# Creature, Superboy, Wonder Woman, Confederate Raider



## Todd P. (Apr 12, 2007)

I'll bet this question has been answered, but I thought I'd ask it again instead of combing through all the discussions over the last few months.

Monsters of the Movies Creature, Superboy, Wonder Woman and the Confederate Raider: Are they being produced with the original tooling or are they reverse-engineered?

Just curious. Thanks.


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

For Wonder Woman it's reverse engineering for sure since the original molds were misplaced and never found.The Confederate Raider must be the same since the molds were most probably destroyed quite some time ago.Superboy and the Creature,not so sure,but I wouldn't be surprised if it was reversed engineered by Moebius as well.


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## Moebius (Mar 15, 2007)

All new tooling. The Wonder Woman tooling is out there, it was offered to us, and previously offered to Polar Lights way back when. Why buy old tooling that needs to be fixed, when it's better to make tooling that actually fits correct?


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## DocJam00 (May 18, 2010)

Frank, you keep saying things like that, and I'm gonna have to bake you a pie or something....

Doc


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

Moebius said:


> Why buy old tooling that needs to be fixed, when it's better to make tooling that actually fits correct?


What a revelation!! In what way did it need to be fixed/what was the damage?


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

I don't have any specific knowledge of these molds, but my guess would be that they are rusted and, therefore, nastilly pitted. This would require a lot of welding to add material to the molds, which would then have to be re-machined to get them back to the original profile.

Of course you'd then still have any fit / finish problems that were in the original molds. Also, since the molds have been used for many pulls, the detail will have become soft and prone to major flash.

By creating the molds from scratch, you eliminate all the problems of the original molds and gain the crispness of first run tooling.


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## Bwain no more (May 18, 2005)

IIRC, the Wonder Woman tooling (like the original "Bride of Frankenstein" tooling) never worked correctly during the original run and was why Aurora never reissued the kit.
One of MANY tidbits I picked up through years of correspondence with Andy Yanchus...
Tom


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## Todd P. (Apr 12, 2007)

Great! Thanks for the info.


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## SpaceCrawler (Mar 22, 2010)

Moebius,

So how were new molds created then (like for Wonder Woman)? I mean was it a totally new "sculpt" (or whatever you call them) but made to look like the old kit, or reverse engineered and tweeked to make fit correctly?

Sean


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## otto (Jan 1, 1970)

I think they are all reverse engineered from original plastic kits, with tweeks being made before and after the molds are made. I was surprised to hear that the MOM Creature was reverse engineered. I thought Revell still had the molds. I learn something new every day! LOL. I dont think rust is a factor on the old aurora molds, as they were made of a copper beriyllium (sp?) alloy. But I think they may have warped over time, or just got worn out from use.


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## spocks beard (Mar 21, 2007)

Moebius said:


> All new tooling. The Wonder Woman tooling is out there, it was offered to us, and previously offered to Polar Lights way back when. Why buy old tooling that needs to be fixed, when it's better to make tooling that actually fits correct?


Thanks for the info on the Wonder Woman molds!!
It's great to know that the original Aurora molds have in fact survived all these years:thumbsup:
I'll definitely be buying that kit as well as the MOTV Creature!
I had that kit back in the late 70's and would love to get one again:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Being an engineer I have thought about how they make molds these days. I am simply conjecturing but with the computer controlled milling machines and 3D modeling capabilities available I wonder if they could 3 dimensionally scan a figure/sculpt into the computer and then generate the machining code to make the mold? Of course there would be further work involved in that you would have to take the full sculpt and break it down into the various piece parts but the computer likely would allow that to be done as well. Up front costs for the equipment would be high but then amortizing it over multiple products would greatly reduce that. Frank, if you ever want to give us a brief synopsis on how they do make the molds nowadays I would love to read it.


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

Bwain no more said:


> IIRC, the Wonder Woman tooling (like the original "Bride of Frankenstein" tooling) never worked correctly during the original run and was why Aurora never reissued the kit.
> One of MANY tidbits I picked up through years of correspondence with Andy Yanchus...
> Tom


 
But Aurora still succeeded in producing kits from the mold, so maybe the defect which ensured that it never worked properly wasn't so bad, unless it became worse during that original run. 
But certainly the original Wonder Woman built-ups we see nowadays look fine.


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## Todd P. (Apr 12, 2007)

It was my impression that the Bride defects made things difficult at the production end, but that wouldn't necessarily have affected the final product. Harder to make, not harder to put together.


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## Bwain no more (May 18, 2005)

Todd; that was the impression I got as well. The molds were difficult to use, neither kit was a particularly good seller during their first run so neither was reissued. I know that Aurora did test shots on the Penguin kit while "Comic Scenes" were in production (I believe they even gave it a kit #) but I don't think they even bothered with Wonder Woman. Bear in mind, this comes from a conversation I had with Andy Yanchus like twenty years ago...
Tom


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## Moebius (Mar 15, 2007)

Overall, most Aurora kits have had their difficulties in building. None fit perfect, and most kits never will fit perfect. The WW ws in for fixes when it was "lost". Not sure what was being fixed, but there was something amiss. Not sure what the story is with them now, but from what I understand there are just the cavities, and no frames for them. No way to even get a test shot without spending money to complete them. For what it would take to complete, we can retool from an original kit.

The Creature has been one of those things that in the past no one knew if Revell had it or not. I had asked more than one employee there in the past and was always told "NO". I have heard that they do currently have part of it, but part doesn't make a complete kit. New tool is the first thing that comes to my mind in a situation like that...


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## Chinxy (May 23, 2003)

You know - being that I'm an engineer! I'm interested in how the molds are made. But I'm a Telecommunication Engineer, so it's different. I mostly deal with numbers and speed over lines. I've always been interested in how Aurora made their molds and more so how is it done in China today compaired to how it was done by Aurora or Monagram and others back in the day!  Just find it interesting.

And of course I have to ask!:freak: So when are they coming out??? Talking with you guys at Wonderfest I thought the Raider was coming out in June or July?:thumbsup:

Happy Aurora Trails!
Chinxy!:dude:


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## otto (Jan 1, 1970)

Its my unprofessional opinion that Revell doesnt really know what all they have when it comes to the old Aurora molds. I wouldnt be surprised if they had all the molds for the Creature and just dont know where the other part is LOL..I bet the things are heavy and stacked high and deep. It could be that they would have to physically open each one to try to figure it all out. And that might not be a very easy undertaking. I could be wrong, and probably am, It sure wouldnt be the 1st time. LOL..


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## JohnGuard (Jan 13, 2008)

anybody planning on updating Wonder Woman's look ?


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## Dave Metzner (Jan 1, 1970)

I'm pretty certain that Revell knows EXACTLY what they have - they are just not interested in discussing it!


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## otto (Jan 1, 1970)

That could explain a lot Dave!


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## Moebius (Mar 15, 2007)

Raider leaves China July 2....


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## otto (Jan 1, 1970)

GREAT NEWS Frank! Thanks! I've been looking forward to this release before you even started a model company! LOL..You are da man!


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## geoffdude (Mar 31, 2009)

JohnGuard said:


> anybody planning on updating Wonder Woman's look ?




You mean add boots? And or change the emblem?

g.


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## DocJam00 (May 18, 2010)

I have a question for Dr. Moebius....how are you handling the stars on her shorts, and the symbol on her...tunic?

Decals?

Or raised detail?


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## Jimmy B (Apr 19, 2000)

Moebius said:


> Raider leaves China July 2....


Awe man its going to take forever for that horse to swim here from China


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## otto (Jan 1, 1970)

DocJam00 said:


> I have a question for Dr. Moebius....how are you handling the stars on her shorts, and the symbol on her...tunic?
> 
> Decals?
> 
> Or raised detail?


I bet a nickel it will be raised detail, just like the new Superboy. Moebius always seems to do it right!


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## JohnGuard (Jan 13, 2008)

geoffdude said:


> You mean add boots? And or change the emblem?
> 
> g.


yes, i'm
not cray about the hair style or heels on the model


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## louspal (Sep 13, 2009)

JohnGuard said:


> yes, i'm
> not cray about the hair style or heels on the model


You guy's are kidding right? Right!? Dave just changed the subject by dropping a big ol' confederate blue smoke-screen and you're still on the WW scent? 
Man you guys are good or Frank is losing his mojo. I'm just sayin...


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

These are re-pops of kits and I want them as they were...
no ch-ch-ch-changes....
Thanks Moebius :thumbsup:
Mcdee


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

What Denis said!!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Chris.


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## Zathros (Dec 21, 2000)

otto said:


> Its my unprofessional opinion that Revell doesnt really know what all they have when it comes to the old Aurora molds. I wouldnt be surprised if they had all the molds for the Creature and just dont know where the other part is LOL..I bet the things are heavy and stacked high and deep. It could be that they would have to physically open each one to try to figure it all out. And that might not be a very easy undertaking. I could be wrong, and probably am, It sure wouldnt be the 1st time. LOL..


*Revell does have the Motm creature mold..however they state it is missing the head mold, as they believe that is how monogram recieved it from aurora..

Z
*


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## louspal (Sep 13, 2009)

Moebius said:


> Raider leaves China July 2....


Anyone know how long it takes for a horse and rider to swim from China? Just wondering...no particular reason...


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## VADER66 (Nov 16, 2001)

./\ 
. l
. l
:jest:


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

The Confederate Raider and Horse must be swimming near the docks of the good old USA by now.Yeeha!


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

Dave Metzner said:


> I'm pretty certain that Revell knows EXACTLY what they have - they are just not interested in discussing it!


I'm sure they know a lot more than they let on.
But I would be willing to bet that their tooling records are far from 100% accurate.

At least judging from my time in injection molding. When Little Tikes finally started scrapping old tools, they discovered that we (and many other companies that worked for them) had tools that they didn't even know they owned.


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## Bobman (Jan 21, 2001)

DocJam00 said:


> I have a question for Dr. Moebius....how are you handling the stars on her shorts, and the symbol on her...tunic?
> 
> Decals?
> 
> Or raised detail?


This is one way to take care of those WW stars:
http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=297202
:wave:
PM me for pricing.
Bob


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