I’m sure many of you Predator fans have seen the magnificient pre-painted statue released by Fewture and sculpted by the famous Takayuki Takeya entitled “Ancient Predator”. Originally released only through the Fewture Store in Japan at 500 production units, this baby sold like hot cakes at $300USD and is now on the secondary market for double that! You can find the original product page HERE. So, not only does this now cost a fortune (I’m looking for one myself because my buddy Joe and KT made a booboo) but now you have to worry about the recasters that wasted no time getting fakes out there on the market.

So, what’s a guy to do? Well while it’s tough to avoid getting scammed when the seller is on the other side of the world, but by requesting pictures of the actual item you will be shipped prior to bidding or paying a dime, you have a fighting chance. My friend “ALL” from The Hive forum I lurk on was kind enough to post some pictures of his original and a small break down of the recasts you’ll find out there. So without further yaking, let’s get the show on the road!

First off, here’s the original statue (God willing I’ll get one and post some nice Photos for everyone):

Here’s an example of a couple of good recasts… the folks re-casting this statue actually went through the hassle of dissolving the glue from the joints so they could recast the actual connecting joints and such.

And then some are completely horrible and will have you crying in your bowl of wheaties. These worthless con artists messed up several joints and basically cut up an original statue into pieces and cast them. The material they used for the casts is also extremely brittle and fairly worthless to work with.

So what to look for when purchasing this piece? Here’s a few key things to look for:

First off, the water base of the statue should be varying degrees of transparent green coloring, not clear or solid green paint.

Here is the original packaging… if a seller is unable to provide you with the original box, RUN!

Interior packaging:

And finally, your statue should include a certificate of authenticity!

Now I recently found a classic example of a recaster, or someone who is making himself look like one. is it worth it? Check out this eBay Auction. He’s got no box and has already sold at least one of these. How could it be that he has at least two of these very pricey statues with no retail box?? And if he is legit, he’s losing a TON of money because people like me stay away.

So a big thanks to ALL for posting this heads up and for researching the recasts!

Now then, someone want to hook me up with this statue?