Fake 6359 Scorpio

#6359 Scorpio (fake)

The Story

Back in the late 90's I was contacted by a very excited Alec Peters who had purchased a trio of Old Store Stock, mint packaged toys: a Gulf Carded Major Matt Mason, a pristine Scorpio and a pristine Doug Davis. After purchase I think something didn't feel quite right to Alec and we set up a conference call that also included Mark Stuart, and determined that the Doug Davis and Scorpio were fakes - we were sure about the Doug but there was some question about the Scorpio. These are the photos of Scorpio I took at the time - Alec came right by my home so I could do a direct comparison. These were taken with a cutting edge Sony Mavica camera (note that the photos aren't that great and by today's standards way inferior). Alec managed to get his money back on the Doug Davis and Scorpio and kept the Gulf Card - the first to really surface among MMM collectors. First the photos of the real example that I still own. Following are images I took of the fake and an explanation and comparison of real vs fake.

Mattel #6359 Scorpio (real)

These images were taken on my desk to use as a comparison during the conference call.

#6359 Scorpio - Box Front (real)

#6359 Scorpio Box Back (real)

#6359 Scorpio Box Detail (real)

#6359 Scorpio Box Detail (real)

#6359 Scorpio Box Detail (real)

#6359 Scorpio Box Detail (real)

#6359 Scorpio Box Detail (real)

#6359 Scorpio Box Detail (real)

Mattel #6359 Scorpio (fake)

These are the images I took to use as comparison - trying to duplicate the shots I had taken at my desk as best as possible.

#6359 Scorpio Box Detail (fake)

#6359 Scorpio Box Detail (fake)

#6359 Scorpio Box Detail (fake)

#6359 Scorpio Box Detail (fake)

#6359 Scorpio Box Detail (fake)

#6359 Scorpio Box Detail (fake)

#6359 Scorpio Box Detail (fake)

#6359 Scorpio Box Detail (fake)

Real vs Fake 

If you scroll back and forth there are some telltale signs that the fake is indeed a fake. 

• The cardboard used in the fake is made from thinner stock - about half the thickness of an actual Mattel box. It's also quite white and shows no sign of age. Even a case-fresh toy that's survived from the 60's will show some sign of age and yellowing or foxing.
• There's quite a bit of moiré when you look at the inferior print quality indicating that the images were scanned then output on a printer. There's also banding as it appears to have been produced from an ink-jet printer.
•  Looking closely at the die-cuts, you can tell they were produced from a blade like an X-ACTO knife rather that from a punch.
• It's hard to see but there's a bit of debris on Scorpio's shoulder
• There's tape on the fake that looks new. The original box was factory glued.

John's Notes:

Remember that these comparisons were made back in late 90's and that the reproduction technology was way inferior to what it is now. These days someone would print the entire box and output it to a color sticker, adhering it to the right thickness box so it would better approximate an original. Very hard to  hide the seam when looking at the edges however. Also difficult to hide any hand-cuts made so those would also be telltale signs of a fake.

Second, I've seen some modern reproductions that are sold as such (there's a repro Scorpio box that shows up periodically on eBay). Most who make reproductions mark any paper items to avoid confusion, usually with a stamp or something hidden on the inside.

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