2013 TOP BOOTLEG Collectibles in the Philippines

I’d be lying if I said bootlegs aren’t sold in the Philippines. A lot of these bootlegs, fakes, counterfeits or whatever you call it, also came from other countries or companies that reproduce the originals and placed in under their brands. Filipinos on the other hand, has a very big community of toy enthusiasts and collectors, and the boom of bootlegs and their increase in quality surely does catch their eye. Sold in malls and even geeky events, these things are really spread out.

Why do people buy bootlegs or fake ones? There are a lot of explanations and debates surrounding it. A lot of people consider quality, price and even one’s morals regarding purchasing them. We’re not gonna discuss the morals of buying pirated goods and bootlegs, but we would like to tell anyone not to buy or not to patronize buying bootlegs. Think about the people behind the toys and the characters, they need our support. More support means more quality, and the possibility of lower prices. If we can’t afford something, or we just think the item’s overpriced – then DON’T BUY. That simple act sends a message already. If we continue to patronize fake stuff, the manufacturers of the original ones will suffer losses and may stop production, thus everyone loses.

Today, we’re listing down some of the bootleg’d brands we see more and more especially last year. We can see them in malls, events and even from street peddlers .. so BEWARE!

Kotobukiya ArtFX New 52 - When DC comics did a reboot of their entire universe and called it New 52, we saw big changes in our favorite DC heroes. This meant new toys and statues for fans, and Kotobukiya one of the leading manufacturers in the world, created their New 52 ArtFX line. Unfortunately, we also did see the rise of its counterfeit.  We’ve seen a lot of bootleg statues, but this one looks okay but not as good as the original. For half the price (around 1,000 pesos) you can get this bootleg, but the paintjob is bad and with unknown materials used it might break easily. So beware in buying them especially from scammers! 

Funko POP! - Vinyl figures were a big thing last year, and after Mighty Muggs there came the Funko POP! ones. They showcase characters from comics, movies and tv shows. They’re quite getting popular, and the quality is evidently increasing bit by bit with new releases. Fake ones have bad paint jobs by the way, and you can tell it’s definitely tell it’s fake because of the box and figure’s color, and of course it’s more than half the price.

Nendoroid – the famous ‘chibi’ line of figures from Good Smile Company. Bootlegs of this line are seen almost anywhere. They’re based on our favorite anime, comic books, etc.. and are definitely cute! But you know what’s not cute? — Buying them. Fake Nendoroids are a bit easy to spot though (check out the bottom of the page for some tips). (image source)

Gundam / Gunpla - TT Hongli, Dragon Momoko, Daban, MC Model, GHD are some of the brands that are non-official Gundam manufacturers. Some of them are China or Taiwan-made, and there are rumors that some of them are even subsidiaries of BANDAI (makers of official Gunpla). There is strong debate in the community regarding bootleg Gundams, especially for practice, customizing and as a good starting point in building model kits. The main difference between the original? Paint and and superior materials used – especially the plastic. Lastly, not all of the bootleg makers carry all the designs.  (image source)

LEGO - this brand has seen a very good rise in the local market, even if competitors like Kre-O is  popping up as well. LEGOs have been with us since our childhood, the only difference is the price. No doubt one might think they’re really over priced – a little plastic toy that costs around 400-700 pesos individually; And sets that reach to more than  10,000 pesos?  Today there are a lot of bootleg LEGOs around, I even saw some street peddlers selling them. They can go as low as 50-70 pesos and most of them really look cheap. But there is quality and value in this construction toys that almost everybody loves. So don’t go buying that Fake Anakin LEGO, because it might include a different figure – like a Han Solo one (see image below)

If you’re not sure if what you’re looking at are bootlegs or fakes, a little research would help. Here are some factors that would help you in spotting the fake ones:

• Paint and Color — Some fakes are shiny and event sticky. Some of them doesn’t even match the original one’s at all!
• Color and Print of the box — Discoloration and low quality prints on the box are factors too.
• Seal of Authenticity – Most original figures go through quality checks, and some boxes have authenticity stickers on them.
• Joints / Articulation – Some fakes lack some articulation compared to the original ones. Some of the materials used in articulation are not that good. This might be hard spotting for some bootleg items, so make sure you check out the figure and even ask if you can inspect the figure itself before buying it.
• Price – If you want to buy a figure, research it’s price. If someone is selling it for a very low price it might be fake, but people can also sell them for a bigger sum. So, beware and take into account some of the factors listed above.

There you have it! Hope we gave you new knowledge regarding bootlegs that are sold locally and hope you guys use this information so that you won’t be scammed. 2013 really did see a lot of bootlegs around the market, and this year we’re not sure yet if there’ll be an increase or decrease. But just don’t forget – we might give in to the temptation of buying the cheaper bootlegs/fake ones, but we must never patronize them and as much as possible - only buy original items!

If you want to submit ideas or images of fake items you’ve seen locally, you may send them to submissions@flipgeeks.net !