By Julian H. Betancourt
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BOOTLEGS: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Before entering into complete details about this practically unknown line of Wind Ups, I felt it was necessary for informative and recording purposes to give proper explanation to the word BOOTLEG and its collecting aspect, thus permitting everyone to get more familiar with the term. Let's take a look ...

Originally, Bootleg solely meant the top part of a boot that is around the leg instead of the foot. However and dating as far back as 1889, the practice of hiding small items in a boot to smuggle them past the authorities gave the noun its second and third meanings as a verb: to smuggle, and as an adjective, describing something that has been smuggled.

Such hiding place was hugely boosted during prohibition periods, serving as the perfect spot to conceal liquor bottles. More recently, the application of the word Bootleg has broadened, encompassing a whole range of illicit goods such as smuggling recorders past security points to record live concerts and movies.

For the collecting toy community, bootlegging is easily associated to almost anything illegitimately involved in the manufacturing of a non licensed toy. As such, the number of toy lines and characters that have been bootlegged is incredible. Although for most purposes Bootlegs are illegal, some were/are legal because they were made in countries that have, or had at the time of their production, very fuzzy legislation; Italy and Singapore spring to mind.

While most Bootlegs are simply cheap rip-off jobs issued only for a quick profit, some actually dwell in originality and to some extend, they are labors of love even bootleggers sometimes are losing money on. Many people hate them, but also many people love them.

Those hating Bootlegs actually see them as nothing more than what they are in reality: The affixing of intellectual property of an individual to a medium for the intent to distribute said medium without owner's consent. Manufactured goods made illegally without the copyright owner's permission and which do not generate any gain for the original creator.

BOOTLEGS: ITS COLLECTING ASPECT and GUIDE'S PURPOSE

Bootleg lovers and specifically those in the toy collecting field, see this non licensed merchandise as peculiar items sporting unique shapes, packages and colors that break away from ordinary offerings. Therefore, a whole sub genre of collecting has come to life, the collecting of odd and extravagant toys known as Bootleg collecting.

Bootleg collecting isn't hassle free and could require extensive searching at times. Allocating a certain item depending on your geographical area, might take long periods of time. However and once in your possession, your search gets easily rewarded with truly unusual designs and fairly inexpensive prices as Bootlegs are frequently found at low end venues such as flea markets and dollar stores.

BOOTLEGS:  WIND UP WALKERS

It is well known that for a long time now, Asian and European manufacturers have produced knock off versions of popular toys and have offered them packaged or bagged with an array of accessories that, many times, do not even have anything to do with a character and its environment. Detail and sculpting are mostly cheap-looking but, as with many things in life, there are exceptions to the rules ...

During 1999, as an incredible number of companies attempted to legally capitalized on the Star Wars craze brought by the release of the first prequel film, so did the unscrupulous toy manufacturers or Bootleggers. Lots of illicit Star Wars toys turned up in Singapore and Hong Kong for Episode One and were sold there.

Among the many unlicensed items that surfaced, the wind up walkers you are about to see were part of this frenzy. Being about 3 inches tall and packed in generic clear bags, most of them show no stamping or labeling of any sort. Fortunately I did find a couple of them later on clearly showing "China" under the legs and thus revealing their country of origin.

Difficult to allocate in the U. S, as one can imagine, some of them actually made it into the country and where sold in areas having a large Chinese immigrant population. I scored fifteen of these Walkers in New York while visiting Chinatown. Some of them were being sold in a small video store while the rest I found right across the street in a gift shop where I was told by the young clerk he could get them again with certain ease. Sure enough, I returned a year later to the same store and was able to purchase the remaining Walkers, thus completing a full set. Honestly the last thing I had in mind on my first visit, was to find any Star Wars figures that day while in fact pursuing some good Chicken Chow Mein.

Nowadays your best bet to purchase some of these Walkers is Ebay. And while they do not show up frequently, when they do their price is around just $5.00 which I believe is well worth it.

BOOTLEGS: WIND UP WALKERS & THE SUPER DEFORMED STYLE

Although the wind up mechanism doesn't pack much walking power, up to this day it hasn't failed and these wind ups walk as intended, once the knob like key on their side gets turned. But our focus here is mainly directed towards their sculpts which, despite some coloring errors, are superb for a bootleg.

These Wind Up Walkers present collectors with an exciting departure from regular offerings as their style is more whimsical and very pleasing to the eye. This is mainly due to the fact they were designed using the successfully proven Japanese ideal of abstract appeal, were characters are small and chubby with deformed limbs and oversized heads. Such style is known as Super Deformed and exaggerates these deformations in the goal of appearing cute and funny.

The Super Deformed style originates from Anime (Short adaptation in Japanese of the English word ANIMATION) and Manga (Japanese word for comics) . A super-deformed head is usually about half of the entire body, and its eyes about half of the head, but of course different artists use different proportions. Artists often Super Deform characters in order to show an extreme change in the characters' mood. While the characters' mood may change the goal of the animators is always comedic cuteness.

Super Deformed characters, SD for short, are also called "Big Head," SD Mode, CB or Chibi Body or Chibis for the plural. Another great example of this style (besides the wind ups here), can be found in Palm Talkers or the short lived line of figures that light up and make sounds from the films when placed on the palm of the hand.

BOOTLEGS:  WIND UP WALKERS & THE CHARACTERS

The collection is made of 28 Wind Ups. Six of them are all different characters clearly taken from the Original Trilogy . The rest are all characters from The Phantom Menace. There are several versions of some EP1 characters as you will see. But first, lets start things up with ...

 THE CLASSIC TRILOGY:

  • CHEWBACCA: Not as you would expect him to be. Although the likeness isn't bad and the bandolier and fur color are correct, it is rather the Uzi-like weapon he carries on his back rather than his bow caster what makes him unique.
     
       
  • C-3PO: Two words - ALL GOLD!
     
       
  • R2-D2: The paint application was correctly applied. Artoo is blue where it should be blue, silver where it should be silver and white where white is expected. The only paint missing is the red on his eye.
     
       
  • STORMTROOPER: Again, it is the weapon this particular Stormie holds in his hand what makes him look so peculiar: A blue revolver!
     
       
  • DARTH VADER: Nothing was wrongfully painted here. His outfit even shows proper detailing and color on his chest and his lightsaber is made of red rubber.
     
       
  • YODA: Put aside his extremely yellow robe and black walking cane, this Yoda offers much better likeness than some actually licensed product
     
       
THE PHANTOM MENACE:
  • DARTH MAUL (With saber): The detailed on his head is fantastic and overall coloring is precise, except for one main issue; his robes are brown!
     
       
  • DARTH MAUL (With saber): This one is the exact same sculpt as the previous one but presenting properly colored black robes. In both cases his lightsaber resembles a lipstick holder, bringing that special comedic touch to the sculpt.
     
       
  • DARTH MAUL (Hooded): Again, one main issue was overlooked here; his robes covering the top of his head are brown instead of black. Yet, the detailing is fantastic.
     
       
  • DARTH MAUL (Unarmed): Great detailing and paint application. This Maul has no saber and his right hand sticks out to the side.
     
       
  • DARTH MAUL (Gold): Exact sculpt as the previous one, this Maul however raises the question on why to produce a Gold Darth Maul. Perhaps the Bootleggers intended it to be some sort of trophy? Nevertheless, it is very unique in its appearance.
     
       
  • OOM-9: Great sculpt of this commander. Proper yellow coloring on the head and yellow circle on his chest specifying its rank are present.
     
       
  • BATTLE DROID (SILVER): This Battle Droid is the second in this series. Unlike the other Battle Droids, this one is completely silver. Both arms are sticking up.
     
       
  • BATTLE DROID (SHOT): Exact pose as Silver Droid with arms sticking up, this one has proper overall bone coloring, silver paint "chips" on the face and black blaster shot on chest. There is black on the arms as well.
     
       
  • BATTLE DROID (SLICED): Overall bone coloring accomplished. Silver "paint chips" on left arm and face. Lightsaber slice marks are seen on chest, head and back.
     
       
  • BATTLE DROID (DIRTY): Same pose as the Sliced sculpt with arms down. This one, however, has lots of black on the chest, legs and arms.
     
       
  • ANAKIN (Podracer): Great detail on outfit and helmet, properly capturing the color and design of the clothes. His head is big.
     
       
  • ANAKIN (Podracer #2): Less accurate than the previous one, this Anakin has a smaller head. Coloring of his clothes and helmet is incorrect.
     
       
  • ANAKIN (Tatooine): Big head with no helmet. Proper hair style. Clothes design and color are accurate.
     
       
  • QUEEN AMIDALA (BIG): This one is a true example of Big Head style. The detail is well executed and can be appreciated around her crown and hair style.
     
       
  • QUEEN AMIDALA (Small): Out of the two Queen Amidala wind ups in this series, this one does not follow much the Chibi style. Her head is small and the detail is sloppy.
     
       
  • C3-PO (Big): Intricate detail with exposed wiring. Proper overall color. Head is big and both arms are down.
     
       
  • C3PO (Small): Another great detail piece. Less exposed wiring than the first one made. Yet, detail for the most part is accurate and color is precise. Smaller head sculpt. Right arm is raised while left arm is down.
     
       
  • QUI-GON JINN: The bootleggers managed to get some good likeness in this Qui-Gon Jinn walker. However the color of his lightsaber is wrong, as it was done in red color. 
     
       
  • OBI-WAN KENOBI: Big Head. Proper hair style and clothes color. Best of all, the color of his lightsaber is indeed how it should be, BLUE!
     
       
  • MACE WINDU: Again, another great likeness for a bootleg toy. But then again, Mace's purple lightsaber was rendered in green color.
     
       
  • WATTO: Fantastic detail and likeness. The bootleggers certainly caught all the detail of the character in this toy, from the veins on his wings to his broken tooth.
     
       
  • SEBULBA: Just like Watto, Sebulba is capture in great detail. proper coloring was given. This Sebulba shows more characteristics of the Chibi style, presenting a more child-like face.
     
       
  • JAR JAR: Everybody's favorite character, Jar Jar Binks! Likeness is superb and coloring is accurate. Jar Jar appears to be carrying a Gaffi Stick belonging to a Tusken Raider?
     
       

    Bootleg Wind Ups:     Update

Just when we'd thought we'd seen them all, yet another bootleg wind up walker, never before seen, has shown up courtesy of fellow staff member David "Boba Binks" Syczylo. Indeed, this is a nice surprise and a very welcoming addition to this guide. 

The wind up is that of Emperor Palpatine and on close inspection it appears to have been made by the same maker as the previous ones seen in this guide. While all the other wind ups show up on Ebay and some webtailers sporadically, Emperor Palpatine has never been seen at any website as far as we know it. Out of all the wind ups making up for this collection, the malevolent Emperor appears to be the rarest of them all.

Thanks to Mr. Syczlo for his contribution to this guide! Stay tuned as we never know what could surface next from the ever mysterious depths of Bootleg World. Enjoy the pictures!

   
 
BOOTLEGS: THE LAST WORD
 
On this Guide, I suspended judgment and presented without romanticizing the obviously illegal practice of intellectual property theft, this Line of Bootleg wind ups as simple pieces of Star Wars memorabilia offered without a license. Without any discriminatory intentions, this is pure documentation for a special brand of hard-core fanatics and a special kind of merchandise.
 
I hope the guide serves its main purpose of allowing you, the reader and collector, a close up look at a somewhat obscure, hardly known line of Wind Ups and its well known Star Wars characters.