| Aluminum Protomold: Y-Wing Landing Gear Mechanism | |
| This item
is an aluminum protomold
which was made in the Kenner model shop and used to create prototype parts.
The part which this mold makes is shown on top and is the main lever which
actuates the landing mechanism for the Y-Wing ship. The piece shown isn't
from the mold, it's an actual production part. The mold has the general
size and shape of the part, but it's apparent, upon closer study, that the
part it would yield is a little different.
Kenner would make a mold like this in order to produce a functioning part that could be assembled into a prototype toy. In this case the part would have been required to test the function of the mechanism. The mold has an insert portion that helps to create the "fork-like" clips on the ends of the legs. A mold like this would have taken some time to machine, but this small investment in time would allow Kenner to create a farily functional prototype part. For a mechanism, something like a hardcopy would have been too britle to use for testing or even a fit-up. The mold which would have been used to produce this part in production would have been made of steel and wouldn't contain a loose internal part which had to be removed after the cycle. Also, the mold would have had several cavities in order to produce more than a single part during a molding cycle. |
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| Description by: | Chris Georgoulias |
| Photo: | Chris Georgoulias |
| From the collection of: | Chris Georgoulias |
| Country: | United States |
| Film: | Return of the Jedi |
| Licensee: | Kenner |
| Year: | 1983 |
| Category: | Prototypes / Action Figure Related |