The Energon Pub

I came across this auction on ebay for a prototype Cerebros for Fortress Maximus and it made me start wondering if this is a real prototype.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-Transformers-G1-Fortress-Maximus-Prototype_W0QQitemZ230168627448QQihZ013QQcategoryZ4696QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The seller claims that it is a prototype; but is there a way to tell if it's authentic?

Leap of faith?

Like the Camo G1 SS "prototype" a couple of weeks back that looked like it was done with a marker? As far as I know, there is no way to confirm.

The "Not for Sale" stamp in the plastic usually appears somewhere on newer figures. I'd say the same went for figures od the 80's though.

Several of my test shots sport engraved numbers that do not appear on production toys.

Would a truely real prototype have the stickers applies, and a dodgy looking "made in Japan" sticker on it as well?

Many prototypes are not painted, and I used to think all prototypes had some kind of purposeful damage, like melted faces, but most of the protoypes I have seen from the classics and movie lines had no such obvious damage.

I guess it's getting to be a leap of faith with these things.

Actually, a distinction needs to be made between prototype (early stages, random colors), test shot (pretty much final save maybe for a few paint apps... might be defaced or not... might sport a number and/or a "not for sale" mention) and production sample (final version, no special markings).

wasnt this same item on auction a few weeks or months back?