So this morning, I come into work at my cubicle and check my emails. And oddly enough, just for the heck of it, instead of auto-deleting, I checked my home spams to find an “Anime Figure” email from another collector: “H-Gurl”. Definitely not your typical spam! And guess what? Her email was simply a friendly message complimenting my collection and noting some “red flags” concerning possible bootlegs or fakes in my collection. With my Tessa Testarossa (Full Metal Panic!), I agreed with her assessment, not to mention the scratches, deformities and poor finish. But for such a scarce version at the time, paying $1 or $2 (plus shipping) on ebay was better than nothing…
With my Gothloli Asuka (Neon Genesis Evangelion), also scarce at the time, I was also disappointed at the too-shiny finish. But again, better than nothing. In fact, H-Gurl gave a more-detailed comparison, including features on the figure box itself. For example, she noted: “If you look at your Gothloli Rei, the Gainax holographic sticker on front reflects heavily when photographed or exposed to light. The Gothloli Asuka sticker should do the same.”
Regarding the “fake” Asuka: “(1) Her lower eyelashes are longer than the original. (2) The color of her hair is a different shade of orange entirely, and the sculpt is slightly thicker on the tips of her hair. (3) Her skin has a gloss to it that is not present in the authentic, and has a very cheap plastic look about it. (4) Her skin color is also almost a tan color, unlike the original who is pretty pale. (5) The tip of the white ruffle on her shirt is not low enough into her bust. (6) Also, with fakes, the paint is of a cheaper quality, and can easily chip or fade off… (7) When you get the authentic you will probably notice that the fake is somewhat smaller. It seems most fake versions are thinned out from poor recasting.” And I only asked her about the sticker, hahaha.
But I told her that even knowing what I know now, she didn’t have to go to all of this trouble. Risk comes with the territory, right? If I screw up, I screw up, lol. I’m just concerned with saving for the next figure! And my “fake” Asuka will now gain a “new status” as a great conversation piece as I wait for my newly pre-ordered “genuine” Asuka to ship this August-September 2007, hehe. In any case, I appreciate her willingness to inform other collectors. Thanx, H-Gurl!
Now for anyone else, this post isn’t meant to scare anyone into inaction. The Genshiken mantra is: Just buy what you like, right? But if you’re interested in more information about bootleg or fake figures, check out the websites that H-Gurl frequent: (1) ZEROtype Forums and (2) Nuts for Anime Figures (NAF). Now for H-Gurl, here are the GAINAX sticker photos you requested. The first 4 shots come from the “fake” Gothloli Asuka box, and the last 4 shots come from the “genuine” Gothloli Rei box. Despite everything, are both stickers genuine?
Hello again! ^_^
Thanks for making this article!
After seeing a close up of the Asuka sticker, I do see something else off with it.
Notice how the “G” in authentic Rei sticker is spaced?
It almost touches the edge of the sticker.
The authentic “G” also looks to have a different font style, which is thicker.
The authentic sticker looks like it has lots of broken glass shards in it, and these are what make the holographic effect.
The fake sticker has different font spacing, font style, and is not reflecting in the same manner at all.
Photo of the same green sticker on one of my authentic figures.
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t194/authenticfigurebox/misc/100_2964.jpg
Your Rei figure & sticker is certainly authentic!
Oh, and this is the forum I visit most often!
http://forums.zero-type.com/index.php
The NAF site is a great resource as well however! ^_^
LOL, no problem, thanx for the insights! Btw, I edited the last paragraph to include the other site, lol. :)
Hello.
I also frequesnt those sites, and it’s nice to see you’ve understood the world of fakes that is out there. As a true collector of figures, I don’t like fakes one bit, and maybe I too have the fake Asuka, but the sculpt is better than yours. Just check around Zero-type to see my collection to view the figure.
I once bought the eBcraft Saber at such a cheap price, but I didn’t know it was fake until I decided to take it apart, like a Japanese website said you could. It was then that I saw that it was fake, as mine was not painted underneath, but was just blue. Now, of course, you can see there’s a ton of fakes on eBay, so I steer clear of eBay for figures (unless it’s a trusted seller).
Either way, Asuka re-release is preordered, so I get two of her if the one I have now ends up authentic! ^^
Btw, I also frequent NAF forums, under the “greatkazooman” handle. See you around! ^^
Thanx! Haha, looks like not only myself and H-Gurl, but you’ve pre-ordered Asuka as well!
Personally, while disappointing, I don’t mind “fakes” too much. Which brings up an interesting point: I don’t really think of myself as a “true” or “untrue” collector, just a collector. But man, I’ve visited figure forums (like the one at http://www.e2046.com/ ) where custom-made resin collectors seem to look down on PVC collectors, lol! :)