You have got to be fucking kidding me

I came across this listing today on eBay by seller kill4satan.

Seems like a pretty killer price for a genuine 30+ year old pre-transformer Diaclone Jetrobo (aka G1 Starscream).  They have been creeping up past $500 for a few years now.  They are incredibly rare and it’s difficult to find them in great shape outside of Japan.

Except this isn’t a genuine Diaclone Jetrobo, it’s the ever-so-common 30+ year old Kingdam6 knock off of the original.  This thing is a piece of crap.  It’s made of even shoddier plastic than some KO’s today and the box is so blatantly a forgery of the original that even today, people are stupid enough to spend $600+ on one thinking it’s legit.

I used to scour ebay in search of auction listings attempting to cash in on the Kingdam 6 by claiming it was a genuine Diaclone.  I would report every auction I found.  This however, seems to be a seller that did not attempt to mislead his potential buyers, at least not completely.  He put Kingdam6 in the title, but then included Diaclone and Jet Robo.  If you read the box, the kingdam 6’s always say “ROBOJET” along the black side of the box, because Jetrobo was the actual name of the toy.  This can be confusing because the box still says “JET ROBO” across the top.  There are also two versions of this KO, a silver and a light gray version.  The silver version comes in a similar box but it has thundercracker’s box art. Kingdam 6’s are not worth more than $30, although idiots are still out there buying them for $100 at times.  This post is meant to help kick those people in the balls.

Hmmmm which one would I want to get...?

Here’s a list of identifying features of the Kingdam 6 KO if in the market for a Diaclone:

• “KINGDAM 6” written in red on the wings
• Thundercracker box art but the toy looks like Starscream
• “JETROBO” written in English on the top of the box
• “ROBOJET” written in English at a 90 degree angle on the side of the box
• Lack of any Japanese writing on the box, especially across the box art
• Lack of any old school Takara logo

Here’s a list of identifying features of an authentic Diaclone Jetrobo:

• “DIACLONE” written in red on the wings
• Japanese writing appears across the box art
• Japanese kanji logo at the top of the box
• “JETROBO” written in English at a 90 degree angle on the side of the box

That’s about all the help I can muster for any of you would-be super collectors out there.  If the guy who bought this fake from kill4satan could come forward, I would love to have a chat.  I mean seriously, who spends $600+ and doesn’t do a bit of research?  Kingdam Starscreams are a dime a dozen and you should really be ashamed of yourself.

PS: Dont’ forget there are OTHER official Diaclone Starscreams that seem strange but are completely legit.  Italian GIG Diaclone Starscream comes to mind, and it has bopper missles!  There’s also a Joustra version that has Thundercracker-esque box art.  These are pieces of beauty, and maybe someday… someday I’ll share mine with you.  Ta!