| Hammerhead Painted Protomolded Figure | |
| Proto-molded pieces are among the most desirable of all action figure prototypes. Although, in the opinions of most collectors, they're not quite as significant as hardcopies, they were produced out of pre-production molds, in Kenner's own prototyping facilities, and are thus quite distinct from conventional vendor-supplied first shots. Here you see a very early proto-molded figure, this one representing Hammerhead, one of the first 16 Star Wars figures produced by Kenner. It's made of a rubbery, light-colored plastic, and fully painted by hand in a color scheme closely resembling the one found on the production figure. It's basically a painted example of the figure prototype seen here. As is the case with all proto-molded figures, production-mold details such as legal text and foot holes are absent from this piece. But that's not the only way in which it differs from the finished figure: As a look at the comparison photo should prove, not only do the hues of the paint differ slightly, the pupils of the eyes face in different directions! I don't need to tell avid prototype collectors how rare it is to find pre-vendor, Star Wars-era action figure prototypes, especially ones that have been fully decorated. A precious few painted hardcopies exist, including the ones seen here and here. And then there are a handful of painted proto-molded figures. That's it. |
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| Description by: | Ron Salvatore |
| Photo: | Ron Salvatore |
| From the collection of: | Ron Salvatore |
| Country: | United States |
| Film: | A New Hope |
| Licensee: | Kenner |
| Year: | 1978 |
| Category: | Prototypes / Action Figure Related |