COMBINER WARS - VIPER – KNOCK OFF (KO)

[Ravagecat]

Just a heads up that I have come across another Counterfeit Transformer circulating the online marketplace
I wanted a second Viper so went looking online. Found a few on Ebay and decided to get one off an Australian Ebay Seller who shipped from Australia and had the item listed as “Genuine Hasbro Product”
Once I had received it (within a few days), there was something about it that did not seem quite right. I dug out my local retail purchase from a couple of years ago (which I had not opened yet ) and compared.
My suspicions were correct and I had in fact purchased a sophisticated KO of Viper, not a “Genuine Hasbro Product”
I have since contacted the seller advising him that the product is a KO and asked that he updates his listing so he is not misleading people into thinking they are purchasing a “Genuine Hasbro Product”
His response was one of thanking me for informing him mixed with seemingly amazement he had purchased KO’s and denial of knowing and asked for photo proof. I have since provided him with photo proof, but as of this writing the listing is still showing as “Genuine Hasbro Product”

Check out the comparison images below. The KO is always on the right. I have tried to take the pictures in the same position and lighting conditions. The KO is a shinier plastic so the colours don’t come across as good in the pic. The black picks up more light. An example would be his head visor. In hand this is more black than grey.


Comparing the packages:

- The Backing card and Bubble are almost identical in size and quality, upon closer inspection the backing card on the KO does feel slightly flimsier (not by much though)
- The “Combine to form” sticker looks almost identical on both, however it is set lower on the KO. I guess this could potentially happen to the real one in some circumstances too.
- Looking down at the cardboard banner with “Deception Viper” the only significant difference is the Copyright symbol © on the Decepticon logo. The symbol is quite small on the KO
- The most obvious difference on the back is the printed image is too far to the left and cuts off some of the writing and the wing of the plane
- The overall colour is slightly more faded on the KO
- Again the Copyright symbol © on the Decepticon logo is quite small on the KO
- The PN # is different by one digit and the V-2976B is positioned further to the right on the KO



Comparing the paperwork:

- The KO comes with an instruction sheet and collectors card just like the original
- The Collectors card is almost indistinguishable from the original, but the tell is the colours a slightly faded on the KO
- The KO instruction sheet uses a different shade of purple but the quality of the gloss paper is very close. I also noticed the last few folds of the instructions were folded the opposite way on the KO (could potentially happen on the original too I guess). Again the Copyright symbol © on the Decepticon logo is quite small on the KO instructions.

Let’s Compare the Toys:

- The plastic is shiny/glossy on the KO compared to the more dull/matte on the original
- The Painted Decal on the chest is not quite as sharp on the KO
- The greys on the legs and arms are silver on the KO
- The Blue Plastic is a different shade
- Any of the molded details are not as sharp/defined on the KO including the Copyright stamp



Robot Modes:



Plane Mode:

[shockNwave]

Can you make a list of the Ebay sellers selling the KO?

It would make it easier for potential victims to avoid a trap.

[griffin]

Are you sure it is a KO, and not just a production variation like Ramhorn, or a later production run for different markets?
I know it is a rarer figure for Combiner Wars, but I didn't think it had enough demand for a KO... or a significant enough difference to be a KO.

[Thurmus]

I wonder if it pegs together and is not as loose as the originals?

[Ravagecat]

Can you make a list of the Ebay sellers selling the KO?

It would make it easier for potential victims to avoid a trap.

Good idea in theory but I only purchased from one seller in Melbourne. While there are multiple people selling this toy right now there is no way of knowing if they are selling KO's unless you buy one and the biggest problem with Ebay is that a lot of sellers use stock photos. My advice would be to avoid MISB available for below RRP and avoid sellers with multiples for sale.

Are you sure it is a KO, and not just a production variation like Ramhorn, or a later production run for different markets?
I know it is a rarer figure for Combiner Wars, but I didn't think it had enough demand for a KO... or a significant enough difference to be a KO.

I am 99.9% sure it's a KO. It just feels wrong in hand with to many tell tale differences (see comment below). They have gone to a lot of trouble with this one but it is not unlikely either as the CW Aerialbots have all been KO's albeit the ones I have seen were upscaled so more apparent, but KOing CW TF's is not outside the realm of possiblity.

I wonder if it pegs together and is not as loose as the originals?

The legs were really hard to clip together on the KO. They keep separating at either end depending where you put pressure (I had to remove a small amount of plastic flash along the main peg that holds them first though). Even after this I was not able to get them to hold together 100% without a small gap. The tail fins are way worse on the KO (already loose on the Original) amplified 10 fold on the KO. The arms keep popping off the wings too and there are small white stress marks in a lot of spots on the KO

[Bemblebuu]

Another thing that is glaringly obvious is that the KO packaging forgot to include the 'TM' next to the 'Combiner Wars' logo...both front and back!

[UltraMarginal]

without the packaging you could probably suggest it was a production variant, the description you have given of the alt mode issues are not unlike my official powerglide.

the packaging is a very definite giveaway, especially the printing being off the papers edge.

still, without a legit copy to compare to it would be hard to tell it apart, certainly not something you'd spot if you weren't looking for it.

[reillyd]

I couldn't pick it from the front (and the paint work seems better on the KO) but it's very obvious from the back of the packaging. They'll often do a running change variant on the paint, but there'd be no reason for the card being worse

[Ravagecat]

Are you sure it is a KO, and not just a production variation like Ramhorn, or a later production run for different markets?
I know it is a rarer figure for Combiner Wars, but I didn't think it had enough demand for a KO... or a significant enough difference to be a KO.

Just found this seller on Ebay who has most of this series/class for sale and has listed them as KO! Very disappointing indeed

Listing here