FAKE prototype mystery minis

[Galacticat]

So there have been a landslide of white alleged "prototype" Mystery Mini funko white ponies on ebay- all from Chinese sellers.

There is simply no way that they are real! Funko only makes 2 white prototypes, and I have never heard of some random Chinese seller having them- they come from Funko itself or Gemini. Has anyone else noticed these?

I have actually never seen prototypes for the mystery minis- I wouldn't even think they would be needed since the prototype is for the original figure- and the mystery mini is just a scaled down version of the same thing.

Can anyone confirm this or know anything about it?

It kind of ticks me off because I feel like the wide availability of fake prototypes discredits and devalues the real ones...

Here are the 4 that keep showing up:



I am aghast that people are paying upwards of $50 for these re-casts. The Chinese factory who thought of it must be absolutely thrilled.

[rkwo]

You can see the paint on them. The factory isn't producing them this way. They are rejects that someone is selling as "proto".

[Squird]

Not protos.... strips. Someone has tried to remove the paint.

The mystery mini, the hikari 'protos' and the pop protos from Chinal are all NOT PROTOS.

We know this because.....

There's been way too many protos available for these pieces
When you look closely at them, you see paint in the details.
When you look at them closely, you see flaws (hikari)
They're from China, not exactly know to let legitimacy get in the way of making a buck.

They're fakey, fake, fake, fakes.

NOW....if you don't care about providence, or paint stains, go ahead an bid on them. A number of us have bought these pieces for our collections knowing full well that they're not real protos. We just haven't spent a lot of money to do so.

[hpellot]

easy to tell those are fakes

[Squird]

Yeah..the paint rash is something of a giveaway.

[Galacticat]

Oh so they aren't re-casts, but strips? I can see what you are talking about with the paint staining- I was wondering about that, but didn't realize those black minis were white(ish) underneath.

[rkwo]

Nope, not re-casts. You should really be wary of the 1/144 or 1/72 coming from China. It would be pretty easy for someone to pocket those and sell them at marked up prices.

[Galacticat]

Oh so they aren't re-casts, but strips? I can see what you are talking about with the paint staining- I was wondering about that, but didn't realize those black minis were white(ish) underneath.

I have actually seen a lot of them- but I suspect that they are QC rejects- since they are usually scuffed.

I do wonder however where the glow in the dark Rainbow Dash and Pinkie came from however. I suspect the factory that makes Funko's mini ponies probably poured these as glow in the dark to sell on the Chinese market, since they aren't re-paints, and they are WAY too common to be stolen prototypes.

I know the factories do something like that for the Hasbro ponies...

[Arloe8]

Oh so they aren't re-casts, but strips? I can see what you are talking about with the paint staining- I was wondering about that, but didn't realize those black minis were white(ish) underneath.

I have actually seen a lot of them- but I suspect that they are QC rejects- since they are usually scuffed.

I do wonder however where the glow in the dark Rainbow Dash and Pinkie came from however. I suspect the factory that makes Funko's mini ponies probably poured these as glow in the dark to sell on the Chinese market, since they aren't re-paints, and they are WAY too common to be stolen prototypes.

I know the factories do something like that for the Hasbro ponies...

Good question they did randomly appear out of no where...knock offs are to be expected with anything made in China IMO...however the problem is when fellow funatics try and sell them to other collectors...if someone wants a bootleg let them buy it from China

[renirawr]

however the problem is when fellow funatics try and sell them to other collectors...if someone wants a bootleg let them buy it from China

Exactly. Also, is anyone really selling these obvious not-prototypes of the pony minis? I saw them from a few Chinese sellers a few weeks back, but I haven't actively looked since. Would be a shame if someone was trying to sell them as a real, legitimate thing.

[Galacticat]

however the problem is when fellow funatics try and sell them to other collectors...if someone wants a bootleg let them buy it from China

Exactly. Also, is anyone really selling these obvious not-prototypes of the pony minis? I saw them from a few Chinese sellers a few weeks back, but I haven't actively looked since. Would be a shame if someone was trying to sell them as a real, legitimate thing.

There have been more and more of the "white" fake prototypes on ebay every week- but all appear to be from Chinese sellers

* Edit- nevermind. There are fellow funatics trying to sell them too, after buying them from China. Going through the "completed auctions" it looks like the fake prototyes are not just limited to MLP- but seem to stretch across many lines.

Don't people realize that there are no "prototypes" of the minis? I am shocked at the prices the Funatic people are asking for their fake prototypes-

[Poncho Pete]

This is all so disappointing. I bought one china mini prototype. Didn't care for it and wish I hadn't.

[MannieTheDragon]

Just to point it out, not all figures out of China are knockoffs. The mystery minis that Funko produces are made in China (look at the bottom of your boxes.) And having bought a couple myself, I can tell you that they're exactly the same as the figures you buy stateside. Hell, in some cases, the figures I've bought from China have been in better condition than the ones I've pulled from boxes.

As far as these supposed prototypes go... Well, anyone should know better than to look at something being sold from China as an actual prototype. I've seen a few sellers that have them listed. They're not prototypes. They're just unpainted figures.

[G_O_Rilla]

Don't people realize that there are no "prototypes" of the minis? I am shocked at the prices the Funatic people are asking for their fake prototypes-

Well just so no one is confused yes these "prototypes" from China are fake either being strips or flawed garbage pieces but funko does make prototypes of mystery minis. Gemini has sold mystery minis protos in the past the only set I know they sold was tmnt (there could be others but I can't confirm). I got 2 series 1 batman mystery mini protos from a great long standing member here so I'm sure funko has actually made protos of many mystery minis. Just do your research before buying

[Galacticat]

Even if they were made by the same company that makes them for Funko, seems like people who love Funko (which is not a particularly large company) would not want to support and encourage the factories stealing Funko's licensed characters, by buying their products. :P

[Bartjeuhh]

How do you 'strip' these in the first place? O_o acetone doesn't work...

[jenjen]

Keep hearing paint rejects.

[Galacticat]

I don't know about "paint rejects" I do think that the white ones look like they have been stripped of paint with acetone. There may be QC rejects for sale too- I did see some "color accurate" ponies that had black marks all over them. They may be QC failures.

But I also know that the Chinese factories do some sketchy things, like after they make a run of toys for a company (for say Hasbro) they will make an extra run to sell on the Chinese market. Those things used to just stay in Taobao (where surprisingly, this is not illegal) but now there are sellers on ebay. While I doubt that these sales hurt companies like Hasbro, I can't think that a much smaller company like Funko is too happy with the practice.

I think that those sets of 12 that are selling for very cheap and include a Rainbow Dash glow in the dark and a Derpy with slightly off-looking butt-symbol- are probably these.