Who would love to see Moebius do this?
This was hands down the nicest superhero kit Aurora ever did & the recasts are extremely expensive. :dude:

...Oh I know I'd buy one...:p....maybe two !...(cases)
Mcdee:wave:

That`s what I like to hear. lol I know licensing costs are an arm & a leg but I still feel strongly that this kit would sell as fast as bottled water.In order for this to become reality let`s hear alot of positive responses & even tell Moebius directly that you want this.
:thumbsup:

Here`s the link if you would like to tell them directly.
http://moebiusmodels.com/contact_us.php

I'm not sure the Original moulds for this kit still exist...I think these were some of the moulds that were destroyed in that train wreck we heard about years ago....I'm not even sure this ' AuroraTrain Wreck' story is true or if it's an urban legend? But having said that, I have seen some wonderful old kits been re-popped through reverse engineering :thumbsup:...and seeing as you posted this in the Moebius Forum, I'm sure you will get a response of sorts relatively soon...or this thread may just get moved over to the Modeling Forum...Either way I'm sure the Good folks at Moebius are well aware that this is a very desirable kit and that these 'Grails' are usually based on licencing issues... I suppose time will tell...
Any thoughts on this Frank? :wave:
Mcdee

There's been some talk on these boards about DC characters -- could it be?

This would be a likely choice.

I'd buy a case or two or three :thumbsup:

Simon

Train wreck story is BS, part of the tools still exist. It is a great kit!

...As you all know BS stands for... Before Styrene and so this Train Wreck couldn't have possibly affected the Aurora moulds...Thanks for that info :thumbsup:
....and the rest of your response doesn't really negate the notion that this might just come to fruition...so this thread is turning into a cool place to dream...:thumbsup:
Mcdee

Please do Wonder Woman!@!

Please do Wonder Woman!@!

Now... you just might want to rephrase that last statement...:p
Mcdee

:lol::lol::lol:

it would be great if they repopped it exactly in the same scale and as the original issue...but again...I have seen so many that would say they want her to look like she belongs on the "hot network".....but for me..a nostalgic
aurora repop would be just fine...I wouldn't buy a scaled up or new rendition myself..

Z

Train wreck story is BS, part of the tools still exist. It is a great kit!
Correction :

The Molds DO NOT EXIST for the Wonder Woman Kit ( Aurora Kit No. 479 , ( 1965 ) . That kit had just one short run in 1965 , proved to be a non-seller , was pulled from production , the molds then taken to another location and placed in rented storage . In 1968 Aurora started to reissue and modify some of their old non -military kits , and Aurora management would have re-issued the kit , but the Wonder Woman molds could not be found , and are to this day considered lost . The molds were probably taken from the storage facility and sold as scrap , sometime between 1965 and 1968 , by either Aurora employees or storage facility employees .

That said , if Moebius Models ( or any other Model Kit Company) did acquire the licensing to produce the kit , I know where a couple of original ones , complete , unbuilt , mint in box , excellent boxes , could be had ( for the right price of course ) and proper back engineering could take place !

GK

Me, I'd rather have a new sculpt with a more modern flair. This is one kit Aurora made too cartoony-goofy-looking, IMHO.

I think Frank and co. can do it..just takes a DC license...and we know it can't be that hard, eh? Maybe if we keep optimistic and wait...!
Gary:wave:

Train wreck story is BS, part of the tools still exist. It is a great kit!

Now, how would you know that so surely ... unless you looked into it!

I'm not sure the Original moulds for this kit still exist...I think these were some of the moulds that were destroyed in that train wreck we heard about years ago....

No they were not destroyed. The wreck has been blown greatly out of proportion. Lost were a couple of the two seater World War I planes and some clear parts sprues for the old 1/32 car kits.

Monogram, on the other hand, scrapped many Aurora molds very quickly after taking them over in 1977... they were either kits Monogram figured they would never issue, kits with no audience (like the 1/32 cars which were eclipsed by 1/24 kits) or like many of the Aurora molds... kits where the molds were shot and worn out.

Building something. Building something.
[Pause to agree with OP, even though I know Moebius is aware of the desire for this kit].
Building... building....
overcome by glue fumes....

No changes please!!

Keep the kit exactly the way it is.Now her body is drawn so out of proportion she looks even goofier.We don`t need a new sculpt with her boobs hanging out & a camel toe.She is meant to be seen as a hero,role model & public figure not a Playboy Bunny.It`s the fanboys who want the newer version plus it`s a damn nice classic Aurora kit.Can`t wait to use gold paint to replace the gaudy yellows.

You're pretty sure of this whole thing. Who are you and what do you know?

http://static.flickr.com/129/317496116_efcb108460_o.jpg

And see what you can do about re-popping the original price while you're at it!

- GJS

You're pretty sure of this whole thing. Who are you and what do you know?

Who are you asking & know about what? :freak:

You, bizarrobrian. Not trying to push, but I'm curious -- who are you, what brought this project to mind, and do you know something you're not telling? I'm just trying to read between the lines, because I'd love to get a WW repop, and because it would require a DC license -- pretty intriguing if you're operating from inside knowledge.

Whoa...the Plot thickens! :p
Mcdee

Now... you just might want to rephrase that last statement...:p
Mcdee
Why?:thumbsup:

You, bizarrobrian. Not trying to push, but I'm curious -- who are you, what brought this project to mind, and do you know something you're not telling? I'm just trying to read between the lines, because I'd love to get a WW repop, and because it would require a DC license -- pretty intriguing if you're operating from inside knowledge.


This is about the twenty-eleventh time someone has requested a WW repop. Nothing new there. However, I do find Frank's (Moebius) response interesting. Now, I gotta' wonder - if Round 2 is repopping the Aurora Batmobile - which they are - does that mean they currently have DC wrapped up for all styrene kits?

Me, I'd rather have a new sculpt with a more modern flair. This is one kit Aurora made too cartoony-goofy-looking, IMHO.

Not really, depends on how she's built.

http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/509/ww08-6b.jpg

http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/509/ww08-3b.jpg

This is about the twenty-eleventh time someone has requested a WW repop. Nothing new there. However, I do find Frank's (Moebius) response interesting. Now, I gotta' wonder - if Round 2 is repopping the Aurora Batmobile - which they are - does that mean they currently have DC wrapped up for all styrene kits?

Who knows that would be nice , hey they did it with the monsters who thought that would ever happen ?? and not to mention all the others they repopped (like lost in space , james bond the munsters , my fav the bride ) so only time will tell but for some who want a decent wonder woman kit should visit python kits and get one there , price is not bad and they also have a aurora penguin and there castings is top notch , they did the mutant in which im a proud owner of one of the 26 protoypes and remember guys it's only a hobby not a debate were not in grade school if it were a life or death situation then go to war , but over plastic life's too short let's have fun keep it clean and share our ideas not make remarks that would tick someone off .

Robert (Sprayray)

Not really, depends on how she's built.

http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/509/ww08-6b.jpg

http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/509/ww08-3b.jpg

HEAR, HEAR Now that's what im talking about keeping it real and nostalgic look at what a good paint job can do and remember it's the look we grew up with as kids and that's why it means alot to the baby boombers to have stuff when they were kids , heck im 44 and a big kid ! my fiancee jokes and says going to play with your toys again and i say hell yea !!! great job and pic .

Robert (Sprayray)

Beautiful Job! :thumbsup:
Mcdee

Didn't DC refuse to let Polar Lights repop this kit a few years ago?

I'd like to see it available again.

Keep the kit exactly the way it is.Now her body is drawn so out of proportion she looks even goofier.We don`t need a new sculpt with her boobs hanging out & a camel toe.She is meant to be seen as a hero,role model & public figure not a Playboy Bunny.It`s the fanboys who want the newer version plus it`s a damn nice classic Aurora kit.Can`t wait to use gold paint to replace the gaudy yellows.

Actually, I'm NOT a fanboy. I'm 52, and I've never really been a WW comic fan at all. I just think the Aurora kit was pretty bad looking. I have nothing at all against repopping it for its fans, though. I just won't buy one. But I would buy a new sculpt along modern lines. There was a figure sold a few years ago - DC Direct? - that really caught my eye and would make a nice kit.

I have an original so....maybe Moebius or Round2 will UPSIZE it to 1/8 scale!
Then I'll stay happy!

MMM

Correction :

The Molds DO NOT EXIST for the Wonder Woman Kit ( Aurora Kit No. 479 , ( 1965 ) . That kit had just one short run in 1965 , proved to be a non-seller , was pulled from production , the molds then taken to another location and placed in rented storage . In 1968 Aurora started to reissue and modify some of their old non -military kits , and Aurora management would have re-issued the kit , but the Wonder Woman molds could not be found , and are to this day considered lost . The molds were probably taken from the storage facility and sold as scrap , sometime between 1965 and 1968 , by either Aurora employees or storage facility employees .

GK
not from what I heard and was involved in briefly some years back...
In 1999, I believe, I spoke with a collector and dealer in Long Island NY...He told me directly that HE had the wonder woman mold..It was at ace tool & die in NJ, and it had been repaired by them at Auroras request..it sat there for years..when it was heard that Aurora was going out of business, ace called aurora and asked them when they wanted that mold back..Auroras reply was for them to keep it, as they werent paying for the repair, and were going out of business anyway..that very dealer said he bought it from ace, and wanted to sell it..I called Tom Lowe at PL, and gave him the guys price..Tom's reply was that he could have a new mold reverse enjineered for half the price ...This mold was only missing the knockout pins...This dealer was the very same fellow that bought the parks plastics Napoleon, hitler, and castro molds in 1989, and re-issued them..His name was Bob Bennett..

Z

Yep, that is true about the tools for WW. They do exist, industry insiders have known this for years. I have spoken with the guy that owns them. Train wreck story is BS as I stated before. From what I understand just the inserts are around, not the frames, so at this point they would be unusable without some work. And no, we did not make an offer on them....

Yep, that is true about the tools for WW. They do exist, industry insiders have known this for years. I have spoken with the guy that owns them. Train wreck story is BS as I stated before. From what I understand just the inserts are around, not the frames, so at this point they would be unusable without some work. And no, we did not make an offer on them....
Hello again !

Pardon me , but ,has anyone actually physically seen and touched these " WW Molds " , or is this all just on hear say from one individual to another ? I am not doubting the sincerity of your reply , but I'm just not so sure that it is factual . I based my statement in this thread on a late relative who worked for Aurora in the 1960's and very early 1970's who related the statement which I passed on here in this thread . While it is possible that he was wrong , they never did do a reissue . Why ? If they possessed the molds , and money was to be made , why didn't they reissue the kit ?

I'm not trying to pick a fight here , but something dosen't jive .

GK

Aparently the super hero figures in general were not huge sellers compared to the monsters. There are a lot of Aurora figures that were not issued for a long time or reissued. Actually there are a lot of aurora kits that were not reissued, not just figures.

Aurora molds were not the best made. It is possible the mold needed some work and since the kit was a poor seller first time, it just wasn't worth Aurora's efforts.

The Schiffer book on the history of Aurora goes into quite a bit of detail about both the quality of their molds, and their way of farming out the molds to be run by various injection molding plants (hence the wide color variations in their kits).

Also, one factor that I believe is absolutely true is that the Aurora Wonder Woman kit was a very poor seller - even in relation to the other Superhero kits. I remember that kit sitting on the shelf forever at the Hobby Shop I frequented. Pre-adolescent male chauvenism is at least in part responsible for the Aurora Wonder Woman kit's high collectability today!

This kit if issued,should definitely be done in 1/8th scale.If a brand new sculpt would be done,it should be one done in the 1960's or 1970's style.Not too modern with huge boobs sticking out as mentioned before.:thumbsup:

The original tools were offered to Playing Mantis. I can testify to that fact since the guy who claims ownership contacted us while I was there.
I'm the guy that the owner of the tool was talking to directly...

My recollection is that His first offer was to set the tool up and run kits for us, and that the price was far too high.
There was also an offer to sell the tools to us and as has been stated correctly, above we could have new tools done in China for about half of that offered cost.

I believe that the original tool is Beryllium Copper... so it conists of BC inserts that fit into a steel mold base...Without the steel mold base you have a collection of BC mold inserts that probably fit into a fairly small box.

I've never seen the tool so I can't testify as to whether or not it is complete, but I've been led to believe that it is not a complete ready to run tool and that it may only consist of the BC inserts without the steel mold base....if the mold base is not there then getting the BC parts ready to run kits will require that a new mold base be made - it's easier to make an all new steel tool in China!

Zathros is not out in left field somewhere on this one... there is every reason to believe that the essential parts of the original Aurora W.W. tool are still around...

Dave

When I interviewed Henry Kolodkin, long-time head of Aurora's molding department, for my book "Aurora Model Kits," he said that the Wonder Woman mold was a difficult one to get to work right. It wasn't broken, but it was just hard to pull perfect shots from the mold.

He also said the kit was a poor seller. So when the Comic Book Heroes were returned in the 1970s as "Comic Scenes," Wonder Woman was not considered worth the effort to bring back into production.

For what it's worth, I'd love to see W W back in 1/8 scale, but otherwise just the way she was.

Tom

I'm going to dissent on the idea of resizing Wonder Woman. I think the Polar Lights "upscaled" repops were a noble effort that didn't work. The combination of blowing up a smaller kit, and the lack of crispness that afflicted some PL kits, made for really soft detail, and kits that looked like they sat on the package shelf of a Buick Electra on a hot day.

So, here's a vote for a WW repop in its original size -- because we are talking about someone repopping it, or are we?

Agreed- the kit(if reissued) should be the same exact size as the original! You hit it on the head when you said that blowing up the original kits made the softer detail and such much more noticible!
Gary:hat:

I'm going to dissent on the idea of resizing Wonder Woman. I think the Polar Lights "upscaled" repops were a noble effort that didn't work. The combination of blowing up a smaller kit, and the lack of crispness that afflicted some PL kits, made for really soft detail, and kits that looked like they sat on the package shelf of a Buick Electra on a hot day.

So, here's a vote for a WW repop in its original size -- because we are talking about someone repopping it, or are we?
Agreed 100%

I would like to see a Wonder Woman in styrene plastic new or re-pop. Doesn't matter that much to me, as long as there is a kit of her. I do think the face of the original is a bit unattractive, but would buy a couple anyway. Thanks for all the details on the molds, it was great to get the insiders info. Much appreciated!!

The original tools were offered to Playing Mantis. I can testify to that fact since the guy who claims ownership contacted us while I was there.
I'm the guy that the owner of the tool was talking to directly...


Zathros is not out in left field somewhere on this one... there is every reason to believe that the essential parts of the original Aurora W.W. tool are still around...

Dave

Thanks for the verification, Dave...I would have no reason to make that up...

Z

Zathros has hard life. Nobody believes Zathros. This... is the wrong tool.


;)

I believe you Zathros:thumbsup:
Now is this just a wish list for a repop of the original Wonder Woman Model....or...is this just an an announcement that hasn't been made official yet???:p
Mcdee
PS ...anyone heard from Kit Junkie lately???