Fake heads?

WESTIEKaTH

Know this is going sound really stupid but ........
I have been checking a few of my heads ready to list and i keep on coming across ones which i dont know if they are fake!! I cannot see the Lego logo on them - they are mostly the series heads. When i check them they are all recessed stud and not the safety studs. Do i take it the ones i have are fake - i do not want to put them up for sale if they are not genuine!!

fitbricks

Have a look here: https://rebrickable.com/parts/3626c/minifig-head-plain-hollow-stud/

robernat

@WESTIEKATH The first 10 series of CMF's all had safety stud (no LEGO logo, as there ain't room for it), as of Series 11 heads are Recessed Solid Stud, with LEGO logo (in the stud) and there is afaik no exception to that.
Some heads that where made in 'safety' version at first, did re appear in newer issues of the same fig (chicken guy for example) with 'recessed solid stud' (with the LEGO logo offcourse)

Cheers, Eric

WESTIEKaTH

Thanks looks like mine could be fake then because they dont have the Lego logo on them. 8-|

BrickGenie

Not necessarily. Best way to recognise fake heads is a bit of experience. Fake heads feel and look a bit off. Also the prints never match 100% with the original or are just completely new designs.

If you're ever in doubt feel free to post pictures here, most people will be happy to give them a look :-)

Calibrick

Westiekath,
As Robertnat noted, there are minifigure heads that have a recessed stud that at the bottom of the recess have an X. There's no room for the LEGO logo on those, so you can't go by that to determine legitimacy. :-(

fitbricks

My son has / had a fake ninjago Minifigure. His auntie bought it for him from Hong Kong. It's very good except for the head.
The yellow is not quite right and the plastic feels lighter.

WESTIEKaTH

Oh dear how confusing all this. I have actually had some fake lego that i can see straight off is fake as waynstar said the plastic is a cheaper lighter version. I actually think the ones i have are legitimate. They are def the same weight colour as the heads with the Lego logo on them!! Thanks for your help all :-)

robernat

LEGO heads produced in China are not made with the exact same ABS composition as in Europe, TLG used to have 1 manufacturor of ABS pellets (which gave consistancy), now they have several. This causes yellow heads (and other parts) to look 'lighter' or 'brighter' or more 'translucant', doesn't mean they are fake. The ones produced in China are afaik always 'recessed solid stud' and have the LEGO logo, so no mistake with counterfeit from the same region. The mold produced in Europe have been of the 'mercedes' type (blocked open) for a long time, but lately I haven't seen any of those either, so it's not unlikely that mold has been discarded and is now also 'recessed'

BrickGenie

@robernat Looks like you're correct judging by the BL catalog. The last 'blocked open' type minifig head was released in 2014 (the Hera Syndulla minifig to be exact). Although BO only lists the 'stud recessed' variant.

WESTIEKaTH

so still confused - does that mean mine are actually fake then? They are blocked open stud??? [-(

BrickGenie

Any chance you can post some pictures of them?

robernat

@WESTIEKATH 'Blocked open stud' or 'safety stud' (or mercedes logo type as I call it) have not been 'faked' as far as I know. Most 'fakes' are 'solid stud' (and/or of terrible quality pinting wise) without any logo or a logo that's nowhere near the LEGO logo. During the time period the safety stud was produced the 'safety' version was quite unique and 'hard' to (re-)produce, I don't think you have fakes, as you would also have fake legs and torsos (and other parts), so that would be easy to 'spot' in bulk and rise questions to/for yourself.
Recessed stud is a different mather, as indeed they have been produced a lot in China (rented factory 'till 2016, so TLG did not have full control), with the potential those factories also produced fakes (as they did have the 'print' in stock), the difference is that those heads have the LEGO logo, while the fakes didn't.
Now BL's (and BO is worse I'm afraid) timeline isn't 100% full proof when it comes down to safety stud and recessed solid stud.
2 reasons:
BL does not support alternate heads in minifigs (so even when encountered and added to catalog, they won't show up as being 'known')
TLG: they never throw away parts... Let's assume they produced 75000 medium stone gray heads, they print 7 different prints (when needed) and put them in 10000 sets each. The box will now contain 5000 unprinted heads. They switch mold. Decide to use Medium Stone gray heads in 3 more sets they produce in 10000 sets each... Oops, not enough in stock, we need to produce another 50000 to have enough stock and a bit extra. Then they print, while grabbing the ones 'on top' of the 5000 that are sitting in the bottom of that box of 55000 heads. Result, 2, 3 years later you can still find freshly printed heads of the 'old' mold (whenever they decide to increase the production of a certain set). Obviously the opposite is more frequent during the transitions years, I don't expect 'safety stud' to be found anymore nowadays in newly released sets.

Bottomline, I think you can be quite 'safe' when listing them as being the real deal ;-)

WESTIEKaTH

Thank you Robernat - great you've put my mind at rest. :D