New pirate Clone Troopers/Bootleg Clones (MERGED)

[JangoFart]

Has everyone seen the new pirated Clone Troopers?

I don't condone piracy in general. I also like to see the creators reap the benefits of their hard work in creating these little hunks o' plastic that keep us preoccupied and broke. However, these little suckers are NICE!!

I won't buy these because of how I feel regarding piracy. Hopefully, though, Hasbro gets a gander of these suckers and sees that not only are they SWEET, but they fill a very nasty gap in the Star Wars line - namely, Clone Troopers that don't look like they are taking a dump and can be used NICELY to create a mean army for you diorama folks out there.

I would LOVE to see a set like these come out in a Cinema Scene-type of packaging. A set of 6 of the marching troopers marching side-by-side in rows of two into battle and a set of 5 of the firing troopers walking into the scrap at Geonosis.

Anyone at Hasbro reading this? Take heed and get to it!

J

[Darth Detori]

well I personally don't mind piracy (if you consider the selling of an unlicensed figure piracy), so I'm definantly going to find $25 in my budget somewhere to get a bag of these suckers! They look totally cool.

[Darth Cruel]

I wouldn't pass these up. My opinion is...if Hasbro won't give us what we want...I'll go to someone who will. I am already envisioning a huge formation of CTs at attention as well as some of those shooting ones in a battle diorama. And I don't even feel guilty! Hasbro! Are you listening? I will buy them from you if you make them!

[LTBasker]

They're their molds, true they're not licensed, but as long as they're not making a profit and just asking for what it takes to make them, then it's technically not piracy because they aren't ripping anyone off. Now if they were using Hasbro's molds to make a big profit of'em, then that would be piracy. It's basically the same as if you were to give the money to a customizer for the parts it would require to make a specific custom figure.

I don't know if they're making a profit or not, but if they're not then it's just technically not piracy. Even the guns appear to be original molds...

I think they're actually quite cool, I wish they came in bigger sets and I had the money to get them, they'd be great for dioramas. Especially the action posed ones, good background arena and such fodder so you can have the Hasbro figs highlighted in the foreground.

[Jedi Master Silas]

Those C. Troopers look very cool. I would buy them if I could find them here. Question...are they Hasbro quality??? Wait..what am I saying?? Hasbro's quality control has gone to the crapper!

[JangoFart]

It does not matter who made the mold. It does not matter if a profit is made or not. Some of the rights conferred on a copyright holder is the right of reproduction and the right of distribution. Since this is sanctioned by neither Lucasfilm nor its licensee Hasbro, these critters are, therefore, illegal.

It matters not to me that they are being made EXCEPT for the hope that it will get Hasbro to realize they are ignoring a nice hunk of change in making these things themselves. I won't buy them unless they are official, but that's just me. If I were a diorama builder, I'd look at these as the Second Coming. But, I'm not. So, all you army/diorama builders, help yourselves!

I just don't collect any bootleg stuff. Just like with my coin collection, I don't collect any foreign coins; only US Mint coins. Just my preference.

J

[Lord Tenebrous]

It's an old subject, as Star Wars bootlegs appeared almost immediately after ANH's release. Some pieces are more popular, such as the Heritage pewter figures and the Uzay action figures, but there's always a common theme: uniqueness.

Heritage made Garindan and a Bantha long before Kenner did. And Uzay was fun not only for the original approach to the molds, but the packaging is quite memorable as well.


While there's nothing outstanding about these figures, it does reflect a period now where the focus is not on getting attention, but rather on getting it right.

[Tycho]

I agree with everything said in this post.

Let me stress only that I want something in the ways of at least 9 marching Clones holding their rifles in parade formation.

I may possibly do well to buy 59 of them.

It is easier on my time and schedule if I buy ALL OF THEM AT ONCE!

I'll weigh the quality of the boot-legs in mind when I see them and handle them in person (hopefully they'll show up at a Con I can make sometime soon - if not the Grand Slam Star Trek Con they do every year in Pasadena, CA) and if all things are convenient, I'll consider it. That's next March and I bet Lucasfilm and Hasbro will be tracking these guys down and sueing them before then, so I have little to worry about - as far as buying something illegal.

In a sense, it does let us vote - with our dollars that matter to Hasbro the most - if we patronize a bootlegger that makes a product that we want.

I'd hope this pattern is encouraged and 12" vehicles show up, as well as large-scale playsets like a huge Death Star, or heck - someone might want to partner up with me and start producing my 5 foot long Blockade Runner or some of Michael Fright's to-scale stuff (Blockade Runner not included!)

Monopolies do hurt the choices of the consumer quite often, though they can be favorable for the price at times. Right now, this issue is about consumer choices.

I can't say for sure what choice I'd make, but I'd approach these figures to see them deliberately, and not without several hundred dollars burning a whole through my hand!

Bring 'em on! I've got to take a personal look at these things!

[JangoFart]

I'll go a step further and state that while it is illegal for these folks to produce and distribute these figures, it is not illegal for someone, like any of you, to own them. In buying something like this, you are not infringing on the copyright of Lucasfilm or its licensee, Hasbro.

Just thought I'd throw that one out there.

J

[evenflow]

I think they are pretty cool. I wont buy them though, not because of piracy or anything though.