Building and painting model kits is a very fun and rewarding hobby.  However, there are some people out there that are potentially ruining the hobby as we know it.  "Recasting" has become more prevalent as production technology gets cheaper, and in turn, recasters are putting the companies that work hard to make the kits you enjoy out of business.

"Recasting" a model kits is essentially piracy; the recaster in question will buy a model kit or statue, and re-cast the pieces of it.  They are able to offer much cheaper kits and statues, but at a severe cost to the buyer.

So if you can buy a recast model kit cheaper, why wouldn't you?  Well, there are several reasons.  The first is that several companies own licenses to the heroes, action stars, and other copyrighted material that we know and love.  Companies pay for the licenses, and then sell the product.  If they are being illegally undercut, they will cease functioning, and in turn, will not be able to produce any more model kits.  Horizon is one such company.  They owned several licenses, including Marvel super heroes, and have since gone out of business as recasters continue to pirate their work.  Because of that, Marvel model kits are harder to find.

Another reason is quality.  A large company has the funds to make the best possible casts of an item, while some guy in his basement simply does not.  Have you ever made a photocopy?  That's essentially what a model kit is.  A master kit is made, and the models you buy are molded and cast from that.  Have you ever made a copy of a copy?  The quality just isn't as high, and you lose some detail from the original.  The same is true with model kits.  Recasters essentially make a copy of a copy, and in turn, the joints don't fit as well, and you tend to lose fine details.  Also, the quality of materials is not as good, and usually more brittle and easy to break than regular kits.

Finally, its just immoral to support recasters.  They do not respect the original artists who put their time, money, and effort into their sculptures.  While saving a few dollars purchasing a recast, you are helping to put the sculptors out of business and prevent any future sculpts from them.  You are also very possibly going to get missing/damaged pieces with no customer service to help, paying an exhorbitant amount for shipping, and basically putting money into the pockets of the people that would destroy the hobby for a few bucks.

So, how do you identify a recast?  Its definitely hard at first, but once you know what to look for, you'll be able to spot them.  When reading an auction, look for warning signs.  Does the seller tell you the name of the PRODUCER of the kit?  Does the kits come with the ORIGINAL box and/or instructions, or is the seller just putting it in a ziplock bag and shipping it?  Does the seller have any actual pictures of the kit, or just a scanned picture of the front of the box?  Does the material look funny (wrong color, lots of "flash" pieces hanging off the kit, air bubbles, misshapen pieces, etc)?  Does the seller have a Buy It Now price well below most everybody else's?  Is this model kit offered as a statuette anywhere else on Ebay?  Finally, is the seller local, or overseas(while this is NOT a tell tale recast sign, many Asian countries do not have and laws protecting copyrights, and in turn, its easier to pirate things from these countries)?  If the answer to any of these is "no," you should have red flags raised in your mind. 

If you think you are about to bid on a recast, then do some research first.  Find out the actual kit producer's name and web address, and contact him/her.  Ask about the above questions (how many pieces did it come with, was the kit numbered, what color were the pieces originally, etc).  Find out if anybody else is offering the same kit, and compare them.  Most companies release only one version of a kit, and if one looks different, then chances are, one is a recast.  Most recasters prey off of lack of knowledge.  Do yourself a favor, and educate yourself, and buy original model kits only to keep the hobby growing, and piracy at bay!