curious character on Ebay

Roland da Thompson Gunner · **Joined:** Fri Jul 04, 2008 1:01 am

Welcome to July everyone! :-D

Mike T. wrote:

There are at least 3 sets of the Cobra Trooper molds that are currently being used for various bootleg figures. None of them are on par with vintage Joes in terms of quality, but the figures in these auctions and the other manufacturer from Asia are decently done and worthy of addition to any collection. The molds are slightly smaller than the original. And, as such, can not wear vintage backpacks. But, it's a small price to pay for a chance to get these obvious figures that Hasbro simply thumbed their corporate nose at. I have at least 11 different color versions of these bootlegs in various flavors and they are the only thing really keeping me around these days.

The seller's in Asia have far closer to Hasbro quality figures than Black Major's, however Major has a whole shwack of colours unavailible elsewhere. The Desert Scorpion Soldier is probably the best quality of the custom figures I've got, the Asian Crimson Guard soldier is pretty swell too, I haven't had the Black (with Gold Cobra) arrive yet, and I can't find Stinger and Snow Serpent styles. However it's a bit of misnomer to call them "Asian" as they've been availible from other places too

Also Mike you forgot to mention that the ones being sold by American sellers have smaller footholes and can't fit on a Vintage footpeg and have a far more shallow than the other versions.

Jay wrote:

cabanajack wrote:

That's dissapointing to hear about the backpacks not fitting. Can they hold traditional guns?

I ordered three that have yet to arrive. :whistling:

I think they come with replicas of the classic Dragunov.

Some come with Cobra Officer AK 47's

GITrekker wrote:

Worst thing I can say about any of them is the skull image on the Red Shadows one is a little cartoony, but that doesn't mean I'd turn them down if I had the $$$. :-/

It's exactly the same as a Red Shadow/Red Vulture skull just the appliciation makes it look a little wonky

psychoviper · **Posted:** Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:32 am

Well, I pulled the trigger and ordered a couple of these for Christmas and I like them. I got the Desert Trooper (GREAT colors) and Skull Squad Trooper (Awesome logo). A few of my observations:

They are made of the harder plastic of vintage Joes, and thus feel like quality figures. However, it also means I am careful of not breaking thumbs with thicker gun handles.

The joints are not as tight as a new figure. They are not totally loose, but they have a "played-with" feel.

Paint apps are nice & clean. Factory/pro level. Even the cobra logos are crisp. Nice job.

I'm not sure if its the o-ring that's too tight, but both my figs have waist/torsos that refuse to align. A lot of new sculpt figs had this problem.

They are probably on the expensive side, but when you factor in that they are o-ring, well done, good quality (considering they're bootlegs), and very unique with well thought out colors, I think it is worth it. Will keep an eye on this seller and see what styles he will have in the future.

(They come with their original sniper rifles, but I switched these out for Marauder's AKs, just because I feel frontline troops are better served with assault rifles.)

sbarrett4 · **Posted:** Thu Dec 31, 2009 10:19 am

psychoviper wrote:

I'm not sure if its the o-ring that's too tight, but both my figs have waist/torsos that refuse to align. A lot of new sculpt figs had this problem

I bought some of these as well. The ones with misaligned torsos were an easy fix. Unscrew the back and thighs and reverse the leg bar. It also managed to slightly improve the knee tightness when I reattached everything, as a side bonus.

bearcatcc · **Posted:** Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:27 pm

Is there another seller other than this Major on eBay who has similar products?

I'm a bit of a latecomer to this thread.

Thanks!

bearcatcc

THE Mike™ · **Posted:** Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:29 pm

There's a couple. Mainly with ones they bought from Major, or the china dude, or ones from people that picked some up at CanJoeCon in May.

I wonder if they'll be setting up at JoeCon this April?

GITrekker · **Joined:** Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:19 am

sbarrett4 wrote:

psychoviper wrote:

I'm not sure if its the o-ring that's too tight, but both my figs have waist/torsos that refuse to align. A lot of new sculpt figs had this problem

I bought some of these as well. The ones with misaligned torsos were an easy fix. Unscrew the back and thighs and reverse the leg bar. It also managed to slightly improve the knee tightness when I reattached everything, as a side bonus.

Here's a little something for knee tightness as long as you've got the legs disassembled. Get a product called Duco Cement. Carefully apply a bit of it to either side of the lower leg joint. Allow to dry. Essentially what you're doing is thickening the lower leg joint where it fits between the upper leg halves.

Please be advised that while I have had good fortune with this on "actual" G.I. Joe figures, I've never tried it on these -- "unofficial" ones (since I don't HAVE any of them... :-(

), and Duco Cement can react badly to certain types of plastic.

psychoviper · **Posted:** Thu Dec 31, 2009 10:37 pm

sbarrett4 wrote:

I bought some of these as well. The ones with misaligned torsos were an easy fix. Unscrew the back and thighs and reverse the leg bar. It also managed to slightly improve the knee tightness when I reattached everything, as a side bonus.

That's a great tip, and yup, it fixed my problem. Thanks!

GITrekker wrote:

Here's a little something for knee tightness as long as you've got the legs disassembled. Get a product called Duco Cement. Carefully apply a bit of it to either side of the lower leg joint. Allow to dry. Essentially what you're doing is thickening the lower leg joint where it fits between the upper leg halves.

Cool, I have a few vintage figures that need this 'surgery.' Good to know.

curious character on Ebay

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