ROTJ Speederbike reference needed

marvin

HI Guys,

I'm thinking of making this my next studio scale project. I've got quite a lot of experience with vac forming so that's how I'll make the main shape. I'm a bit worried about the thinner front boom and pedal suspension but I'll see if I can tackle that somehow.

I really have very little in terms of reference material of the studio model. I was wondering if you guys can help me out by pointing me towards online reference or share any references you can. I'm especially looking for HQ top and side views (you know those black and white shots with the ruler) to get a sense of overall dimensions.

Thanks to anyone able and willing to help!

Marvin

roberto

hello marvin,
here are some of my references for the speeder bike....

I hope it help you!!

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roberto

more details

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roberto

more...

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TylerHam

Get a copy of STAR WARS TO JEDI: MAKING OF A SAGA used VHS on ebay or transfered to DVD in bootleg form - They have some good footage of the small speeder bike

JPolacchi

I'm not sure which kit it is, but I see some steering/suspension linkage used from an F1 car on the S.S bike(I'm almost 100% sure of it).1/12 scale I think?Probably Tamiya.I also heard that the Matilda tank offered some parts to the lower body at the rear,but again...not sure and if so..."the scale".Might be a larger scale and who knows who made it?Just my 2 cents.

ralphee

Ive not yet found any concrete donors on this prop, at least not the big stuff such as bodywork.
Its all f1 based, on the 312T i believe, the front vanes also replicate parts from the BT46, but scaled up.
Its another A wing style build, kit parts maybe made a maquette, then got scaled up into a more camera friendly studio filming mini ?

Just my two cents... Lee

marvin

@ Roberto
Thanks! Those are some pretty good shots I hadn't seen before! Although I believe the first few shots are for the full scale bike right?

@TylerH
I'll see if I can find that documentary somewhere. Sounds promising.

@Lee and JPolacchi
Yes definitely F1 based. I believe Jason commented in an old thread as well that he thought that kit parts were used only for the mock-up after which everything looked scaled up scratchbuilds. That's why I'd really like some f those ortho pics with the ruler so I can deduct the overall dimension and get somewhere scale wise.

Scott Graham

Here's a pic I have of the mockup, just to help...

I believe it's what they used for ROTJ. Could be wrong.

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JD1

That's one of the bikes used for the video animatics. I'm not sure where it comes in the design lineage, but Johnson's first model is said to have used the halves of a Space Shuttle nose section upside down at the rear. You can see the 'echo' of it in the final design, down to the window cut-outs.

MonsieurTox

Rear flaps are based on the flakvierling38 shields. I like this prop !!
And the Scout trooper puppet is awesome !

ewokus

Here's a link to my full-sized Speeder Bike build, hope it helps...
http://www.therpf.com/f9/my-full-siz...replica-92961/

ralphee

Second that Julien, the scout puppet is a work of art, looks soooo cool with those elbows down MotoX style.

lee

ralphee

Belly front pan is a dead ringer for the Ferrari 312b. Also, i see a Brabham BT44 front caliper in the nose, so, it must have used a modicum of original donors.

lee

marvin

Yep those engine flaps were the first things i recognised when i opened up my first flakvierling kit

I've found a sideview with ruler that Julien posted in an old thread so i have very rough dimensions. I'd like to see if the parts have all been scaled up because that front end is an exact match for the brabham nose cone in terms of proportions and detailing. Anyoneknow hoiw i could get the measurements of the brabham noscone?

Marvin

ralphee

You sure Marvin? Nose cone seems to be 312t to my eye bud?
Along with the side intakes, also Ferrari 312t based.

Lee

marvin

Yeah i meant the 312. I must have had my kit scans mixed up. You can see the same indentations on the speeder that are on the 312 nose cone. I'll do some basic proportion measurement this weekend. Still looking for a top view for that.

Marvin

ralphee

The seat and back end are Tamiya BT46 based BTW.

Lee

Treadwell

From what I understand, these donor parts were indeed used on the prototype but then the actual production models were scratched based on those proportions and details, at other scales. If true, you're not going to find exact matches in other models.

marvin

Found an oooooold CD-ROM "Behind the Magic" and ripped some info. From this CD come the following statements, which suggest the guys in the shop went straight to modeling and created the final model using kit parts:



Marvin

marvin

But we all know how accurate "officially released info" actually is. I did a very quick measurement. I scaled up the sideview with the ruler to actual size and imported the 1/12 312T kit scan and scaled it up accordingly.

From the side view I get a total length of 82,4cm or 32,42 inches. The actual nosecone from the 312T, although correct in shape and detailing is too small by a factor of about 2. So unless there were 1/6 commercial kits available at the time, they scratch built at least some of the larger parts for this model.

If anyone wants to check my measurements, here's a pdf (1.7Mb):

ROTJ_Speederbike_main_dimensions.pdf

Marvin

marvin

Oh and here's two pictures I hadn't seen online before, which I though were cool. Damn if you see that puppet, you just got to build one. Imagine having that stare at you at home!





Marvin

ralphee

Id have to agree with Jay, the parts are too large to be donors from the box Marvin.
That back end is BT46 Brabham, and way too large to be the actual kit part bodyshell.
I think a search for larger kits will be futile too, they seem to be all modeled off the Tamiya parts, as i said, its pretty much spot on what they did with the A wing, modeled off the F14/F16, and scaled up by hand.

lee

ralphee

This is what i get for the basic forms bud.

lee

marvin

Yeah I agree too. Parts are way smaller than the filming model. Fun to see that they really did stick very close to the original kit parts. Took little artistic license when they were upscaling. Guess I'll be vacforming these parts then.

I'm a bit surprised that I haven't been able to find a single top view of the filming model online. I will need it if I'm going to make plugs for vac forming.

Marvin