Differences in customs to real minifigs.

mrtonytj

I am in the market for a Chrome C-3PO and a Cloud City Boba and i was wondering if there were any differences between the customs and the real ones? I have seen a couple and they look identical to the real things? Is there any way to tell the real from the fake/custom? I don't feel like spending $300+ on a $30 fig!

yys4u

From what I've seen of the custom Cloud City Boba Fetts they usually use decals. I've seen them on ebay but they've always disclosed that they are decals, and once in hand I'm sure it'd be easy to spot the difference.

mrtonytj

The one's i have seen look printed?

mrtonytj

Some are decals but they have a glaze over the top so you can't tell they are a decal?

GothamConstructionCo

@samiam391 is the man to see for original sort after minifigures and may be able to help you achieve your goal in owning these rare figures.

Best of luck in your quest @mrtonytj.

mrtonytj

Yeah I have spoken to him previously about some figs. Thanks.

samiam391

@GothamconstructionCo-Thanks for the vote of confidence :-)

@mrtonytj- Yes, unfortunately the world of "spot-on" customs is quickly closing in on the minifigure market. It's hard to not casually scroll through eBay and see countless custom minifigures, that, if not for the word "custom" in the title, would seem to be the real minifigure.

However, even with as much care as these custom figure makers take, there are still a few items that give them away.

In regards to the Cloud City Boba Fett and Chrome C-3PO specifically...

The Cloud City Boba Fett customs usually sport decals as mentioned above. Decals, even if cared for well, tend to decay/fade out after a short period of time. I've also noticed that the coloring/brightness of the decals is lacking compared to a genuine CCBF. This type of fading is usually the easiest way to discern what's real, and what isn't. As far as machine printing on the CCBF, I don't think we've reached that yet.

With the Chrome C-3PO, I've never actually seen one, so I can't say too much on it. If you are looking to buy one sealed, than you should be fine. The packaging has several, very distinct, markings that should give you no trouble in deciding whether it is real or fake.

If you buy used, than the likeliness you receive a fake is much higher. Many fake C-3PO chromes are pretty bad, however there is one person who sells high quality chrome C-3PO, and claims that they are spot on.

Thankfully, he doesn't try to hide the fact they are customs, and clearly places the word custom in his title and description.

The only way to say real or custom, in this case (again because I have never seen one), I believe is comparison.

In regards to comparison, if you ever have a minifigure you are un-sure of, than shoot me some photos and I'd be happy to do it for you. You can also send me photos of a listing/item you are looking at, and I can do my best to tell you whether it is a custom or genuine. If I do say so myself, I do have a good nose for picking which is which.

I believe in another thread, you mentioned you had made a custom solid gold C-3PO. Now I imagine, that if it is solid gold, it had a price tag of upwards of $1,800(?). Just because of its weight in gold. If that's true, I'd be willing to wager that you did as much as humanly possible to ensure that the minifigure was as close to the exclusive 1 in 5 that LEGO produced. However, I'm sure that even you would have to admit, it isn't perfect. No matter how hard, or how much money you spent, to make that perfect custom, it isn't quite perfect. There's always some small indication. Maybe those days of a small indication are ending soon, but for now there is always some tiny little detail.

I'll personally never stock any customs of those minifigures, and hate customs in general. Saying the word customs even makes me shiver.. bleah.

Anyway, if you are looking for 100% genuine, and excellent-mint condition, shoot me a PM. (Here's my sales pitch ;-) ). I only, because I'm a collector, stock the best I can find. I'm happy to have done business with lots of the wonderful members on here.

If you choose not too, than best of luck with your search! And let me know if I can help you in any way.

mrtonytj

Thanks Sam, I appreciate everything you have said.

Firstly, I am looking for both a sealed and/or unsealed c3po just so i can display one and have a sealed one as i do with all my exclusives come in polys etc. I can get a sealed for around $300-350 and unsealed for a bit less. I, as you have also said seen many unsealed ones on ebay that look good but i think are questionable just from looking at them. One that stated it was real had non chrome hands which was more than a dead giveaway!! But i have also seen the one's that you are talking about from that custom seller and i honestly cannot pick it.. I know he says its a custom but i think if i had one side by side i couldn't tell.. I was actually thinking of even buying a fake CCBF and CC3PO just for comparison.. (and then put them back in the bottom of the drawer where they belong :-)

Secondly, yes, a while ago when i found out about the 5 solid gold ones i just "had to" make my own when i realised that the owners would never sell.. Then low and behold someone decided to.. but that's a different story..
Anyway, yes i did get as many photos as i could of the real ones, found actual dimensions of real ones and did everything else i could to make it as close as possible to a real 14k one..(and it actually cost me considerably less than 1800) but... again, as you said.. it is not as "perfect" as i know it would be if it was real. Most people cannot tell... but like you, i can. And i don't want a fig to come half way round the world only to find that it is fake!

Thanks everyone for your help and i will let you know how i go.

samiam391

mrtonytj said:

I was actually thinking of even buying a fake CCBF and CC3PO just for comparison.. (and then put them back in the bottom of the drawer where they belong :-)

A place that would be better suited for them, would be the trash!

mrtonytj said:

Secondly, yes, a while ago when i found out about the 5 solid gold ones i just "had to" make my own when i realised that the owners would never sell.. Then low and behold someone decided to.. but that's a different story..

I already know what you are talking about :-) Yes, will be interesting to see how that plays out. I'm sure he has lots of interested parties, and the price will go very.. very.. high.

mrtonytj said:

Most people cannot tell... but like you, i can. And i don't want a fig to come half way round the world only to find that it is fake!

Thanks everyone for your help and i will let you know how i go.

Yes, I wish you the best of luck. Again, if you need help or just can't seem to find that genuine, excellent condition minifigure, you can always contact me and hopefully we can work out a price.

mrtonytj

samiam391 said:

and the price will go very.. very.. high.

Very very very very very high...

Again, if you need help or just can't seem to find that genuine, excellent condition minifigure, you can always contact me and hopefully we can work out a price.

No doubt. I'll keep you in mind.

vwong19

I purchased two Batman minifigures last year from two different sources. I believe the one on the left is authentic, the one on the right is fake. The fake one included a fabric cape that was different in material and color and packaged in some plastic wrapping similar to things that I have encountered originating from China. The printing quality of the fake one is poor, color bleeds, lines are not crisp, and gold print is matte.

mrtonytj

You can clearly see from that the one on the right is fake! The "print" has blurred edges for one..

yys4u

^^ Not to mention the lack of neck printing! I'm curious as to the cape material... I tried for a while to find a suitable replacement for LEGO's cloth to make sails and/or capes, tried a variety of broadcloth but nothing matched the stiffness LEGO uses.

samiam391

^^^Looks like someone whipped out a blue sharpie for that one!

Pitfall69

^Take it as you will, sales pitch or not, but I personally would only buy minifigures from @samiam391. The care he takes in making sure each minifigure is authentic has sold me.

Pitfall69

As far as customs are concerned, I don't mind them as long as it is something Lego will NEVER do. Such as violent rated "R" movies.

mrtonytj

^How exactly can Lego make a custom? If they made it wouldn't it therefore logically be real?

mrtonytj

Pitfall69 said:

^Take it as you will, sales pitch or not, but I personally would only buy minifigures from @samiam391. The care he takes in making sure each minifigure is authentic has sold me.

And also, i know he's the real deal.. No sales pitch needed :-)

CCC

^ I think he means so long as the custom is a character that LEGO would never produce themselves.

mrtonytj

Oh! lol

MinifigsMe

Despite having made hundred of custom minifigs I'm not expert on 'fakes'. But I do know that even with the same designs some of LEGO's figs look low quality, I should take some pics next time I notice. But some prints look fuzzy and faded in comparison to the same one that's clearly been done in a different factory.

Our custom figs are all made to commission so our customer's know what they're getting! We trying more and more to lego-fy our designs so they do look like Lego would have made them though. We use a very high end vinyl printer with solvent ink (fade proof for 10 years ink and the vinyl is very high end, would last as a vehicle decal for 10 years, so hopefully at least that on a minfig!) I've yet to come across anyone who uses the same technique. It's certainly more robust and consistent then decals (we can also print white ink, so don't need to colour match the background).

plasmodium

^It's very true. I bought my dad one of your's at Christmas and my mum couldn't believe it wasn't from Lego themselves. I was pretty amazed at the quality myself-I had expected to see some roughness on the surface, but it looked as if it had been printed! (Which just goes to show what a customiser could achieve with enough effort, though, as you say, I'd be surprised if anyone else uses the same technique!)

Pitfall69

Pitfall69 said:

As far as customs are concerned, I don't mind them as long as it is something Lego will NEVER do. Such as violent rated "R" movies.

mrtonytj said:

^How exactly can Lego make a custom? If they made it wouldn't it therefore logically be real?

Yeah, it would have to be from a movie/theme Lego would never venture into. One of my favorite movies is Aliens and the Colonial Marines are awesome. I know Lego would never do this, but I have seen some great customs. I'm actually in the process of making my own.

Crownie

Pitfall69 said:

One of my favorite movies is Aliens and the Colonial Marines are awesome. I know Lego would never do this, but I have seen some great customs. I'm actually in the process of making my own.

One of your favorite movies? You mean there are others that can actually vie for that title? Is there any movie that's actually better than Aliens?

(That was rhetorical...) ;-)

So, I imagine you've seen these guys, but I'll post the link anyways...

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=57638