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There are two types of fake Dinobots: cheesy-cool fakes, and sadly real knockoffs. I list them because they are the most interesting fakes I've ever come across. The quality is comparable to the real Dinobots in many cases. It is up to the old adage, 'buyer beware' in all cases. ;-) |
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The knockoff versions of the dinobots that look just about exactly the same as the originals. I do not like these. The lack of a copyright stamping, and the shoddy quality of the plactic gives it away to the discerning fan. Unfortunately, I've seen a number of people try to pass them off as real. The fake Grimlock being sold as the Diaclone blue-wasted one, either out of ignorance, or worse yet, deliberately, is the one that bothers me the most. Sigh. Even the boxart shamelessly rips off the Diaclone Dinosaur Robo toys (pics and description below).
 You'll note that it *seems* real. What to do if you have a loose one? No box to give it away? Easy. Copystamp on the inside bottom of the grey dino leg. It should have a Takara Japan stamping in a small square. If this is missing, it's fake. Another way to tell is by the *quality* of the blue paint on the waist. The real deal has sparkly blue paint, while the fake one is lighter in color and has less sparkle:
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Snarl comes in a fake Diaclone version too. Like Grimlock, the giveaway is the lack of the copystamp. In-addition, the tailspaikes are slightly different between the real and fake Diaclone Snarls. Finally, the gold chrome is darnker, duskier, and of poorer quality than the Diaclone one:
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Sludge is an interesting problem. Again, watch for the copystamping. Dinosaur Robo was release late enough in Japan that all the toys had copyright stampings. If your toy is missing it, then it's a fake- a good one, but fake nonetheless. Sludge got knocked off the most, followed by Grimlock, apparently (we've also seen a KO Snarl that was pretty close to the original Diaclone):
  I do take note of the fact that we have a silver-chromed dinobot problem. That is, I've heard one guy find these, and claim they were 1st-run usa TFs. Another fellow claims that these are 1st-run Mexican TFs. I take note of the fact that the only silver-chromed ones many of us have come across are knockoffs: silver-chrome, with an obvious history of 'off' plastic, and no copystamp.
All this combines to cause confusion for the average TF collector. That's why it's important to look for manufacturer-stamping, and to pay attention to molding details. It keeps you from being taken in. :-) |
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The prehistory animals, as they are called. Grimlock has a spiky spine, and comes wth a horn and a metal plate on his head. Slag is yellow, has chrome horns, and a differently-shaped chrome bonnet. And Sludge...well, it looks like they combined Sludge and Swoop to make this golden-winged fellow, which shouldn't be confused with the *other* fake Sludge they made. My fav is the Snarl with the alligator head...got an intact one? I'd like to get him. :-)
 Interestingly, the KO grimlock up there was himself knocked offlater on...a green version, found in the Phillipines. How do you list a KO of a KO? Note: The weapons are sometimes confused with real Dinobot weapons, but they *can* easily be told apart. :-) Between mismatched mold-injection points, the wrong color, and of course looking completely different, as in fake Slag's 'fat' missles:
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