t share the same colors as pictured on the card back. Not a problem for the red guy as I think he’s pretty cool looking. The figure pictured up top got the short end of the stick in as his main color is grey.
Both of these figures stand tall at about six inches from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet. There are no accessories included with these things. But I guess they aren’t needed since the real play value is the ability of these things to transform. It’s too bad they are bootleg toys cuz you just know that it won’t take much to break these things (assuming they can even be transformed successfully).

Nope! The title of this post is not a typo. Well, at least it’s not my typo. I only type it the way I see it.

This thing’s been in my collection for years and always gives me a good laugh whenever I look at it. I mean, come on! What were they smoking at the bootleg toy factory the  day they put the card together? Whoever set the type for the name of this thing managed to swap the A and the E. Of course they managed to compound their mistake by slapping the typo a couple more times on the card. What kind of font did the bootleggers use? Is it something they came up with on their own?
Well, enough with the name of this thing. The bootleggers managed to pack a Spider-Man figure, a Spidey themed motorcycle (with sound!) and a few leftover accessories that have been seen in other bootleg Spider-Man toys throughout the years.

The cardback features plenty of stolen images from what I imagine are a Spider-Man video game (my guess is the Spider-Man 2 video game). This set also features Poseable Rction Figure. Well, I guess an R does look sort of an A.

You know, I’ve bought some pretty rotten looking Spider-Man bootleg figures before. Most of them really bad ones I’ve come across are from our neighbors to the south. But this one is actually a miserable looking Spider-Man figure. Trust me, the picture does not do credit to the quality of this thing. If you’re curious, this Spider-Man stands tall at seven inches.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. What’s the deal with Spider-Man and motorcycles? It’s not like Peter Parker could really afford one, could he? I certainly don’t remember a motorcycle like this one in the Spider-Man 2 movie. Although looking at this thing, it would’ve been pretty darn cool. Of course, the bootleg toy makers have used this motorcycle before. The same bike with some small changes were featured in THIS bootleg toy from years past. (if you missed it, click on the word THIS).
There’s access to a button on the motorcycle (right above the TRY ME), but when I push it, nothing happens. I am pretty sure it’s not a failure on the toy’s part. Most likely the battery just died. Unfortunately, I don’t remember what happens when the button gets pushed.

So that’s it for the Spidar-Men 2 bootleg set. This thing is certainly has one of the most memorable bootleg toy line names that I’ve ever come across.

Not even the girls toys can escape the hands of the bootleg toy makers! This two piece set that I have (which is obviously part of a larger set) was picked up so long ago, I forgot I even had them. When I pulled these things out of the box, at first glance, I thought they might be real toys.
After all, I don’t buy girly girl toys. I buy manly man toys.
So I flipped the package over and what I saw was enough to convince me these were not the real deal.
Look! See!

Yes folks, even that cute little character Strawberry Shortcake can’t hide from the gaze of the bootleg toy makers. Sure enough, it seems like most words with more than one syllable just can’t be copied correctly. The bootleg toy makers  even misspelled Strawberry Shortcake two different ways.

So let’s take a look at the package that had me fooled at first.

These look pretty darn good huh? The bubbles a little soft, but other than that, well, it could probably fool anybody who wasn’t paying attention.
Now I had one heck of a time finding out anything about this Strawberry Shortcake series of figures. Turns out they were made in 2003 by Bandai. The line of toys was called (I think) Berry Cute Girls “Strawberry Shortcake with Berry Tote”

Each package comes with one figure, tote bag, hat and hairbrush.

I don’t have the Strawberry Shortcake figure. I guess at the time I wasn’t interested in picking up all the figures in the set or maybe these were the only two available. I honestly don’t remember.

Ginger snap pictured above really doesn’t look too bad for a bootleg toy. If I’ve got the toy line right, the figures were supposed to be berry scented. I’m guessing the bootlegger didn’t bother with that ‘feature’. If I ever took these out of the package, I know I wouldn’t bother giving them a whiff. I’ve actually picked up bootleg toys that can smell pretty darn bad. No, I wasn’t trying to smell them. The scent just emanated from the toy.

Below is Orange Blossom.

If I had to guess based on the back of the card, this figure is supposed to be a black child. I don’t quite think the bootleggers got the color of the character’s skin quite right. I think the pants are supposed to be yellow instead of the faded white pants this figure is sporting.

Above is a full shot of the back of the package. The original toys were made by Bandai, but there’s no sign anywhere of the company. That my friends, is the biggest giveaway that these are counterfeit toys. Yeah, the copyright and trademark info is also non-existant. But I’m guessing there were more than a few young ladies who were probably disappointed if their parents showed up with these nuggets of plastic for them to play with.

Well, you’ve seen Mr. Incredible in the Incredible Family bootleg toy line. Here are a couple more members of the Incredible family. While the packaging is similar, there are some small differences between the two bootleg toy packages.

This set features two of the Incredible children. Dash and Violet. If I have to point out who’s who to you, then you should walk away from the computer and go rent the movie.
The packaging differs from the Mr. Incredible bootleg figure that is packaged under the Incredible Family bootleg toy line in that the Mr. Incredible package was a bit oversized when compared to this set. By the way, If you look close behind the bubble. you can see hints of white text. That’s where it says Incredible Family. Leave it to the bootleg toy makers to not really care too much about the quality of the package. Heh, evidence of the poor quality of the bubble can be seen on the left hand side. The bubble got smashed pretty easily just sitting at the bottom of a box of figures.

Here’s the back side of the package:

Neato burrito! Maybe part of the reason I enjoyed The Incredibles so much is cuz of all the neat colors. Note the typical lack of trademark or copyright information. I wonder what would come up if the bar code at the bottom right of the packaged was scanned at a local department store?

Dash:

Folks, I really really tried to take a good shot of Dash for you. Heh, okay, I lied. I had actually drank a couple of margaritas prior to snapping the pics in this post. Folks, I make one hell of a margarita! Friends come from miles around just to have one.
Dash, by the way, stands about four inches tall. You just gotta love the eyes on this guy, don’t ya think?

Violet:

Yes, there is an eye under that hair covering the face. This chick looks like she had some seriously good drugs. Actually, if you forget my mentioning the drugs, this figure looks like a good friend’s daughter. Except for the skinny part. My friend’s kid isn’t quite as skinny as this figure is. Viloet stands about five and a half inches tall. If you go back up to the first pic in this post and take a good look at this figure. You can just tell this bootleg version of Violet is not meant to last long in the hands of any child. I mean, the legs are as thick at a toothpick.
Yup! If a small child got their hands on this thing, then you could just count down the seconds (10, 9, 8, 7, 6…) before you would have a crying baby in hearing range. Of course, a bootleg toy that breaks really fast isn’t something to complain much about. After all, it keeps the kid from getting any of the probable lead infested paint into their mouths.
And that would be a good thing.

Well, if it’s got the word INCREDIBLE in it, it can only mean one thing. It’s not! At least, not in the bootleg toy world. But today’s effort by the bootleg toy makers is actually a semi-decent Mr. Incredible figure.
Come take a look…

See what I mean? This isn’t too shabby looking. I mean, if you can ignore the packaging (the fact that part of the text on the package is covered by the bubble doesn’t really affect the toy, does it?), then this is one good looking figure. Maybe it’s just cuz Mr. Incredible is so awesome looking? What are those round things that come with the figure? Pogs? Are Pogs still around or does that just show how old this figure really is?

Just look at the back of the package! All those colors! It’s so pretty. Of course, can you over look the fact that the bootleg toy makers stole all the artwork that’s pictured on the card back? Hey, don’t forget to COLLECTIONS THEM ALL!

Here’s a closer look at Mr. Incredible. By the way, I don’t know why, but every time I started to type Mr. Incredible, it came out as Mr. Fantastic. I have to go back and fix it each time.

Ain’t he just awesome? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. You’re probably thinking the same thing I am. It looks good. But how many times can the arms be moved around before this counterfeit toy breaks? My guess? Not long. Of course, let’s not forget about the lead that may or may not be in the paint that covers this figure.
But lookie, lookie, this thing’s got the ’shine’ effect. Yup! That’s the infamous LED in the chest that the bootleg toy makers have made their tradmark signature. Aw, who am I kidding? Bootleg toy makers and trademark could never ever be associated together.
Wouldn’t it be something if a ‘real’ toy came out with the LED in the chest and the bootleg toy makers tried to sue the ‘real’ toy company? That would be a hoot!

Here’s another oldie but goodie. Heh, I keep digging up stuff I forgot I ever had.
This is definitely from the late 1990s. It’s a repackaging of some figures I posted a short while ago. Or is it the other way around and that other series is a repackaging of this set?
Well, who cares? Behold Bathero!

The splash of text looks like Spanish. But I honestly don’t recognize that first word. Still, I think I  can decipher it.  To me, it looks like  “Special promotion with Stickers” If you look close at the package, behind the figures you can see an image of Riddler and maybe Poison Ivy. That’s a loose insert in the box that I suspect is the set of stickers. Sorry, I’m keeping this thing mint (yeah, yeah, I know. A bootleg toy in mint condition. What am I thinking?). Hey! I’ve had it all these years and never opened it up. Why would I start now?

Here’s the back of the box:

Yeah, the pics on the package are kind of cheesy looking. But this thing is actually pretty well packaged for a bootleg toy. If I saw it a store, I would definitely have to look twice before realizing that this is a bootleg toy. What’s the giveaway? Well, the typical lack of copyright/trademark information anywhere on the box.

Sigh. I wish I remember how much I paid for this.
Oh! If you’re looking for close ups of the figures, well, you can find them in this review.