Limited Run of Dewback Prod Tips
Back in 2021, I started an interest thread to do a run of Dewback Prod Tips, basing the design on previous runs of the prop in the MEPD Sandtrooper forum. While waiting to get enough interest for the run, I spoke with TatooineMachine and Cantina_Dude about the run and the possibility of improving upon the accuracy of the design. Life then got in the way and the project was tabled for a bit but we’re finally ready to go!
Dewback Prod Research:
As everyone knows, there are precious few pictures of the original prop, with production stills being the primary sources available. Previous iterations of replicas of this prop (as well as the intended design in my original interest thread) have included both top and bottom tips/caps for the pole. However, looking at reference of the original prop it is clear it only had a top cap piece and no bottom cap, as can be seen in the following images:
The prod used in the film appears to be very rudimentary and was likely just a couple bands of metallic tape wrapped around the end of a black pole with some sort of ridged piece painted silver and jammed on the end. It actually looks like some of the metallic tape is peeling away from the pole in most of the available reference photos, like this one:
With input from myself and TatooineMachine, Cantina_Dude was able to work up a design for an idealized representation of what we believe the prod tip looked like on the screen used prop, working with the concept of it being replicated as a solid machined aluminum piece that could be attached to the end of a pole. To be clear, this is an artistic interpretation that attempts to balance aesthetics and accuracy to offer the closest replica of this prop yet produced. Here is a machined prototype of the Prod Tip:
For the production run, the plan is to reduce the diameter of the last step of the design a bit to more closely resemble the layered effect of what we presume to be metallic tape on the original prop while still leaving enough wall thickness to the aluminum. Here is a 3D render of the updated design with that reduced diameter on the last step:
The part will also have a threaded hole and set screw for securely attaching it to the end of the pole. You will need to source the pole yourself locally to avoid astronomical shipping costs. The part was designed to accommodate a 1” diameter pole which, based on Cantina_Dude’s 3D scaling work, seems to be what the original prop was built around. He used a rough pose of a blank average sized male human armature positioned in virtual space over top of the reference photo to determine that the pole is 1" in diameter with an overall length of the completed prod of about 9' 2".
We are going to do a limited run of 10 to get this run going. At this time, there are no plans to do a future run of these, but that may change if there is sufficient interest.
Pricing will be $150 USD each plus shipping.
The order will be sent to the machine shop on May 1. At that time, I will have a more accurate estimate of the lead-time, but current estimate is approximately 1-2 months for production, which would put shipping of these around the June-July timeframe. Please let me know if there are any questions or if you're interested in having your name added to the list. Cheers!
Interest List:
1) TatooineMachine
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10) LMC3
Standby List:
1)
2)
3)
Back in 2021, I started an interest thread to do a run of Dewback Prod Tips, basing the design on previous runs of the prop in the MEPD Sandtrooper forum. While waiting to get enough interest for the run, I spoke with TatooineMachine and Cantina_Dude about the run and the possibility of improving upon the accuracy of the design. Life then got in the way and the project was tabled for a bit but we’re finally ready to go!
Dewback Prod Research:
As everyone knows, there are precious few pictures of the original prop, with production stills being the primary sources available. Previous iterations of replicas of this prop (as well as the intended design in my original interest thread) have included both top and bottom tips/caps for the pole. However, looking at reference of the original prop it is clear it only had a top cap piece and no bottom cap, as can be seen in the following images:
The prod used in the film appears to be very rudimentary and was likely just a couple bands of metallic tape wrapped around the end of a black pole with some sort of ridged piece painted silver and jammed on the end. It actually looks like some of the metallic tape is peeling away from the pole in most of the available reference photos, like this one:
With input from myself and TatooineMachine, Cantina_Dude was able to work up a design for an idealized representation of what we believe the prod tip looked like on the screen used prop, working with the concept of it being replicated as a solid machined aluminum piece that could be attached to the end of a pole. To be clear, this is an artistic interpretation that attempts to balance aesthetics and accuracy to offer the closest replica of this prop yet produced. Here is a machined prototype of the Prod Tip:
For the production run, the plan is to reduce the diameter of the last step of the design a bit to more closely resemble the layered effect of what we presume to be metallic tape on the original prop while still leaving enough wall thickness to the aluminum. Here is a 3D render of the updated design with that reduced diameter on the last step:
The part will also have a threaded hole and set screw for securely attaching it to the end of the pole. You will need to source the pole yourself locally to avoid astronomical shipping costs. The part was designed to accommodate a 1” diameter pole which, based on Cantina_Dude’s 3D scaling work, seems to be what the original prop was built around. He used a rough pose of a blank average sized male human armature positioned in virtual space over top of the reference photo to determine that the pole is 1" in diameter with an overall length of the completed prod of about 9' 2".
We are going to do a limited run of 10 to get this run going. At this time, there are no plans to do a future run of these, but that may change if there is sufficient interest.
Pricing will be $150 USD each plus shipping.
The order will be sent to the machine shop on May 1. At that time, I will have a more accurate estimate of the lead-time, but current estimate is approximately 1-2 months for production, which would put shipping of these around the June-July timeframe. Please let me know if there are any questions or if you're interested in having your name added to the list. Cheers!
Interest List:
1) TatooineMachine
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10) LMC3
Standby List:
1)
2)
3)
