The Mafex Spider-Man 075 Bootleg Document. Differences, Issues, Fixes, Pros and Cons, and All you need to know.
Table of Contents:
So you want to buy a Mafex Spider-Man bootleg.
Wait…. There are TWO OF THEM?
DEAR GOD WHAT IS UP WITH YOUR FACE?
The Fixes and workarounds (may require a tad bit of customizing experience. You don’t have to follow ALL of these fixes.)
HOW TO FIX SQUEAKY AND TIGHT JOINTS
HOW TO FIX THAT STUPID BUTTTERFLY JOINT
HOW TO FIX PAINT RUB IN THE BICEPS
HOW TO FIX THE WEB GRABBING HANDS AND HANDS THAT DON’T FIT
HOW TO FIX THE RED HIPS.
HOW TO FIX THE CROTCH JOINT
This is all cool and all, but where the hell do I buy this figure?
That is officially everything!
So you want to buy a Mafex Spider-Man bootleg.
So.. After looking at many options for a good 1/12th highly posable Spider-Man figure you’ve come across this. The Mafex 075 Spider-Man bootleg seen on aliexpress and ebay. As someone who has owned a few of these myself, it’s pretty darn good! However, there are issues and things to watch out for. This long document will contain everything I know so far and things to look out for when buying the Mafex knockoff/bootleg. For simplicity sake I'm going to refer to the bootleg as just the KO. It’s not perfect and has many issues out of the box, but with some light customizing and work put into it, it can be a really great figure. There are just a few things to watch out for when buying this figure.
-Image from @nbs.actionfigures on instagram. He has some really good photos.
Wait…. There are TWO OF THEM?
Before just straight up the KO there is something you really need to know. There are two of them. A 1.0 and a 2.0. Both are similar first glance but they are EXTREMELY different. For one, the 1.0 KO is SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE.
-This is one of the main images you are gonna be seeing A LOT when looking for and buying the bootleg from sellers and when trying to find a link. (Specifically on aliexpress.)
Besides the obvious “Wow, those hips look hideous.” There are many things different and terrible about the 1.0 KO. For one, The elbow joints are pretty long and look awful. There is this bad red paint over what seems to be metallic joints. Not to mention the whole upper torso and butterfly joints look really bad and don’t fit in well. I could imagine this impacts the range too. Another thing is the really dark area around the neck. Besides the hips looking awful there is one major flaw that the 1.0 KO has… HEIGHT. The 1.0 Ko has an extremely wide upper torso. This makes the entire lower torso and maybe even the connection smaller and look REALLY BAD. But, this also heavily affects the figure’s height. The 1.0 KO is shorter than the official figure.
-Thumbnail and pic from Dstar01’s initial review of the 1.0 Bootleg. Really good review and perfectly shows what to watch out for with the 1.0 bootleg. I'll leave a link to the video here.
Fortunately, the 1.0 KO seems to be out of circulation and impossible to really get now. Every seller I've bought the KO from has shipped me the superior 2.0 KO. The only way to really obtain the 1.0 KO is second hand as I've seen it listed a few times on ebay and mercari. As you can see in the youtube thumbnail, the upper torso is too wide and it makes the lower torso really small. The only “good” thing about the 1.0 bootleg is that the peter parker face has much better paint compared to the 2.0 bootleg. Other than these differences though, The original 1.0 bootleg is NOT worth getting and I’d highly recommend avoiding it. Then again it’s pretty much out of circulation now so there’s that
The 1.0 KO is pretty much known for being terrible and for these reasons it is. If you ever see a Mafex Spider-Man listing on ebay for cheap. Look closely at the images and see if it is the 1.0 KO. the torso area being the main way to tell along with the arms. Don’t be fooled by these listings. Please don’t. If it is too good to be true.. It most likely is.. But like I said earlier it’s pretty much almost impossible to get the 1.0 KO now as it’s been replaced by the 2.0 bootleg.
-If you want another good video comparing the 1.0 KO to the original, This video by The Collection Dimension is excellent.
The SUPERIOR 2.0 bootleg.
There is another, now more common “2.0” of the original mafex bootleg that improves upon it. The 2.0 KO mainly fixes the biggest issue with the 1.0 bootleg, the height is SIGNIFICANTLY better. In-fact at first glance, you could be fooled to think that it is the real one.
-Pic from MarvD’s GREAT comparison video on the 2.0 bootleg vs the original. I would definitely recommend giving it a watch.
The Differences
However, there are still some major differences to boot. To start, the packaging will not have the official mafex seal and won't have the marvel logo. This is the main way to tell if the figure is a bootleg if the packaging is still intact. The paint is not that good. Good but not that good, the gaps in the knees and elbows are wider than the original, and the cobwebbing pattern on the figure is not painted well. A VERY good way to tell the difference between a real and fake on online listings is the upper lower torso in the back. The real one should have a faint marvel logo. The fake does not. This KO also features tighter joints. Really good joints. However they are VERY squeaky and can be unnecessarily tight. ESPECIALLY the bicep swivel. Those are SUPER tight. However, the toe joints are really flimsy. The KO still has all of the accessories like the original including the hands, webs (although they are flimsy), heads, and a mafex stand that is actually pretty good! However, there are some issues…
-Another pic from the video. Here you can see a closer look at the elbows and paint. You can also see the difference in the lower torso.
The many cons and issues.
There are MANY issues with this bootleg. From minor to “Oh my god this is annoying.) This section will detail ALL of them.
We are first going to start with the obvious, the paint. Although it is “clean” for the most part. The blue paint can rub off really easily. Even from just a simple scratch. Paint rub is also seen on the lower torso, arms, shoulders, butterfly joints, the red part on the elbow joints, waist, and lower legs. If you pose the figure without protecting the paint he will definitely end up like this.
-This image is from one of the many KO’s I bought.
Another issue with the KO is that the shoulders can’t move all the way down. This makes the KO look really awkward in a vanilla pose. The shoulders and biceps feel stiff in general as the joints are overly tight.
-image from VADtoy's figure comparison
The toes, while not noticeable at first, aren’t even. Mainly on the left foot is where you notice that the connection is not entirely seamless like the right foot and not only does it stick out a bit but it’s moved down a little and it prevents the figure from standing perfectly flat. The magnet feet do not have this issue.
The interchangeable hands have holes that are super small and won’t fit on the wrist peg stock. If you do put them on, they will be super tight and even break the wrist peg entirely. The open relaxed hands however do not have this issue. Be sure to check which hands fit and which do not. If one set of hands feel like they won’t go in. DON’T FORCE IT. The wrist peg will snap. And break. The knees also have a tendency to pop out.
A MAJOR issue this KO has is the right butterfly joint. It ALWAYS pops out and it’s a major pain. It pops right back in but it will always pop out when you move it. This is because there’s too much plastic in the upper torso on the side of the right butterfly joint. It can be fixed but out of the box..It’s best not to use it at all. The entire crotch joint can also pop out because the glue is really weak. The web grabbing hands are also FILLED IN for some odd reason. The knee also tends to pop out.
Another issue is that the neck pops off extremely easily and is annoying when posing. This is not an issue with the Peter Parker head however. Or more accurately…Pat.
DEAR GOD WHAT IS UP WITH YOUR FACE?
THIS is the Peter Parker head that comes with the mafex KO. Or more accurately, Pat. A joke name for the bootleg head. As you can see compared to the original, the paint is HORRENDOUS. The sculpt is there but the paint absolutely ruins it. Even the 1.0 KO head is better than it. If you aren’t planning on repainting it or getting an official mafex Peter head. DO NOT USE THIS HEAD AT ALL. It’s such a joke and this head should only be used for ironic meme/joke posts. As China bootlegs, expectations should be low.. But THIS IS A NEW LOW.
-Peter and Pat questioning their sanity.
The last major issue is a big one and it’s absurdly common with these KO’s although they can come with the correct blue hip joints they are molded in red and painted. This results in paint rub there too but there is a chance you can get hip joints that are completely red. It’s an issue I’ve dubbed.. Red Hip Syndrome.
-Image is from -Rexkenn on discord. This head swap from What If spidey also works as a replacement. May require some modification though.
There. Those are ALL of the issues the Mafex KO has. From the minor ones to the MAJOR ones. However, these can all be fixed. Some of them can be fixed easily and some of the fixes can require some work. Thankfully all of these are easy fixes. If you put in the work. This figure can truly shine.
The Fixes and workarounds (may require a tad bit of customizing experience. You don’t have to follow ALL of these fixes.)
A lot of these issues can be easily fixed. Here this section will tackle all of the fixes to truly make your KO great. Some of these fixes can require some customizing experience and I am not responsible for any damage you may cause to the KO as some fixes like preventing shoulder paint rub and fixing the loose neck can require only a little customizing experience but not that much. If you still want to try these fixes but don’t want to mess up the figure I recommend getting 2 figures just in case. These KO’s can be found for so damn cheap it’s not even funny.
HOW TO FIX SQUEAKY AND TIGHT JOINTS
Before messing with the KO out of the box. Give him a warm rinse with warm and soapy water. This will make the joints less tight but not overly loose. It will also free up some joints that are stuck. I’ve bought a fair bit of these figs and I’ve only gotten one that had the right butterfly joint stuck but this method fixed it. This also fixes the overly tight biceps.
HOW TO FIX THAT STUPID BUTTTERFLY JOINT
This is also an easy fix. Pop out the joint as it’s really easy to pop out.
I found out how to do this fix when just messing around with my figure and ended up fixing it by accident and referring to an Aliexpress comment that had a terrible english translation because google translate is awful.
The image above shows the areas you need to go in with an exacto knife. The back, the front, and the hole the joint plugs into. Only cut a little bit when trimming away at the plastic. The reason the butterfly joint and entire arm pops out is because there is too much plastic in this area and when moving the joint it just pops out due to the friction. This also causes paint rub in the butterfly joint. Paint rub is also an issue on the butterfly joint on the left but it’s at a much lesser extent. After trimming the plastic a bit, run the upper torso under hot water and plug in the joint. Wait for the water to dry and try moving the joint. If it still pops out, trim away only a tiny bit more plastic. If you happen to have a bottle Kiki loose joint fixer laying around, put some into that hole and plug in the joint. This will not only make sure the joint doesn’t pop out, but also tighten the joint. I highly recommend getting Kiki not only for this KO but for any other figs that need joint tightening.
HOW TO FIX PAINT RUB IN THE BICEPS
You are going to have to know how to take apart the Mafex Spider-Man in order to do this. I will link a video here by Ryu Kazama on Youtube. Just heat up the figure before any of this. If the shoulder and biceps fail to come apart, don’t force it. Heat it up and then try. Forcing it will just snap the bicep joint that connects to the shoulder. I learned this the hard way sadly.. After the shoulder and bicep joints have come apart you are going to have the sand the blue part of the butterfly joint so it’s a bit flatter and won’t cause rub.
Afterwards, get some acrylic paint (preferably from a high quality brand like Vallejo Acrylic Paint), color match the blue of the original unless you are planning on repainting the KO as a whole, and seal the paint with either a matte top coat or a paint sealer. If you are looking for a good matte top coat spray for figs Mr Super Clear Matte is a really good option and is my go to when wanting to seal paint on figs. After that is done, assemble the shoulder and bicep back together.
-This is what the connection looks like on my KO after sanding the shoulder and repainting. It’s the greatest as I’m still not great with paint myself but there is no paint rub.
Doing this also allows you to finally move the arms all the way done so in a way it’s two fixes in one.
FIXING THE LEFT TOE JOINT
This one is pretty simple. Just sand the toe joint a little so it’s perfectly flat and even with the foot. This issue doesn’t cause any huge issues but feel free to do this fix if you are a perfectionist like me.
-Sand the bottom part of the toe shown in the image below so it’s even with the rest of the foot.
HOW TO FIX THE NECK.
This one is really easy. Just put a tiny bit of hot glue on the back of the neck and run it under cold water. The image below shows how I did it with mine.
HOW TO FIX THE WEB GRABBING HANDS AND HANDS THAT DON’T FIT
Another pretty simple fix. Either get a small dental drill or something small like a small exacto knife and pierce into the bottom of the hands. Make the whole wide enough so the web holding accessory can fit in. You can also use this method to fix the hands that don’t fit onto the wrist pegs.
-Here is what the whole should look like once you are done.
HOW TO FIX THE RED HIPS.
Another simple and easy fix. Just repaint them or if you are lazy, You can just take the red cap off of the peg.
-This is what the fully separated hip joint looks like
HOW TO FIX THE CROTCH JOINT
Finally, make sure to glue back the crotch joint if it got seperated. Make sure the top part is facing forward and is angled like before. You will know if you are putting it in wrong or not as it only fits in one way.
WHEN ALL OF THAT IS DONE.
Repaint areas of the figure that might be scuffed. This includes the elbows, lower legs, lower torso, upper torso, elbow joints, or any other area that might have scuffed blue or red paint. After that seal the figure with a paint sealer or a matte top coat sealer like the one I linked earlier. Let it dry and now your KO should be really really good now. No paint rub, no joints that pop out, no issues. Some of these fixes may require trial and error but these are simple and easy fixes. Like I said earlier, If you don’t want to potentially or accidentally mess up your figure you can skip some of these fixes or even try to use a paint sealer on the shoulders to try to resolve paint rub. That might be an easier solution. Either way, These KO’s are really cheap so replacing one is really easy. By the way, if the magnets pop out of the magnet feet just glue them back in.
This is all cool and all, but where the hell do I buy this figure?
You can find the Mafex Spider-Man Ko on sites like Aliexpress and Ebay with just a simple “Mafex Spider-Man” search. Just don’t pay over 25 or 30 for one of these from some ebay sellers. 15-25 is a good price for one of these. Stick to that price range. When all of these fixes are done you will have a great Spider-Man fig for really cheap and if you are willing to do these fixes I highly recommend getting the KO.
There is one main thing to look for when getting the KO. Mainly the black clamshell. If it’s black, then it’s the 2.0 KO. If not, then It’s the 1.0 KO.
-Image is from an aliexpress review.
You can also get the KO on ebay but the listings there are generally more expensive.
Please don’t pay these prices. This is a china bootleg. It’s not worth anywhere near this. It’s also good to keep in mind that since these are bootlegs, quality control is a huge gamble. I have bought 4 KO’s. One of them came with red hips, one of them came with two left thighs, and the other 2 were perfectly fine. Keep your expectations low. If you get one that’s screwed up in some way it’s easy to replace it. If you are that worried about quality control however just buy 2 of them.
That is officially everything!
That’s everything about the KO I’ve experienced. From the pro’s, con’s, issues, and how to fix said issues. This is a good alternative for anyone looking for a good super poseable Spider-Man figure. As I’m typing this the official Mafex Spider-Man figure has yet to be re-released. If it ever does get re-released or if Mafex makes a new classic Spider-Man figure get that instead. If not, this KO is a good alternative for anyone.
-One of the MANY pictures I took of this figure. The venom in the back is a customized Marvel Select Venom.
