Class of Bootleg	Class 1 - Exact Duplicate
Class Notes:	Mixing of assortments, but still all Spawn figures under the Spawn name
Bootleg Source:	McFarlane Toy's Spawn Figures
Bootleg Rating:	(Four out of five stars)
Sightings:	California
Vintage:	1998

Spawn bootlegs are some of the hardest of all Action-Figure related bootlegs to obtain. McFarlane toys has kept a tight grip on their molds, and very few knock-off figures have surfaced.

What has turned up is been a smattering of figures from various "waves" of McFarlane's line. However, nothing later than Series 5 (Released in July of 1996) has ever been found, and then only the "Nuclear Spawn" figure.

That doesn't mean that the packaging has been imune from duplication, however. This set of Spawn bootlegs from 1998 comes on Series 8 backers, specifically the one meant for "Curse of the Spawn". A pretty good choice, if you think about it. The figures name sounds a lot like a line name, and made a lot more marketing sense than calling the whole line "Rotarr."

The cards are reduced version of the real thing, but have printing on both sides. As noted the front is from series 8 (Released in May, 1997), with only minor copyright information removed.

The back, however, is an amalgamation of several different items, with a cool twist thrown in.

(Just a quick note - Medieval Spawn is identifed as just "Medieval.")

The diagram includes info on Ninja Spawn, Angela, Commando Spawn, Nuclear Spawn, Pilot Spawn, and Medieval Spawn. The Commando and Nuclear info are in the vertical box at right, and are in a different style than the simpler line-drawings of the box on the left.

The fun, however, starts when you look at the product shot for "Series Seven."

Most notable is Chapel (see detail photo at right). Chapel is from SERIES TWO!

He is, however, one of the figures bootlegged in this set, and one NOT shown in the individual photos above.

Also notice the slightly different font used on Chapel's name vs. Twitch and Sam next door.

I believe that Chapel replaced "Crutch" in the Series Seven Lineup. I don't have any backboards that show the unmodified version of the Series Seven group shot, so I'm just guessing. If you've got a scan that you'd like to include here, please send it to me.
 

The other "insertion" was Pilot Spawn, also from Series Two.

The scale difference isn't as noticable at the two figures on either side are pretty tall in themselves. But he still towers over Zombie Spawn, on the right.

I beleive the character replaced here was "No-Body". Probably pretty appropriate!

It's interesting to note how the bootleggers obviously spent some time tweaking this group shot's graphics. There is no trace of the "removed" figures, and even the background purple "flows" smoothly behind the toys.
 

Although the "Curse of the Spawn" figure is placed dead center on the cardback, he does NOT appear to have been copied. The other eight figures, the six shown with "Curse" and the two "Series Seven Impostors" did make the cut and became bootlegs.

Four of them are reviewed here. Not shown ('cuz I don't have them) are

• Medieval Spawn
• Ninja Spawn
• Commando Spawn
• "Basic" Spawn (Spawn I)

Figure Reviews

Chapel First up is Chapel. As noted above, he comes from the Second Series of Spawn figures, with a street date of Spring, 1995. He has undergone several color changes from McFarlanes original, most notably the skull painted on his face. It's now a nice minty-green color. His outfit is also now a uniform olive, a change from any variation McFarlane produced. He comes with the correct guns and accessories, though they also have undergone color changes from black to metallic hues. The Sticker identifying him is a new creation, as series two figures had the name fully inscribed on the backboard. View a larger scan of the figure. Back to Top

Pilot Spawn Like Chapel, Pilot Spawn comes from 1995's Series 2 of Spawn figures. Unlike the other figures in this set, all of which have crisp detailing on the molds, Pilot Spawn has some problems. The original two piece head (face and faceplate) has been recast as a single blob of plastic that looks really terrible. Oddly, the back of the card shows instructions on how to operate the "Swing away face mask." This would be a bootleg of the "no sticker" variation of Pilot Spawn. (wink wink) View a larger scan of the figure. Back to Top

Nuclear Spawn July of 1996 was the first appearance of the "real" version of Nuclear Spawn, in Series Five. Once again the bootleg's colrations are quite different from the McFarlane version, but the detailing is very nice. The most notable change is the skin tone - from orange in the original to a pinkish-one here. The accessories are all accurate, however several small missiles are, well, missing. View a larger scan of the figure. Back to Top

Angela The final figure I have to review in this set is Angela, yet another figure from the Series Two batch. Like the popular "Party Anglea" variation, this figure comes without any undergarmants to speak of. The paint that was applied comes fairly close to matching McFarlane's specifications. Gaffes like the lower strap on her thigh dagger make for some odd detailing, however. The accesories are done in flat silver and gold tones, a far cry from the variation ladden "real" version. View a larger scan of the figure. Back to Top