[cobraofthewoods]

I am looking to start a MOC collection, and I have these questions:

1) On a 1983 Cobra Commander, if the o-ring is broken, how likely is the figure to collapse into a pile of parts within the bubble? There's one up on ebay right now in this condition.

2) Some repro cards clearly say repro, but some don't. How likely is it that a non-graded card is a fake?

3) Are the bubbles starting to fall off the earlier cards?

[firefox91]

1. I'd say the chance is good it will at least partially collapse. If it hasn't collapsed and it is handled carefully it should be fine. But if it goes through shipping, well chances aren't that good.

2. If the card is dead mint perfect, the chances are extremely high it is a repro. If the card has flaws, it is likely not a fake but could still be. It helps to take some time to learn the signs of a repro and and the real thing.

3. I don't recall seeing any vintage bubbles falling off the card. I just bought a Cobra-La set this weekend and the card is completely blasted and there are holes in the bubbles. But even in that condition, the bubble is still firmly on the card.

[Sdowlng3516]

1: It will probably collapse. I bought a MOC 1984 Blowtorch and didn't notice the O-ring was broken and it showed up in a pile of parts.

2: Like firefox91 said, if it is perfect, it is probably a repro. I do not think GI Joe is as bad as Star Wars or Transformers as far as repros, but they are out there. Also, if a price on a MOC card is too good to be true, it probably is a repro.

3: The bubbles are pretty good about staying on. Not as bad as MOTU. Sometimes there is a little lifting in the middle of the lower part of the bubble, so you can always ask the seller to take a picture of it, but I think that was a factory/design thing, rather than the glue failing.

[Xerofall]

1. Don't buy a known broken o-ring unless you're planning on opening it. Shipping (if it's being shipped) will jostle that figure apart.

2. A visual inspection is key. Despite modern printing techniques, they still can't reproduce the crisp level of detail the vintage cards provide. Now, a lot of the vintage cards will fade slightly over the years, so if it's super bright and colorful, it warrants a closer inspection. Also... and this will be silly... but smell the card. Vintage cards smell vintage. They smell like old baseball cards, an old book or magazine. Look for special offers during that figure's year of production, most cards will have a sticker or extra toy included, like the Sgt Slaughter promo, or the Micro figures.

The glue on a vintage card should look waffled, some people have been able to recreate this effect, so inspect closely. Look for wear on the figure. Look to see if they used double sided tape like this...




3. If anything, the bubbles would crack more so than fall off the card, they used some good glue back in the day...

[Goin' Commando]

I suggest trying a Repro out just to see what you think.
It's immensely cheaper and worth the minor investment to try it out to be sure.
If you're dead set on the genuine article I get that.

For me, I compared one of my re-cards to a beat up package 86 Cobra Commander that I found. The asking price for the vintage CC was $50 and it cost me a little less than half that to have a copy that is crisp clean and unpunched.

Everytime I see a nice carded figure on eBay I wonder if it's a repro.
I've seen some where you see the "reproduction packaging" visible in the picture yet mentioned nowhere in the article. That's just not right.

[pig iron grenadier]

Yeah, I can get waffling glue effect so other 'experts' certainly could. I liked whoever said--if it looks too good to be true then it probably is. Scan the seller's item description thoroughly and see if they completely photoed the entire card. front and back. If buying on ebay you have awesome buyer protection.

Also as GC said repro carding process is not cheap and is time consuming.....most cards 87 and up wouldn't much be worth the investment for fraud..I'd worry more about the 87 and under guys and look for vintage price stickers and offer stickers. Most sellers that sell repro cards as almost authentic....usually give you language in the item description that would clear them of fraud.

[cobraofthewoods]

It was suggested I try out a repro, but I would not be interested. A repro by its very nature lacks the historical cachet of an original. The whole point of buying a carded figure is to acquire a true relic from a prior era, a tangible connection that cannot be replicated. A repro defeats this purpose. As a point of comparison, if an autographed baseball card carried on its reverse the disclaimer, "Reproduction Autograph," everyone would agree it would have no value beyond that of the paper it was printed on; why regard repro carded GI Joe figures any differently?

Further, manufacturing such items is not an activity I want to encourage: it is wholly uncreative, displaying little skill except that of copying, and possibly illegal, leeching as it does off the work of talented artists who were compensated by a private company to produce the original, copyrighted images.

I want to thank the posters for the important information about carded figures whose O-rings have snapped. I won't be buying that Cobra Commander. If others have any additional information about what to look for in vintage carded figures, please do share.
Thanks!

[Goin' Commando]

If it was me I would want to have the carded figure in hand to check out prior to buying.
Like getting one at a toy show.
I wouldn't take the risk of buying one on eBay.
It's sad but people just can't resist ripping someone off to make a buck.

[Wyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cobraofthewoods

Further, manufacturing such items is not an activity I want to encourage: it is wholly uncreative, displaying little skill except that of copying, and possibly illegal, leeching as it does off the work of talented artists who were compensated by a private company to produce the original, copyrighted images.

I have to disagree with this statement. There is A LOT of skill involved....so much so that we all now have to worry about being ripped off on ebay due to the influx of "creatively worded" repro cards.

Its crazy to me that people are paying $100+ dollars for loose figures that are recarded on ebay with titles like, "1985 Barbecue 100% complete on restoration card". WTF? Are they not aware that they can put the same thing together for a quarter of that price? Or are they being had?

[Goin' Commando]

I totally disagree with the opinion seen here concerning repro cards.
I'm actually a little bit insulted.
For example I used the repro card method to add a carded modern Luke Skywalker in Stormtrooper disguise to my collection. It's one of my favorite items.

I see a lot of talent & artistic display in these. In most cases it allows someone to add something to their collection that they would never have if it weren't for the repro cards.