[Skoob]

Star Wars Black Series 6" Darth Vader and Stormtrooper surfaced recently as substandard bootlegs. Unfortunately, without examining the photos closely, a person couldn't be blamed for jumping on them in the cheapest search results. They're Chinese, of course.

The box is amusing. Check out the box if you want to see a truly sad attempt to reproduce the unique Star Wars logo / typeface. You'd think they could at least get the spelling right, but no...

I inadvertently bought a bootleg Iron Man MK43 a few weeks ago, thinking I was getting a loose authorized version second-hand. It's surprisingly good in sculpt and shiny detailed paint work. Considering that I paid about US$15, I won't complain, but I wouldn't encourage it for others, because the joints are barely flexible, and when you manipulate them, the nice paint flakes off. The figure is okay as long as you leave it in a standing position and not much else. It doesn't come anywhere near the quality of my Figma MK7, but they look great standing together. Nevertheless, if/when I see an at-least-as-good authorized version that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, I mean to jump on it.

IMO, bootlegs are still only bootlegs. They're kind of fun to try, but it's unrealistic to expect all the same standards as a premium licensed collectible.