"Official looking" Knock-Off G1 Cyclonus at BigBadToyStore removed from their store

It seems the G1 knock-off problem is getting worse and worse by the day. I recently contacted Joel at BigBadToyStore.com regarding concerns about a "case fresh" shipment of G1 Cyclnous figures that they had recently posted for sale on their website. After closer inspection, BigBadToyStore.com did the right thing (as they always do) by removing the figure from their store after they compared the figure to an original and discovered it's another addition to the Chinese knock offs that seem to keep popping up. When it comes to a "fresh case of original G1 Transformers," just remember: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

-----Original Message-----
From: Joel - BigBadToyStore
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005
To: Ryan Yzquierdo
Subject: Re: Cyclonus figure - knock off?

Hi Ryan - I opened one up and compared it to an authentic G1 version we had here and can confirm they are knockoffs - damn good ones however, it was tough to tell, but there were a few giveaways: (feel free to post this)

1. The bottom of the right wing says 1986 Hasbro - in a font thats not quite right (authentic one says: Hasbro 1986 Takara Co. Ltd. 1986 Japan

2. The nose cone is very soft rubber that bends too easily and was actually kind of sticky (and smells kind of bad - like rubber and old fish)

3. The injection mold areas are much rougher than they should be with pockets or raised stressed areas instead of smooth cuts - overall the plastic is a bit lesser in quality.

4. Wings have a different feel to them when detaching and come off much easier than the real one

The box itself other than having the chinese sticker seemed to be very close - the cardboard feels just a bit thinner than it should and a bit rougher paper grade - so not quite as smooth & glossy as it should be. No clue why they would go to all this trouble and then put the sticker on it for the giveaway

Thanks so much for the heads up - I removed them from the site and will refund the few people who did buy - my supplier was duped by these as well so he'll be receiving them back from us.
Thanks!

Joel
www.bigbadtoystore.com


----- Original Message -----
From: Ryan Yzquierdo
To: Joel - BigBadToyStore
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005
Subject: Cyclonus figure - knock off?

Hey Joel,

I don’t think the G1 Cyclonus you guys recently posted on your site is an original figure (http://bigbadtoystore.com/subtoy2.asp?Queryid=tf426). There are a wave of Chinese Transformers in US packaging that are hitting the market right now. It’s kind of scary because no one seems to know what is and isn’t an official product anymore. The best theory that I’ve heard about these figures are that they kept being made in China long after they were no longer supposed to be produced. So far, other figures that have "mysteriously" shown up like Cyclonus are Beachcomber, Seaspray, Backstreet and Squawktalk / Beastbox (Cassettes). There are small differences in paint jobs, misspellings on the packaging (look closely at the words on the back), sticker applications (extra or missing) and copyright stampings on the figures from the originals. They are all marked with the same sticker in the upper right hand corner of the packaging. I’m pretty sure these aren’t original Cyclonus figures – not to mention that Cyclonus was never packaged just by himself – I believe he came with other seeker jets.

I have a gallery of an original boxed version of Cyclonus on my site if you want to compare: CLICK HERE.