Any interest in a repro Aquaman vs The Great White Shark set?

[ScottA]

I actually wouldn't mind a box.

[reevefan78]

Report from my mold maker 10.19.10

Hello all, below is an email update I received today from my mold maker friend who received my Mego Great White Shark in the mail on Monday afternoon of this week. More updates to follow as I receive word from him on this project in the coming weeks until this project is complete. Please stay tuned.

"OK, let me break it down for you:

The aqua shark has an upper head piece, a right side half and a left side half.

Now ignore all pieces for a moment except the right side piece. I just use it as an example.

The right side piece has an outside [duh, I know..] but it also has an inside molded to the shell we know as
'the right side'. The inside is what contains the grooves and lans for the weight and foam block,
and some pegs and holes for the assembly of all major pieces.

Were I only to silicone mold the outside of the right side piece, then the lans, grooves, pegs/holes would
not translate over to future castings.
So, what is needed is a 2 piece mold of the right side piece/shell.
This is how the factory replicated the originals.
However; the factory used metal molds and hydraulically injected uber`hot molten thermo-plastic into the VERY thin
gap that existed between the metal molds for the right side piece.

To try and copy this in resin for silicone molds might not work well.
There is no real great -efficient way to inject 2 part resin into the gap area of such a thin walled 2 piece silicone mold in order to replicate the FULL details needed for the inner and outer shell of that right side piece.

That is where I am at for now. I have yet to disassemble it. I may find a really easy way to do this.
Injection of 2 part resins can be done, it is just messy, dangerous, and VERY wasteful of materials.
But I have done it.
And, I have found ingeniously simple ways to do it in the past for smaller items.

So, I will study it more later, and get back to you with some thoughts/ideas.
This is not a shoot down letter, just a progress report. And some progress has been made today."

[wookilar8]

Woow!! The science of toy making. Wait, this is still a toy, right?

No, I'm kidding. This guy really sounds like he knows what he's doing. Thanks for keeping us up to date.

[megojim]

Enough Lonnie. We all understand you hate the Mattel stuff. We don't need to see it in every post you make. And frankly, I'm getting sick of reading it all the time. Please stop. You've made your point.

double triple thank you

[Meule]

The inside is what contains the grooves and lans for the weight and foam block,

Do you really need this in the repro shark? Then you would only need a 1 piece mold

[AAAAA]

I would contact a a gentle giant type company
and make a Polystone copies in the US

[reevefan78]

Do you really need this in the repro shark? Then you would only need a 1 piece mold

Did the original really need it?.....perhaps....perhaps not. But since it does have it then at least the deluxe versions of this repro shark are going to have it too. There will be an economy version I think as well if you recall from my earlier posts.

I (we) will make this the best we see fit to do and offer perhaps several versions so that people can pick and choose which one they want......sound good? Just leave the rest to us.....we aim to please as many people as we can but we have to also consider our own personal aesthetics and how we want to approach this project and being that we are both very picky individuals and very concerned with quality I think if we're going to do this we need to do it right.

Don't worry though we are listening to all options and figuring out how we can meet high standards but at a price that people will want to pay depending on their budgets and how precise they want their repro sharks to be. Thanks for all the input/suggestions. More to follow so stay tuned.

[reevefan78]

I would contact a a gentle giant type company
and make a Polystone copies in the US

That would be great if:

1. We had tens of thousands of dollars to throw at them to create a repro that would pay them enough to say...."yeah, we can do that for you!".

2. Didn't mind ordering a minimum of 5000 copies that we could never possibly sell......remember most of the originals ended up on clearance tables.

3. Time was not an issue.......even these companies plan months and months ahead of schedule.

4. Didn't care to make an accurate repro in the same or similar material as the originals were produced.

I've already looked into this avenue if you read my earliest posts on this thread and it is simply too expensive and we'd be sitting on thousands of these things even if we had the money. In theory it sounds great but in reality it just isn't feasible.

[AAAAA]

Vac-u-form
and do as a kit?
like garage model kit.

[reevefan78]

Vac-u-form
and do as a kit?
like garage model kit.

My mold maker friend and I are already moving ahead with this project and it will not be a garage model kit or vac-u-formed. Most people do not want to mess with something like this. It is easier for them to unpack it from it's shipping container and put it on a shelf without having to do any work. Plus it makes quality control consistent across the board.

[sprytel]

The Great White Shark is not my thing, but I do enjoy witnessing the process behind this.

[Van Hammersly]

I can't believe I didn't see this thread until now. My 2-year-old loves, loves, LOVES Aquaman. Many mornings, he wakes up asking about him, wanting to watch Batman: The Brave and the Bold episodes that feature his adventures. He's currently playing with my Hasbro Mego-style Aquaman figure, and now all I can think is, how much he'd love to have this shark!!

So count me as interested. This made me happy!

[Mr Mego]

Enough Lonnie. We all understand you hate the Mattel stuff. We don't need to see it in every post you make. And frankly, I'm getting sick of reading it all the time. Please stop. You've made your point.

Yeah, I second that. Thank you.



Kris, thanks for good infor. but your maroon with bold sentence is really hurting my eyes,

I feels more comfortable to reading with this original black letters.

Can't wait to see new repro Shark comes out!

[reevefan78]

Here's the latest update from my mold maker friend:

"OK, as you can see I have taken the AquaShark Apart here is a brief report, I am
pressed for time so I will be BRIEF.
****
* Shark has been disassembled previously, as smaller guide-pins broken and glued
over.

* Glue is basis for skin scarring, possible polyvinyl type like PVC or other
'home' glue that is solvent based with a plastic base/carrier.

* Minor corrosion in battery compartment.

* Motor seems to be OK, have not disassembled further, or applied power to.
* No, external switch, must have put in battery and then just played with?

* Minimum of 7 molds needed. Possibly cannot do prop, dunno yet.

* Prop and prop gear are only pressed on.

* May want to see if we can just make this look like the real deal but not have
to worry about all the internal pin/slot work and motor?
-- Will look and move like real thing. Just be molded as a rotocast body that
does not break apart with 3 screws and associated pins/slots?

-----
Unsure about what is needed to restore skin for you yet. May be quick and easy,
or a real booger. I'll test to see how deep or shallow the glue melting is into
the surface."

[rche]

that's a great pic!