Elastic Belt Riddler

[RickD]

The mystery cannot be solved so I am asking and hoping anyone can shed some light on the matter. Did the Elastic Belt Riddler come in a earlier version of the Original Riddler Box? Does the box have some sort of noticeable markings?

I cannot find anything and everyone I ask doesn't seem to know.

I attached the pictures of mine.

[imp]

I hate to say it, but: The color of that belt is highly suspect to me. That purple matches a particular china-made reproduction, and it doesn't match the known specimen I have seen. I sure hope you didn't get it from a certain eBay seller who occasionally frequents these boards.

-b

[sauce]

I sold him the EBR, and I got it from eBay a while ago from someone not really in the MM/DM circle of knowledge. Some other MM'ers were bidding on it at the time and all evidence pointed to it being vintage. I have closeup photos and it never seemed like a DM or China creation to my eye.

Marmes has one. We should compare. :-)

[RickD]

The mystery thickens!

[sauce]

Take him out for air, man.

Compare to an AJ belt or Robin belt. What are your thoughts when you look?

[imp]

I did not mean to stir up trouble for good people and I should not have said anything. I think the important thing to remember here is that Bryan (nayrbgo) is good people, an honest person who would never knowingly sell a reproduction item as genuine. It does not matter what I think about that belt.

-b

[RickD]

I know. I am not upset at bryan by any means. I think this is a good thing because the mystery is huge with the Elastic Belt Riddler.

I've dealt with Bryan for along time and made great deals, this wont' stop it

[sauce]

I think it is original. My study of it before selling it and just loving it revealed no reproduction markers. How many are in collections now?

And yes, if it is indeed reproduction, then I'll refund and return and all that jazz, but I bought it thinking it was original and others bid it up thinking it was original. So let's figure it out!

I'm pleased to know you both trust me. Same back at you. :-)

[imp]

I think it is original. My study of it before selling it and just loving it revealed no reproduction markers. How many are in collections now?

And yes, if it is indeed reproduction, then I'll refund and return and all that jazz, but I bought it thinking it was original and others bid it up thinking it was original. So let's figure it out!

I'm pleased to know you both trust me. Same back at you. :-)

Cool, Bryan. I'd be interested in examining this, too, but I don't want to be a muckraker. When it comes to Elastic Belt Riddler, there is not a lot information for us to go on. So let's start with this: You stated, "all evidence pointed to it being vintage." What evidence was that?

[sauce]

I just meant that it didn't look all new and cheap reproduction-y!!!

[imp]

I just meant that it didn't look all new and cheap reproduction-y!!!

Is this the same specimen you Emailed me about a couple years ago? Because if so, I'm more inclined to believe it's authentic. In the photos you sent me in that Email (way back in May 2010), the belt looks more accurate in color and wear. Looking at the pictures in this (and another recent) thread, however, it doesn't look like the same piece. In the more recent pictures posted, the belt appears new-ish and the purple color differs from authentic examples I have seen.

[sauce]

That's the one, hombre. Only one I ever owned! And after seeing Mike's in person, only the second one I have ever seen up close.

[imp]

…and Mike got his specimen from me (the same one pictured in my book). So yep, I think it's all good. Rock on!

-b

[imp]

And by the way, I don't know if anyone ever answered the packaging question that launched these ships, but…

The correct box for the Elastic Belt Riddler would be the "4-digit" box. In other words, Riddler's item number on the right side of the box would read, "1352". This is the first version Foes box, and certainly the box an early edition, Elastic Belt Riddler would have shipped in. The only other Riddler box, the "5-digit" box (51352), wasn't released until Winter 1975… long after Mego switched from elastic to a purple Batman-style belt.

-b

[RickD]

I took him out to breathe. Here are some close up photos.