Darth Vader Screamin' Model Box Layouts

The prototypes in this series are all original artwork, layouts, and proof sheet for the Screamin' Model Company's line of Star Wars models released in the early nineties. These represent some of the first prototypes to emerge from the "Dark Years" of Star Wars collecting - the period between the demise of Kenner's action figure line and the release of the Heir to the Empire novel. Above a layout for the Vader box front. To make a layout, the designer basically cut and pasted pieces of art, text, and photography onto a mechanical board. Some layouts also include a transparent sheet with more cutouts pasted to them. Handwritten instructions are sometimes scrawled on the top tissue paper overlay, detailing corrections, additions, coloring, and other such instructions. Though it's hard to tell from these photos, all the text is on a transparent film in front of the picture. The picture above shows four layout sheets for the box sides and end of both the 1/4 scale and 1/6 scale models. The upper and lower left layouts are for the 1/6 scale while the middle and lower right models are for the 1/4 scale kit. Below you'll see two more layouts used in the design of the box for the 1/6 scale kit. Finally, pictured below is a cutout of the box front of an actual production box (left) and an unassembled box flat (right).

Description by:	Chris Fawcett
Photo:	Chris Fawcett
From the collection of:	Chris Fawcett
Country:	United States
Film:	A New Hope
Licensee:	Screamin
Year:	1977
Category:	Prototypes / Prototype Packaging and Proofs

All information © 2014 Star Wars Collectors Archive