# Fake Forgeworld Models...



## Azkaellon

So i just got a bunch of DKOK models and i suspect the seller is casting them him self in large number..... IS there anyway to tell 100% if a model is real or not? (Also does Forgeworld like to be told who is mass selling fake models?)


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## Rems

GW encourage informing about illegal casting. 

As to telling if they're fake are they made out of a different resin? Is there a large number of faults and defects? Is the detail consistently poor? Does the seller regularly sell large batches of forgeworld models?


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## Azkaellon

Rems said:


> GW encourage informing about illegal casting.
> 
> As to telling if they're fake are they made out of a different resin? Is there a large number of faults and defects? Is the detail consistently poor? Does the seller regularly sell large batches of forgeworld models?


Huge batch's and some of the backpacks are almost plastic like Resin (a few different shades as well...)


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## bitsandkits

what was the country of origin?


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## Azkaellon

bitsandkits said:


> what was the country of origin?


Russia i thought but now it seems china.....I think im Fucked.


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## bitsandkits

yeah they are fake, if its got anything to do with Russia or China they are fake, also you might want to be careful who knows what they are made from. 
I would contact FW about it, Russia and China are getting alot better with IP related issues because of high profile cases like the fake apple stores and such so its not out of the realm of possibilities for GW to go after them.


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## Azkaellon

bitsandkits said:


> yeah they are fake, if its got anything to do with Russia or China they are fake, also you might want to be careful who knows what they are made from.
> I would contact FW about it, Russia and China are getting alot better with IP related issues because of high profile cases like the fake apple stores and such so its not out of the realm of possibilities for GW to go after them.


I just cut some of the Spur parts in half and there pretty much plastic so i don't exactly think there harmful lol, Its just kind of a kick in the nut sack.


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## Magpie_Oz

Generally if it is too good to be true, then it isn't true.

Dob the bastards in, if they are legit then they have nothing to worry about.


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## Azkaellon

Magpie_Oz said:


> Generally if it is too good to be true, then it isn't true.
> 
> Dob the bastards in, if they are legit then they have nothing to worry about.


Gw Legal contacted me....all i can say  I am happy they are looking into these scamming fuckers.:grin:


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## fatmantis

i live in china and you can go to a web site called taobao(china ebay) type in warhammer and bobs your uncle fake fake fake fake fake! ive contacted my local rep several times and he doesnt seem to care. i can get 5kuai 30uscents give or take land raider door. his quality for resin casts are crap too, but in al fairness some of the guys advertise they are fake and just for painting practice,,,,,,ha yeah right


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## bitsandkits

Azkaellon said:


> Gw Legal contacted me....all i can say  I am happy they are looking into these scamming fuckers.:grin:


good to hear matey.


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## Tawa

Glad to hear you got a response.


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## REDEATH

Some of the FW knock off stuff out of China is really good the shade of the resin is a little darker but the pieces I saw were cast right on. The reality of it all is GW is getting ridiculous in its pricing I just saw the website today freaking 5 Finecast Grail Knights are almost $80 USD they are really bleeding their customers dry with the recent insane price hikes is it any wonder there is now a great market for knock offs and people casting their own stuff. It was promised that Finecast was going to be a cheaper alternative to Metal and that we were all going to save money GW and US the Players but it was all a lie the Fincast models are more expensive. GW has lost its soul it is now just a profit money hungry corporate entity its not about gamers and artists expressing their creativity and making games that they and their customers enjoy its now about how high can I jack up the price of my merchandise and raise my profit margins before my addicts/customers start to really quit.


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## The Son of Horus

REDEATH said:


> Some of the FW knock off stuff out of China is really good the shade of the resin is a little darker but the pieces I saw were cast right on. The reality of it all is GW is getting ridiculous in its pricing I just saw the website today freaking 5 Finecast Grail Knights are almost $80 USD they are really bleeding their customers dry with the recent insane price hikes is it any wonder there is now a great market for knock offs and people casting their own stuff. It was promised that Finecast was going to be a cheaper alternative to Metal and that we were all going to save money GW and US the Players but it was all a lie the Fincast models are more expensive. GW has lost its soul it is now just a profit money hungry corporate entity its not about gamers and artists expressing their creativity and making games that they and their customers enjoy its now about how high can I jack up the price of my merchandise and raise my profit margins before my addicts/customers start to really quit.


Games Workshop has always been about the bottom line. It's a company, not a charity-- unfortunately, they operate their company like drug dealers...

But yeah. The thing about resin is that it's just not that hard to cast your own stuff. To do it well is tricky, but if you're doing it for personal use and are even passably skilled at using green stuff to fill gaps and minor air bubbles, you can make all you want for personal use and then some. I'm not sure that fact has any real factor in their pricing strategy, though.


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## Galahad

Just to be clear though, regardless of how any of us may feel about GW's less than savory business practices, Heresy does not support or condone illegal copying of any GW Intellectual Property, and we certainly can't tell you to go ahead and google things like mold making, resin casting or even PDFs of game books and the like. That would be wrong.

So let's steer away from how easy it is for people to copy models or how justified people may feel in doing so.


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## metalmonk

i wrote a guid on spotting fakes hope it helps

http://limited-edition-warhammer.blogspot.co.uk/p/spotting-fakes.html


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## maelstrom48

I've been thinking of buying FW on ebay now but I'm a little concerned about paying full price for something that turns out to be fake.

OP, what was the name of this seller? This way I can rule out at least one of these guys.


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## ntaw

maelstrom48 said:


> I've been thinking of buying FW on ebay now but I'm a little concerned about paying full price for something that turns out to be fake.


What's the point of going to a different retailer if they're the same price, are you saving on shipping? Otherwise I don't see a point of ordering the same product from a distributor you have to ask about when you can easily get what you want from the store. 

Unless it's just for bits. Then maybe check out Bits and Kits? They have a pretty decent selection from what I've seen on their site.


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## Septok

The Son of Horus said:


> Games Workshop has always been about the bottom line. It's a company, not a charity-- unfortunately, they operate their company like drug dealers...


Two words: Plastic Crack.


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## maelstrom48

ntaw said:


> What's the point of going to a different retailer if they're the same price, are you saving on shipping? Otherwise I don't see a point of ordering the same product from a distributor you have to ask about when you can easily get what you want from the store.
> 
> Unless it's just for bits. Then maybe check out Bits and Kits? They have a pretty decent selection from what I've seen on their site.


You got it; it's to save on shipping. The USPS international rates are ludicrous these days.


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## bitsandkits

my advice with this is simple, if you buy from ebay, dont buy from anyone based in the far east, Russia, poland or similar former eastern block nation, check there feed back, if its private avoid !or if not private check any negatives, read what people say, dont buy from people using FW stock photos, FW do not do trade discounts so anyone selling large amounts of FW for less than FW price is likely to be selling a counterfeit item.

Generally speaking FW items are much more detailed than GW resin, FW change there molds regularly to keep things crisp, this is why they are pricey, your paying for what you get,the resin they use is top notch and the service the delivery is excellent.

if you are concerned about the postage cost then i am willing to order on your behalf and mail the item to you at cost. I have done this for a number of over seas Heresy Members including the OP. Just drop me a PM.


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## Juggernaut_painting

metalmonk said:


> i wrote a guid on spotting fakes hope it helps
> 
> http://limited-edition-warhammer.blogspot.co.uk/p/spotting-fakes.html



i replied to ur post


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## locustgate

REDEATH said:


> Some of the FW knock off stuff out of China is really good the shade of the resin is a little darker but the pieces I saw were cast right on. The reality of it all is GW is getting ridiculous in its pricing I just saw the website today freaking 5 Finecast Grail Knights are almost $80 USD they are really bleeding their customers dry with the recent insane price hikes is it any wonder there is now a great market for knock offs and people casting their own stuff. It was promised that Finecast was going to be a cheaper alternative to Metal and that we were all going to save money GW and US the Players but it was all a lie the Fincast models are more expensive. GW has lost its soul it is now just a profit money hungry corporate entity its not about gamers and artists expressing their creativity and making games that they and their customers enjoy its now about how high can I jack up the price of my merchandise and raise my profit margins before my addicts/customers start to really quit.


Agreed, you want ridiculous check out the Blood Knights, $100 for 5, when I started warhammer again I thought about making a squad of them, that went out the window faster than a SM's grenade, I'd buy something from FW sooner.

Like the other guy said, GW is a company, an IG cares more about an ant than they do their customers ability to buy their stuff.


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## maelstrom48

bitsandkits said:


> my advice with this is simple, if you buy from ebay, dont buy from anyone based in the far east, Russia, poland or similar former eastern block nation, check there feed back, if its private avoid !or if not private check any negatives, read what people say, dont buy from people using FW stock photos, FW do not do trade discounts so anyone selling large amounts of FW for less than FW price is likely to be selling a counterfeit item.
> 
> Generally speaking FW items are much more detailed than GW resin, FW change there molds regularly to keep things crisp, this is why they are pricey, your paying for what you get,the resin they use is top notch and the service the delivery is excellent.
> 
> if you are concerned about the postage cost then i am willing to order on your behalf and mail the item to you at cost. I have done this for a number of over seas Heresy Members including the OP. Just drop me a PM.


Good advice, and thank you, I might just take you up on that!


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## lav25gunner

I've bought "FW" stuff on ebay. The quality was superb. Out of curiosity I brought the models to my local GW store and even the manager there couldn't tell if it was a fake. We assumed they were fakes because the color on the models were different from each other. The reason to buy "FW" from ebay is because FW charges a lot for models and a ridiculous amount for shipping. I got some Death Guard kits for 2/3 the price and free shipping.
I think I got lucky with the quality, so I wouldn't risk getting anything else unless it had the FW packaging.


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## Oldenangry

I've picked up a bunch of upgrade kits for my Guard army from FW and the kits for the shotgun-toting veterans was a completely different colored resin than the other stuff, so I'm not sure if you can judge just by color if it's fake or not.

Now, on a huge order of DKoK, say, and half the models are one color and the rest are a different color I'd say you got something counterfeit on your hands.

I'm not going to get into the whole debate about prices and such, however.


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## bitsandkits

the colour of forge world resin can change (used to be cream at one point), but i have had everything from very dark grey to almost white,so its no indication of what is genuine or not. 

Some people are fine with fakes, its personal choice, i just like anything i own to be genuine, not just models but cd's,dvd's,clothes etc etc, i like to think that if someone has produced something i like enough to consider buying it, why would i buy a fake something that could hurt that persons ability to carry on producing stuff i might like in the future?and thats before you weigh up quality issues or safety etc.


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## Azkaellon

FYi this was solved and i got replacements from FW! (They also shut down the guy making the fakes!)


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## Leonardo

Azkaellon said:


> FYi this was solved and i got replacements from FW! (They also shut down the guy making the fakes!)


That is incredibly good of them! k:


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## Oldenangry

Great ending to the story!


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