PokéShiny FindsHow to spot a fake Tomy (MonColle)
Authentication guides single out Tomy MonColle as the most-faked Gen 1 vintage line. Here are the verified tells — and why a correct stamp isn't enough.
The 6 physical tells of a Tomy
Tomy figures are made from 2 glued halves → they leave a visible factory seam running along the body (typically across the belly, e.g. Nidoran). It's the strongest positive tell.
An expected seam that's missing or very faint = recast (the copy-of-a-mold erases it). NOTE: not every Tomy has a visible seam — compare against the SAME authentic Pokémon, not in the abstract.
Deep, crisp engraving: “©Nintendo ·C·G·T·S·J TOMY MADE IN CHINA” (or “©任天堂” on Japanese ones). On vintage (Gen 1) it's INDENTED.
Shallow or soft (recast loses sharpness, especially in the last letters on the right), misspelled, or with the wrong company. “Raised” only betrays it if sold as vintage — modern reissues use a raised stamp legitimately.
Clean lines, canon colors, aligned eyes. Vintage airbrushed, glossy Sugimori-style finish.
Paint outside the lines, crude eyes, or a WHOLE wrong color even with a correct stamp (all-blue Nidoqueen with no tan chest plate; GREEN Charizard and Mewtwo from the “Pocket Monster Kit” bootleg set).
Factory soft PVC, smooth, with a minimal smell that fades. Being “very PVC / soft” is NOT a fake tell — Tomy figures are soft PVC by design.
Brittle or porous, with flashing or warping; strong, persistent raw-PVC chemical smell. What diagnoses it is the QUALITY of the plastic, not the type.
Gen 1 standard ~5 cm (some larger, e.g. Scyther ~5.5 cm). Matches the documented spec.
The recast SHRINKS a few millimeters (copy-of-a-copy + material contraction). Bootlegs tend to weigh slightly less, but weight alone is not proof.
Correct color/variant for the piece (e.g. a genuine Haunter with a clear base; verify the right variant figure-by-figure against the catalog).
Brown/opaque base where it should be clear. A WEAK signal on its own — bases are sold separately and get swapped.
🔖 How to read the vintage Tomy stamp
©Nintendo ·C·G·T·S·J TOMY · MADE IN CHINA
- • “C·G·T·S·J” = the 5 secondary rights holders: Creatures, Game Freak, TV Tokyo, ShoPro and JR Kikaku.
- • On Japanese pieces “Nintendo” is in kanji: “©任天堂”. The Latin “©Nintendo” is the export variant — NOT a bootleg tell.
- • “Made in China” alone does NOT prove a fake: official 90s Tomy figures were made in China. Glossy vintage = Made in China; later matte era (T-ARTS) = Made in Vietnam.
- • Vintage = INDENTED, crisp stamp. A raised stamp is only a red flag if sold as vintage; modern reissues (2015+) use a raised stamp legitimately. (Note: some genuine vintage are raised, e.g. Electabuzz and Jynx — treat it as a weak clue.)
⚠️ “AULDEY TOMY” = licensed, NOT a bootleg
Auldey (a Chinese company, now part of Alpha Group) officially made/distributed Tomy's Monster Collection for the Chinese market. They're marked “AULDEY TOMY” + “MADE IN CHINA”, usually without the C·G·T·S·J block and with slight eye/finger differences. It's a legitimate variant — don't flag it as fake.
Tomy figures most often cited as faked
Per collector guides, two engines drive faking: demand (popularity) and rarity (scarcity). Be extra careful with:
- Magmar — collector guides call it the #1 bootleg (“Very HTF”, “tons of bootlegs”; pkmncollectors: “often bootlegged”). Community ranking, not a count we measured.
- Ditto — flooded with fakes, even ones carrying the TOMY stamp.
- By scarcity: Pinsir, Nidorino, Nidoqueen, Voltorb, Electrode, Cloyster, Machoke, Gastly.
- By demand/popularity: Pikachu, Charizard, Gengar, Mewtwo, Dragonite, Lugia.
🚩 Famous bootleg: the “Pocket Monster Kit” set copied Tomy molds and shipped GREEN Charizard and Mewtwo — off-canon recolors as an instant giveaway. And remember: Tomy released its figures across lines over the years, never as a single set of all 151; so a cheap, brand-new “151 complete” lot in one box is a tell in itself.
Another brand (Bandai Kids, Zukan, Jakks)? See the multi-brand anti-bootleg guide, or upload a photo to the identifier.
Frequently asked questions
Does a correct TOMY stamp guarantee the figure is authentic?
No. A correct stamp is necessary but not sufficient: bootlegs exist that replicate the full stamp, including the C·G·T·S·J block (documented on Ditto and Lugia). Serious authentication cross-checks several tells: mold seam + stamp depth/sharpness + paint + material + size.
What does “C·G·T·S·J” mean on a Tomy stamp?
They're the initials of the five secondary rights holders listed after “©Nintendo” (or “©任天堂” in Japanese): Creatures, Game Freak, TV Tokyo, ShoPro (Shogakukan) and JR Kikaku. Useful to decode the stamp, not as sole proof of authenticity.
Is a figure marked “AULDEY TOMY” a bootleg?
No. Auldey (a Chinese company, now part of Alpha Group) was the OFFICIAL licensed distributor/maker of Tomy's Monster Collection for the Chinese market. They're marked “AULDEY TOMY” + “MADE IN CHINA”, usually without the C·G·T·S·J block and with slight eye/finger differences. Collectors treat them as a legitimate variant, not a fake (though bootlegs copying Auldey also exist).
What's the most reliable tell for a vintage Tomy?
The mold seam. Genuine Tomy figures are made from two glued halves that leave a visible seam (e.g. across Nidoran's belly); recasting from a finished figure diminishes or erases it. Caveat: not every Tomy shows a visible seam, so compare against the same authentic Pokémon — and no single tell is 100% conclusive.