Baby’s First Knock Off
We finally done did it.
We bought a fake!
After 10+ years of collecting, a combination of being quite sleepy and very excited to meet one of my favorite Power Rangers blinded me. Also just my general very loud love for Team Rocket. I was just so tired of James being alone on my shelf! He needed Jessie!
So now he has Jessie…but not the right one.
Also let’s just ignore the irony that my beloved crime group were the ones to do me dirty.
David and I went to a convention on July 15th down in Atlanta because some Power Rangers were gunna be there–Wes and Eric from Time Force, Koda from Dino Charge and Andros from In Space. We were very excited to meet these guys so admittedly we were distracted and very tired. David and I both stared at this Jessie for a hot minute before I eventually bought it for $55, $60 after tax which is at least it’s usual price. I was just excited and in a ‘Treat Your Self!” mood. Stuffed her in my bag, went and met all our rangers and so forth.
We left and drove off. Now it’s Atlanta at lunch time so we immediately hit traffic. So I pull out Jessie to look at her–I’m doing my post con instagram of what I did at the con so was gunna get a picture of her! I noticed the thin strip of black under Jessie’s skirt and that it was too high right away but though maybe it was one of those PVC toys with different pieces that snap together so maybe it shifted up. I didn’t remember if James did this or not. (He doesn’t) I looked at Wobbuffet and that’s when I knew she was a fake!
For reference, here’s her legit figure on BBTS
I KNEW that the Wobbuffet didn’t have a seam on it. I don’t have a LOT of anime statues but I do have enough to know that they love to cleverly hide seams or avoid them if possible. I pulled her out of the box and yeah, it was official. They done got me.
Here’s a look at her paint job and details versus my James who is a legit
Stand side by side: Purple is legit, Pink is Fake
Legit stand has copyright information
Fake does not have copyright information
Here is my legit James that David got me for Christmas!
As you can see he is well painted with some blushing details! The paint is matte and the white of his uniform is closer to cream
More shots of the shading/blushing on his uniform
Here is my Fake Jessie
One, her skirt is fucked. But you can also see the pure white costume with zero detailing or blushing.
More shots of the terrible paint job and inconsistent paint materials
Head comparisons: Again, James is painted matte and as you can mildly see here, Jessie is painted with a semi-gloss
Comparison of James head to his neck--see where the paint is consistent?
Jessie head to neck comparison. Not consistent. Head is semi-gloss and neck is matte.
Another shot where Jessie didn't adjust her skirt back down when she stood up.
It was quite difficult to get Jessie on her stand. The pegs were too far apart and slightly too big. So she loves a lot.
James locks into his stand much easier and has a far smaller gap
Side by side: Fake Jessie, Real James. Get prepared for some fake trouble? Or be unprepared for some legit trouble?
Damaged and terrible Wobbuffet
Wobbuffet's nasty seam
And here’s their boxes! I don’t know enough about how knock offs are made but it seems like they had the legit box outside of that sticker. And the legit mold but not the painting team obviously. It does make you realize just how much work really does go into these collectables and how much of an artists hand is there.
Front
Megahouse sticker
No sticker
Compared to Legit James FRONT
Compared to Legit James BACK
Compared to Legit James SIDE
Compared to Legit James TOP
Learn from us, don’t shop sleepy!