Black Gun laser pistol

WESTIEKaTH

Hi all.
I have a black gun laser pistol (13608 / 87993). It is not on the colour info but looking at Bricklink it is on there. It is not linked to any sets or mini figures so do you think that this is a fake? If it is fake its pretty darn good - exactly the same as all my other ones in different colours. It does not have the Lego logo but as it has been pointed out to me before many small parts don't. Any ideas or has anyone else come across one before?

tons_of_bricks

Look inside the studs on each side of the gun. The picture on Bricklink shows that the lego logo should be in them. If not, it's most likely a fake.

WESTIEKaTH

Thank you firestar - I had my doubts. No Logo so fake I think. Thanks

Calibrick

So... here is my embarrassment to share.

I had a new customer who has a trade show starting today, and I sent him priority mail (USPS) a large quantity of the medium-sized Star Wars laser pistols I had in stock.

USPS lagged and tracking didn't even show I'd dropped it off, etc., but then WOOT the customer received them in the nick of time! Sounds great right?

Unfortunately, the informed me that 2/3 of the laser pistols I sent them were fake - a circled #1 and no LEGO logo on them. And to be clear, I believe the customer (they have a good long-time rep on here), that's not at all in question.

So I'm sitting here absolutely horrified (I've refunded them the reported fake parts as well as their shipping as USPS lagged so badly). I go out of my way to check for the LEGO logo on every single plate and brick, as well as some of the basic non-standard plates and bricks that I know have Mega Blok counterparts, and even the bottom of every tile (that one got me before i opened for business, but I figured it out based on color differentials).

My question to the community, really, are there any other "looks so much the same you have to look for the LEGO item-by-item" non-standard parts that come to mind for you? Besides SW blasters, sigh. I'll definitely go through all my weapons in stock now, just wondering if anything else popped out at folks (where a surplus of fakes floating around surprised you)?

tons_of_bricks

Pickaxes comes to mind. I didn't find them but another family member found a whole slew of fake ones, not sure how they noticed the different. 4l bars are tricky. Tiles are a pain. Safety stud heads are very hard to impossible to tell the difference. I haven't yet figured out a trick to spot those yet.

I remember having a slew of knock-off ninjago minifigures parts once. The prints were identical to Lego's, but something seemed off about them. And when I checked the torsos and legs, no Lego logo. Oh, and the deadpool minifigure i actually had listed for a long time. Luckily no one bought it before I realized it was a rip-off.

These fakes make the job a lot more fun, don't ya think?

Jay37

If it makes you feel any better there was a story reported on the BBC a few years back. If you struggle to tell fake from genuine, you're in good company...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-38729557/lego-copycats-fool-china-boss

Pikka

Technic axles and axle-to-pin connectors! Sometimes there is just a number on one end, but no LEGO logo – not even the © symbol.

Calibrick

Oh wow, this is amazing information - I had **no** idea, folks! (and thanks for making me feel less blond about all this, Jay!).

Forewarned is forearmed, so I will definitely check pickaxes, legs, and technic connections - I have no idea how to check an axle, those don't have logos or copyright symbols, do they? Where could they fit them?

SrMorte

I have a buggati chiron from lepin, and checked the original Lego pins VS lepin pins, the difference is in the colour and the plastic in lepin seems to be more rigid.
But in technic parts, there are plenty of them without any marks from Lego.

Calibrick

Thanks @SrMorte - and what a coincidence, I'm literally in the middle of the Buggati build myself, lol! I've had the same experience, numerous technic parts have no LEGO or copyright markings from LEGO that are definitely LEGO - so I'll just need to keep going the best I can.

One_Click_Off

Holy Cow!
"Forever Sorting" can have "Listing is Learning" added (Thanks loads to everyone for those catalogue threads!) and, now, "Always Auditing" added to our mantras in this Aftermarket-
Spent so much time on just one Star Wars rifle, going through images that then confirmed from TLG images that it was legit...Still feel the spear gun with its material that is like the tools looks a bit dodgy compared to the other guns, but seems legit if it has those micro-, minuscule numbers.
Relying on the spotting helps for Technic- Thanks!

Calibrick

I did find one point after surfing - the long black SW guns have two different prints - one without the LEGO logo and has a copyright mark,one with the LEGO logo. So both are legit if you believe the internet of things... (it sounds like S&D were looking at some of the same articles I was today! <s>).

I did end up just tossing about a dozen dark gray and dark stone gray pickaxes I had listed though - I had NO idea those even had the logo! I was impressed at how close they are, frankly. Sigh. I am SOOO glad I posted this thread!!

Now, onto the technic 0-6 connectors! :-)

Everyone here is so awesome, thank you again, all! Feel free to keep adding common items that are frequently fake or easy to mix with LEGO that are worth auditing:

I will add 1x1 round plates to this list, as well as Technic 1 x 2 bricks (with the one hole). One of the competitiors makes a VERY similiar looking brick. I think everyone knows these two, but very early on, I did not even realize other companies made them) - look for that LEGO logo! :-)

And of course those blasted 1 x 1 tiles - so much fun (not!) looking at every single one in the light to verify there's a logo, but worth it to our customers! :-)

Normally when we get new lots and merge them into one for cleaning, sorting, and data entry, we look at *every single item*, one by one, for damage/fading, etc. against our store's criteria during our initial presort - that is the time we also harder at those items we know have close clones/fakes for the LEGO logo at this point, also (we def do not do that for every single item though, we'd go insane). We'll need to amend this with our next giant lot-of-lots waiting to be presorted with what we've learned here, for sure!

One_Click_Off

@Calibrick we keep two fake 1x1 round plates, one too small, one too big as calibrating elements for even the round plate that has a hole- very helpful, as are your posts and every one here! Early on, we found the Technic bricks to hold off- ours were 1x1 and suspicious from the start so glad we removed...
@WESTIEKATH , for your original post, did you ever imagine such a flourish of interest, divulging and great information?
Now, just a question about regular axe and wrench, where some have markings and some do not- Based on images here that don't have markings, should we be discarding those without markings?

SrMorte

An idea, what if we create an post and list the pieces where are marked with Lego or something marking the original ones?

One_Click_Off

@SrMorte , had a moment channeling Rachel from "Friends", "Ooooo, Interesting..."
What about a "Gallery" for clones or fakes?

Calibrick

+1000, what a brilliant idea, @SrMorte!! That's a public service to buyers AND sellers.
@Lawrence, would you be open to having this as a site page perhaps? Or should we keep it in the forum, at least until there's a solid list and images?

tons_of_bricks

Minidolls just came to mind. I remember coming across a couple fake recently. "Cobi" pieces are very hard to tell from lego. The quality of those are very close to lego, and their name has four letters also, so if you're not careful, you see the four letters and your brain reads lego. But their colors are always slightly off.

Calibrick

Another great addition, @firestar246, thanks!

Pikka

I've just found this double bevel gear with 20 teeth among some stuff I bought in bulk (see attached image). There is no LEGO logo nor any other markings. Design and dimensions are close to 32269 but I can't find it in the catalog. It's pearl-ish gray and of good quality. So, what do you think - is it fake?

Calibrick

I've never seen this (that axle hole is what is throwing me), @pikka, could be a Mega Blok or Lepin? Unless it's REALLY new, maybe one of the folks who regularly buys/busts new sets will comment?

tons_of_bricks

Never seen that before. First guess is not lego.

WESTIEKaTH

Oh dear I didnt realise that pickaxes were always marked with the Lego brand. Just been through some which thankfully I havent listed and yep had to throw them all. Are there any parts which do not have the Lego brand. I know safety heads dont but I can usually spot those (incorrect colour, doesnt quite feel right or look right) but what about other small parts????

paulvdb

There are lots of smaller parts that don't have the logo on them. Especially older parts. And that includes the pickaxes. I checked some older pickaxes from the 1980s and they don't have a Lego logo on them.

Calibrick

Here's a new one I just found:
LEGO Hand Armor with Ball Joint Socket (92233)
I have one in Flat Silver w/the LEGO logo and one in Dark Red without the LEGO logo.
The Dark Red one is wildly close to the Flat Silver one, but if you look hard, there ARE minor differences in terms of flat edges vs. curved, etc. And LEGO does not make it in this color, also.
Wild! :-( So someone is also faking Hero Factory parts, too.

WESTIEKaTH

Now this is going to be very confusing

Calibrick

To all our newer sellers, this is an important thread to read...
For example, I just finished (at loooooooooong last) sorting 200 pounds of LEGO I had bought in multiple auctions. Almost no Mega Blok, really clean parts.

But I checked for that logo carefully... and low and behold, when I hit the weapons (e.g., SW laser rifles), pickaxes, etc., there were definitely fakes in there.

So always check your product for that LEGO logo! There are precious few parts LEGO doesn't squeeze that logo onto SOMEWHERE, if any. Part of sorting and cleaning now consists of checking every single part for the LEGO logo. It's slower, but the result is happier customers and me not unwittingly selling fakes!! :0)