Recently there is ruckus about this KNOCK OFF / BOOTLEG Gundam Deathscythe EW made by a company named “Dragon Momoko“. It appears that this company is from Taiwan. And rumors says that Dragon Momoko is a subsidiary of Bandai with the goal to eliminate the TT HONGLI knockoff in the Gunpla world. So in short, this is a fight of knock-offs! I wonder what will be the outcome of this…
**** Just to be clear, we do not support bootleg kits in general. ****
I have here the pictures of the so-called Gundam Deathscythe EW of Dragon Momoko and I would say that they are indeed better than TT Hongli‘s MG version in general (nope TTH does not have this DS EW version).
Somebody who claims to already have built the kit says that the quality is better than TTH brand and that articulation, panel lines and frame are about 99% Bandai-like. Nothing mentioned about the decals though…
Anyway, here are the pictures for your references… Let us just hope this is indeed BANDAI’s solution to the bootleg problem…
Let us know what you think…..
Gundam Philippines 
it looks indeed better that the TT HONGLI crap :))
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yuh…. the panel lines were indeed clean…
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Correct..i hope you can get the info soon…hehehehehe!!
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Looks good. Saan kayo nakakuha nito sir? 😀
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most probably sa divisoria, pero wala pa news about dito eh… will update you pag may nalaman ako….
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Soooo Bandai started a company to make knock-offs of their products to compete with TT Hongli for the best knock-off maker. Sounds so Inception-y.
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need more layers! LOL
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how many levels deep? hahah
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where in manila can I grab one of these?
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i do not know yet… will update you when I find out….
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if this is Dragon is under Bandai, then it feels like you bought Bandai with manufacturing defects (less quality materials) for half the price! don’t you agree?
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knockoff knockout
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wow maybe ill buy one of this hehe just for the fun of it.. maybe it they complete the line would be nice LOL
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haha I will try it too if my budget permits… but usually bootlegs are priced at 1k – 1.5k so adding a few more bucks can give you a Bandai DS EW for 1.8k the cheapest… If only they were priced below 1k….
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But seriously though, if Bandai wants to solve their bootleg, they should drop the prices on their kits.
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I agree… but the only thing that makes it expensive is import tax and shipping. besides, gundam kits are still cheaper than those marvel/DC figures (good ones)…
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i think this guy sees the root of all this discussion….may talino ka tsong hehehe
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looking accurate doesnt mean that it is made or its parent company is bandai, remember, when tt hongli first came out, it also sparked the same idea by many, that idea is just another excuse for bandai elitists in buying these chinese goods like the MC hinu brand.
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owned/handled by bandai or not, this is still bootleg.. and they are pricey if you ask me… better to stick with original bandai products. But we cannot deny the fact that this Taiwanese version is nicely done. Besides, rumors will be rumors unless proven…
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no they’re not pricey as you think it is. now i will tell you that you could buy those bootlegs from 350-1k. still cheaper than bandai at 1,700-16k. but these price range depends on the scale of gundam. i have 5 gundams and i bought it for 2,600. better think about it and see for yourself 🙂
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time to get one of these to compare and discuss!
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will only get this to practice my painting skills :p
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this is not impossible nowadays. dont based on both company ends. technology is very flexible to everyone! this means many manufacturer of plastic making machines is flexible to sell to everyone and specially these machine is capable to remold plastics as close with other gunpla products. its like “if you want to make cars we have machines that can create cars, if you want to create a book we also a machine for it, you to make gundam we also have that kind of machine.”
for the issue of this DM brand is the alter company of “B brand”, this is a very dangerous move, if it is true. why? let us assume that the rumors is true “”B brand” has an alter ego of DM to bust the TTH”
since most of here said it has a good quality they will prefer to buy this DM brand (Dragon Momoko). granted they successfully bust out the TTH still B brand will loose because people will look for the DM instead of the B brand. and if the strategy is to pull out the DM to get back the market from the B brand this is impossible because TTH is still in the market.
in market industry it is difficult if you are loosing to the ranking in the market but still you are in the market.
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nice point of argument you have there sir… I have to agree with what you are saying….
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Kinda like a Bandai reject to me. Maybe they wanna re-use the old defective runners in order to get more buck for their bangs
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Or was it to get more bangs for their buck?
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this might be possible since here in the Philippines, SD Gundam kits (like red frame astray) are given away at a so-called Gundam Caravan. This SD kits are rumored to be the defective batch or rejects from bandai. It has no box, only the manual and the runner in one plastic. Now this time instead of giving them free, they might make money out of it..
Perhaps there is a possibility about your idea…
Thanks for sharing bro!
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Yes, by the look of it…the quality is almost BANDAI…but got to see to believe… 🙂
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yep… it seems to bandai-ish…. we’ll see…but unfortunately I have this model in bandai so I will wait for some other model to try…
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Bandai can solve the bootleg problem by not giving a f*ck. Loyal customers of Bandai will always prefer the quality of the original over the shoddiness of a knock off. Also buyers of TT Hongli will not necessarily start buying Bandai if TT Hongli gets shut down.
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you have a point there….
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Though Dragon Momoko and Model Comprehend are knock-off brands, their products have much more features and detail that attract customers. Although the plastic is cheap, to professional Gunpla builders paint and putty will solve everything. Most importantly, its cheap. T.T You might be saying that your loyal to Bandai, but once you see these products, I bet you’ll buy one too.
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My question is where can I buy legit gunplas and also where can one acquire these knockoffs (both of them mentioned)
Thanks
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Greenhills is your best bet for Bandai stuff… Best Toys, STC, Great Toys and Wasabi Toys XD
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You can get these knock offs at http://www.Slickgate.com/ This guy started selling them online without bandai noticing
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slickgate’s kits are mostly knock offs. Seen the site myself and it seems they have high user ratings.
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Its only a matter of time, unless BANDAI licensed them.
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If Bandai would start a store here in Manila, it will be a good investment for them considering the number of enthusiasts and the number of units they buy.
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Actually Bandai has representative”s” here in Manila
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You mean Bankee? They inflate the price of Gundam… That is why we are left buying from the grey market instead…
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As long as we have Gtoys, Wasabi Toys, and other hobby shops in Greenhills there won’t be any problem. 🙂
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Who? I wanna buy a unit.
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i hear the mg deathscythe by dragon momoko is now available in 168 mall and from online sellers… interesting 🙂
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my favorite deathscythe 😀 does anyone know kng saan me nag eexport ng kits? like this?
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meron na locally…
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saan po?
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meron na po sa 168, nagkalat na. nsa P1k to P900 po price. i purchased one to try it for myself. the plastic is great! the built and assembly is very similar to bandai. i just have a problem on the head part where you attach the yellow vents on its cheek. it’s very fragile! and the vents keep on popping out. i just glued it there instead. and there are some minor problems like the parts keep on sticking out. halata tuloy ung seamlines s ibang part. but overall, SULIT ka dito. for that price range, sulit ka na talaga. in my opinion, if a hongli gunpla came 85-90% like bandai, this dragon momoko is 90-98% same quality like bandai.
P.S. ung decals di ko pa nata-try ilagay. pero ung nakalagay sa “OPERATION METEOR” is “OPERRTION METEOT”. hehe, lahat ng letter “A” dun ay “R”. that’s all… then ‘di included yung figure ni Duo Maxwell (both standing and sitting).
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So in order to beat the bootlegs, Bandai tries to out-bootleg the bootlegs? Right. There’s a simple solution to this. Price their kits cheaper.
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All they have to do is lower the price considerably and that will solve the bootleg problem.
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well it is not proven so it is just a rumour… the bandai kits was supposed to be cheap… it becomes pricey because of shipping and store expenses
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Seriously, Gunpla as hobby isn’t that expensive. I would gladly invest a legit MG kit worth 2k-4k.
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mukhang sa 168 mall lang talaga ito mahahanap locally. marami ako nakita last week.
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yep sa divisoria nga lang
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built the hell version… what can I say… bang for the buck!! will definitely buy the EW one =)
the only problem is the pilot is missing but I don’t mind hehe
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nice to hear that you liked the kit! ^_^
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I got TT& Gaogao PG Wing & strike Freedom. DO Not Apply leveling Thinner (even to remove the paint). The Plastic broke to several parts & fall of. No doubt TT got the mold similar (90%) to original. But The Plastic especially the inner frame. R suck. Why don’t TT IMprove More On plastice (it OK for me to pay a liitle more), Or Can Bandai adjust the Price? A Box of TT from CHina (MG) Gundam only cost u US 5.00. I willing to pay for US 10.00 if the Plastic not fragile & can 90% compare to Bandai. (^ o^)/. Btw, TT still got the market (especially China). The Original too hot for touch.
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aw sad to hear that the plastic broke…
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I have spoken to Bandai Japan personel, this is a bootleg company and not related in anyway to Bandai
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Thanks Malvin for the information you shared. So now we can finally dismiss the rumors knowing the information came from a reliable source
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As if they would tell it. haha Oh Bandai.
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Bandai cannot lower their prices as low as TT or DM. Bandai spends a big chunk of their budget to develop / license / produce anime to advertise their kits while the bootlegs just wait and copy.
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They have so much costs to recover. Well that’s according to the accountant inside me.
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Meron na bang Gundam AGE 1 Normal na TTHongli or Dragon Momoka? Meron ako na HG na Bandai pero nadurog yung backpart ng kapatid ko, arrgh. Haha. Tinry ko nang i-fix gamit ang putty and paint,. and I realized,…I sucked.
Anyway, I just need the spare parts. Any suggestions? Comments? Thanks in advance.
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Sir sorry kung late, opo, sa dragon momoko, di ko lang po alam yung tt hongli, may hg at mg po, kaka bili ko lang po nung hg age 1 spallow pero meron din normal at titus dun 168 or greenhills best bet mo para makabili
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The weird thing is is that in taiwan bandai is popular
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i have been a collector ever since i watched Gundam Wing. i mostly have bandai’s but since i hated it so much when bandai releases versions of one unit in different gears [e.g. Gundam 00, 00 Seven Swords, Condenser Type, etc….] so when i saw this knock offs i tried buying and getting equipments only,
well the plastic isn’t really good and parts doesn’t really fits exactly.
well some things i experienced
TT Hongli:
-some parts doesn’t really fit
-some part color are wrong
-small parts lacks details
-00 series is the only thing i like, destiny series sucks.
Dragon Momoko [i bought one out of curiousity, and it’s really cheap 320php for a mastergrade wherein some TT hongli mg’s cost 1000php]
-some parts are loose
-some parts doesn’t fit
-miniature pilot figure missing
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Alam nyo po ba kung saan nakakabili nh PG na red astray na bootleg either hongli or momoka? Thanks. 🙂
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walang bootleg nun ^_^
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Mind if I ask you where you got this kit from? I’m in the States and i would really love to get one to practice me painting skillz
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i do not know any sources abroad… locally, I mean here in the PH, there are a lot of stores selling such brands… try searching for some online websites…
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Authentic po ba yung mga mabibili na gundam sa Toy Kingdom/Express?
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even though this is 2 months late… yes those are authentic kits… and I assure you that anything with a Bandai seal at the box is authentic..
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mga adik kau,nerds…..pero san nga ba makakabili nito gusto ko itry guys itry nyu ung unicorn gundam OVA na bandai aztiginin saka supr duper da best 😀
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just sharing..i have bought and assembled bootlegs (trial units for custom painting) if i were to rank them, Best and almost Bandai Quality is Dragon Momoko, even the decals are very detailed, plastic quality is good and does not feel cheap when you handle them and btw, even the packaging of DM is very close to the original, no cheap photocopy knock off, its printed very clearly and on good quality paper. Next is Daban, i would say details is average, minimum decals and plastic is a step lower in quality with DM. TT Hong Li, really feels cheap, that is how i would describe it. Plastic feels very cheap, breaks off easily, and very little decals.
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last comment 🙂
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