How to Identify a Counterfeit LEGO Minifigure and Brick

[MarleyMoose]

29 minutes ago, gregpj said:

The answers you seek are right here..

http://lego.gizmodo.com/5019797/everything-you-always-wanted-to-know-about-lego

Nice article. It's from 2008 though.

[gregpj]

16 minutes ago, MarleyMoose said:

Nice article. It's from 2008 though.

Yup, but it answers the poster's question.. not all LEGO heads with holes in them are fakes.

[MarleyMoose]

12 minutes ago, gregpj said:

Yup, but it answers the poster's question.. not all LEGO heads with holes in them are fakes.

That it does. Though, haven't the heads gone back to being with out holes with a recessed hole? What about the children!!

[gregpj]

2 minutes ago, MarleyMoose said:

That it does. Though, haven't the heads gone back to being with out holes with a recessed hole? What about the children!!

I think so ... but now the stud is "hollow" rather than a full stud. We have some fairly recent minfigs with holes in the head, but it seems everything within the last two years does not.

[cmartin33]

I just purchased 3 10726 from an Amazon 3rd party and I believe I received a counterfeit item. Can you guys look at the pics below and let me know? It is side by side pictures of a real 10726 and one of the 3 I just received.

[boliramirez]

Box art , can be different  from market to market, obviously you have two different versions... might be original , just for different markets.

[167pilot]

Think legit. U.s. sets have piece counts. I have seen sets from Europe that dont

[Mark Twain]

Ask yourself a few questions: Why would anyone spend the time and energy to copy box art and make counterfeit bricks for a recently retired set with rrp of $9.99? How exactly would they profit on something like this?

[TigerG]

One is the US Version with the piece count - the other one is the European version. If it puts your mind at ease I can upload a pic of my 10726 - all European versions - all 100% legit. 

[cmartin33]

Great thanks for the advice.

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[snowman83]

Can anyone provide some advice, I've been trying to purchase a legit Deadpool figure and appear to have been burnt. Does someone have a legit one they can post pictures showing the identifying marks?
Ill try get some decent pictures, any areas to focus on?

1 and 2 are very similar and the 3rd is clearly different

 

Minifigure 1 & 2
Legs
Looking into legs from bottom there is a '(c) LEGO' in both feet
Inside legs from bottom there are numbers, Left '10-38' Right '2-40'
Looking top down there number in both connecting tubes, Left '19', (C) LEGO in middle, Right '63'

 

Torso - 1 Only

Inside arm, both have (c) LEGO
Right hand has 'R' outside, '0' inside
Right hand has 'O' outside, '9' inside
No visible join line on hands
Inside bottom torso at top is '9' on front of neck '42' behind
Neck top has 'LEGO'

 

Torso - 2 Only
Inside arm, right has '17-42 (c) LEGO', left has '(c) LEGO'
Right hand has no letters or number
There is a visible join on hands
Inside bottom torso at top is '8' on front of neck '42' behind
Neck top has 'LEGO'

 

Head
'Lego' inside stud on top
Inside bottom '3626','(c) LEGO','31-47'
Inside bottom '3626','(c) LEGO','6-41'

Eye print goes slightly above flat face section

 

Back pack
'(c)2009 LEGO'
1 has '88290 5-01'
2 has '88290 4-01'

 

Sword
1 has '(C) LEGO 2-01' on one '(C) LEGO 3-01 on the other
2 has '5-03 (C) LEGO ' on one '(C) LEGO 11-02 on the other

 

Minifigure 3
Legs
Looking into legs from bottom there is a '(c) LEGO' in both feet
Inside legs from bottom there are numbers, Left '8-34' Right '4-37'
Looking top down there number in both connecting tubes, Left '50', (C) LEGO in middle, Right '6'

 

Torso
Inside bottom torso at top is '6' on front of neck '40' behind
No number on hands or arms
Both arms '(C) LEGO'

 

Head
No numbers
Top stud hollow with cross.

Eye print stays on flat face section

 

Really appreciate your help. My feeling is 1 & 2 are fake and the third I'm not sure, it look more promising but the print is not the best and the hollow head stud seems odd (keyring?).

 

These were all advertised as genuine from the wolverine set.

[Mgip21]

I’ve  been purchasing  Big lots the last few months and have been going through sets and just noticed a lot of the mini figures have holes in the head. Bodies have the Lego on them but are the heads legitimate? Mostly city Minifigures. Thank you

Edited January 16, 2018 by Mgip21

[dbrouge]

Looks legit to me. I have some from my old 80's 90's sets.

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=3626b#T=P

[Huskers1236]

1 hour ago, Mgip21 said:

I’ve  been purchasing  Big lots the last few months and have been going through sets and just noticed a lot of the mini figures have holes in the head. Bodies have the Lego on them but are the heads legitimate? Mostly city Minifigures. Thank you

Bricklink considers that a "blocked open" head.  There is also "stud recessed" which has the indention but closed inside with the Lego stamp, and then the older solid stud with Lego on top.  

[styxfire]

I want to thank all the contributors of this thread.  I've been shopping for minifigures on eBay, to commemorate a special visit from my sister/neice.  I noticed a few ads where people wrote "alike Lego" in the title, or listed the brand as "Unbranded" in the small print.  I narrowly avoided some eBay auctions after discovering they were selling counterfeits.  (I did knowingly purchase a Mr. Gold counterfeit, because I wanted him, fake or not....thankyou to the honest sellers.)  My confusion/curiousity about the Lego brand led me to this thread.  Your conversation was very enlightening.

I've started receiving my eBay purchases.  I discovered that of the first 4 purchases, 1 was a fake.  It was Harry Potter stuff.  The seller had input the brand as "Lego", but the minis didn't have ANY branding marks at all.  I used the eBay procedures for contacting the seller for a misrepresented item, and detailed what I had received vs what he'd advertisred.  WITHIN TWO MINUTES the seller authorized a full refund.  

I feel very lucky.  Because of how fast the refund came, i suspect the seller knew it was fake all along.

More of my purchases will arrive in the next couple of days.  I want to thank you all for giving me the knowledge of what to look for.

I realize that counterfeiting is becoming a major problem in the toy industry.   Kids really don't care about authenticity...But collectors do.  I don't personally care about branding but I ABHORE being decieved.  For those of you who have fake inventory to unload, I respectfully request that you disclose it in your listings.  There is a market for cheaper knock-offs.  BUT there is never any reason to be a liar to unsuspecting customers.  

[snowman83]

I managed to get some pictures of a legit Deadpool via another forum (thanks thebrickfan.com) and comparing it to the three I have shows the two eBay ones US and UK are likely fake and the third a little tatty but legit. The UK seller took the return and refund, the US is asking more questions. All the parts have Lego printed on them and number where you would expect however the Lego font and size are slightly smaller and the direction of the text differs. The overall colour is slightly brighter red and the swords have one depth on handle whereas legit has two. The hollow head on legit and stud on fake is a clear difference but the seller states different head types were made, o find this hard to believe on a single run of a figure. Both eBay entries states legit and pulled from box etc.. there is a lot of detail to make them look genuine. See what happens with the us return, likely to loose out as there was the item price, shipping and import tax paid ?

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[stackables]

Fakes with the lego logo really scares me.

[Huskers1236]

13 hours ago, snowman83 said:

I managed to get some pictures of a legit Deadpool via another forum (thanks thebrickfan.com) and comparing it to the three I have shows the two eBay ones US and UK are likely fake and the third a little tatty but legit. The UK seller took the return and refund, the US is asking more questions. All the parts have Lego printed on them and number where you would expect however the Lego font and size are slightly smaller and the direction of the text differs. The overall colour is slightly brighter red and the swords have one depth on handle whereas legit has two. The hollow head on legit and stud on fake is a clear difference but the seller states different head types were made, o find this hard to believe on a single run of a figure. Both eBay entries states legit and pulled from box etc.. there is a lot of detail to make them look genuine. See what happens with the us return, likely to loose out as there was the item price, shipping and import tax paid

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Bricklink shows that there is both a stud recessed and blocked open version to the head piece.  Mine is stud recessed and 100% legit as it is direct from a set I opened.  Comparing to mine, I would say the Deadpool you have on the left is the best chance at a fake.  The eyes are not the same shape, and print is different on the torso.  I get that all prints are not created equally even when legit, so that would not be a deal breaker to me.  The eyes looking like a different shape than mine would be a red flag.  '

As for the katanas, there are a lot of different molds for them, and I would be surprised if people wasted their time faking a $.10 piece.

[snowman83]

7 hours ago, Huskers1236 said:

Bricklink shows that there is both a stud recessed and blocked open version to the head piece.  Mine is stud recessed and 100% legit as it is direct from a set I opened.  Comparing to mine, I would say the Deadpool you have on the left is the best chance at a fake.  The eyes are not the same shape, and print is different on the torso.  I get that all prints are not created equally even when legit, so that would not be a deal breaker to me.  The eyes looking like a different shape than mine would be a red flag.  '

As for the katanas, there are a lot of different molds for them, and I would be surprised if people wasted their time faking a $.10 piece.

Thanks Huskers. Attached are some better pics...what do you think?

Left is stud recess, right is hollow

Ive just looked at a load of my sons Ninjago Kantanas and they actually look like the ones on the left with the band round the top. The guy that sent me some pics of his has ones matching the left.

Left ones appear to be 21459  2013-2018 and right one 30173 1998-2016 (and listed as in 6866). 

 

Edited January 29, 2018 by snowman83
Further detail added

[Huskers1236]

6 hours ago, snowman83 said:

Thanks Huskers. Attached are some better pics...what do you think?

Left is stud recess, right is hollow

Ive just looked at a load of my sons Ninjago Kantanas and they actually look like the ones on the left with the band round the top. The guy that sent me some pics of his has ones matching the left.

Left ones appear to be 21459  2013-2018 and right one 30173 1998-2016 (and listed as in 6866). 

 

I'll look at mine when I get home again, but I'm definitely leaning to saying the left is legit and the right is fake.  I know the black of the eyes on mine goes above the curve of the headpiece, where your right figure does not do this at all.  The shape of the eyes is off as well.  The lines of the print are also much more even and crisper on the left as well.  I am by no means an expert, but that is what my amateur sleuth work says. It's easy for someone to throw on some legit accessories, I would not worry about them at all.

[Pebble&Park]

7 hours ago, snowman83 said:

Thanks Huskers. Attached are some better pics...what do you think?

Left is stud recess, right is hollow

Ive just looked at a load of my sons Ninjago Kantanas and they actually look like the ones on the left with the band round the top. The guy that sent me some pics of his has ones matching the left.

Left ones appear to be 21459  2013-2018 and right one 30173 1998-2016 (and listed as in 6866). 

 

Right is as fake as a $3 bill. If the left one is fake it's a really good fake. I'd have to hold it in my hand to decide for myself, the only red flag I see is the muscle definition is a little lightly drawn compared to legit ones I have seen. 

[scatmanjack]

What about the legs bending in on the Left Figure? That seems like an issue for me...

[snowman83]

Thanks!! Seriously confused now ?. I had swung to the right because I though the face did not extend into curve. The Lego actually looks like it's been knocking about a while which make sense with date of set whereas left looks new. The accessories with the left are definitely wrong as they were made after the set was released whereas the right fits. The legs on left curve slightly inward but right are dead straight. The one I sent back was very similar to left.

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Also the two I sent back were from eBay and looking back the sellers have sold up to 30 of them, who has 30 genuine Deadpool characters in mint condition?

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[snowman83]

What about the legs bending in on the Left Figure? That seems like an issue for me...

Agreed. This was another point bringing me to think left is fake.

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[Huskers1236]

46 minutes ago, scatmanjack said:

What about the legs bending in on the Left Figure? That seems like an issue for me...

I've seen this on a lot of legit figures and the legs just need pushed in at the hips.