| Wooden Pattern for Y-Wing Fighter | |
| 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.
Here we have an example of a vehicle made fairly late in the vintage line, the Y-Wing Fighter. It is particularly nice to see the pattern for this one because it has so much fine detailing
Thankfully, the Kenner pattern makers took care to photograph their work on this project, which was spread out over several component parts. Here you see the top of the cockpit...
...and here you see the bottom. 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: | Return of the Jedi |
| Licensee: | Kenner |
| Year: | 1983 |
| Category: | Prototypes / Product Artwork |
