Got a BIONICLE Jungle Protec-- I mean, SPACE WARRIOR Green Goblin.

[Rankoru]

Hello fellow matoran.

 

Yesterday I went to a mini-market I haven't ever been to before, full of cheap stuff: there's a section to the store full of decorations and candy for parties, and as I kept walking I was looking at all these typical bootleg toys and thinking to myself: "Will there be something of interest here perhaps?", (I live in México and I'm always fascinated to find funny knockoffs/bootlegs).

 

I knew I hit jack-pot when my eyes locked-on to this metal bar on the displaying wall, a box clinging from it with a toy that I know shouldn't belong here, I gasped as I approached it and clawed this bad boy and with amazement said to the person accompanying me: "It's from BIONICLE".

 

There it was in my grasp, a fully constructed Jungle Protector, but the odd thing that made me get a good chuckle was the title it was given: "SPACE WARRIOR", with the Star Wars font and design, Jungle Protector no-more, but a name resembling that of a fairy tale creature or a famous villain from the Spider-Man: "Green Goblin". The name of the others truly knocked my socks off as I slaped my knee in glee.

 

As I laughed at this beauty, I glanced over to the display and saw another bad boy, not the Protector of Earth, but "SIRIUS". There was another metal bar at the top with more of these, but they were only more Green Goblins.

They were placed in display bars with the tag "$36", thinking they were a whopping cheap $36 pesos, something like $1.91 dollar. Took both and headed over to the counter and asked if the price was correct, but the woman checking in broke me as she said: "It's $70 pesos" that would be like $3.71 dollars, I was bugged because it was the same price as an original Battle Angel Alita Manga; I couldn't take them both so I only bought Green Goblin.

 

This may seem unusual, but to me it's a great new discovery as I also have collected a "Robot Automata", a Metus knock-off I got at an OXXO (mexican 7-Eleven), which was almost the same price, there are other Glatorian knockoffs in those shops that I must get.

 

Noless, here's pictures of the victim, I can show off bootleg Metus later:

 

[Pohaturon]

Ah yes, the famed Protector of Stone "White Dwarf"

 

These bootlegs are always funny, here in Hungary they're usually miniaturized Hero Factory figures called "Earth Tutelary". They come in interesting recolors but have abysmal plastic quality. I never bought any on moral grounds (don't want to support bootleggers) but they always give me a chuckle when I see them. We also had those Rahaga with the weird Darth Vader mask called "Invincibility Robot". 

 

[Cheesy Mac n Cheese]

In the past, there have been “Invincibility Robots,” “Invincibility Warriors,” and even, in the case of Generation 2, “BIONLCIE” (no, I didn’t misspell that, that’s what the bootleg Tahu, Master of Fire was labelled as.

 

There’s also a photo circulating on the web of a white t-shirt with that 2002 group shot of the Toa Nuva on it, but with the Nirvana logo printed on as well. I don’t know if it’s a real product that was actually sold, though.

Edited August 20, 2018 by Cheesy Mac n Cheese

[Master Inika]

They didn't even print the names with consistent capitalization.

[tamaru34]

How was the quality of the plastic? Was it like the real deal?

 

Also, Keeper? Blue water god? I am dying right now.

[Lenny7092]

That’s quite interesting, and the Protectors have those silly names. The Jungle Protector as Green Goblin (Watch out, Spider-Man. There’s the Protector of Jungle coming to get you and the people that you love. Lol. Man, people should make this kind of meme. I would also imagine the Protector driving the Green Goblin’s glider.)? I always thought that 2015 Pohatu is like the Green Goblin or Hobgoblin from Marvel. What’s next? The Skull Grinder as Ultron from Marvel? Umarak the Destroyer as Abomination or Kurse from Marvel, Doomsday from DC Comics, or Dark Gaia from Sonic Unleashed? LOL! Man, whoever made those things sure love to make and copy such names. Plus, it’s cool that the Jungle Protector has a Hero shield piece and a yellow axe from Hero Factory.

Edited August 20, 2018 by Lenny7092

[Sir Keksalot]

We also had those Rahaga with the weird Darth Vader mask called "Invincibility Robot". 

 

Jesus, it's real and it's cursed. I can't post an image here for some reason, but I found pics by googling "brick soldier rahaga;" and I honestly thought up until now that they were all just Vader's head crudely edited over the Rahaga on the box art without a piece for his head in the set.

[Downfall]

Let's hope this works...

 

 

They didn't even change the name. How uncreative.

 

The set looks like the official version, down to the instructions. Is it lego quality plastic?

 

The capitalization issues on the package seem to stem from the fact that there are three proper names and three titles.

Edited August 24, 2018 by Downfall

[Fry]

I've always wondered, how do they make these cheap repros? I mean, as far as I can gather from a simple picture the pieces look pretty similar to the original.

[Cheesy Mac n Cheese]

I've always wondered, how do they make these cheap repros? I mean, as far as I can gather from a simple picture the pieces look pretty similar to the original.

They could buy the authentic product and make a mold of it (thus creating a high chance of inaccuracy) and use inferior plastic.

 

In the othe hand, bootlegs actually made in the same territories as the originals may actually be using the original molds, illegally sold off by someone who works at the factory.

[Toa of Ice - 1987]

 

I've always wondered, how do they make these cheap reproductions? I mean, as far as I can gather from a simple picture the pieces look pretty similar to the original.

They could buy the authentic product and make a mold of it (thus creating a high chance of inaccuracy) and use inferior plastic.

 

In the other hand, bootlegs actually made in the same territories as the originals may actually be using the original molds, illegally sold off by someone who works at the factory.

 

that is doubtful since most factories have security cameras to discourage such stealing of vital molds. its more likely that a rival company employee purchased a few sets and the counterfeiters created their own molds.