alright folks! i have been driving myself nuts over this figure.
at first because of the cost.
THEN because of the picture perfect KO. ive been researching a bunch over the past few days, and feel i have enough findings to finally make this thread. so here we go!
FIRST: the boxdown there are some pics of the legit box. now, i work in a chemical plant. and any given thing we have (received or blended by us) has a "lot" or "batch" number mainly to keep track of when and where things are made. well apparently toys are no different. if you check on the bottom of the MP boxes (or elsewhere on any other TF) youll find the lot number. i surmised that while they (the KO'ers) have counterfeited the box, they didnt go so far as to stamp the box with that number like takara did. turns out i was right.
*pics courtesy of ebay seller chris929*youll see that the bottom right of the box (of the legit takara version) has a stamp with
"G1214". and if what i know about lot number is true, the 14 at the end probably means "made in 2014", but i digress. i think most figures of the same type and mold will have the same lot number, especially on such a limited run like this. so all legit MP bape's should have that number.
below this, is the bottom of the KO box. youll notice a couple differences, mainly that theres no bar code, and no lot number stamp.
*special thanks to rocketpuncharmy for providing this pic*also, another glaring piece of evidence, is the "takara/tomy" logo is missing from the top right corner of the box.
however, i may have originally missed this because many ebay sellers with these KO's listed use stock photos of the legit takara/tomy figure.
and
BOOM. you just confirmed a sealed bape to be a KO
SECOND: the figurethe legit bape uses the MP10B (black convoy) variation of the mold, which has the (molded) autobot insignia removed, so both shoulders are smooth and clean. the left shoulder is where said insignia should be, but the bape logo is there instead, and the right has nothing.
(sorry for the mid TF'ing pic, best one i could find that clearly showed both shoulders)
the KO was molded from one of the original MP10's, and thus has the molded autobot insignia on the left shoulder. so in turn the bape KO has something on each shoulder. the bape logo is on the opposite shoulder it should be, because of the molded insignia is obviously still there.
in closing, i hope this helps cause i wasnt able to find this info anywhere else. being able to tell if something is a KO or not is pretty easy in hand, but in the age of internet buying you really have to be careful. and while most people selling these KO's clearly state what they are, doesnt mean there wont be some @#$%head trying to pass one off as the real deal.
happy (safe) hunting everyone!
and the BAPE logo on the wrong side.
)
