Does anyone know a source for reproduction boots for vintage figures like the nakajima wrestlers, kamen rider figures, etc. I need a few pairs for some standard sized figures.

Thanks!

Weren't most of the Kamen Riders and baddies re-released several years ago? Maybe you could score some of those cheaply and switch out the boots. Just a thought.

Yeah but then what will the poor bootless repro's gonna wear?

the boots are not made of the same material for the repros. the original kamen rider boots are like rubber,not vinyl.but good luck to you.

hey Mark - yeah, i figured i could do that if worse comes to worse, or even find some really beat vintage pieces just for the boots. But i was just wondering if some enterprising Japanese hobbyist was making repros since this seems like a problem for a lot of collectors (and i know there's a small market for repro tin robot parts so I figured it was worth shot asking about vinyl dudes).

I keep asking this question every now and then. I have heard rumors of packs of repro boots for sale but never seen them...

i need a pair of boots for my nakajima lion mask

perhaps Super 7 could consider making them for collectors. they've already got the manufacturing connections. granted, there's not a large market for these things but I'm also thinking that it wouldn't cost a lot to make them.

I think making repro parts is a little dishonest. If you make a whole figure, and mark it as so, that is one thing, but just the parts, it may look great for display, but it kills the point. It is like buying a repro baseball card, it is not the same, and it makes the temptation to bootleg really high.

People try and pass of painted 1983 flesh bootlegs as hawaii vinyls all the time, ot distrssed 1991 bandai repros as originals. I can see the same with boots, but even more so, as they would be harder to identify in an auction picture.

but lion mask has cold feet

the date can be molded into the bottom of the boot for all i care. i just want his feet covered

actually, i was thinking they should be made in a way that clearly identifies them as "bootlegged" boots, if you will. like a different imprint on the bottom or a different paint inside the boot - something like M1 or B-Club starting doing after that they wised up following B-Club's initial run of almost identical bullmark repros in the early 90's - what were they thinking?!?

I'd like them for display purposes so if they're painting white on the inside, for example, it would be a lot harder to pass them off as OG. I've always assumed that's why most people buy repro robot parts - because it allows them to get a "beat version" cheaper (mint versions are beyond the means of most) yet they still enjoy it as a display item. but no doubt there are a few unscrupulous people who mis-use those parts.

And Brian's certainly right - the existence of repro parts makes buying, especially over the internet - very risky.

This has been an interesting discussion.