| Radio Controlled Sandcrawler Wooden Pattern | |
| Much of the original artwork for the vintage Kenner toys was "patterned" from hard woods such as cherry or mahagony.
Ideal for non-organic shapes, such as the hard lines and mechanical details of droids, weapons and vehicles, this process was equivalent to the sculpting done in wax and acetate for most of the figures in the 33/4", 12", and Micro Collection lines.
Carved in several different pieces, both by machine and by hand, such patterns also incorporated numerous outside details, which might themselves be carved from another material or hand-cast from a rubber mold. Such patterns were often created at twice their intended production scale in order to allow for a greater degree of detail in the final production molds.
Unfortunately, the intricate details of most patterns were destroyed during the creation of production tooling, having been torn off or distorted during the taking of negative epoxy casts, which would then be used in the final pantographing process.
The photos you see above are of the pattern used for the Radio Controlled Jawa Sandcrawler. Carved and built primarily from cherry wood, it was detailed with plastic and urethane parts, some of which had been hand cast from a single rubber mold, such as the cylindrical engine-like pieces you can see imbedded into the upper portion of the 'Crawler's tail-end.
Unfortunately, virtually nothing remains of such wooden patterns; it is a sad fact of production that most of these things were destroyed during the process of taking them from hand-made originals to actual store-ready toys.
These incredible photos were uncovered thanks to the diligence of an anonymous collector, who's done us all a service by bringing these to light. |
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| Description by: | Ron Salvatore |
| Photo: | Anonymous |
| From the collection of: | Anonymous |
| Country: | United States |
| Film: | A New Hope |
| Licensee: | Kenner |
| Year: | 1977 |
| Category: | Prototypes / Product Artwork |
