Bootlegs vs. Knockoffs?

[Mr.Marion]

Which do you like collecting more?

Bootlegs are unlicensed product like Uzay Star Wars or the 10" blow mold Super Powers.

Knockoffs are professionally done riding a trend like Mr. Rock, Captain Eagle, etc.

[SeattleEd]

There is a third and falls in between both, art toys, which is a subculture of the toy collectors and artists. I like this area the most and collect the most but I really like Knockoffs for the pukka value and the bootlegs are just a world of fun and strange. Especially stuff found in a tianguis in Mexico.

[Confessional]

Yeah, I'm with Ed as an equal opportunist; hell there might even be a fourth/fifth with bootlegs of KOs/KOs of bootlegs… also *professional* can have a very different connotation in vintage and contemporary international/non-western markets.

Kinda silly to pick one over another, as they all have such redeeming qualities and contribute to more interesting toy lineage.

[KingKickass1983]

Whatever looks cool.

I love KOs, but bootlegs have their place too.

If I'm working on a custom figure, would prefer to use a bootleg just so I wouldn't feel as bad ripping apart a toy for parts.

[rche]

I can't really say I prefer one over the other. The Tomland Star Raiders are sort of riding both of those camps and they are some of my favorite things to hunt for.
Sometimes, I am really enamored by the alternate world one gets into when they see an official toyline that was released in another country. Lili Ledy heroes, for example. That feels to me like living my childhood, but in a parallel world or something along those lines. There is s certain world of the bootleg that tends to become grotesque due to the rushed or unprofessional techniques used to make the toy. Some of those I view with a sort of car crash, had to look mentality, although I don't think I would want to ever pay to put them in my collection.

[Mikey]

I'm way more of a fan off bootlegs

As a former Beatles record collecting fan I would rather own a "classic" Beatles bootleg like Alpha-Omega or even Yellow Matter Custard (not the tribute band) instead of a rip-off Butcher copy.

Same goes for toys (for me)

IMO, boots (in their own way) are art

[SeattleEd]

I'm way more of a fan off bootlegs

As a former Beatles record collecting fan I would rather own a "classic" Beatles bootleg like Alpha-Omega or even Yellow Matter Custard (not the tribute band) instead of a rip-off Butcher copy.

Same goes for toys (for me)

IMO, boots (in their own way) are art

Mikey, this is rabbit hole to go down into. Talking Beatles bootlegs on vinyl. LOL.
Alpha-Omega is a pirated album, not a bootleg as is lifted the tracks from other Capitol releases and compiled to a new release under an unauthorized label, Audiotape, Inc. Yellow Matter Custard was a bootleg as those live tracks were never released in any format except in this collection from Trademark of Quality 71032 in 1972. However, by today's legal definition it now falls under pirated if it were to be release again, which it won't, since these tracks have been released under the BBC Apple Records releases.

I own a Butcher Copy on vinyl that was made in Japan. Everything is an exact replica of the original even with the textured cover and proper etched marks on the inner groove. Love it since I can't afford an original one. Happy to have the official CD that was recently released.

Agreed with bootlegs being are, underground art and in some circles, an honor.