Bootleggaholic.

I started to write a rant in defense of bootleg toys and found myself with nowhere to go. They are never as well made as the originals and they fly in the face of every licensing agreement and law. The bootleggers are just that a bootlegger, what they do is illegal and some would say immoral, so why do I support their efforts? After some soul searching I came to realize the following. (In my best AA meeting voice) "I am a bootleggaholic. I love bootlegs because they are cheap, cool and in many cases rarer than the toys they are ripping off. " (Couple deep breaths to calm myself, admitting you have a problem is the first step.) Regardless of the moral, legal and aesthetic concerns I will purchase bootlegs because I like them.

Cheap:

Bootlegs by nature must be cheaper that they toys they are ripping off. Bootleg Machinders are exceptional in this, as the toys that they are ripping off are mucho expensive. Case in point the recent Taiwan bootleg D-17. While it is made of a cheaper material, has a near Russian roulette fist firing mechanism and funky stickers it is still a much better alternative to selling blood and bribing the Yakuza to get an original one. Bottom line: Bootleg costs about 1/5th to 1/10th what the original does.

Cool:

If you love one robot in particular, example would be my unholy lust for Great Mazinger, then bootlegs offers another version of said robot. They are cool as they offer different versions of your favorites. I am still trying to track down some bootleg Great Mazingers made in Hong Kong in the 70's.

Rare:

While most bootlegs don't command a hefty price tag they are often rarer than the original Machinders that they rip off. Case in point would be the Nacoral Shogun bootlegs. While a bootleg Nacoral Gaiking MIB may not fetch as high a price as a MIB Shogun Gaiking they are rarer and harder to come by. I have seen dozens of Mattel Great Mazingers in all stages of quality on eBay, but I have only seen three Nacoral Great Mazingers on eBay.

I bought two of the three, call me an addict. That's it for now. I am gonna go see if my bootlegs have fired on each while I was gone (poor quality my ass, they're possessed, possessed I tell you).

Brad