Banpresto SCultures: Dragon Ball Z Mr. Satan figure

 May 1, 2019  Toys

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CHARACTER AND TOY LINE DETAILS

You might think that Mr. Satan is just an ordinary person, but out of all the normal being in the anime, Dragon Ball Z, he could be strongest – besides being rich and all. As a World Martial Arts champion, he did bring out humor in the anime considering that planet Earth has basically super aliens attacking them throughout every saga. While he is considered weaker than the Saiyans, he still managed to get connected with Son Goku and his friends through her daughter, Videl.

Like most of all distinct characters from Dragon Ball Z, Banpresto made sure that Mr. Satan also has his fill in the manufacturer’s renowned collection. The design from which the SCultures Mr Satan figure was based on was from a winner in the World Figure Colosseum, simply an annual sculpting competition held by Banpresto. It makes the figure more special because it was clearly made out from hard work and overflowing enthusiasm of the sculptor.

While the annual competition does give credit to aspiring sculptors, it’s disappointing that heartless bootleggers take this as an advantage to copy another design once again, for their own benefit. Hence, a fake SCultures Mr. Satan figure is born from such piracy.

ORIGIN OF FAKE

Bought on: AliExpress
Origin: China
Vendor: wildflower
Distribution Area: Worldwide

Online shopping can be cruel sometimes. Out of size clothing, inaccurate description of items, and fake figures, especially, are circulating around the globe. Not that it’s AliExpress’ whole fault, but the this shopping website just fails to filter those vendors who are openly selling bootlegs. Let’s take this vendor whose name is irrelevant to what they sell as an example.

Wildflower doesn’t care whether a figure is made by an individual or the manufacturer itself. They’ll do whatever they can just to get their time’s worth for every penny they get in selling fakes. Although it’s hard enough to know who steals the design from the legitimate manufacturer, but what we’re sure of is that many of these inferior items are made in China.

China is badly known for being a place where such wicked people exists. The country, however, is also housed by many factories from where Japanese manufacturers produce their figures. This is how manufacturers like Banpresto get to mass-produce their awesome Dragon Ball Z figures efficiently, but of course, it also opens up an opportunity for figure pirates to steal designs.

It is up to your keen senses whether you’ll give in to buying fake figures or deciding to get the authentic ones instead. Take this fake SCultures Mr. Satan figure as a warning, and observe how bad it is to be put in your collection!

DESCRIPTION OF FAKE

Like every trying hard bootleg, this fake SCultures Mr. Satan figure came with a box. The appearance of the box though doesn’t look sketchy from a far glance, but there are certain signs that give the box a red flag.

Apart from the box’s flimsy quality, the image quality of the print gives off this impression that it’s poorly handled. Looking closely, the print’s a bit faded and you’ll be able to notice this more from the back of the box where the sculptor’s profile is found. Aside from that, the back of box oddly bulges forward that says a lot about its condition.

By taking a clear look at an authentic box of the SCultures Mr. Satan figure, you’ll be able to point out the missing link.

There are specific logos that are missing on the box of the fake SCultures Mr. Satan figure, and those are the: Banpresto logo, CraneKing logo, and the SCultures logo. Additionally, there are stickers that also brand the packaging as an authentic. A sticker of Toei Animation can also be found on the authentic figure’s box, and as a design inspired by the World Figure Colosseum, a logo of Banpresto Figure Museum is found at the back. More importantly, authentic figure boxes should be sealed by manufacturers as practiced by Banpresto.

Out of the box, the fake SCultures Mr. Satan figure is wrapped in cheap, thin plastic. The base, on the side, is also inside a sealed plastic, and looking under it, we’ll see the Zoukei Tenkaichi Budokai as well as the copyright imprint in backwards.

So onto the figure itself, we see a cartoonish, martial arts pose of Mr. Satan. The figure gives off a lot of details due to the character’s macho appearance. However, spotting flaws on this fake figure should be simple as it would definitely be marked with obvious defects.

With a closer observation on the fake figure’s face, you’ll notice a strange spot on its right cheek. Sure, there are spots all over its chin but this one’s a bit out of place, don’t you think?

Its eyes also gives a dirty look as it’s spotted with gray paint. And while you think there’s nothing wrong with its mouth, little lumps are seen way up close. Apart from that, the teeth looks like it was scratched during production. Moving on to its hair, the texture seems too rough compared from the overall surface. You’ll also notice from an overhead angle that the fake figure’s shoulder has a glue stain.

The fake SCultures Mr. Satan figure’s arms and upper body clothing have these plastic lining all over. Although the fake figure’s molding may seem intact, more spots are found on its clothing. The hair details on its arms, on the other hand, looks faded compared to its chest making the paint job look inconsistent.

Damages are issues that you wouldn’t ever want to encounter in any figure, or even any defects in that sense. So if you have any thoughts of buying a bootleg, then expect a lot of mishaps on these fake figures. And if you’re going to contact the manufacturer about it, more or less, they won’t be able to help you since you have a product that’s made without their permission. It would even be seen as an insult if you ever try to contact them about a defect on a bootleg of their figures.

Going to the fake figure’s lower body, you might have already seen it from the earlier images but you’ll be able to notice a paint stain on its left knee. As messy as it looks, you’ll probably be annoyed by how inaccurately painted the shoes are. As you can see, there are a lot of ragged edges of black paint on them.

The fake figure’s surface does feel a bit powdery like many bootlegs, but without such in-depth knowledge on the specific collection and manufacturer, one may be fooled into buying this fake SCultures Mr. Satan figure.

Looking at the real SCultures Mr. Satan figure, you’ll be able to spot the missing details on the fake figure. For one, you’ll see that the real figure has hair visible on its knuckles. Its mouth is more detailed with its tongue looking like it’s almost sticking out. The paint job on the real figure is spot on, and the color looks consistent emitting out a wonderful radiance. A brilliant Banpresto figure indeed, and a true masterpiece by Inasaka Hiroomi – truly, a well-deserved victory!

It’s disappointing how bootleggers would want to make money off a design that someone spent a lot of time and effort on. You’ll be surprised as to how costly this fake SCultures Mr. Satan figure for a wretched inferior.

PRICE

Spending even a dollar on a fake figure wouldn’t be worth the hassle of ordering such item online. What more if it’s around $8 like this fake SCultures Mr. Satan figure. But of course, you’d ask yourself why you’d even spend more for an authentic figure instead.

Authentic figures are covered by manufacturers making it a risk-free purchase. It’ll definitely be worth your wait getting the product shipped especially if it’s a well-designed piece like the real SCultures Mr. Satan figure. Apart from that, you’ll also be getting the best extent of your hard-earned money’s worth.

WHERE TO BUY THE REAL BANPRESTO SCULTURES MR. SATAN FIGURE

The SCultures Mr. Satan figure was released last 2017. It might already be too late to grab the figure online considering that it’s an in-demand design that won Banpresto’s prestigious competition. But don’t fret as the figure is still available on this trusted website.

Luckily, you’ll be able to get the SCultures Mr. Satan figure for only $27.61 at Ninoma. The website offers world wide shipping, and you might be able to get your hands on the figure in just a week or two.

It may be hard to tell at this point what other alternatives to get the authentic figure from as there are a lot of bogus websites especially if you’ll be googling this specific Mr. Satan figure. Your best bet would be to ask a physical store where you previously bought a figure from.

OUR VERDICT

The fake SCultures Mr. Satan figure missed out little details that make a huge difference between the fake and the real figure. Aside from that, the fake figure has a lot of out-of-place spots in addition to a messy paint job the bootleggers did on this inferior item.

Needless to say, the fake SCultures Mr. Satan figure will never surpass the authentic figure especially in quality. This bootleg deserves a 90% terrible rating for a mess that it is.