http://cgi.ebay.com/Hand-Painted-Resin-Prototype-1993-Gung-Ho-Mega-Marine_W0QQitemZ320062137387QQihZ011QQcategoryZ246 7QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have a hard time believing that this is a prototype..... what do you guys think ?

i think it's real, it's a "Hand Painted Resin Prototype"

from the auction:
"Before prototype test-shots are designed, resin models were created to create the molds. One of those resin models would be hand painted to provide the final color scheme for the produced figures."

I have a hard time believing it too. I have no clue though what the prototype is supposed to look like though, making my opinion quite worthless.

If you look at the pics on yojoe.com, you’ll see his lower arms and his knees are different then the auctions.

Plus his helmet doesn’t have the look of plastic, more like clay.
And there are several differences between the two in the way of paint jobs.

If you want to know if he’s real, email the seller and ask if he has any markings on his legs, if he doesn’t, then it’s a real prototype.

http://www.yojoe.com/action/93/gungho5.shtml
http://cgi.ebay.com/Hand-Painted-Res...QQcmdZViewItem
http://www.yojoe.com/archive/preprod/93/gungho.shtml

Bad times...

Yes, it's real. The seller is well-known and has several prototype items shown on yojoe.

The story is also real. After a figure's 2:1 wax sculpt is created, a silicon mold of the sculpt is taken and two - three 2:1 resin hardcopies are created. One of these hardcopies will be pantographed and reduced to 1:1 scale and another 1:1 wax sculpt will be made. From that, anywhere from 3-5 resin 1:1 hardcopies will be created. Some will be left as is, some will be primered and used as masters, some will be handpainted and serve as photo or toy fair samples and final paintmasters and others will be used as tooling masters to create the steel production molds, also done through pantographing.

The hardcopy shown in the auction was most likely used internally as a paintmaster or as a photo or toy fair sample. There's no real reason to believe that the hardcopy up for auction is the same one as the photo sample that was shown in the above links.

These are incredibly rare items that are an integral part of the history of the line. They were made in quantities of less than 5 and of those, most were probably destroyed. That said, the seller of the auction should have a lot more photos that clearly show this item from several different angles.

Here are some examples of other resin hardcopies i have in my collection:
http://www.tattoosandtoys.com/images_yours/JoeHCs013.jpg

http://www.tattoosandtoys.com/images_yours/JoeHCs015.jpg

http://www.tattoosandtoys.com/images_yours/JoeHCs017.jpg

All of the figures on the left are 1:1 hardcopies (abbrev: HC) with their production counterparts on the right. The weapons are all HCs as well.



If you want to know if he’s real, email the seller and ask if he has any markings on his legs, if he doesn’t, then it’s a real prototype.


There are a lot more ways than just this to help determine if an item is a genuine prototype, especially when dealing with hardcopies.

You'd think someone would reply with a "hey thanks", or "I never knew that!", or "appreciate it!", or something similar to Shane's informative reply on G.I.Joe prototypes and the prototype process. But...zilch.

The thread will fade away into the Yojoe ether...until someone else feels a prototype isn't one pretty much just because they "think" so.

-Peter

I want to thank Shane for sharing his insights and genuine expertise, regarding the prototype.

Sometimes it really bothers me that so much discussion can happen with regard to "who is the bestest xyz" and these more articulate, intricate aspects of collecting go unnoticed except for a few individuals. :(

ive always been interested in the prototypes and all of the preproduction art and samples unfortunately i cant afford any of them but would always be willing to learn more about them. hopefully some will still be available when i have the funds to aquire them. thanks for the info. dom

i was saying it was real from the start, and as for thanking Shane haven't had a chance yet.

he is the goto guy on these boards and on rebelscum for prototypes or any info on the production aspect of action figures.