# Aurora Factory Build-Ups



## MonsterModelMan (Dec 20, 2000)

Does anyone have any Aurora factory build-ups and paint jobs and what can you tell me about them? Is the paint job like "superb" or "professional" and you would never touch it or is it just okay?
What, if any, would be a reason to make these so desireable or collectable?
What should you look for?

If you have any...can you post some pics of a few?

Thanks!

MMM


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## -phil (May 25, 2000)

I don't have any myself, but I found a few on the web on this page:

http://www.chesco.com/~edmoore/monster_models.htm

Scroll down about halfway for links.


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## Zorro (Jun 22, 1999)

The reason they are desirable and collectable is because of their relative rarity. The paint jobs are certainly not "professional" looking in the _modern_ sense but they were pretty impressive in an era when the average 10 year-old figure modeler had never _heard_ of an airbrush and who was therefore mystified as to how those factory paints _looked_ the way that they did. If you think you've got one and it's in good shape, I wouldn't dare paint over it.


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## MonsterModelMan (Dec 20, 2000)

I guess that it really depends on the source you got the kit from. I'm not sure if any of these had any certificates or something other than the date of the kit to "prove" it was a factory build-up or not.

I will be getting a "Big Horn Sheep" shorty in the mail from e-pay and the seller stated it was a factory build-up and claims it looks excellent for its age.
I guess if it is just "so-so", it would be hard to convince anyone without some sort of registry or certificate that it really is a factory job.
I was curious...was there a special box or anything other than "word of mouth" to claim or disclaim their belief?

This is what the item said in the listing:

*Rare 1962 Aurora Factory BU BIG HORN SHEEP & BOBCAT Model Kit*​ 

*Rare Original 1962 **Aurora** Factory Built & Painted for Model Store Display BIG HORN SHEEP w/CALF & BOBCAT in Mint Condition! These display models were given to store owners when they purchased a certain amount of kits from that particular series, to assist in marketing the models purchased by showing the finished kits to potential model building customers. The interlocking bases are not glued, the display model is in as Perfect a Condition as you’re ever gonna find it! The Paint is Undisturbed, the Glue is Still Holding Firmly, Very Well Assembled & Skillfully Painted with Absolutely no sign of breaks or parts re-glued or any other damage. This model was assembled and painted by Aurora’s own artists in the early 1960s and display several different paint applications and brush strokes to inspire young kit builders as well as show how to incorporate the color of the plastic into the color scheme of the model.*​ 

MMM


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## Zorro (Jun 22, 1999)

Can you link a photo? There are several Auroraphiles on this board who could probably chime in and give their opinion on it's authenticity. But that's all it will be - an _opinion_.


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## BatToys (Feb 4, 2002)

All are Aurora Factory Promotionals, except for Vampirella and the Banana Splits. I remember seeing Superman in the hobby store when I was five and when it closed eleven years later I bought it and the rest. The S symbol is painted perfectly as Aurora used stencils. They have a unique paint pattern and glue pattern. And because they are from Aurora itself, that makes them special.


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## Buc (Jan 20, 1999)

I've seen some (quote) Factory Promo's, on eBay from time to time and
saved a few here....
http://home.cshore.com/bucwheat/facpromo.htm

Buc


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## buzzconroy (Jun 28, 2002)

my friend has the dracula dragster promo, its very nice, has lots of painted parts,
I seen quite a few at the early chiller shows 1990-94, the wolfmans wagon is very nice also.He paid 750.00 us in 94 for it.I was with him, the mummy promos were easier to get.
I dont collect these, have no instrest.
buzz


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## BatToys (Feb 4, 2002)

Buc said:


> I've seen some (quote) Factory Promo's, on
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## F91 (Mar 3, 2002)

Now that I've been looking at my Big Horn Sheep and Cougar, they look like they could be factory build ups too!


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## Buc (Jan 20, 1999)

"Buc, Do you remember what they sold for? Batman?"

Sorry, just nabbed the photo's and not even sure if I went back to
see the ending price.

Buc


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

MonsterModelMan said:


> I'm not sure if any of these had any certificates or something other than the date of the kit to "prove" it was a factory build-up or not.


No COA's or anything like that.
It was just something Aurora sent to the stores if they orders a certain amount of kits. It was a way to help sell the stuff.


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## Aurora-brat (Oct 23, 2002)

*Aurora Factory Built Ups*



MonsterModelMan said:


> Does anyone have any Aurora factory build-ups and paint jobs and what can you tell me about them? Is the paint job like "superb" or "professional" and you would never touch it or is it just okay?
> What, if any, would be a reason to make these so desireable or collectable?
> What should you look for?
> 
> ...


I happen to own two factory built ups, a "King Kong" and a "Dempsey vs. Firpo".

The King Kong was brought home from Aurora by my dad and given to my brother when we were kids. I was given an un-built kit as I was older and thought capable of building my own. It always bothered me that my model never looked as good as the "professionally" built one. Years later my brother gave the factory built Kong to me as he lost interest in models altogether. I saved it to this day. A few small parts have fallen off over the years but it is still in relatively good shape.

The Dempsey built up was given to me ten years ago by a good friend who used to be an in house photographer for Aurora. He had several built ups that he had saved from his years with Aurora, I don't remember all of them but I'm pretty sure there was a Dracula's Dragster, Mummie's Chariot and a Wolfman's Wagon in there. He sold them around the time he gave me the Dempsey.

Around '95 or so, I sold off a couple of other factory built ups I had saved from my dad, a Monster Scenes Dracula and Giant Insect, niether of which I had any interest in saving at the time (Of coarse I could kick myself now!). I think I got around $600 for the two, a windfall, or so I thought. I can't even imagine what they would be worth today...

The thing about the factory built up models, as mentioned elsewhere, is thier relative scarcity. As far as the quality of the builds, they were very cleanly assembled and neatly painted. However, no seems were filled, sanded or filed ever, so if you have something being advertised as a factory built up that has this finishing work done to it, beware! Where the molded color of the kit was appropriate, it was left that way. Only details were painted (An interesting footnote is the Land of the Giants Snake scene which was originally molded in metallic green, but a small run of these were molded in tan just for the factory built ups so the snake didn't have to be completely repainted!). As mentioned too, the factory used spray masks to insure clean sharp edges on color breaks. And flat paints were almost always used, and often free hand airbrushed on. 

IIRC, the last kits to be assembled at the factory were the first series of the Prehistoric Scenes. I don't recall the Comic Scenes being done as factory built ups, but it is possible they were. Anyone not sure if what they have is in fact an actual factory built is welcome to contact me, and I'll try to verify it for you.

Hope this helps a little.

Tory


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

Aurora-brat said:


> IIRC, the last kits to be assembled at the factory were the first series of the Prehistoric Scenes.
> Tory


Are you sure about that?
I know that there is a mammoth display, and that was part of the second series of PS kits.
http://tylisaari.com/prehistoricscenes/mamdisplay.htm

I am pretty sure that was done at the factory as well.

Also, what about all the promotional build-ups?
Those were still being done as late as 74 as I have corresponded with a guy who was doing that as his job at Aurora. Building them for catalog photo shoots, the showroom and the toy shows. Those had to end up somewhere.
So while there would be extrememly limited numbers of those, they would still be around.


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## Aurora-brat (Oct 23, 2002)

You are right about the mammoth display, I completely forgot about that one. So then that would mean the second series would have been the last. Thanks for setting me straight on that.

I wouldn't clasify the promotional build-ups in the same category as the factory assembled built-ups. The models that were done at the factory were done in a very "assembly line" fashion, I actually witnessed this one day when my dad brought me to work. Interestingly, most of the line workers were women. As I said earlier, if the parts were molded in the correct color, they were left that way, and no effort was made to fill seems or anything along those lines.

Models built up for shows or package photography were very different from the factory built-ups. These would have had seems filled, and would not have been left in the original plastic colors. Most of these were sent to outside modelers who were paid a comission to build them, although I know a few folks from Aurora's R&D staff did this type of work from time to time as well. Incidentally, I believe a lot of these models were done by some of the staff at Polks Hobbies in NYC. 

The promotional type models would be much harder to verify than the factory built-ups as there wasn't any real standard that they were done to, aside from being built as nicely as it could be straight from the box. I do happen to own one of these models as well, as Bristol F2B fighter that was used for the package photography in the last Aurora issue of this kit. 

Tory


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

Nice info there.

I was curious. because as I said, I had corresponded with a gentleman that said that he worked for Aurora through '74 as a model builder, so I wasn't sure how many were done. I figured if it justified full time employees, there might have been quite a few.


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## Aurora-brat (Oct 23, 2002)

If you don't mind my asking, who was it. I know a lot of ex-Aurora employees. Maybe someone I still keep in contact with. If you want, you can email me of line.

Tory


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

Well, I didn't see a way to contact you off board (no PM or email option on your ID) so I will just post it.
Fred Rednor
I don't think just the name is giving away too much.
He emailed me a few years ago after he stumbled across my site.
Brought back some good memories for him.
We exchanged a few emails, just BSing about stuff he did and what it was like. He mentioned he had a scrapbook of B&W photos and color slides of the work he did back then, but didn't know where it was.
I told him, I'd love some scans if he ever found it, but never really pressed the issue. Haven't initiated any other contact since then, other than sending him a link to the new site when I moved it to it's current location. (which he appreciated).
I try not to be pushy, or invade peoples privacy.
If they want to talk about stuff and continue correspondence, great!
But if not, I understand, they have lives that don't revolve around the good old days, and strangers they have never met on the internet.


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## Aurora-brat (Oct 23, 2002)

The name isn't familiar to me, but it was worth a shot.

A lot of the old Aurora guys went on to do other things and lost touch with each other. I keep in touch with a few, but they do have lives beyond Aurora as you said.

Some like to reminice, other don't. To most, it was just a job, but to at least a couple it was the job of a lifetime. Unfortunately for me, by the time I was ready to enter the workforce, Aurora was gone and I had to settle for working at Mego for my first job.

Sorry about the lack of contact info, I'll have to update my profile to include an email address.


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

Tory,

Interesting information, thanks for the insights.
I thought there were other kits besides the LOTG Snake that had special color runs for the factory promos. The cougar I have was molded in two colors, a marbled grey and orange/brown, while the dragon in the Superboy promo was molded in the same metallic green as the Creature. 
I've never seen a Wolf Man factory promo - was his body painted a basic brown?

Chris


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

FWIW, I did promotional build-ups for Estes Rockets back in the 80's. I also did promos for a local variety store. The store's owner had built an absolutely TERRIBLE Monogram B-52 and hung it in the hobby department. I spoke with the department's manager and talked him into letting me build some models for display there instead. I was paid with an unbuilt copy of the kit I built. The assistant manager happened to become a friend of mine during this time, and he ended up with all of the build-ups when the store went under.


Larry


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## 1bluegtx (Aug 13, 2004)

Aurora also had factory built promos of the racing scene line in 1974.What about the models that were used for photos in mail order catalogs.I am looking at catalog photos right now of dimetrodon and t-rex.boy these look like factory built as they are mostly plastic color with details painted.And seams are not filled.Isn't this aurora stuff great! we may never know.

BRIAN


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## BatToys (Feb 4, 2002)

I remember looking at my local hobby store window when I was around 5 and seeing all the Aurora factory displays. I remember seeing Superman high on a shelf. Looking down I could see the guilloutine with the bloody head in the basket. They had sloppy U.N.C.L.E. kits they painted themselves but it looked cool. When I was sixteen the shop closed and I had the presence of mind to try to buy the kits. The owner lived a block away. They threw out all their kits but luckily he saved a few he liked. I bought Superman and it is surreal to compare the same kit to the way I remembered it.


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## Aurora-brat (Oct 23, 2002)

ChrisW said:


> Tory,
> 
> Interesting information, thanks for the insights.
> I thought there were other kits besides the LOTG Snake that had special color runs for the factory promos. The cougar I have was molded in two colors, a marbled grey and orange/brown, while the dragon in the Superboy promo was molded in the same metallic green as the Creature.
> ...


Hi Chris,

I don't know about the worfman color as I have never seen one either, although the Wolfman's Wagon I did see had him painted flat brown. 

I would imagine that Aurora did special color runs for several factory built-ups, although I'm certainly no expert on which. A very good friend of mine is quite the Aurora expert, having been an Aurora employee in R&D from 1965 - 1975. He said that as far as he knows, there aren't any existing records of which kits were done as factory built-ups and when the practice was finally discontinued. So we may never know for sure.

Although there might be someone out there that does have this information...

Tory


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## Aurora-brat (Oct 23, 2002)

1bluegtx said:


> Aurora also had factory built promos of the racing scene line in 1974.What about the models that were used for photos in mail order catalogs.I am looking at catalog photos right now of dimetrodon and t-rex.boy these look like factory built as they are mostly plastic color with details painted.And seams are not filled.Isn't this aurora stuff great! we may never know.
> 
> BRIAN


Brian,

I can't say with any certainty what models were used for the mail order catalog shots, but I do know that a lot of the photos of the built up models on the instruction sheets were of the painted acetate patterns. If the same photos were used for the mail order catalog shots, that would certainly explain the lack of filled seems. 

You are correct in saying that we may never know for sure. But it is fun to track down clues...

Tory


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

Actually the guy I mentioned earlier said he had done a lot of the racing scenes for Aurora.
Not really my interest so I didn't cover it.
He also did the sailback reptile.
He couldn't remember what the kit was until he saw my site. All he rememberd was the clear/green dragonfly


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## BatToys (Feb 4, 2002)

How about Andy Yanchus?
He wrote on Aurora for Kit Collectors Clearinghouse.


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## MonsterModelMan (Dec 20, 2000)

Aurora-brat said:


> The thing about the factory built up models, as mentioned elsewhere, is thier relative scarcity. As far as the quality of the builds, they were very cleanly assembled and neatly painted. However, no seems were filled, sanded or filed ever, so if you have something being advertised as a factory built up that has this finishing work done to it, beware! Where the molded color of the kit was appropriate, it was left that way. Only details were painted (An interesting footnote is the Land of the Giants Snake scene which was originally molded in metallic green, but a small run of these were molded in tan just for the factory built ups so the snake didn't have to be completely repainted!). As mentioned too, the factory used spray masks to insure clean sharp edges on color breaks. And flat paints were almost always used, and often free hand airbrushed on.


Tory,
I must say that with your description...this must be a factory build-up that I received. No seams have been filled and they only have painted the details...where it could be left in the molded plastic color, it has been left that way. 

It is a very crisp, clean job and the paint scheme that was used is very professional looking. I think I'm gonna leave it alone as it looks GREAT just the way it is and is a great conversation piece to talk about!

MMM


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## Aurora-brat (Oct 23, 2002)

BatToys said:


> How about Andy Yanchus?
> He wrote on Aurora for Kit Collectors Clearinghouse.


Funny you should mention Andy as he is a very good friend of mine, and I have already asked him about the Aurora factory build-ups. He has very limited knowledge of what was done as this was handled by a completely different department. That coupled with 30+ years of time elapsed and the details get even more sketchy.

He does know the name of the person in charge of the factory built-up program but hasn't been in contact with him since he left Aurora in 1975. I believe it was Rocky something or another, I'll ask him next time we talk.

Too bad as this has always been a very interesting aspect of Aurora history, at least to me.

Tory


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## Aurora-brat (Oct 23, 2002)

MonsterModelMan said:


> Tory,
> I must say that with your description...this must be a factory build-up that I received. No seams have been filled and they only have painted the details...where it could be left in the molded plastic color, it has been left that way.
> 
> It is a very crisp, clean job and the paint scheme that was used is very professional looking. I think I'm gonna leave it alone as it looks GREAT just the way it is and is a great conversation piece to talk about!
> ...


Sounds good MMM. That is why I have left my factory built-ups in their original condition, they are an interesting part of Aurora history and are fun conversation pieces as well. 

Tory


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## BatToys (Feb 4, 2002)

I wonder what happened to the stencils? That Superman 'S' is painted perfectly. Aurora should have sold stencils!


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## Dave Metzner (Jan 1, 1970)

They undoubtedly threw the stencils away! Along with a bunch of other stuff that had no value at the time!
That's generally the way business works-Stencils would have been DISPOSABLE - not something considered to be of any value.


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## BatToys (Feb 4, 2002)

Would the stencils have been metal or plastic?


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## Aurora-brat (Oct 23, 2002)

The "stencils" that you refer to are actually called masks, or spray masks. The process is called spray masking, and has been around for decades. When you see a toy, for instance, that is molded in one color and has another color painted on, that is the result of spray masking. 

From what I remember, the masks are created through a process of electrostatically plating the part with a copper alloy, and building up a wall thickness of around .030 inch. That thin metal form then has the area that is to be painted removed via grinding and filing by hand to create a hole in the mask which will allow the paint to go through. Depending on the size of the part or area to be sprayed, the paint is applied with either a spray gun or airbrush while the part is held firmly against the mask. I would imagine that the mask would have to be cleaned from time to time to remove the paint build-up. But that is pretty much how it was done at the Aurora factoy. 

This same process was used to decorate the slot car bodies, within the same department.


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## BatToys (Feb 4, 2002)

Fascinating. I always wanted to know that. Thank you Aurora-Brat.
I would have liked to have seen those kind of metal masks for the refit.

I also had a Gigantic Frankenstein build up that my Dad bought off the shelf.
Has anyone ever seen a factory build up of Wonder Woman or the Batmobile?


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## spe130 (Apr 13, 2004)

It's amazing what survives sometimes. A few years ago I tried to buy (but was severely outbid for) the original American Flyer paint masks for their Missouri Pacific diesel engines.


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

The discussion about the spray masks is interesting. I have seen some simple masks for things like eyebrows and lips on a doll's face, but wondered about the shapes that were more angular - the legs of the Hunchback, for example, or some of the fine detailed paint areas on a Hallmark ornament... would a mask be done in several elements and then be put together like a complex mold to paint odd shapes?


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## Aurora-brat (Oct 23, 2002)

Most likely, any shape that requires a wrap arount mask is done sequentially, a third or quater at a time, which can cost a lot when you are a manufacter. That is one reason why things that are made domestically usually don't have any type of spray ops on them, due to labor costs, not to mention environmental issues. It all went to Asia, where this type of work is a lot less expensive.


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## spe130 (Apr 13, 2004)

Chris, the Flyer paint mask I wanted to buy looked almost like a steel mold - it completely enveloped the plastic Alco diesel engine shell. As far as I can tell, different sections were removeable to paint the separate stripes. They probably had quite a few for each engine, it looked like a multi-step painting process.


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

spe130 said:


> Chris, the Flyer paint mask I wanted to buy looked almost like a steel mold - it completely enveloped the plastic Alco diesel engine shell. As far as I can tell, different sections were removeable to paint the separate stripes. They probably had quite a few for each engine, it looked like a multi-step painting process.


Verra interesting, Thanks!


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## spe130 (Apr 13, 2004)

This page has pictures of some Lionel paint masks at a factory auction: http://tcamembers.org/articles/chronicles/lionelauction/index.html

And a different style: http://www.train-station.com/Pages/archives/room3.html


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## BatToys (Feb 4, 2002)

I'd like an aftermarket metal masks disc or discs for the refit. Would make it easier to paint the aztec design.

The Superman had a mustard yellow, not a bright yellow like the Batman belt, and a subdued red, which made it look classier.


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## Cro-Magnon Man (Jun 11, 2001)

The Creature build-up in -Phil's link answers another question, about the Creature's head ridge. Judging by that Creature build-up in the link, Aurora allowed the head ridge to look pronounced, and didn't bother to correct or alter it.


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## Heavens Eagle (Jun 30, 2003)

About 20 years ago I was involved with a hobby shop in Tulsa that was into promoting gaming miniatures. One of the things that became a big deal was micro armor. 1/285 scale tanks, jeeps, artilliary, etc. My specialty was WW2 German armor with all the various 3 color schemes. Some of which were quite intricate. I created masks for many of them by using my Vac-U-Form and then cutting holes thru the form for the pattern. The larger tanks were about 3/4 of an inch long and I could do a hundred or so in an evening. They didn't look the least bit shoddy and for the size were extreamly detailed. Still have a bunch (someplace) I will try and dig them up and take some photos.


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## Kit (Jul 9, 2009)

Just wanted to bring this up -- there's another thread on hobby shops that was talking about buildups, and looking for some information.


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