Uh, oh......Secto Viper Repro Gear!

[scrapiron]

Looks like the market is about to be flooded with Secto Viper repro helmets and guns. Check out the link below. Thank God I have an original Secto Viper with original parts. Why can't people make these different colours to preserve the integrity of the originals?

G I Joe 1988 Cobra Secto Viper Custom Restoration Kit Gun and Helmet | eBay

[roboticplanet]

Yeah, this kind of stuff has taken the fun out of hunting and collecting Joe stuff for me. I haven't outright bought a Joe in years, since the only things I need now are a few rare figures and rare parts. I'm now capable of affording a Heavy Metal fairly easily, and have occasionally searched for them on eBay, but it's not worth the risk of buying KO crap.

I'd love if this stuff was differently colored too. The Black Major's original figure designs interest me, but I also won't support straight repro figures and parts, so no sale.

[formbx257]

Secto-Viper repros, Alley-Viper repros... now HISS driver repro chests! If I didn't have an original to compare, I'd never be able to spot the minor differences. I agree - most of these should have marks or color differences to tell them from originals.

[spiderpumpkin]

My complete original Secto-Vipers and Alley Vipers are now worthless.

[3DJoes]

My complete original Secto-Vipers and Alley Vipers are now worthless.

^ THIS is what I'm talking about. We should be able to collect and army build without fear of our collections' value dwindling because of indistinguishable repros ^

[Lt. Night Viper]

I hate repros with a passion, and this makes me sick. Is it so hard to do things in different colors? I think not! They do this on purpose....

[FireFox91]

I hate repros with a passion, and this makes me sick. Is it so hard to do things in different colors? I think not! They do this on purpose....

Of course they do, they want to sell them. There wouldn't be much demand for a Secto Viper helmet that wasn't clear. But really, I just don't feel it is worth all the hate. There is nothing in terms of regulation to stop people from making them. Hasbro sold that figure 25 years ago. Why would they care to preserve the value of it now?

[navy viper]

I do agree that something should be said or done to let people know they are buying figures & accessories that are not original - but if given a choice between a repo accessory that looks like the original or something that looks like what they cave us in the accessory packs( from #2 to #6) I would rather have a repo that looks like a original

[fish&chips]

Of course they do, they want to sell them. There wouldn't be much demand for a Secto Viper helmet that wasn't clear. But really, I just don't feel it is worth all the hate. There is nothing in terms of regulation to stop people from making them. Hasbro sold that figure 25 years ago. Why would they care to preserve the value of it now?

Going by this point of view, it'd also be alright to make reproductions of art, wine, etc or even other old collectibles of (typically) lesser value like stamps. The manufacturer or producer might no longer care, but the collectors who have spent time and money building up authentic collections probably do.

If a reproduction is done so well yet not be clearly identifiable as being as such, there will be intent (not necessarily by the person doing the reproduction) to use it to scam people. That is the main problem.

[FireFox91]

Going by this point of view, it'd also be alright to make reproductions of art, wine, etc or even other old collectibles of (typically) lesser value like stamps. The manufacturer or producer might no longer care, but the collectors who have spent time and money building up authentic collections probably do.

If a reproduction is done so well yet not be clearly identifiable as being as such, there will be intent (not necessarily by the person doing the reproduction) to use it to scam people. That is the main problem.

Apples and oranges. You are comparing parts of one thing from the entirety of another. Is anyone making copies of just a part of artwork? If someone starts making copies of original artwork and passing them off as original, you can bet the original artist would be taking legal action to protect his work. Assuming that work has any value. Because the value of his previous work speaks to the potential value of his future work. That is worth protecting. The same principal doesn't apply to individual parts of a Hasbro toy. If someone started making repros of the entire vehicle, maybe they would care. Maybe. But individual parts aren't even worth their time because in the picture that is much larger than just this collecting community, they are still just toy parts. Keep in mind that Black Major has been knocking off their original work for years now and Hasbro hasn't even batted an eye. Sure, most of them aren't direct copies of the original item but some are. The fact of the matter is that for repros to stop, the original holder of the IP has to take some action. If they don't, there is no deterrent for someone to not make repros. This is one of those "don't hate the player, hate the game" situations. I get it, people don't like repros because it hurts the value of their original item. But honestly, this hobby has proven to be a terrible way to invest money.