Replica Belts

[Rule One]

20 hours ago, BigJag said:

Thanks again  for all the information and that video. From memory. I believe that the LDN title I had my hands on was the one that had two facing Lions near the top of the centre plate. Would that be like the Backlund one? I've only managed to find a shot of the central LDN logo one. That one does not look familiar. 

How the hell did this collaboration come about? I mean I know that OCC built a bike for WWE in the past. How does that then transition into OCC making the new WWE title belt. I've been a fan of tbe OCC Discovery show since its inception. It wasn't until stumbling across this video that I found out that OCC produced that belt. 

 

The LDN title would have been the one with the two lions and logo in the middle, would post pictures but not on my computer. That belt has been releathered at least once so the leather and cut of it may seem like it was a bit different. 

With regards to OCC, the relationship started with bits and pieces with the bike and and couple of backstage items that were never shown. In 2011/12/13 when the giant scratch logo was being produced the plates were coming in at a heftier weight than liked as some of the wrestlers had previously complained about the weight of the belts when travelling with the titles. Dave Millican had plates produced but they came in heavy and were leaked which WWE was pissed about. They reached out to few makers but they all said that their belts would probably come in the same weight. Looking about they used their connection to OCC who could produce the scratch logo belt at which was finished by Dave Millican, (OCC plates, everything else Dave.) they then used their connection with OCC to make the belt in the video. They use Aluminium instead of the zinc which reduces the weight and as you see in the video their methods are different.

Hope this helps. 

Edited April 25, 2020 by Rule One
Missed a few details out.

[BigJag]

Fantastic information again @Rule One. Just on The plates being produced at OCC and their connection with Dave Millican. Do they have a long standing relationship? 

It was great seeing the modern methods being used by OCC in the production of the plates.  Prior to this type of production. As you've mentioned before, casting, pressing, and material removal. Would have been the prominent methods utilised. CNC milling and 3D printing takes away hands on work, yet adds other intricacies that may not be possible under conventional time honoured methods.

[neil is brill]

I'm certainly no expert but I do have a few replica belts and have owned a licensed classic WWF IC title very briefly which I had to let go due to financial difficulty.

I currently own 1 bootleg, 2 WWE Replicas bought from WrestleMania last year, and a custom championship made by Paul Martin belts.

The bootleg I own is from Fandu Belts, who offer a very limited selection of replicas. They have impressive plates, but both of their leather options, simulated or real, are absolute dogshit. No tooling or details, not strong enough to hold their massive plates. They often hold "imperfect" sales, which is how I obtained their version of thr Crumrine Ric Flair dual plated Big Gold for £139. Their imperfect sale is just them shifting the belts that have scuff marks or plating issues. They range from not noticeable to some serious defects. In my case, the gold on the main plate is faded so it looks more silver than two-toned.

The two official WWE ones have nice plates, the details on them are stamped, I believe, rather than acid etched, but the simulated "leather" really is quite something. So stiff, if you hold the belts by main plate, the strap seems to defy gravity. It doesn't fold down, it just sort of floats either side of the cental plate. They look cool and my non fan friends have no idea and think they are the real deal, even though I've told them it isn't the case.

My belt from Paul Martin is just a personal title to commemorate the time I was a shitarse and a promotion actually booked me to win one of their championships. Nice thick plates, deep detailing, fantastic soft, hand tooled leather that supports the weight of the plates. Worth every penny of the 4 figure sum I paid for it.

Not sure how helpful this is for you, but I'd recommend going with WWE Shop if you're just looking to display them. Just my 50 pence worth. I'm no belt expert.

[Rule One]

5 hours ago, BigJag said:

Fantastic information again @Rule One. Just on The plates being produced at OCC and their connection with Dave Millican. Do they have a long standing relationship?

As far as I'm aware, Dave and OCC are only connected by WWE. WWE ordered plates from OCC and had them sent to Dave to finish. They've done this with at least one other belt maker, Andrew Lazarchick of Wildcat Championship Belts. He's also made titles for TNA and ROH. 

1 hour ago, neil is brill said:

I'm certainly no expert but I do have a few replica belts and have owned a licensed classic WWF IC title very briefly which I had to let go due to financial difficulty.

I currently own 1 bootleg, 2 WWE Replicas bought from WrestleMania last year, and a custom championship made by Paul Martin belts.

The bootleg I own is from Fandu Belts, who offer a very limited selection of replicas. They have impressive plates, but both of their leather options, simulated or real, are absolute dogshit. No tooling or details, not strong enough to hold their massive plates. They often hold "imperfect" sales, which is how I obtained their version of thr Crumrine Ric Flair dual plated Big Gold for £139. Their imperfect sale is just them shifting the belts that have scuff marks or plating issues. They range from not noticeable to some serious defects. In my case, the gold on the main plate is faded so it looks more silver than two-toned.

The two official WWE ones have nice plates, the details on them are stamped, I believe, rather than acid etched, but the simulated "leather" really is quite something. So stiff, if you hold the belts by main plate, the strap seems to defy gravity. It doesn't fold down, it just sort of floats either side of the cental plate. They look cool and my non fan friends have no idea and think they are the real deal, even though I've told them it isn't the case.

My belt from Paul Martin is just a personal title to commemorate the time I was a shitarse and a promotion actually booked me to win one of their championships. Nice thick plates, deep detailing, fantastic soft, hand tooled leather that supports the weight of the plates. Worth every penny of the 4 figure sum I paid for it.

Not sure how helpful this is for you, but I'd recommend going with WWE Shop if you're just looking to display them. Just my 50 pence worth. I'm no belt expert.

Sorry to hear about your IC sale, I've had to do the same with a few belts so I feel your pain.

The Fandu Big Gold isn't technically a bootleg it would only be the name plate as Ric Flair is trademarked. The Big Gold is a funny one as anyone can make one or their own interpretation of it. It becomes complicated when people's artwork of the design is used or in America where the method of hand crafting like the original is copyrighted. The original makers of the big gold, Crumrine, never copyrighted the design which is why its not considered a bootleg but in 2010/11, Teddy Srour paid a good amount to have a hand crafted big gold made by them as close as they could possibly do to the original and procured a ton of original artwork and extras from their first craft of the big gold. With that they won't produce another one for anyone else and have certain rights when it comes to certain production methods in regards to big golds. Its a strange one to say the least.

I don't know if they still use the same methods as their belts have improved over the years but WWE replicas simulated leather has a layer of hard pressed cardboard in between the strap which why it's so stiff. There was a method going around YouTube and Facebook groups that to make it more floppy/soft was to soak it in a bucket or bath of warm water. Whilst that softened up the cardboard inside and made the strap less stiff it also damages the plates, bolt fittings and because the cardboard doesn't dry quick can/creates mold spores that can affect peoples health as well damaging the belt as a whole. General wear and tear will also loosen it up but pretty much leads to horrible looking creases and cracks on the strap which is why there is a big releathering market for replicas.

Paul Martin has done some truly amazing work and is an extremely talented craftsman but he seems to have dropped off in terms of communication which left a lot of people who had orders with him a bit worried. I believe he has or is still delivering on those orders but the timescale on his work is much longer than he originally quoted people. 

[Statto]

On 4/21/2020 at 5:03 PM, Rule One said:

Cheers, not an expert

This statement is a bit like when Rufus says "Eh, I play a little" when picking up a guitar at the end of Bill & Ted 😄

[Cod Eye]

Is there anywhere you can buy these bootleg WWE belts that is at least semi-secure with regards to payments? My eldest kid has wanted a real(as in leather and metal, rather than the plastic toy ones), and I'm thinking about getting him one as a bit of a joke/out of left field gift for his birthday, as he did the same with a hand made Freddy glove for me last year. Don't fancy sending a good chunk of money to a randomer in Packistan though, especially if there are people selling on something like Etsy or the like?

[Rule One]

3 hours ago, Statto said:

This statement is a bit like when Rufus says "Eh, I play a little" when picking up a guitar at the end of Bill & Ted 😄

I know a lot about belts but I don't consider myself an expert, it would be untrue and there's still a lot for me to learn. I don't make money from it, I'm not as invested as I used to be but if I can help other people out with bits and bobs of knowledge that I have then I try to.

1 hour ago, Cod Eye said:

Is there anywhere you can buy these bootleg WWE belts that is at least semi-secure with regards to payments? My eldest kid has wanted a real(as in leather and metal, rather than the plastic toy ones), and I'm thinking about getting him one as a bit of a joke/out of left field gift for his birthday, as he did the same with a hand made Freddy glove for me last year. Don't fancy sending a good chunk of money to a randomer in Packistan though, especially if there are people selling on something like Etsy or the like?

I don't like to shill bootlegs especially WWE stuff that may be available from their site but if you are looking at bootlegs then ebay is probably your best bet.

This depends on what belt you're after, your budget range/etc. What's your timescale on getting a belt/when do you need it by.

Looking on eBay this morning there is an abundance of low quality products on offer but a lot of red flags:

Don't be fooled by just the price. A lot of people dive in because its cheap, I can't blame anyone for not wanting to pay a lot of money for belts but the lower the price, the more likely it is to be a scam/low quality. With low quality products they may look ok but corners will have been cut. I've seen complaints about belts falling apart in transit, leather not being prepped properly so the dye rubs off/out as its not been sealed. People cutting their fingers on rough cut plates/etc.

Look at where the belt is located at. I've seen lots this morning that are supposed to be UK sellers but state that the belt is shipping from outside of the UK, that's a big red flag that you probably won't get your belt in the quoted timescale. Look for UK locations, that doesn't mean that the sellers not shipping them in from elsewhere or that it won't take longer than quoted but it's easier to sort things out/back your claims with ebay/paypal/etc if things go wrong.

Pictures, a lot are copy and paste jobs from other people/sites/sellers. Do an reverse image search on them. If they look like there's more than one source or its been used in a few other places sites/that's a massive red flag. 

Ask the seller questions if you're interested in potentially buying a belt. Why is the price low? How do they ship the belt? Can they provide a picture with something to prove they have it on hand/date/time do you have an idea of what you're getting. Why are they selling the belt.

Look at a sellers feedback, how long they have been trading or if they have an external site. Also search the sellers name on Google as it could reveal other information.

There is a few more things I haven't mentioned but this covers a rough basis and hope it helps. 

[Statto]

1 hour ago, Rule One said:

I know a lot about belts but I don't consider myself an expert, it would be untrue and there's still a lot for me to learn. I don't make money from it, I'm not as invested as I used to be but if I can help other people out with bits and bobs of knowledge that I have then I try to. 

I assume not as you've liked the original post, but no offense taken I hope? It was very much a compliment!

[Rule One]

5 hours ago, Statto said:

I assume not as you've liked the original post, but no offense taken I hope? It was very much a compliment!

Not at all, thank you for the compliment, I just feel like I needed to state my position. 

[Otto Dem Wanz]

I wish I knew about anything as much as Rule One knows about wrestling belts.

[LWOLeN]

Actually sold a ‘Big Gold’ kids replica last year for 175. It was the first ever replica ever made by FigureToy Inc I believe with Hogan on it. 1996-ish. Huge profit, but big regrets ever since.

About 3 years ago I put my WWF Attitude Era WWF logo belt online and a WWF Undisputed Championship replica with Undertaker on it. 

Lots of reactions because these had the Original scratched WWF logo. Made a 400 profit on them, but once again big regrets ever since.

If you are going to buy Replica Belts, try to get the ones with the original WWF logo’s as those are little goldmines.

Edited May 21, 2020 by LWOLeN

[KJ belts]

hello everyone,

I am making any kind of customization championships belts, awards etc. if any one interested pls contact me thanks