Original versus Reproduction
Window Boxes (How to Tell?)
​
I often get asked how to tell an original vintage window box apart from a modern reproduction (i.e., a fake). I've put together the following list of common tells.
Brown Cardboard
​
Original boxes were printed on brown cardboard. Most (but not all) reproduction boxes are printed on white cardboard. If the inside of the box is white, that's the easiest tell.
Pictured Above: Original Spider-Man Box Printed on Brown Cardboard (Left) and Reproduction Spider-Man Box Printed on White Cardboard (Right)
​
Box Assembly
​
The top flap should open from the front of the box, while the bottom flap should open from the back of the box. The reproduction Spider-Man box pictured above was assembled backwards with the top flap opening from the back.
​
Box Generations
​
1st generation window boxes have Captain America featured on the front of the box, three character panels on each side of the box, 4-digit product numbers printed on the box (e.g., Superman's 4-digit product number was 1300), and no Registered Trademark symbol after the character's name.
The only characters issued in 1st generation window boxes were Superman, Batman, Robin, and Aquaman.
If you see a 1st generation Captain America box like the one below in the middle, it's reproduction (fake). Mego never issued Captain America in this generation box. When Mego first released Captain America, he was issued in the 2nd generation box pictured below on the right.
​
Reproduction boxes are also usually printed on smooth, glossy paper. Original boxes are made from clay-coated paper that's less shiny and smooth.
​
Pictured Above: Original 1st Generation Window Box Robin (Left), Reproduction 1st Generation Window Box Captain America (Middle), and Original 2nd Generation Window Box Captain America (Right)
​
2nd generation window boxes have Captain America featured on the front of the box, four character panels on each side of the box, 4-digit product numbers printed on the box, and a Registered Trademark symbol after the character's name.
​
​
The only characters issued in 2nd generation window boxes were Superman, Batman, Robin, Aquaman, Spider-Man, Shazam, Captain America, and Tarzan.
​
3rd generation window boxes replaced Captain America with Shazam on the front of the box.
​
Pictured Above: Original 1st Generation Aquaman Box with NO Registered Trademark Symbol (Left) and Original 2nd Generation Aquaman Box WITH Registered Trademark Symbol (Right)
​
Pictured Above: Original 1st Generation Robin Box with CAPTAIN AMERICA featured on the front (Left) and Original 3rd Generation Robin Box with SHAZAM featured on the front (Right)
​
4th generation window boxes switched to 5-digit product numbers (e.g., Superman's new 5-digit product number was 51300).
​
Pictured Above: Original Supergirl Box with 4-Digit Product Number (Left) and Original Supergirl Box with 5-Digit Product Number (Right)
Pictured Above: Removable Cowl Batman in Original 1st Generation Window Box (Left), Removable Cowl Batman in Original 2nd Generation Window Box (Middle Left), Type 1 Batman in Original 3rd Generation Window Box (Middle Right), and Type 2 Batman in Original 4th Generation Window Box (Right)
​
Reproduction boxes can have mismatched features if they were not created from scans of original boxes or if the image was manipulated in Photoshop. For example, Mego never released a box with four character panels on the sides of the box (2nd generation) and 5-digit product numbers (4th generation). If you see a box with four character panels on the sides and 5-digit product numbers, its reproduction (fake).
​
Perforated Hang Tab
​
1st and 2nd generation window boxes DO NOT have a perforated hang tab on the back of the box, while all 3rd generation and later boxes DO have a perforated hang tab, including all of the super-gals (Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, and Supergirl), the villains (Riddler, Penguin, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Joker, Lizard, and Green Goblin), and the later issued heroes (Green Arrow, Falcon, Iron Man, Hulk, Conan, Thor, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thor, and Isis).
​
Pictured Above: Original 1st Generation Superman Box with No Perforated Hang Tab (Left) and Original 3rd Generation Superman Box with Perforated Hang Tab (Right)
​
If the box is supposed to have a hang tab and doesn't, that's an obvious tell. For example, if you find a Green Goblin box or a Wonder Woman box like the ones below with no perforated hang tab, it's reproduction (fake).
Pictured Above: Original Green Goblin Box with Perforated Hang Tab (Left) and Reproduction (Fake) Green Goblin Box with No Perforated Hang Tab (Right)
​
Pictured Above: Original Wonder Woman Box with Perforated Hang Tab (Left) and Reproduction (Fake) Wonder Woman Box with No Perforated Hang Tab (Right)
​
Reproduction boxes made from scans of originals can have the perforated hang tab PRINTED onto the surface of the box (no actual perforation). This is easy to tell in person, but can be difficult to tell from a photo sometimes.
​
Colors
Modern laser printers don't use dot-matrix printing, so the colors on reproduction boxes don't quite look the same as original boxes. I can usually tell by the red ink. And the white areas are usually too bright.
​​
Pictured Above: Original Joker Box (Left) and Reproduction (Fake) Joker Box (Right)
​
Graphics
When making reproduction boxes, the designers sometimes clean up the graphics and recreate the text using a different font from the original.
​​
Pictured Above: Original Captain America Box Bottom Flap (Left) and Reproduction (Fake) Captain America Box Bottom Flap with Different Font Text (Right)
​
The graphics on reproduction boxes can be fuzzy from the scanning process and not as sharp as original boxes.
Pictured Above: Original Catwoman Box Back Image (Left) and Reproduction Catwoman Box Back I (Right)
​
Original boxes were machine folded. Reproduction boxes are usually hand folded and can have color-breaking creases along the edges.
​
Pictured Above: Original Robin Box with Machine-Folded Edge (Left) and Reproduction (Fake) Robin Box with Color-Breaking White Crease on Hand-Folded Edge (Right)
​
Pictured Above: Original Thor Box with Machine-Folded Edge (Left) and Reproduction (Fake) Thor Box with Color-Breaking White Crease on Hand-Folded Edge (Right)
​
Hand Cut
Most reproduction boxes are hand cut, so you may see imprecise/uneven cuts around the edges of the front window.
​
Pictured Above: Original Batman Box (Left) and Reproduction (Fake) Hand Cut Batman Box (Right)
​
