Authentic Rapunzel vs. fake Rapunzel?

[shadowspell7]

I have tried looking up specific information about G1 mail order pony Rapunzel but I can't seem to find exact details. How can one tell if a Rapunzel being sold on eBay (or other means of selling) is authentic or a custom someone is passing off as authentic? How long is the real Rapunzel's tail? How long is the real Rapunzel's mane and braid in the mane?

[Elisto]

I would imagine you'd be able to tell if the symbol were painted on rather than factory-stamped.

[mlpgirly]

You might consider the seller. Look at the reviews. Does it appear to be a collector? I would probably not buy her u less I knew the seller was trustworthy. As far as specific like what you ask, I don't know. I've ibly seen her once in real life.

[hathorcat]

If its a super good custom, it could be super hard to tell by the image. Any good customiser will make the hair the same length as on the original. As soon as you have it to hand or after you request close up, all over body, images you should be able to tell. A little off on body colour, symbols are clearly painted and not stamped, paint work to the eyes, etc.

Most customisers will mark/sign the pony under one of her hooves so you know 1) who the creator was and 2) so people know its a custom and cannot resell it as an original.

However as suggested above the best course of action is to ask the seller. Ask for the origins of the pony and see what they tell you. Ask of its an original or a custom. Most people will front up the information simply enough and if you did get her and she was fake you could very simply file a fake good/item not as described on ebay. 

[partypony566]

I have a custom Rapunzel and I swear you cannot tell her apart from the real thing. 

[goddessofpeep]

I've actually never heard of fake Rapunzels being a problem.  The only faking problem I know actually happened was way back in the earlier days of the pony community.  Somebody was making reverse haired Gustys out of regular haired Gustys and selling them ebay.  They were *so* good, that the only way to prove if you had a real reverse haired Gusty or a fake one was to test the glue used to glue in the mane.  A collector who was a chemist started testing them and outed the scam.  The person who was faking them stopped, and as far as I know, it hasn't happened since.  There may also be some funky stuff going on in the Nirvana world that I haven't heard of since you're dealing with a lot of one of a kind ponies, but enough people have seen a Rapunzel in real life that anybody producing fakes would be found out pretty quickly.

It is possible to make a custom that's very convincing in a photo and on display.  However, it takes A LOT of skill to do so, and very few people who have that skill would be likely to use it to make fakes to scam people.   It's a whole lot of work, and requires a considerable investment in time and materials.  Simply finding a body that would work would be difficult, never mind all the painting and rehairing involved.  If the customizer doesn't have a perfectly matching body to start with, the whole thing has to be painted.  You can't really dye a pony to match.  If you have the pony in hand, the paint would be a dead give away. The more likely issue would probably be selling of a restored Rapunzel without indicating what was done to her.  Repaired symbols, rehairing, that sort of thing. 

I would say that if you're looking for a Rapunzel in original condition and only have a picture to go on, I'd look at the hair.  A collector selling a pony will probably style her hair all nice, and that won't tell you much, but you can ask the seller about what was done to the pony.  A seller who doesn't know what they have will usually just leave the hair alone, and Rapunzel's hair has a lot of curl to it.  It's a very specific kind of curl that usually turns into a bit of a rat's nest when it's played with even a little bit.  The length won't tell you as much.  Hair can be cut, and if the hair is messy, it can appear shorter than it should.  The curl is harder to get rid of, and a Rapunzel that doesn't have any kinks in her hair may have been rehaired.

[KarentheUnicorn]

(correct me if I'm wrong) but I don't think there is another pony in that body pose/mold which is that same color? So, to make a fake Rapunzel you have to either paint or dye the body I'm thinking.

Also her curls were not perfect spirals...they were messy. I have mine and have never brushed her hair since she came out of the package from hasbro, she has also never been played with and has mostly sat on a shelf all these years. Here are photos of mine below:

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I even still have my packing slip
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[Emberly]

(correct me if I'm wrong) but I don't think there is another pony in that body pose/mold which is that same color? So, to make a fake Rapunzel you have to either paint or dye the body I'm thinking.

Having started on a Punzie Replica for my own collection, there's no other pony in that mold and color-- you can usually tell by the look whether it's been repainted, and none of the other ponies except Quakers is light enough or white enough to be dyed correctly. Quackers would require eye resculpting and repainting... which leads me to a realization based on these pictures. Rapunzel's eyes are *not* painted with black- from here and what I've seen. Black would likely be the first choice for a painter to use, or a dark brown, but instead they're a very odd brown-grey. I personally think you'd have to be a *remarkable* customizer to make something that would fool a collector!

[Sprinklecupcake]

I have a custom Rapunzel and I swear you cannot tell her apart from the real thing. 

Do you have a picture!? Id love to see!

I love all your pictures, Karen! She is so beautiful! Hehe that ancient packing slip xD

[shadowspell7]

I've never seen her in person before so I truly appreciate all your comments and pictures they've definitely helped to answer some questions I've had for a long time about Rapunzel

[Galactica]

I think that it is FAR more likely that someone would try a Rapunzel scam using photos that they had stolen, rather than a fabulous and perfect custom. 

[brighteyes]

I think the only way I would worry about a custom Punzie being used to perpetuate fraud is if it were a rehair that was not disclosed.  I think with the pony in hand you could probably tell if it is a re-hair or not, but you'd have to open the head and if the head was re-glued shut, if you didn't know or have reason to suspect you may not want to decrease the value by opening and checking it.  I've seen some really good customs online though, but I've never seen a custom Punzie or a real Punzie in real life though so I'm just guessing here.

[Marigold]

You are more likely to have problems determining if she's be rehaired...or if you are picky original curl and braid vs recurled and rebraided. 

I've been collecting photos of her and I've noticed the curl is not perfectly a boing boing sausage curl but has a twist in it.  Sometimes it's messier than others.   The braid has tinsel plus a little or each color, it's not all pink.  The tinsel length I question because I've seen her with tinsel that is longer than her curled hair, and I've seen it where it is the same length as her curled hair. I think the factory cut the tinsel different on different ponies. 


Anyway, the pony itself just has a certain look that I think makes her easy to figure out if she is fake.  But the hair can fool you.