[OldBreed]

As I've said elsewhere, possibly only in private messages, I'm back in the 3 3/4" hobby after a hiatus (college, marriage, fatherhood).

I've got a layman's understanding of Red Laser and Black Major, but could someone spell it out for me?

What do they do? (Past tense for Red I hear)

[BizCopperhead]

Search "Black Major GI Joe" on ebay and you will know exactly what they do.

[OldBreed]

Right, they sell customs/bootlegs/"unofficial"/what-if Joes. But do they make/cast their own parts or repurpose original Hasbro parts?

[Jymree]

I've wondered this as well and find their lack of a proper internet presence disturbing.

[Sataninjaku]

They're "factory customs"- they have access to tooling and injection molding equipment. The figures are entirely produced by them, which is why the quality is a bit lower than Hasbro's

[OldBreed]

Perfect explanation. Thank you.

I also wish they had a website, but also feel that would betray the 'underground' nature of what they do.

[Josh Z]

I believe Red Laser is out of the game now. Black Major is still at it, though lately he seems more preoccupied with his cryptocurrency fetish.

The short version of the story is that he casts molds based on the original Hasbro toys and pays a factory in China to manufacture the figures in batches, based on color and paint choices he specifies.

[BeachheadMatt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh Z

I believe Red Laser is out of the game now. Black Major is still at it, though lately he seems more preoccupied with his cryptocurrency fetish.

The short version of the story is that he casts molds based on the original Hasbro toys and pays a factory in China to manufacture the figures in batches, based on color and paint choices he specifies.

Correct. Black Major came along first, and then Red Laser years later. Red Laser was identifying himself as the apprentice of Black Major for quite sometime.

These guys invested thousands of dollars to create the molds they used, I believe. Then had an Asian factory churn out parts, ship them over, and then assemble the figures. When they initially started, they were selling the figures for around $10! Now, most of them start at $20-25 and go up from there. I'm thankful I bought several back when they were cheap.


Fans have taken their customs, and customized them further into their own customs to sell. With no website or database, it can be VERY hard to figure out what is an original Black major custom, and what is a custom of a custom. Though I'm not sure that matters.


Black Major, I think, was more into army builders and re-doing vintage figures. Red Laser, was more into creating and naming his own new characters.