COUNTERFEIT MAGNEMO TOYS
"A SCAM REVEALED"
In 2020, I returned to collecting after a decade of hiatus. I'm older, hopefully wiser, and simply enjoying collecting micros again, primarily magnos, which still bring back fond memories of my childhood. In my search and on occasion, I see the Italian fluoros mentioned from time to time after browsing older Facebook posts and other social media. Since they keep popping up again and again, I feel obliged to share the information I know of them. After all, I was that infamous collector that brought these "urban legends" into the light years ago.
First off, its hard for me to specifically recall the exact year this all began. However, it was at a time Micronauts were starting to pick up steam when Palisades announced their license which began a whole level of new fiascos for collectors. I'm sure many of the older collectors know what I'm talking about which is a whole story in itself.
Regardless, I was also collecting and trying to complete my favorite magno line from Italy known as the Nuovi Micronauti. I had purchased a Force Commander which I observed on eBay which was different from all of the others I had seen. This Commander was the typical milky white color but instead of red, he had "blue" accents which included his eyes, chest digits, backpack missiles, and stomach launcher. Not only was blue my favorite color, but my favorite micro had blue details as well! I didn't know this variant existed nor did the seller at the time when I inquired about it. It wasn't long after that, I also acquired a grey Force Commander with blue details as well. Now, from the best of my recollection and knowledge, 1 of these 2 variants I believe are legit. But upon discovering them and eager to discover more, I began vigorously searching harder.
I thus came upon an Italian seller with a store front handle known as "Atomic Punch." The Italian seller, whose I've omitted but has a more common Italian name, informed me there are other magno variants out there and provided me a list. This original list consisted of:
Fluo Orange/Grey Baron Karza
Fluo Orange/Grey Andromeda
Fluo Yellow/Grey Baron Karza
Fluo Yellow/Grey Andromeda
Orange/Grey Baron Karza
White Baron Karza
Baron Karza with red fists (as pictured on the Nuovi Micronauti box art)
Orange/White Force Commander
Fluo Orange/White Force Commander
Fluo Orange/Red Oberon
Fluo Yellow/White Force Commander
Fluo Yellow/Red Oberon
Blue Force Commander
Oh boy, I was instantly mesmerized and simply had to have them all! In fact, I made it a goal to seek and obtain them no matter the costs. How foolish I was back then. After I obtained a couple, I simply had to have more of them! I began offering high dollar rewards and Atomic Punch was my main contact in regards to them. Needless to say, despite their unusual appearance, I enjoyed having them that much more. One by one, I narrowed down the list until I accomplished my goal of having every last one of them. Atomic Punch knew my favorite character was the Force Commander which a chrome orange and a red/blue Force Commander variant also surfaced! The blue and red Force Commanders were the centerpieces of my collection and to me, worth more than gold.
I was warned by other collectors who doubted their authenticity but I reluctantly ignored all of the red flags. It wasn't until I boxed them all up and took them to a Pittsburg collector's convention that other more experienced collectors got to experience them first hand. It was then the truth came out that these were merely high grade knock offs made from someone's machine shop. I was disappointed to learn this but I eventually grew up from that point on. My connection with Atomic Punch suddenly ceased (oddly right?) once this new information became publicly known and a few of these creations began showing up on eBay as perhaps a last ditch effort in liquidating their existing inventory. I still kept them at the time. They looked fantastic next to the other rarities I found along the way... Namely some Palisades protos, complete Inter-Changeables silver series, a few of the Greek El Greco magnos, the complete Cavalieri Stellari series, some vintage Jeegs, and the entire Fantanauti line.
Shortly after the Palisades series winded down, I came upon a hardship. My marriage of almost 10 years was coming to a bumpy end. Anyone who has ever been through a divorce knows it's a trying time in their life. Hell, I lost custody of my children, a good portion of my income, later my house, and sadly, my magnos too. Working a full time and several part times jobs wasn't cutting it and I came to the hard decision of letting go. I sold many of my magnos for a fraction of what I paid but it was still income I didn't have. I sucked up my loses, said my goodbyes to my collecting, and moved on.
Since those hardships, I have long since recovered. I got my kids back and they are almost grown now. I got a new home, my income is intact, and recently I made the decision to collect again. I can't lie, I missed collecting. I know my collection will never return to its former glory but at least I plan to recover the known legit series and some of their variants. Thus far, I'm off to a good start and just happy there are still collectors out there that share my same enthusiasm.
I've attached a few images I made from back in the day which were taken with my obsolete 35mm camera. Sadly, this was done during an era where digital cameras weren't readily available for a fair price (yet). If you look closely upon the images of my old shelves, you'll see my old fluoros as well as my favorite red and blue Force Commanders. (Oh how I really miss those!)
If anyone has any questions regarding these "oddities," please don't hesitate to ask.
Les
