Guys a simple question. I have what i believe to be a genuine Imperial Hoth Rifle V1. that floats.

However, studying the pictures on TIG the pictures of the repro look identical to that of the genuine Imperial Hoth Rifle V1 (to me). I know it says painted repro but how would i discern that without cutting/scratching into it ?

From what i can see TIG does not specify if that repro sinks so a float test doesnt help in determining its authenticity.

any help would be appreciated.

Hi. As John mentioned in another thread recently, try using a suspect painted repro as a 'pencil' and 'drawing' with it across a piece of paper - if it's painted it should leave behind a residue. If it's plastic it'll just leave an indent. Put up a picture if still unsure and we'll take a look.

great thanks artoo.

tried that and it just leaves an indent, no residue. mine is also translucent to a degree so i believe its genuine.

so with the aim of trying to lock this down more for future reference.

1) Is there any real/easily discernible visual differences between a repro and original Imperial Hoth Rifle V1 ?
2) Do the repros float or sink?
3) Are the repros translucent or because of their painted they are not.

I apologise if john covered these things in his post but i have no clue who john is and i may be using different keywords in my searches.

No worries. I only remembered the post John made because I saw it the other day. John's just this hobo that hangs around the site and dresses up as Leia, we can't get rid of him I don't know offhand if the genuine rifle floats or sinks, sorry. Someone else will chip in soon hopefully with more info, but sounds like yours is real so far.

The reproduction sinks and if you look at the lines of the handgrip they are shorter than that of an original.