As mentioned in previous posts, I have lately been doing some research on the seemingly sudden influx of
bootleg LEGO minifigures, both direct copies and unique releases, invading our shores from China.
My research led me to discover that not only are there Chinese bootleggers making the oversized Incredible Hulk, but they are also making Red Hulk and Grey Hulk variants! I'm pretty sure these are by Decool. There is also a Lele version of the oversized Hulk, and I think ShegYuan makes him too. Probably others as well. The bootleg LEGO biz is a crowded pool indeed!
I was able to get all three for a buck and a quarter each (shipped) off eBay, and about two weeks later they arrived!
All three Hulks are the same, except for their skin and pants colors. But all three variants are of course relevant to actual Incredible Hulk comic stories, so they're pretty great to have in minifigure form.
I don't have the official LEGO Incredible Hulk, but from what I can gather online, these three are pretty much direct copies, sculpt-wise.
They are constructed in the same manner as your typical oversized minifigure, with arms and hands being sepearate pieces, and the arms being held on by blue 'LEGO' 'pins'.
I have seen a version of Bootleg LEGO Hulk online that actually has a rotating head. I believe that version also is constructed differently, in that his arms are held on by a molded-on pin at his shoulders, and not the little blue piece.
Each of these guys came with a bootleg LEGO wrench accessory? Because...? Maybe because Grey Hulk has at times been known as 'Mr. Fixit'? That's the best I got.
These guys did not arrive boxed. It appears to get the boxes, most sellers will charge you a few bucks more in shipping. A few bucks more than 'free,' so you can decide if the box is something you need or not. I didn't, so for $1.25 each shipped this was a great buy and I've got three Hulks to terrorize (or help) my LEGO superhero minifigures.
As for quality - it's lower than LEGO obviously, but better than anything else you'll find for a dollar-ish.
Post Script, I understand copyright laws etc. are tough to enforce with China, but I can imagine LEGO, Marvel, Warner Brothers etc. putting pressure on eBay, Amazon etc. for allowing these things to be sold on their sites. So I speculate these bootleg LEGO minifigures won't be easy/cheap to come by for long. If you want some, act with some haste...but not too much haste...if there's an eBay auction ending for $5 you can be sure another one will be ending in about 5 minutes and it's only at $3. Shop smart!
These all look great together Eric!
ReplyDeleteThanks John!
DeleteIm always hesitant to buy from China.Im always afraid that the shipping rate will quadruple and Ebay would force me to pay up.How long does it generally take for packages to arrive?
ReplyDeleteThere are risks, like the package being lost or caught at customs I suppose. But I think at under five bucks, it's a cheap enough gamble. I too was suspicious of the 'free shipping' but from what I understand it's actually based on some sort of trade agreement for packages under a certain weight coming from mainland China/Hong Kong. So it's legit, for now.
DeleteIt took less than two weeks for these to get to me, although usually they say shipping could take up to a month or two.
I just had a delivery of 3 Hulks this week myself, they're quite nice and feel of reasonable quality. I'm not regretting the purchase. Being that Red and Grey Hulks are available too make it all the more exciting.
ReplyDeleteI've focused my bootleg acquisitions on the figures not made (or likely to be made) by LEGO, or those so different to be unique. So far I've been very pleased with what I've gotten, but I admit I haven't gotten a lot.
DeleteGreat acquisitions bro! My son has tonnes of these bootleg figures too in addition to his LEGO minifigures. Honestly after a while one can't possibly keep up with determining which one of them minifigures are original LEGO and which ones are bootlegs.....they all kinda mesh together into one huge minifig collection...which is kinda cool.
ReplyDeleteYeah, as long as the pieces fit together, kids are happy!
DeleteI understand that there are marketing decisions that drive the way LEGO sells their product, but I do wish they offered more opportunities to get single minifigures in the licensed themes (Star Wars, Marvel, DC, TMNT etc.)
Until they do, I will continue to shop these sellers and pick up the things I like that are inexpensive and otherwise impossible to get at retail.
Very cool! We need them.
ReplyDelete