Exciting possibly new coo discovery

[Mini99]

Yes it is very rare and I imagine there are only a handful known to exist. Where did you come across it?

The example I used above is a first shot molded in non production colours just to illustrate its pre production nature but there are other "production-like" examples that would be better known as pre production samples. Tom Derby recently sold one with a non production colour rifle.

Holy ****! A pre production piece ! I bought it of Facebook just as it was a coo I hadn't seen before.

Congratulations a really exciting find.

 

[Cardbackkid]

Thanks mini99 I'm pretty chuffed with it ... maybe I'll start a prune face focus now

 

[olisuds]

I'm a bit confused. Didn't you just ask about what this figure was just last week?

http://www.starwarsforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21925&start=15

There's a HK COO pre production pruneface figure in the thread- which is actually the one I referenced above that was sold by Tom Derby a few years back.

 

[Cardbackkid]

I'm a bit confused. Didn't you just ask about what this figure was just last week?

http://www.starwarsforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21925&start=15

There's a HK COO pre production pruneface figure in the thread- which is actually the one I referenced above that was sold by Tom Derby a few years back.

Yes I did but it didn't really look like the one in the picture so I asked a couple of people who collects coos and no one mentioned anything about it possibly being a pre production so assumed it was just undocumented coo?

 

[Cardbackkid]

I've taken some pictures next to a regular prune face there are some differences but they are subtle

 

[olisuds]

Cool, now you may need to compare against a few other figures because although there is just 1 COO there are actually 2 different mold families and a number of paint variations such as the Lili Ledy figure for example and the yellow and orange eye. You should try to ensure you are comparing like mold families. If you are you should be able to notice a short faint scar with the remnants of Hong Kong as apposed to a long very faint scar which could have been Made in Hong Kong. I think from what i can see they are the exact same mold.

There are some very useful guides on TIG in addition to the COO guide...

Mold family guide:
http://www.imperialgunneryforum.com/t6958p180-the-mould-family-guide-discussion-thread#129718

Lili Ledy Guide:
http://www.imperialgunneryforum.com/t2135p15-the-lili-ledy-guide-discussion-thread-part-1

Also would be interesting to know if the prototype in Andy's classified's thread i linked above matched up with yours exactly.

Now there might not necessarily be unique paint differences but as you can see from the 2 mold families the Hong Kong COO was removed before going into production and so far several first shots and pre production samples have the unproduced Hong Kong COO.

 

[Cardbackkid]

Just compared them and I believe they are the same mould family

 

[hellhippie]

nice thread awesome piece !!! congrats

 

[Cardbackkid]

nice thread awesome piece !!! congrats

Thanks hellhippie ! It's opened a whole new world of collecting I'm finding all this pre production stuff fascinating

 

[Dublinjeff]

What a great find....brilliant stuff 8)

 

[Bonsai_Tree_Ent]

Seems like a good find, and a new one on me. I always thought pre-production meant figures had no COO stamp!

 

[Dannywhiteley]

The J slot RF Fetts have COO info on the leg.

 

[olisuds]

Most prototypes wouldn't have COO markings present however quite a few ROTJ wave first shots do seem to have copyright markings present. I think if you wanted to classify them as a first shot they'd have to be molded or painted in non production colours. Some others have non production colour accessories and soft goods but the figures are otherwise production like. I think it would be a stretch to call them first shots. Probably more appropriate to call them pre production samples. Several of the 77 back wave characters are particularly interesting because they have the unproduced Hong Kong copyright marking. Some of them are perhaps easier to spot because they have other non production attributes or can be found as carded samples on a different characters card from a previous wave.

It's a strange anomaly that suggests some of the ROTJ figure molds may have had the copyright marking added before they were shipped to the orient. First shots would have been produced at the overseas factories in Asia and most likely sent back to Kenner in the US to check accuracy and functionality of the mold and aesthetics of the figure. At this stage the copyright markings are usually added before going into production. In these cases it seems that they were removed - which is odd.

 

[olisuds]

Here's a Wicket first shot in non production colours. If you look closely on the back of the lower left heel you see the unproduced HK copyright marking that was removed before it went into production. It's actually not a very good comparison pic as the production figure is a Taiwan COO but if you compared with the No COO figure you should be able to notice the scar on the heel where the copyright was removed.

 

[olisuds]

Here's perhaps a better and clearer example of a 77 back wave character with the unproduced Hong Kong copyright. This figure also has the non production colour lighter brown hair and can be found with the pink poncho (loose and carded examples are known).

 

[subzero]

How do pre-production figures even get into public circulation?, one would have thought figures like that would be binned once produced and approved for production. Did the workers take them home as souvenirs?

Curious! :?

 

[olisuds]

Perhaps a lot of them were binned but kenner employees undoubtedly kept some of them, brought them home, stored them, gave them to their children etc. They were also rescued from dumpsters by collectors and dealers that had the foresight that they might be valuable.

As to how Kenner pre production items made it into retail bins i have no idea. I don't think it happened that much, but it did happen. Some carded samples have turned up with store price stickers on.

 

[Cymonguk]

Perhaps a lot of them were binned but kenner employees undoubtedly kept some of them, brought them home, stored them, gave them to their children etc. They were also rescued from dumpsters by collectors and dealers that had the foresight that they might be valuable.

As to how Kenner pre production items made it into retail bins i have no idea. I don't think it happened that much, but it did happen. Some carded samples have turned up with store price stickers on.

The guess I heard was that towards the end of the runs of some figures, they would find bins of the preprods and shove them into cards.

 

[olisuds]

I dont think many pre production figures ended up on cards with the intention of being sold. A lot of the carded samples were on a different character card from a previous wave.

It's pretty evident that these wouldn't have been for retail purposes but nonetheless some carded samples like these did make it into retail bins. Some have even turned up in Australia.

 

[Cardbackkid]

So do you think the bib and rebel commando would have a coo or a removed coo?