Bootleg LEGO Cyborg and Batzarro

Rounding out the six Bootleg LEGO minifigures I just picked up is this modern take on Cyborg.

this latest bootleg Cyborg comes with a gun that shoots single LEGO disc pieces. I have yet to see one of these in their offcial LEGO version but I know they have recently been popping up in some Star Wars sets.

I already own a bootleg LEGO Cyborg, but the previous one is a more classic take on Cyborg. I kind of prefer the older version as he's a bit more cartoony, but both are pretty awesome.

I also already own the official LEGO Batzarro, but this set included a bootleg LEGO Batzarro and who am I to say 'no thanks' to any version of Batzarro.

Both minifigures have two faces, and Batzarro comes with a batarang (Batzarrorang?) which is more than his official version came with!

Bootleg LEGO Hawkman

Another bootleg figure included in my recent bootleg LEGO minifigure acquisition is Hawkman! Like the official LEGO version, Hawkman comes with two set of thin plastic wings. 'Wings in' and...

...'wings out.' The material in the bootleg's case at least is very thin and tends to curl up and not hold a flat form. I doubt official LEGO Hawkman wings do that but I have yet to experience them in person to confirm. Regardless, bootleg Hawkman is pretty nice for the price. Hawkman has two faces: angry and normal, and also comes with a morningstar.

Bootleg LEGO Supergirl, Superman and Brainiac

I picked up another batch of Bootleg LEGO minifigures off eBay in order to get my hands on a Supergirl minifigure. Supergirl is currently officially available from LEGO in a set along with Superman and Brainiac (and Brainiac's spaceship.) It's an awesome looking set that I'd love to own, but for the 'pennies on the dollar' cost of these bootlegs I couldn't resist grabbing them now even if I someday have the real thing.

Of note on this latest wave of bootlegs: Supergirl's torso is sculpted with 'hips.' Something the bootleggers have taken it upon themselves to add. This type of design decision fascinates me, because the bootleggers could just straight across rip-off LEGO (and do,) yet every now and then they throw something in that they thought of entirely on their own. Those sillies!

The bootleggers also included those new jumping bases that LEGO has introduced this year. They're kind of lame but for flying figures they do give you a nice little 'invisible' base to pose them on.

Both Supergirl and Superman have two faces, 'normal' and 'heat-vision.'

And then there's Brainiac. Bootleg Brainiac comes with a cool Kryptonite gun.

Brainiac does not have dual faces but they did print those...USB ports?...on the back of his head.

As always the cape quality is lower than regulation LEGO, and the plastic is slightly lighter. But if your not playing with these things too heavily you just can't go wrong for the price.

Batman of Zur-En-Arrh LEGO Bootlegs

Left: Sheng Yuan. Right: Decool.

I was shocked and amazed that LEGO made a Batman of Zur-En-Arrh minifigure, albeit a super limited 2014 SDCC exclusive. I was equally shocked and amazed when Sheng Yuan made a bootleg of it later that year.

Then fellow LEGO bootlegger Decool made a Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. Honestly at this point the only thing that would shock me is if one of these bootleggers made a minfigure of me.

Anyways, I now own both bootleg versions, so why not a side-by-side comparison?

With th Sheng Yuan version, yo have to buy him with a silly Bat-vehicle. Decool's comes with a silver batarang.

Point: Decool.

Sheng Yuan has a better 5 o'clock shadow print, but Decoool's has a double printed face. BUT Decool's cowl is so tight, I cannot remove it to switch faces.

Not sure if this is across the board or just for my figure, but for my specific experience: Point: Sheng Yuan.

Cape color for Sheng Yuan is lighter than for Decool.

Point: Decool.

I personally like the dark lined print for the abs.

Point: Decool.

Left: Sheng Yuan. Right: Decool.

Finally, Decool's version includes the Bat-Radia printed on the back, while Sheng Yuan just reprinted their front belt print sans belt buckle details.

Point: Decool.

Bottom line, if you have the option, get the Decool version. Oh hell, just get both, They're damn cheap.

LEGO BatHorse

Of all the iconic comic book moments that have been translated to film, one I hope they toss into the upcoming Batman v Superman movie is Batman on a horse.

Fun BatFact: A Batman (or at least Bruce Wayne - I don't remember exactly how it played out - no Fun BatFact Checking for me!) on a horse scene was actually in the original '89 movie script but was scrapped for whatever reason. The scene did make it to the movie novelization.

Anyways, I took my recently acquired Decool BatBootLEGO and gave him a LEGO BatHorse to hold me over until the magic of cinema can bring me that moment.

With all the movies Batman will be in as we move forward into the glorious BatFuture, you know it is only a matter of time before we see Batman on a horse on the big screen.

Of course I couldn't just go with a plain black horse - I added the red knight horse helmet, which looks sufficiently batty and also works into the red on black color scheme that the 66 Batmobile has made iconic. To the BatBarn!

More Decool Superhero BootLEGOs available now!

I discovered another sweet lot of Decool brand superhero BootLEGOs the other day that includes another Batman of Zur-En-Arrh as well as an Anne Hathaway The Dark Knight Rises Catwoman! Also included in the lot is a masked brown costume Wolverine, Storm, Magneto and TDKR Batman.

I ordered my set off eBay and they just arrived (I will do a more in depth post soon.) They can also be purchased from Aliexpress.

Like all other BootLEGOs they are not 100% LEGO quality but they are pretty close. Both Decool and Sheng Yuan are good bootlegs and I recommend them if you are looking for cheap alternatives to impossible to find or insanely expensive LEGO minifigures.

I was primarily sold on this set because of the TDKR Catwoman, a minifig you can't get in any official LEGO release. But having a masked brown costume Wolverine and yes, a second Batman of Zur-En-Arrh (because let's face it, who ever expected one official LEGO version, let alone a bootleg, let alone a SECOND BOOTLEG!!!!) pushed me right over to the Buy It Now button. Storm and Magneto and a Bale Batman are just icing on the cake at this point. And I got them all plus shipping for less than an official brown costume Wolverine LEGO minifigure would cost me!

We live in wonderful, interesting times indeed.

Unmasked! LEGO Spider-Man :: Countdown to Halloween 2014

Having used the head of a DeCool Bootleg LEGO Spider-Man to make a custom Scarlet Spider, I decided to put together an unmasked Spider-Man with the body and a spare head and hair piece from my vast stores of LEGO pieces.

Very Dr. Frankenstein of me!

Bootleg Hulkbuster Armor Iron-Man Mini-Figure

The Chinese LEGO bootleggers have done it again! This time giving us a wholly unique over-sized 'Minifigure' of Tony Stark's Hulkbuster Iron-Man Armor!

Hulkbuster Iron-Man is an 'oversized' minifigure ala the larger Incredible Hulk figure. He is also not necessarily a bootleg, as there is nothing here that copies LEGO besides the aesthetic.

It is amazing enough that these crazy bootleg companies are copying hard to get LEGO minifigures, but the fact that they are creating completely unique characters like Hulkbuster armor Iron-Man (and a large sized Thing from the Fantastic Four) is simply incredible!

Hulkbuster Iron-Man has 'articulation' at the shoulders, elbows and wrists. In LEGO terms that means each arm is in three pieces (plus the 'pin' that holds the arm in the shoulder socket.) The shoulder shields are also separate pieces, making an un-built Hulkbuster Iron-Man come in at a whopping 11 separate pieces.

Since when did bootleggers give so much and ask so little in return?

Hulkbuster Iron-Man fits right in with bootLEGO Hulk.

Both of these figures come from the DeCool company, whihc has thus far put out some good quality bootlegs.

"Hulkbuster SMASH!"

My Hulkbuster does have a scuff on his face, but I can just pretend it's a battle scar. For the unbelievable low price these go for on eBay, as well as the fact that there is no other version of this minifigure from any company anywhere, I can accept some paint smudges!

TMNT Shadow Leonardo Bootleg LEGO Minifigure

This is the bootleg version of a LEGO Shadow Leonardo minifigure that was a comic con exclusive a few years back.

The official version is way out of my (and probably your) price range, but the Chinese LEGO bootleggers have come through for you (and me) and this guy is super cheap on eBay right now.

He comes with two bootleg LEGO katana and a bootleg LEGO shadow skateboard too!

To get him, I had to buy a lot of bootleg TMNT minifigures:

The whole lot was dirt cheap, but beyond Shadow Leonardo kind of...meh.

Other than Shadow Leo, the rest of the turtles are lame variant versions of relatively easy to get ninja turtle minifigures; divers and stealth turtles. Nothing to write home (or an entire blog post) about.

The Kraang robot and Shredder are nice to have though. And they ALL come with skateboards - that's pretty radical! Shredder is supposed to come with two claws, but one was malformed junk - the first issue I have yet had with my limited Chinese LEGO bootleg experiences.

Fun stuff I suppose, and totally worth it just to have Shadow Leo (and a pile of random minifigures) for incredibly cheap!

LEGO Heroes United Update (Now With More Sharks!)

I've posted about my LEGO Lex Luthor Mech-Suit and Heroes United diorama before, but since then the Heroes' ranks have grown quite a bit.

That Lex doesn't go down easy!

In addition to some of the bootlegs I've recently acquired, some new additions to the official LEGO team (Spider-Man, Michaelangelo), and a couple customs I've made (Black Canary, Sandman, Zatanna, Scarlet Spider, Creature Commandos), last night I was able to add a Great White Shark and Sawfish to Aquaman's attack. I found them in an incomplete but well worth the price Shark Cage Cove LEGO set at the thrift store yesterday.

Bootlegs and customs have also fed my Villain minifigure ranks, so I decided it was about time the bad-guys mounted a counter-attack!

 

Red Hood and Harley Quinn are customs, and Red Hulk, The Dark Knight version of The Joker and Shredder are bootlegs. (More on Shredder in a future post.)

I have a lot more villains I can add to this one, but most of them are currently hanging out in other LEGO dioramas. It's tough to get these guys to cooperate. No wonder they always lose!

Scarlet Spider LEGO Minifigure Custom

My recently acquired batch of Decool bootleg LEGO minifigures included a Spider-Man, and since I already own an official Spider-Man LEGO minifigure, I decided, what better use of a clone-brand Spider-Man than to make a cutom Clone Saga Spider-Man aka Scarlet Spider)!?!?

I haven't read a single issue of the Clone Saga, but I was deep enough into comics in the nineties to be aware of the concept. Basically, there was a clone of Peter Parker named Ben Reilly and he ran around as Spider-Man for a while, then as the Scarlet Spider, and then he probably died or something.

Anyways, his costume consisted of an all red leotard and Spider-Man mask, and a blue hoodie (sleeveless - nineties style!) so although I do not have a blue hood, I do have a black one, and I was able to use the Surgeon minifgure for the torso, and red legs and arms from random minifigures. Only the head is from the Decool bootleg.

I had to settle for white hands, because the bootleg red hands wouldn't stay in place, and I have yet to scrounge up some official LEGO red hands.

But the overall effect of a LEGO Scarlet Spider minifigure is passable enough for my needs!

Decool Bootleg LEGO Superheroes and Heath Ledger Joker

I picked up this lot of Decool LEGO Bootleg minifigures for less than forty-five cents each shipped (CHEAP!) and they arrived today!

They are all very cool, but the reason I needed this grouping in particular was to get my paws on a Heath Ledger Joker minifigure!

Since LEGO themselves haven't made (and it's a safe bet to say 'never will make') a Dark Knight Joker minifigure, this guy is a great addition to the bootleg ranks and my minifigure ranks AND my Batman collection and proves that just because you're a bootlegger doesn't mean you can't have a good original idea once in a while.

Joker comes with a laser gun - not entirely movie accurate, but I'm sure I have some LEGO knives and lint that I can loan him.

"You wanna know how I got these scars? I stepped on a goddamned LEGO in the middle of the night and as I flailed in pain I fell face first through the living-room window!"

This set also came with an Avengers Black Widow based on one of her many movie appearances...

...Captain America...this looks to be a movie version of the good Captain as well...

...Phoenix...I believe this Phoenix is a copy of an limited edition SDCC Exclusive Phoenix minifigure from a year or two ago...

...Spider-Man...who looks to be based on the recent Amazing Spider-Man film...

...and Wolverine! Not sure which costume variant Wolverine this is, but it looks legit.

Quality is damn good for less than fifty cents each. The plastic is lower quality than LEGO and the paint apps aren't as crisp on their bodies (but the faces seem pretty good) and so far with all the bootleg minifigures I've grabbed, I can't complain. They all have accessories and bases (all of the accessories make sense beyond the Joker's silly laser gun) and Wolverine, Phoenix and Black Widow even have alternate expressions on the backs of their heads.

So far in my experience with bootleg LEGO minifigures, the companies Decool and ShegYuan appear to produce some decent quality toys. They aren't perfect, but they are cheap, and if you can get a minifigure that isn't even a part of any official line-up? Well that's 'win-win' in my book.

Until I contract lead-poisoning!

Bootleg LEGO Incredible Hulk, Red Hulk and Grey Hulk Minifigures

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!