| Chief Chirpa (Osito Ewok) Torso Silicone Mold | |
|
Presented here is the silicone
mold for the Chief Chirpa (Osito Ewok) figure. Most action figure molds are
created by pouring silicone over the original wax
sculpting. The silicone hardens and the sculpt is released creating a mold.
The mold is then used to cast hardcopies.
This mold, however, was made using a Kenner figure. Top
Toys, the Argentinean distributor of Return of the Jedi figures,
did not use Kenner figures for tooling. Instead they created their own figures
and used Kenner figures as the basis.
Like many Return of the Jedi era silicone molds the Top Toys molds are white. Take note of the large circular sections of the mold. These are what are known as "keys". One side has positive keys while the other has negative. When the two halves of the mold are placed together the keys interlock and prevent the mold from sliding. This shot really helps to illustrate how the locking procedure would work
Another point of interest is the "gate". This is the small triangular segment located at the crotch area of the torso. When the two halves of the mold were joined this area would still be open. A liquid urethane, usually Dynacast for Return of the Jedi era hardcopies, was poured into the mold and then left to cure. Once the urethane hardened the piece was removed from the mold. Some hardcopies were used for tooling and others for photo or paint samples. This final shot affords the readers a view of the gate when the two halves of the mold are locked into place. Jonathan also has a sample carded Top Toys Chief Chirpa (Osito Ewok) which can be seen here. Viewers of this piece may find interest in reading about the matching limb mold. |
 | |
| Description by: | John J. Alvarez |
| Photo: | Pablo Artesi |
| From the collection of: | Mattias Rendahl |
| Country: | Argentina |
| Film: | Return of the Jedi |
| Licensee: | Top Toys |
| Year: | 1983 |
| Category: | Prototypes / Action Figure Related |
