Class of Bootleg	Class 2 - Duplicated and Modified
Class Notes:	Slightly modified molds, changed scale, and really bad paint jobs
Bootleg Source:	Kenner Batman and Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle lines
Bootleg Rating:	(Four out of five stars)
Sightings:	Canada
Vintage:	2000

It seems that more and more often these days, bootlegs are looking less and less shoddy. The ease of digital piracy of package design and art, along with better manufacturing techniques, means that many bootlegs can appear to be very close to the real thing.

But every once in a while, the real crap mangages to make it out to an unsuspecting puplic.

Case in point: Canadian Paratroopers

Now, I have no idea if that is anywhere near the intended line name for these buggers. They came in a platic sack and have no markings on them at all. But they were found in Canada, and they do have a huge parachute attached to their backs.

Above left is a detail of the head of one of the figures in this line. Yes, it's supposed to be Batman. (Maybe after some super villian beat the crap out of him.) I'd like to draw your attention to the mismateched white blobs for eyes, as well as the smear of pink paint meant to be Batman's face. Some of the paint is chipped, and a lot of it is painted "outside the lines" and covers part of Bat's cowl.

Below are two images of the full figure.

The figure itself is cast from a Kenner Batman (or Batman Returns) mold. In scale and construction, it appears to be a late cousin of the Batman bootleg. The mold used for the torso is different however, and the Paratooper lacks any sort of belt tooling at all. (In fact, it looks like the belt area is an entirely new part of the mold - it is very elongated and completely smooth, unlike the rest of this toy.)

Batman is articulated at the shoulders and legs only.

The attached parachute is a very gaudy affair - over 2.5 feet in diamater, and decorated with circles of red, yellow, blue, black, and green. It's attached to Batman's shoulders with multicolored thread.

The other figure in this series (that I know about, anyway) is one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Like Batman, this Turtle stans about 13" tall, and is made of a lightweight hollow plastic. The paint details are limited. There are some very sloppy bands of powder-blue over the knee-pads, wristbands, elbow-pads, and mask. Yellow paint has been liberally applied to the chest for the figure's shell, a blob of brown for the belt, and some white for the teeth and eyes that overflow onto the figure's face.

The Turtle is articulated at the shoulders and legs, as well as at the neck.

While there is no mistaking this toy for anything other than a bootleg of the Playmates TMNT figures, it should be noted that this appears to be an all new mold. The hands, legs, and torso are all similar, but differently shaped than the originals. The head could be a direct copy, however.

Overall, a very silly bootleg. I can't see too many kids being thrilled to play with these guys - I was going to try and get an "action photo" of one, but I wasn't sure I could get the parachute unfolded on either without tearing it - and there's no way that these would survive a direct fall to the ground.