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| Mattel #8874 Doug Davis Real vs Fake |
The Story
Back in the early 2000's I managed to snag a Mattel #8874 Astronaut boxed Major Matt Mason in Orlando at FX Toy Expo - for those unacquainted, at one time FX was one of the best toy shows in the US. I ended up paying $200 for that boxed MMM, which I still own. Shortly after the first boxed astronauts started appearing on eBay. I managed to snag a Doug Davis from a UK seller that was described as sealed. I received it about 2 weeks later (shipping in those days was even slower than it was during the pandemic). When I got it there were some obvious issues with the figure (see below).
The figure itself had broken joints and paint missing from the collar, and was a bit dirty - it had very obviously been a used figure. I pointed out to the seller that it was an obvious fake with a used figure and not as advertised and asked for my money back - the seller immediately refunded me and I packaged it up and shipped it back (at my cost) to the UK. About two months go by and I get my package back with a "refused by addressee" type form attached to the box. On further investigation the seller was no longer on eBay - seems they got scared or something. In any case, I still own this fake.
Mattel #8874 Astronaut Box
I won't get into too much detail on a real Astronaut box as I describe them ad nauseum on the Mattel Product page: Mattel #8874 Small Boxed Astronauts
Fake (left) vs Real (right)
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| Mattel #8874 Doug Davis Fake vs Real |
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| Mattel #8874 Doug Davis Fake vs Real |
Look at the die-cut for the window - there's white where it wasn't accurately cut as opposed to the Mattel box.
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| Mattel #8874 Doug Davis Fake vs Real |
The "Contains Parts" sticker on the fake has been poorly cut with scissors or a razer instead of being cut from a roll.
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| Mattel #8874 Doug Davis Fake vs Real |
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| Mattel #8874 Doug Davis Fake vs Real |
The bottom is very obviously very poorly cut using scissors or an X-ACTO - you can also look at the printing on the fake which shows obvious printer details rather than being factory printing.
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| Mattel #8874 Doug Davis Fake vs Real |
The box is a fair approximation though the stock is a bit thinner than the original. There's no indication of wear or yellowing to the celo (most of mine have imperfections and/or tears).
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| Mattel #8874 Doug Davis Fake vs Real |
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| Mattel #8874 Doug Davis Fake vs Real |
The blue of the fake (top) is a bit lighter.
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| Mattel #8874 Doug Davis Fake vs Real |
The insert used a completely different cardboard, much lighter than the aged original.
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| Mattel #8874 Doug Davis Fake vs Real |
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| Mattel #8874 Doug Davis Fake vs Real |
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| Mattel #8874 Doug Davis Fake vs Real |
The placement of the sticker is also a bit suspect - most that have the sticker is either at the top or bottom. Sometimes the sticker covers a sticker that wasn't removed from the original scan of the box - a dead giveaway.
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| Mattel #8874 Doug Davis Fake vs Real |
John's Notes
When you actually examine and evaluate the packaging you'll see that it's a fairly easy one to duplicate. Very recently (during the pandemic) there's been a spate of Astronaut boxes that are in perfect condition appearing on eBay. They have an additional sticker "NASA Presentation Astronaut" on the front with an astronaut's name - I haven't looked at one in person but I would question whether those are real or reproductions (I've only seen them on fakes).
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1 comment:
Again, this section is also very useful: I have a number of these single-figure items: 8x MMM, 5x DD and 1x JL. The JL box has that “NASA Presentation Astronaut” sticker on it. If memory serves, I acquired these figures back in the 1980s. They are currently all boxed up with some of the rest of my collection, so I may have to retrieve them and examine each one carefully to see if any/all of them are fake.
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