G shock- Bape or Fape

This is a little guide of how to spot a Fake Bape Casio G-Shock DW-6900 and save yourself a whole heap of cash and trouble. There are some other guides like this, but I've noticed that at least one of them is written by someone who is selling Fakes themselves!! Cheeky so and so.

Right now there are Loads of Bape G-Shocks for sale on eBay. Yellow ones, white ones, red ones, pink ones and black ones. I've seen them all. Some sellers are offering buyers the chance to buy more than one at a time and even to choose what colours they want. So far so good. Except, they are ALL FAKE!

Now if you don't mind buying a fake that is one thing. But 99% of these sellers are advertising their Fapes (see what I did there?) as genuine Bape Casio G-Shocks, and that means some poor buyers are paying waaaaay over the odds for them. (I've seen one poor guy who paid over £220 for a fake!!!) So, how do we spot a fake? It's pretty simple.

The original Bape Casio G-Shock DW-6900 were available as very limited edition watches. They were all limted runs of 1000. That's ONE THOUSAND! The edition number will also be engraved on the back, NOT printed. Now check the one you are going to buy/have bought. Says xxx/2000 doesn't it? D'oh! *Update 14 Mar 2011* Not all Bape editions were out of 1000. The white 6900 Bape is out of 2000.

The words around the display should be white in colour.

The position of the word “day” in the display on an authentic Casio DW-6900 G-Shock watch is displayed between the first and second circle/eye. On most of the Fapes on eBay, the word “day” is displayed directly under the second circle/eye. This is an indication that the watch they’re selling is not a genuine Casio watch and is indeed a fake. Don’t be fooled by sellers using someone else’s photos or images from Google, the price says it all.

The 3 'eyes' in the display should all be the same colour. The largest eye should certainly NOT be red. *Update 14 March 2011* The eyes are not always the same color, and the third eye is SOMETIMES red. It depends on what year and what model we are talking about. The 2009 glossy black Bape 6900 has a red third eye, for example.

*Update 14 March 2011* The easiest way to spot a fake is by looking at the digits of the LCD. The day should be between the two small eyes on a real one. On a fake one, the day is usually directly under the middle eye. Also, on a real one, the digits are shorter and more bold than on most fakes.

The text above the 5th button (Illumination button) should say Go Ape on all but the white version (That does say WAR 21st RESIST)

Any pictures that show the original box should show the corner pieces fitting very snugly (this is a quality item after all).

Ask for additional photos of the actual watch including a hand-written name tag with your name next to the watch. A legitimate seller can always provide additional photos on request. If not, why not?

That's basically it. Just remember, the real Bape is a VERY limited edition. I believe it originally sold for approximately £600. You will NOT buy a real one for less than several hundred pounds!

Big trouble in Little China Movie Review

John Carpenters 1986 ‘Big trouble in little China’ is an action and adventure film for adventure seekers and action lovers. It’s a film that will take you into the dark streets and sewers of California’s China town where the evil warlord Lo Pan (James Hong) hungers to become mortal. The old emperor Lo Pan has been cursed for 2270 years with a body of no flesh, making him become the form of a ghost. In order to become mortal and appease Ching Dai the God of the east, Lo Pan has to marry a Chinese girl with green eyes. If Lo Pan becomes mortal, he will be able to rule China town or even spread his evil powers on the whole world, causing havoc.

We haven’t lost all hope yet, as the American action hero Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) teams up with his old friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun). Jack Burton is a truck driver who delivers pigs across America with his truck, the (Pork Chop Express). As Jack Burton meets up with Wang Chi to play a game of gambling, Chi tricks Burton into going with him to the airport to pick up his fiancé Miao Yin (Suzee Pai) who coincidentally is a Chinese girl with green eyes. As Jack Burton and Wang Chi arrive at the airport, Burton first meets the young Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall) the nosy reporter and love interest, also waiting for a girl from China. As Chi waits to pickup his fiancé, a Chinese street gang called (The Lords of Death) are interested in kidnapping Miao Yin for their own ill gotten gain and are successful in their attempt. Burton and Chi fight to get Miao Yin back with the help of Gracie Law but all their efforts diminish when Lo Pan finds Miao Yin and holds her captive in a secret location, they then have to try to defeat the evil warlord Lo Pan and all his powerful henchmen. From this point on the film takes its twist and turns with a rollercoaster action packed adventure full of Chinese magic and mythical creatures to keep the audience waiting in suspense.

In ‘Big trouble in little China’, Jack Burton is a character who is very quick witted in what he does but in a haphazard sort of way. In his own idealistic world he likes to think that he is a lone ranger in the Wild West, or a modern day Indiana Jones able to take on whatever trouble comes along this includes defeating the bad guys, rescuing the damsel in distress and saving the day. Burton in the end somehow manages to pull it all off but not without the help of his old pal Wang Chi.

As a martial artist myself, this film appeals to me as I love to watch great fighting and exciting realistic effects. The special effects which include stuntmen flying and  exploding all over the screen are superb and highly convincing considering the team only had a budget of two million dollars to stretch. What I also like about this film is that the genre is like a buffet and would appeal to a wide audience, this film has it all, action, comedy, horror, romance and fantasy. The film theme is mixed with the old and new world, Lo Pan is actually to some a real life character told to children in an ancient Chinese fable believed to be true by many. The story is brought to life in this twisted modern day time now led by a clumsy, egotistical action hero.

In my opinion although John Carpenter was pressured to make a quick release of ‘Big trouble in little China’ due to a similar film, (Eddie Murphy’s) Golden Child, being released at the same time, Carpenter managed to direct one of the all time greatest classics sure to be loved for years to come by old and young alike.