Episode One The Phantom Menace
 
 
 
Here we are, June 19. Only about a month and a half since the Episode 1 toys were put on sale at the stores. All ready the bootleg toys have hit the states. 
Personally, I have no doubt that these action figures were on the same ships that the real toys came on.  Or it could be possible that they were shipped to Mexico and then trucked into the U.S.. 
There are eight figures in this particular wave of EP1 bootleg toys. They are all Collection 1 figures. In typical bootlegger fashion, these toys are truly a horrible representation of the "real" toys. 
The figures in this series are Darth Maul, Jar Jar Binks, Battle Droid, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Anakin Skywalker, Queen Amidala and Padme Naberrie. The figures all come on a Queen Amidala card. 
Here are a couple of the figures on a card: 
 
                         

As you can see from the pictures above, the figures do not come with a CommTech Chip. Also missing are the "Collection 1 yellow portion at the bottom of the card and the names of the figures in the bubble.  The card backs are identical to the "real" toy card backs. With the typical exception of the missing UPC symols, trademarks and other copyrighted material. Funny thing about the card back though is that there is a small white "Made In China" label printed on the card that has been blacked out with a marker. I guess the bootleggers didn't want anybody to know where the toys came from. 
 
 
 
 
 
Now on to the figures. First up are Anakin Skywalker and Darth Maul. Quite frankly, Anakin looks kinda like an old man. The paint job on Anakin is totally off. His clothes are beige and his boots are painted brown and yellow. Anakin has some serious black eyebrows. 
The Darth Maul figure is missing tons of detail on his face. Part of his clothes have been painted green. The double-bladed lightsabre has not been positioned into his hands. Instead, the light sabre is mounted on the side of the figure. If this guy was in the movie, I am sure that the Jedi Knights would have had no time wiping the floor with him. 
 
           
 

The next two figures are the Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn. Obi-Wan has been given a nice yellowish outfit and a blue light sabre. The light sabre looks nothing like the "real" light sabre. Just a hunk of blue plastic with a handle. 
Qui-Gon Jinn comes with a yellow light sabre. The bootlegers decided to paint his clothes a nice avocado green color. His boots are a light brown with dark brown pants. Qui-Gon's eyes are all blue. Everything in the socket is blue. Not one speck of white anywhere in the eyeball. .  
 

           
 

Here are Queen Amidala and Jar Jar Binks. The queen is probably the worst figure in this series. She has no facial detail at all. All the bootleggers did was slap a couple of dabs of paint on the eyes and mouth. This is really a horrible figure. 
Jar Jar Binks on the other hand is probably the best figure of these eight bootleg toys. He really can't be messed up too much because his head is basically an orange piece of plastic. And what an orange color he is!!! I mean, he is a bright orange color. Not the sorta flesh tone color that the "real" Jar Jar is. Whew!!!  
 

             
 
 

The final two figures in this bootleg series are a Battle Droid and Padme Naberrie. 
What a hunk of junk the Battle Droid is. The Battle Droid is a nice golden color. Comes with two guns instead of a blaster rifle. The Battle Driod doesn't appear to have any articulation at the elbows or knees. Actually, the legs look like they have no articulation at all. You might be able to stand him up. But don't plan on posing him in a walking position. 
Padme Naeberrie is almost as bad as Queen Amidala. But at least she is a more colorful figure. This figure's face shows slightly more detail than the Queens.  
 

            
 

I don't think that there is really anything outstanding about these bootleg figures. The quality of the paint jobs and cards that the figures are mounted on are about par with other POTF bootleg toys. Well, actually, I would have to say that these figures are really slightly poorer than other bootleg Star Wars figures. But what the heck!!! They make a great addition to my bootleg toy collection. 

Any comments or questions? Feel free to email me. 
 
 
 

Click HERE to see close ups of the figures. 

 
 

 
 
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