Rare Mego Silk Screened Supergirl variant?

[Blue Meanie]

Is there any way this can be a custom ?

I was thinking the same thing...the silkscreening is just a little too crude...even by Mego Standards. The threading/stitching matches the top...where as the other silkscreen has a lighter blue threading/stitching. And the "S" logo being cut off like that just throws up alarms for me personally. Just curious, is there a Mego Tag on the inside of the outfit?

[reevefan78]

Is there any way this can be a custom ?

I seem to remember somebody making silk screened suits a few years ago - including Supergirl

I doubt it......it is the EXACT type of fabric used by Mego and I have carefully analyzed the regular version SS Sgirl suit (as seen on the left) against my variant and clearly it is the same type of fabric......a stretch polyester nylon....more stretchy and thicker than most of what is used today for the printed custom costumes (that are often somewhat baggy in appearance with wrinkles in the suit everywhere due to the lack of stretch in the fabric itself) that I've seen by many customizers.....note that there are no wrinkles (save for the billowy sleeves) in the costume like the SS customs out there. The colors (red, yellow and blue ss colors) are also exact between the two.

I've pm'ed Ben Holcomb to see if he has any info about it since the only image I've seen of it appears in that little b&w pic on page 112 of his Mego book taken from the small color fold-out brochures that came with many 70s mego figures & playsets. I'll post any info he gives me about it. Stay tuned.....move to follow soon.

[reevefan78]

I was thinking the same thing...the silkscreening is just a little too crude...even by Mego Standards. The threading/stitching matches the top...where as the other silkscreen has a lighter blue threading/stitching. And the "S" logo being cut off like that just throws up alarms for me personally. Just curious, is there a Mego Tag on the inside of the outfit?

"A little too crude"? Ever looked at Mego prototype or early production figures in the gallery section of this site? I've seen much cruder early production figures or sales samples......just check out The Greatest American Hero prototypes and sales samples if you have any questions.

Perhaps Mego changed the thickness of the black lines to better hide any overlapping of colors when they changed from red to yellow to blue with each pass of color used for the costume.....would make sense.

Also the reason Mego made the SS versions of the Supergals to begin with was because they were trying to make them in time for Christmas of 1972 (or was it 1973...as the bodies are stamped 1972) and didn't have time to tool all the plastic parts and accessories. Hence the later versions that were released without the SS suits.

Besides......not to toot my own horn but I KNOW FABRICS GENTLEMEN. My Grandmother was a seamstress and I learned a great deal from her about fabrics....especially stretch fabrics. I know how to sew and I know the differences even the minutest ones in fabrics. I have years of experience with stretch fabrics and hundreds of swatch samples from every major company that produces stretch fabrics in the continental US. And if you think I'm exaggerating on my knowledge of sewing and fabrics then check out my custom Mego inspired Christopher Reeve 12.75" Superman the Movie figure that I produced a small hand full of for collectors back in 2001-2002 below. Trust me when I say I have scrutinized this variant and it is an original Mego product....or my name isn't reevefan78, LOL.



Here is a behind the scenes pic I took during production of my custom Reeve figure....shows my original castilene head sculpt and an in-progress production figure:

[megozilla13]

It looks legit to me. Although I don't remember ever noticing the differences in the belt, I've seen plenty with cut off "S" emblems.


mikej

[Duncan]

I'm ignorant of the silk screening process, so please forgive me if this is a dumb question. Is this degree of variation possibly due simply to different workers making the costumes? Worker A draws darker lines that Worker B, and A also prefers a lower waist than B?

Thx

[Marvelmania]

Is there any way this can be a custom ?

I seem to remember somebody making silk screened suits a few years ago - including Supergirl

Yeah, that was Johnathan Moore some years back.

I look forward to any more info you can find on this. It sure looks nice! Congrats!

[Mikey]

I'm ignorant of the silk screening process, so please forgive me if this is a dumb question. Is this degree of variation possibly due simply to different workers making the costumes? Worker A draws darker lines that Worker B, and A also prefers a lower waist than B?

Thx

Silk screening is basically rubbing paint on cloth over a cut out pattern through a layer of silk-like materal.

Kind of like stenciling, so there shouldn't be many variations --- not counting a sloppy or incomplete job.

[livnxxxl]

Well alright then. That settles it! It IS fake. I will PM you my mailing address and I will of course "dispose" of it properly for you.

Hey, It is the least that I can do for a fellow Mego member.

[reevefan78]

I'm ignorant of the silk screening process, so please forgive me if this is a dumb question. Is this degree of variation possibly due simply to different workers making the costumes? Worker A draws darker lines that Worker B, and A also prefers a lower waist than B?

Thx

This is clearly a variant as evidenced by the image from the booklet that came with many 70s Mego figures/playsets that I included (taken directly off this site) in my original post on this thread. The one in the booklet (also in b&w in Ben Holcomb's book on page 112) looks EXACTLY like mine.

The belt design clearly has less circles in my variant and the hot pants are longer.......I have several SS Supergirls and have seen dozens of others over the years and I've NEVER seen one like this.

[EMCE Hammer]

I'd consider this more an 'error' than a variation. To me, a variation is a scenario like Catwoman, Circle Suit Spidey, or flesh sleeves Wondergirl that has distinctively different colors or patterns. This is more akin to the differences found on the various standard issue Spider-man suits. It's a combination of the settings being off on the silkscreen, and the cut being off to compensate in my opinion. I'd guess it's an early run and the settings on the machine were fine-tuned afterward. I've seen plenty with the emblem out of place too. I think the belt circles can be explained by the fact that it's riding higher than it should be. Either way it's really neat and I'd consider it a 'keeper.'

[Blue Meanie]

"A little too crude"? Ever looked at Mego prototype or early production figures in the gallery section of this site? I've seen much cruder early production figures or sales samples......just check out The Greatest American Hero prototypes and sales samples if you have any questions.

Yes I have looked at a Mego Prototype or early production figure...in fact, I see him every day on my shelf at home...Web Hand Aquaman. And I've handled a Prototype Ralph,Pam, and Bill...and they don't look that crude at all. I could be wrong about the Supergirl...but I've been around a long time on every board except for the Levy List and have seen a lot. Including the Jonathan Moore Silkscreen incident. I hope that your Supergirl is the real deal.

Perhaps Mego changed the thickness of the black lines to better hide any overlapping of colors when they changed from red to yellow to blue with each pass of color used for the costume.....would make sense.

You are right...a running change in the line would make sense.

Besides......not to toot my own horn but I KNOW FABRICS GENTLEMEN. My Grandmother was a seamstress and I learned a great deal from her about fabrics....especially stretch fabrics. I know how to sew and I know the differences even the minutest ones in fabrics. I have years of experience with stretch fabrics and hundreds of swatch samples from every major company that produces stretch fabrics in the continental US. And if you think I'm exaggerating on my knowledge of sewing and fabrics then check out my custom Mego inspired Christopher Reeve 12.75" Superman the Movie figure that I produced a small hand full of for collectors back in 2001-2002 below. Trust me when I say I have scrutinized this variant and it is an original Mego product....or my name isn't reevefan78, LOL.

My Father was a tailor for 50 years and worked in the garment district in Manhattan and my Grandmother worked for Bill Blass and Gloria Vanderbilt and other top designers. They could make anything that you showed them a picture of right down to the threads and stitching. Shows that anything can be faked. I'm not saying yours is a fake...all I'm saying or asking is does the Silkscreen in question have any Mego labels inside?

[reevefan78]

So let me get this straight......to recap what has been posted here by other members......What I have here is a Rood Supergirl with a custom silk screen outfit that is not a true variant but an 'error'......silly me.....and here I was thinkin' I had something special....oh well.

Seems the only rightful thing to do for penance and appease the Mego gods for my apparent blasphemy in believing that this might very well be a true variant is to set my self-entitled 'virgin variant' ablaze in the fires of hell that Ive created in my backyard. I'll take plenty of pics of her charred remains to post on this thread.......or better yet maybe I'll expose her to kryptonite and kill her on a pay per view live video stream.....details will be forthcoming!

[Blue Meanie]

So let me get this straight......to recap what has been posted here by other members......What I have here is a Rood Supergirl with a custom silk screen outfit that is not a true variant but an 'error'......silly me.....and here I was thinkin' I had something special....oh well.

Seems the only rightful thing to do for penance and appease the Mego gods for my apparent blasphemy in believing that this might very well be a true variant is to set my self-entitled 'virgin variant' ablaze in the fires of hell that Ive created in my backyard. I'll take plenty of pics of her charred remains to post on this thread.......or better yet maybe I'll expose her to kryptonite and kill her on a pay per view live video stream.....details will be forthcoming!

Dude, you just need to relax. No need for drama. All we are doing is asking questions. There are no "Mego Gods" here. What you have to understand is that when there are new discoveries they will be questioned.

I'll give you an example of a common figure that has a variation that some on the museum won't believe if it is on a loose figure...Falcon with normal hands and not ape hands. I have one that I got from an antique dealer that I KNOW knew absolutely nothing about toys. I'm convinced that it's the real deal. Some here would say "If it's not carded...it's probably hands that have been replaced." I still say that it's the real deal...but have accepted the fact that there are some that think it's not. We're just asking questions...not trying to crucify you...so just take a breather.

[reevefan78]

Yes I have looked at a Mego Prototype or early production figure...in fact, I see him every day on my shelf at home...Web Hand Aquaman. And I've handled a Prototype Ralph,Pam, and Bill...and they don't look that crude at all. I could be wrong about the Supergirl...but I've been around a long time on every board except for the Levy List and have seen a lot. Including the Jonathan Moore Silkscreen incident. I hope that your Supergirl is the real deal.



You are right...a running change in the line would make sense.




My Father was a tailor for 50 years and worked in the garment district in Manhattan and my Grandmother worked for Bill Blass and Gloria Vanderbilt and other top designers. They could make anything that you showed them a picture of right down to the threads and stitching. Shows that anything can be faked. I'm not saying yours is a fake...all I'm saying or asking is does the Silkscreen in question have any Mego labels inside?

You have quite the resume there (web handed Aquaman....now I'm professionally jealous, LOL) and apparently so do your father and grandmother. But knowing someone who has the knowledge and actually having the knowledge yourself are two different things. I have been sewing for 17 years and I too know fabrics and can make just about anything that I see with or without a pattern like my Christopher Reeve 12.75" custom figure. I have thoroughly inspected these two Supergirls and the material is not just identical they're EXACT.

I have not checked her suit for any labels.....her suit has a seam split in it on the inside of her right upper thigh and I don't want to pull and tug on the suit to open up this seam split any further than it is now....you can see what I'm talking about in the pics I first posted....the blue thread is showing a bit and there are clearly some stitches missing when I look closely at it in person.

'Shows that anything can be faked.'......if that's true then so can a 'Mego label'.....I'm just sayin'

[EMCE Hammer]

Easy there.....it's a neat piece. Here's another example for you that may be more pertinent: Several months ago, I was in the market for a silkscreen Catwoman with blue legs. They came up on Ebay fairly regularly, but I passed on several before I finally went after one. There was a ton of "variation" between the screening on the boots, the gloves, and the break in the different blues around the crotch area. I waited until I found one that I liked and went for it. Your Supergirl reminds me of that. I honestly think that the different paintmasks on the faces of the two you have pictured is just as interesting as the suits themselves.

Another "variant" in my eyes is the WW with the larger stars. I'm not trying to rain on your parade; perhaps it's merely semantics here between what I'm saying and what you are saying. I'm convinced it's legit; the grain of the fabric and the depth of the silkscreen are much different than any of the customs or fakes I've seen.