This is firstly a heads up about the new wave of REPRO's coming out of the Netherlands over the last 6 months.

These REPRO's are much better in quality than any previous REPRO's over the last 15 years and some of them are dam close to the originals.

One thing im sure of is that these weapons will definitely be assumed as original by inexperienced or newer collectors.

At the minute i am trying to pick up as many of these as possible so i can take high res photo's of them next to Original Weapons for the Main TIG site.

I also feel that its only by getting them in my hands that i will i able able to compare them properly against originals and find enough identification points to build a quality description to warn collectors.

For the most part these weapons are currently been sold as REPRO by various sellers from the Netherlands however there has already been a couple of cases of these REPRO's turning up with loose figures on eBay and sold as all original i do feel this will increases as more of them enter circulation.

Its for these reasons that i feel it is important to track and document them all now.

If anyone wants to help then feel free to drop me a PM.

Here are 2 examples of these type of REPRO's that have already been added to the main TIG site -

REPRO ERG STAFF (Netherlands REPRO)



REPRO Ugnaught Bag (Netherlands REPRO)

So glad I am pretty much done with my loose collecting!

I would hate to be just starting out and have to deal with all of this repro nonsense!

Thanks for posting and warning all of us!!!

Good work Jay.

Your saving the vintage collecting guy's big time from the fake's.

I wonder where the the field of vintage collectible's is going to be in 5-10 year's from now.

I think the fakes are going to be so common it's what will be mostly out there in the market.

Scammer's are making replica's of everything,They'll probably start making repro Ledy's soon.That's when i say goodnight.

Dan.

I bought a high quality ERG staff 2 or three years ago from a member of the German Forum.
That staff has got a small raised rectangle at the bottom. Jay, does your staff has got these rectangle, too?

I'll be sure to microwave the snake I got Jay.

Repros are getting trickier.

mike-skywalker wrote:

I bought a high quality ERG staff 2 or three years ago from a member of the German Forum.
That staff has got a small raised rectangle at the bottom. Jay, does your staff has got these rectangle, too?

Hi Mike no its doesn't have a small rectangle on it anywhere buddy.

Here are some close up pictures of the new REPRO Gam Guard Axe unfortunately i haven't got an original to compare it with at the moment.

Looks damn close.

Wow, that is close. The only differences I can see in that from the original is the wood grain on the handle, it doesn't match up to it. Plus the indents on the blade are deeper. Unless thats just the photo where they look deeper.

Chris_J wrote:

Wow, that is close. The only differences I can see in that from the original is the wood grain on the handle, it doesn't match up to it. Plus the indents on the blade are deeper. Unless thats just the photo where they look deeper.

Interesting points Chris

What i thought was as there are 4 different sculpt variations of the original Gam Guard Axes this REPRO may match up more with one version than the others maybe?

To me the wood grain on the handle matches V2a and V2b - However it doesn't have the circle thats present on the original V2 variants so this could be a factor to tell them apart.

Here is a comparison picture of the originals



Also can anyone do a float test on there original Axes?

jaymassive619 wrote:

Also can anyone do a float test on there original Axes?

originals sink. The repro floats?

Mine sank also. The one I'm comparing with looks like V3A or V3B that came with my PBP Gammy.

The New REPRO Gam Guard Axe Floats!

Its good that the original Gam Guard Axe's sink as this looks to be a key difference between some of the new wave REPRO's and the Originals so far this applies to the Yoda snake and Gam Guard Axe.

We need to work together on this thread to collate all the information so we can write a report including detail photographs and information for the forum and the main TIG site once complete ill add the info to RS as well.

Research shows so far that the old Float Test concept that was used for years is effectively redundant now if anything in some cases the reverse is going to be true!

The only way i can do this is by having as many people help out in this thread

There are at least 7 REPRO' that have been identified as been part of this new wave -

REPRO Orange Yoda Snake - I own an example for testing
REPRO Gam Guard Axe - I own an example for testing
REPRO ERG Staff - I own an example for testing
REPRO Ugnaught Bag - I own an example for testing

REPRO Madine Staff - Example needs purchasing
REPRO Pruneface Rfile - Example needs purchasing
REPRO Anmanaman Staff - Example needs purchasing

The only way i can do this is by having as many people help out were possible

If anyone ones to help out by helping to purchase these REPRO's for testing them drop me a PM

At this stage im looking for help with the following -

Can anyone complete the Float Test on the following ORIGINAL weapons -

ERG Staff
Ug Bag
Madine Staff
Pruneface Rfile
Anmanaman Staff

Just completed the Float test on all the examples of these new REPRO's that i own and here are the results -

REPRO Ug Bag = Floats
REPRO ERG Staff = Floats
REPRO Orange Yoda Snake = Floats
REPRO Gam Guard Axe = Floats

Repro Amananman staff floats as well

Just checked the Amanaman staff I got at the flea market and it does sink. That made me happy as hell. But that was the only original I had to check in your list, Jay.

jaymassive619 wrote:

Can anyone complete the Float Test on the following ORIGINAL weapons -

ERG Staff
Ug Bag
Madine Staff
Pruneface Rfile
Anmanaman Staff

Sure thing - will get these suckers out tonight and test away...stay tuned

hmmm...all these original accessories float too...not a great result



Didnt do the Amanaman since Chris already did it...

Thanks for the input lads

It looks like there isnt going to be a blanket rule regarding the float test but at least it serves to identify some of the REPRO's.

Hopefully once we pick up the remain REPRO examples we can test then as well and put together a report together inculding high res pictures like the Gam Guard Axe above so people can know what to look out for with each of these examples.

Jay

loose collecting isn't my thing Jay but this is an interesting thread none the less. It must be an absolute fu**in' minefield for you guys that collect loose and variants ect.

I mean production techniques must have moved on from the early 80's surely.


Full marks though for highlighting this to other TIG ers

Thanks for the help so far guys

Im currently putting together a mini guide for these REPRO's that once complete will be published here on the main TIG Weapons site and the vintage forums.

One thing i want in the guide is High Res Photo's (like the Gam Guard Axe REPRO Pics in this thread) if anyone owns the REPRO's im missing and can take pictures at that type of quality that would be great! Ideally i would like to avoid buying them as well as the ones i have purchased so far if possible lol However if i need to ill buy them to ensure the guide can be completed if anyone wants to help out or chip in feel free.

aussiejames wrote:

Repro Amananman staff floats as well

Any chance you can try and get some decent macro pictures of the REPRO Anmanaman Staff AJ? If you can make sure its before you crack open a beer buddy lol

I really want to complete and get this guide out in the next few weeks if possible as i noticed a thread on RS regarding REPRO weapons and a number of people were stating the Float Test REPRO Sink / Original Float as a difinitive way to tell items apart when its pretty clear that this isnt the case and in many cases the reverse is true!

I just remembered I had a Pruneface rifle (stuck in a corner) and mine floats also. Like you said, the float/sink test is getting hard with these new repros popping up if the do the same as originals. Is there any other weapons you need checked into?

Hi Chris Here is what is still needed to complete the guide on these REPRO's (I highlighted in Red the areas that need contributions

Guys if you have any of the original versions of these weapons and can spare 2 minutes to test them that would be great as it wont be possible to finish the guide for the new REPRO's without peoples help.

REPRO Orange Yoda Snake - Float Test Complete, Pictures Complete

Original Orange Yoda Snake - Float Test Complete, Pictures Complete

REPRO Gam Guard Axe - Float Test Complete, Pictures Complete

Original Gam Guard Axe's - Float Test Completed on some examples so far all sink the more tests people do the better as i want to confirm that all the original Gam Guard Axe variants sink, Will use the Pictures from TIG Main Site


REPRO ERG Staff - Float Test Complete, Pictures Complete

Original ERG Staff - Need as many people to complete float tests and post results on this thread, Will use the Pictures from TIG Main Site


REPRO Ugnaught Bag - Float Test Complete, Pictures Complete

Original Ugnaught Bag - Need as many people to complete float tests and post results on this thread, Will use the Pictures from TIG Main Site

REPRO Madine Staff - Example needs purchasing so the Float Test and High Res Pictures of this REPRO can taken

Original Madine Staff - Need as many people to complete float tests and post results on this thread, Will use the Pictures from TIG Main Site,

REPRO Pruneface Rifle - Example needs purchasing so the Float Test and High Res Pictures of this REPRO can taken

Original Pruneface Rifle - Need as many people to complete float tests and post results on this thread, Will use the Pictures from TIG Main Site
REPRO Anmanaman Staff- Example needs purchasing so the Float Test and High Res Pictures of this REPRO can taken

Original Anmanaman Staff - Need as many people to complete float tests and post results on this thread, Will use the Pictures from TIG Main Site