Class of Bootleg	Class 1 - Exact Duplicate
Class Notes:	Some minor packaging changes, but there's no doubt as to who the Bootlegger's were duping.
Bootleg Source:	Playmates Toys' Star Trek: First Contact Line
Bootleg Rating:	(Four out of five stars)
Sightings:	Singapore
Vintage:	1997

Star Trek: First Contact. Personally, I liked this movie a whole lot. Lots of action, a new Enterprise, time travel, the Borg....this movie had it all.

But when the toys came out, I was a bit dismayed. Playmates Toys had decided to abandon their tried-and-true (and POPULAR) 4.5" scale to make these figures in a 6" scale. This frustrated a LOT of Star Trek collectors, so the figures tended to languish on the store shelves. It took nearly two years (and massive clearance price cuts) to move these off the pegs and into the hands of the collecting community.

Thus, I was pretty suprised when I learned that these figures had been BOOTLEGGED!

The figure on the right is an example of this Bootleg Line....a set of Class One (Exact Duplicates) of Playmates' Offering.

The front of the card (like the Legal version) is a generic picuture of Borg and First Contact Logos. All of the trademarks and copyright indicators have been removed from the artwork.

The back of the card also has printing on it, but instead of copying the individualized backers of the legal release, the Bootleggers opted just to use the one designed for the Borg figure.

Again, all refrences to Playmates, Paramount, Fan Clubs, and anything resembling a copyright have been removed from the art.

There is also an odd bit of evidence that the backboard has been photoshopped...

Since the Bootleggers didn't bother to identify the character with a unique backboard, you'd hope that they'd at least identify the figure with a blister insert. No such luck!

As seen at left, they opted to keep with the Borg-Theme and re-use his blister insert for all the characters.

The Playmates version of the insert sits much higher in the blister, covering up the stand and detailing the accessories the figure comes with. The accessory info is still there on the Bootleg version, but that section of the insert has been folded down and now lines the bottom of the blister.

Also, notice that the stand is a solid brown/gold-tone now. The Playmates version has a silver spray-op for the center of the badge.

The new stock number and UPC on the back of the card identifies this as a nine piece assortment. I've only seen two of these figures, but I'm assuming the assortment contains:

• Captain Picard
• Captain Picard in Space Suit (Shown)
• Commander Riker
• Lt. Commander Data
• Worf
• Beverly Crusher (Shown)
• Borg
• Deanna Troi
• Geordi LaForge

Here's a review of the two figures I do have....

Picard in Spacesuit

Picard's accessories are the same as Playmate's release, and are molded in blue plastic.

Not to say that there aren't noticable diffrences between the two!

The image at left highlights the diffrences between the two figures. The figure on the right is the Playmates version, the (packaged) one on left the bootleg.

As you can see, the articulation and detailing are almost identical. The figure's right hand is a mit more "mushed" but not as severe as the camera angle would suggest.

It appears that all of Playmates spray-operations were carried over without omission as well. But the color scheme was not preserved.

Here's a quick run-down of some of the color changes:

Beverly Crusher

Of course, the way they applied paint to her face makes her look stoned, but that's part of a bootleg's charm, no?

The paint they used for her hands is also a very garish shade of fushia....not "caucasian flesh" at all. Makes her look like she's wearing gloves almost.

Her Starfleet issue dark-green medical tunic has also suffered in the translation...it's now a bright mint-green.