Nike MAG replicas (V2 and V3 only)

I feel like some people are grossly unaware of the price modded V2s were going for if $600 for a pair of shoes is some astronomical price.

There's a reason why our little group that was so unified before is now fractured and seems more combative. It's a little thing I think I'll call the Completion-Divergence Paradox, and it's something that happens with ALL props eventually.
The CDP is essentially this: when there are no good replicas on the market, then whatever is out there will do because we're all suffering together. So because of that, we deal with "good enough."
Then, either more details are discovered or a newer, more accurate replica comes out, which gets us used to the idea of choice. We become more aware of the differences between versions of the prop and its replicas, and for the first time we are not all suffering together. "Close enough" is no longer good enough, and people attempt to get even closer.

As luck would have it there is usually another round of improvements or discoveries which again fractures the group. Now you have three different tribes, and a replica approaching 100% accuracy, but by this point, everyone has dug into the details, has a favorite version of the prop, has a favorite replica, so if a final replica is 95% accurate, moving 1% closer to someone else's ideal moves the percentage 1% AWAY from your ideal.


The same people who said "I'd gladly pay $500 for a 90% accurate shoe" are now saying that this 95% accurate shoe should be $250 before they buy it.
The same people who were happy with the original V1 K-Mags, now won't be happy until some feature seen in a frame or two of the movie appears on these.
The same people who wished they would make a non-electronic version are now bemoaning that the electronics are inherently fragile.
We didn't realize it, but we were lucky that our little community went for so long without any Mag replicas. Before Mark Poon's run, we were all merely unified in our love of a prop. Now look at us...

Just a little food for thought.

-Nick

Hahaha, love it! That was good to read. I might be the odd one out. I got the Mark Poon Mags years ago after wishing the MAGs existed since I saw Part 2. (disappointed I couldn't wear them as my feet were a bit too big) but kept them, packed away in a box. Never even got around to putting the decals on. Then the V1's appeared. I think I have about 6 or more of those, but then when the V2s came out I snagged them too as they were better. Got 4 of those now. Made some minor mods to one pair of them since being on the RPF, finally got the V3's, love them and am saving up for a second pair. Maybe I'm a bit too easy-going, but at the time, all of them were good enough - more a case of 'cool, it finally exists'. Admittedly the V3's definitely given me the best feeling even though I've not had a chance to wear them anywhere yet. I'm expecting the lights to fail one day, and that's okay. I work with electronics and see them fail all the time for no reason, let alone having stresses applied on connections or constant flexing breaking wires. When it fails, maybe I'll go to GITD or something. I'm just happy the V3 exists and I can have something so close to the MAGs I've been wanting since about 1990 or so. Sure, it'd be nice for them to be cheaper, but they were only a little more than the graphics card in my computer, not even the whole PC. Or maybe the price of 3 pairs of Jordans. And new things are always expensive. just look at some expensive mobile (cell) phones people can drop and instantly break. You'll have the V3's much longer than that!
Anyway, it's a case of me deciding the Vs were good for me, and getting them, and everyone else can make their own call, with their own money. I'm hoping one day to see someone else in Melbourne with the V3s and giving them a high 5. :)
(oh, by the way, I never got rid of any of the versions of MAGs lol)
 
@cavx Thanks. Yes there are 3 parts total, the one in that photo is the largest single piece. Yea, they are pretty compact, heavier then you'd probably expect though with the other half that mold is over 5lbs. Although, if they were solid silicone they'd be pretty heavy too. The good thing about the 385 resin molds...they don't deteriorate like silicone.

I am curious about making molds like this. I asked the place where I get my supplies today and they didn't really have an equivalent.

What I did was make D65 plastic masters for my buckle molds so that if the silicone ever gives up (I don't expect it to anytime in the next few years) I can simply box these up and pour more silicone. I did the first time because you would know, the clay up process is the hardest part and i just didn't feel like doing it all over again, so using the same mold box (a butter box) was able to remove one half of the silicone and flood it with D65. I then repeated the process for the other half. Now I have two silicone molds and one set of masters.

I need to do this for the sole molds as well just in case.

Yeah 5KG (11 pounds) to make the first molds (gen1) and going open back allowed me to make 3 different sizes with another 5KG, so a back up will probably only be 1KG of D65 and give me masters for the V2s.

I am already planning how to attack these V3s when I get them.
 
Cool. If anyone is planning to make sole replacements for V3s (or buckle covers, as the material is soft and I expect will damage easily) I'll be interested :D
some of us don't have the equipment to do such things.
(well, interested after I order my second pair)
Oh, something I thought of yesterday: when I got my first V2's, I put this type of insole in them.
insole.jpg41330418-1-sz.jpg
Mainly to make them more comfortable, but the plastic shell (the grey area) may have been part of the reason it took so song for my lights to fail. It may have lessened the flexing on some weak points. (maybe I was just lucky with that pair though) That's the first (and very easy/simple) mod I've just done for my V3s.
 
Axel84 No one is forcing you to buy the shoes and you don't need them. So chill. It's like me complaining that a Bugatti is too expensive and then ranting and raving that the stitch work on some of the upholstery isn't up to my standards. Just don't buy them if you're that unhappy. You're not changing anyone's mind here, and The factory isn't going to adjust their manufacturing process midstream. So, again, chill.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're a sneakerhead and not a prop guy. So if you're that deadset about owning the closest thing to the Mags, just she'll out the $6k to get yourself a pair of RDs. Considering there are multiple people in this thread who have owned the RDs or currently own them and absolutely love the V3, your rantings are mostly unsubstantiated.

In the end, you have two choices: buy the shoes or don't, but no matter which direction you choose, they're just shoes and not worth all the digital ink you've spilled for them up to this point.

-Nick
 
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It's the best pair so far in the QC but worried there looks to be a dark mark on the left puffy collar and the ticks are badly aligned. I cant tell if the soles are yellowed

I honestly think that dark area is just a shadow. They look very good to me. The soles have a slight yellow tint, but then again, could be lighting.
 
@Axel84 No one is forcing you to buy the shoes and you don't need them. So chill. It's like me complaining that a Bugatti is too expensive and then ranting and raving that the stitch work on some of the upholstery isn't up to my standards. Just don't buy them if you're that unhappy. You're not changing anyone's mind here, and The factory isn't going to adjust their manufacturing process midstream. So, again, chill.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're a sneakerhead and not a prop guy. So if you're that deadset about owning the closest thing to the Mags, just she'll out the $6k to get yourself a pair of RDs. Considering there are multiple people in this thread who have owned the RDs or currently own them and absolutely love the V3, your rantings are mostly unsubstantiated.

In the end, you have two choices: buy the shoes or don't, but no matter which direction you choose, they're just shoes and not worth all the digital ink you've spilled for them up to this point.

-Nick

Mate, the whole point of opening a thread about something is to discuss the matter, not just to write how awesome the matter is. If you come out like this I can reply saying "nobody is forcing you to read what I'm writing" which is very childish. I must also explain to you again that I am not "ranting" about the shoes. I am a mild sneakerhead, I own mainly retro sneakers, I do own some props at home and I make music for movies, adv and other stuff so I am very much into this world. I don't see a problem paying $600 dollars for something you really like, I paid almost $300 for the official Mattel Hoverboard. I am just not happy at all with the way these people are doing business with us and I am here complaining about it. I don't want to change your mind, I understand, you love them so much you don't care to spend the money and I respect that but I also want other people to hear a different opinion about this.
Anyway, I know that hearing about a different opinion can traumatise some people and we are all here celebrating these fantastic shoes so I won't disturb you any longer guys.

Enjoy the party!
 
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Mate, the whole point of opening a thread about something is to discuss the matter, not just to write how awesome the matter is. If you come out like this I can reply saying "nobody is forcing you to read what I'm writing" which is very childish. I must also explain to you again that I am not "ranting" about the shoes. I am a mild sneakerhead, I own mainly retro sneakers, I do own some props at home and I make music for movies, adv and other stuff so I am very much into this world. I don't see a problem paying $600 dollars for something you really like, I paid almost $300 for the official Mattel Hoverboard. I am just not happy at all with the way these people are doing business with us and I am here complaining about it. I don't want to change your mind, I understand, you love them so much you don't care to spend the money and I respect that but I also want other people to hear a different opinion about this.
Anyway, I know that hearing about a different opinion can traumatise some people and we are all here celebrating these fantastic shoes so I won't disturb you any longer guys.

Enjoy the party!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVTmRHXuDnU

Your best bet is to wait it out a few months as these will become more and more common, so the price may go down.

So far, its been a mixed bag in terms of successful shoes being received. Some people have got great pairs that work, while others have had some with el panel problems and charging port issues.

Unfortunately, with these knockoff factories, they are only interested in quick money, so until a V3.1 comes out and they improve the flaws, your only option is to either risk it or attempt to fix the flaws yourself, which is doable, but can be troublesome if you don't want the hassle of opening things up!
 
I'm planning to get a second pair eventually and explore the possibility of modding it not unlike the V2's. If the electronics are the biggest beef, then it makes sense to swap them out. Brighter EL's with a better charging option seems workable. Then again, I haven't tried taking these apart yet, so maybe it's not as easy as I think. I'm gonna hang on to my extra pair of Airair's EL panels for now, just in case.
 
Axel84 I understand and respect your opinion, you're 100% legit to discuss about it here.
After 3 or 4 huge posts I think we all get your point: you won't buy them. No problem.
We're adults, we earned our money and have sense of values too.
No offense.
Peace
 
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@Axel84 No one is forcing you to buy the shoes and you don't need them. So chill. It's like me complaining that a Bugatti is too expensive and then ranting and raving that the stitch work on some of the upholstery isn't up to my standards. Just don't buy them if you're that unhappy. You're not changing anyone's mind here, and The factory isn't going to adjust their manufacturing process midstream. So, again, chill.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're a sneakerhead and not a prop guy. So if you're that deadset about owning the closest thing to the Mags, just she'll out the $6k to get yourself a pair of RDs. Considering there are multiple people in this thread who have owned the RDs or currently own them and absolutely love the V3, your rantings are mostly unsubstantiated.

In the end, you have two choices: buy the shoes or don't, but no matter which direction you choose, they're just shoes and not worth all the digital ink you've spilled for them up to this point.

-Nick

Mate, the whole point of opening a thread about something is to discuss the matter, not just to write how awesome the matter is. If you come out like this I can reply saying "nobody is forcing you to read what I'm writing" which is very childish. I must also explain to you again that I am not "ranting" about the shoes. I am a mild sneakerhead, I own mainly retro sneakers, I do own some props at home and I make music for movies, adv and other stuff so I am very much into this world. I don't see a problem paying $600 dollars for something you really like, I paid almost $300 for the official Mattel Hoverboard. I am just not happy at all with the way these people are doing business with us and I am here complaining about it. I don't want to change your mind, I understand, you love them so much you don't care to spend the money and I respect that but I also want other people to hear a different opinion about this.
Anyway, I know that hearing about a different opinion can traumatise some people and we are all here celebrating these fantastic shoes so I won't disturb you any longer guys.

Enjoy the party!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVTmRHXuDnU

I for one think it's perfectly acceptable to call out faults which one believes should not exist in higher end replicas in an attempt to influence the maker to address the problems. Asking someone not to expect perfection and to stop complaining would make perfect sense if we were talking about the $100 HC version of the shoes. But for $600, we're in a different league and no one should have misaligned swooshes and other easily-correctable faults on a $600 pair of shoes.

When folks who have their shoes already ask others (who would like to see some improvements made before pulling the trigger on buying a pair) to quiet down or "go buy real Mags then," it sounds like these folks would prefer foregoing the quite normal process of providing feedback on initial versions of a replica to a manufacturer, just so no one rains on their parade of buying the initial versions with a few faults.

I for one just want to feel that I am truly getting a $600 pair of shoes. Opinions obviously vary on what we should be able to expect for $600. I get that. But I have no problem hearing members happy with the shoes as-is say just that, and it would be nice if these members were also perfectly ok with those of us preferring a few improvements to say this.
 
Thank you for your support all the time, we just set Nike Air Mag special into 499usd, free shipping as always, and pls remember 30 days exchange or refund guarantee in our store.

David, you mentioned before that you would be improving the wiring of the LEDs so they will not dim over time (at present they are too bright and may be overpowered/under-resistored), and try to improve the brightness of the EL panels. I will be very interested to know when these improvements have been made. With those, the lower price, and a bit better QC, you would have my money.

Also, please consider having each EL shape have its own power connection, instead of having a small connection between the EL panels. This one change would greatly prolong the life of the EL, and I think it would be worth a small increase in cost to make a change that could double or triple the amount of time the EL actually works.
 
I for one think it's perfectly acceptable to call out faults which one believes should not exist in higher end replicas in an attempt to influence the maker to address the problems. Asking someone not to expect perfection and to stop complaining would make perfect sense if we were talking about the $100 HC version of the shoes. But for $600, we're in a different league and no one should have misaligned swooshes and other easily-correctable faults on a $600 pair of shoes.

Thank you. I guess I am not that crazy after all.

davidjones888 said:
we just set Nike Air Mag special into 499usd, free shipping as always, and pls remember 30 days exchange or refund guarantee in our store.

"That's one small step for a man..one giant leap for mankind"
Now let's try to improve a bit the lights and no more yellow soles after 3 weeks and then we talk.
 
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