Millennium Falcon Decal ID Challenge (Part 2)

[rbeach84]

Fellow RPFnauts, with the success of the first Decal ID challenge I am encouraged to attempt another for a decal on the 5-footer that has proven to be rather elusive. It is listed as Item #35 on the current Decal Tracker spreadsheet (found HERE) and looks like this (in the best image I have available - as always, click image for a larger view):


It is located on the underside of the MF's jawbox, visible on the starboard side near the 'Accel' logo:


I have guessed it might be either a 'TRW Automotive' logo or a 'True Value Hardware' logo - both companies have been racing sponsors such that their logos might have been found in race car kits in the mid-seventies:


The primary clue is that the 'lettering' appears to be white on a red background. I have examples of both of these logos on car kit sheets in white on red backgrounds. I favor the TRW logo myself, perhaps with the 'W" 'trimmed' off.

Once again, anyone who assists with resolving this little 'puzzle' will receive my heartfelt thanks, a nice certificate and credit in the survey artifacts for their efforts.

As always,
Regards, Robert

 

[DaddyfromNaboo]

WHat scale are you referring to? The 32" falcon IIRC is on display in Cologne atm, and its propped up a bit so someone could probably take a better photo of that decal.

 

[Vacformedhero]

I think the 32" has no decals, the decal survey is the 5 footer

 

[rbeach84]

Aye that is correct. AFAIK, the 32" model did not have any decals applied to it, probably due to its intended role as a 'stunt double'... ;^P

As all I have as resource material are the various online photo archives, believe it or not this is the best image I have found! The Accel logo suffered the same problem but it was better known and clear enough to identify.

I'll edit my OP to make this clear, however. Cheers!

Regards, Robert

 

[leyrich]

this might help a bit


?1-27?

 

[rbeach84]

Leyrich, thanks for the input. I have tried several tricks to sort this one, including altering the image, the colors & contrasts, rotating it and flipping it, but I think there is just too little of it to make a good ID. Also, I suspect part of what is visible & appears to be 'white' is actually decal 'silvering' where the film has detached from the surface a bit. I hold out hope that a contemporary image will be found that shows the undamaged decal (assuming it wasn't intentionally 'weathered') in full.

Regards, Robert

 

[leyrich]

This is what I thank this decal is in the red box

 

[leyrich]

This is what I thank this decal is in the red box

 

[rbeach84]

Leyrich, the decal you indicated has red letters on white background; the item in question has white on a red background. What did you think of my 'TRW' idea (recalling that it exists in white on red as well as the opposite example I posted.)

Thanks for participating again!

Regards, Robert

 

[imurme]

Hey Robert, noticed your challenge and thought I would take a look at this decal again, trying to understand it better to see if that helps in identifying it...here are some of my observances (mostly obvious) :



-The decal is a white design on a red background, possibly white lettering or numbering

-The decal appears to be a corner cut off a larger design, you can see that there is extra decal film on the sides that were not cut off which show that is most likely a corner, it could be a top right or bottom left corner or the opposite if the original was sideways, and it could be either horizontal or vertical...see graphic below

-The size of the decal is roughly 2.8mm x 7.75mm (using the ACCEL decal located just forward of this decal as reference)




...so that is what I have noticed about it so far, not found a match yet but still looking, just wish we could get some better images of the area

...I would like to see the examples of the TRW decals with the white on red that you mentioned, what sheet is that from?


Good luck on this challenge and hope this helps a little.

 

[rbeach84]

Shane, nice analysis - as always. The 'TRW' decal I referenced was from an AMT brand 'accessory' decal sheet, so not from a specific kit. However, looking at your somewhat more clear image & considering your statements about the decal film edges which is also apparent, the 'TRW' idea seems less correct. I think this one may go on the list as 'depicted but source unknown'. In short we can draw it but don't know where it came from! Not the first time...

Regards, Robert

 

[Mike J.]

Might be the TRW decal flipped inside out (sticky side out)? Are there any other confirmed flipped decals on the Falcon?

 

[rbeach84]

Mike, no other decals have apparently exhibited a 'reversed' application. Such a thing is possible since all that is needed is a bit of PVA (aka 'Elmers white glue') but given the range of decals available to the ILM guys, I can't see them taking the extra time. Plus, the way silk-screen printed decals are made, I'd expect the backside of a decal like this would be entirely white, or nearly so. This is to give the red an even "undercoat" since it would go over the white portion.

To summarize the clues so far:
- White characters or shapes on a red background.
- Trimmed from the top right corner, or its mirror location the bottom left corner. (Based on the visible decal film)
- Corollary: Probably a rectangular or square original decal.
- Rather small sized 'trim' piece.

So, that's it. I'm in it for the duration, but at least Imurme (Shane) had a better image to help with the decal creation.

Regards, Robert

 

[Mike J.]

I know a wee bit about printing. You make a good point. So, flipped decal = unlikely.

 

[MonsieurTox]

This is unlikely the case with that decal because of the background but they did use flipped decals on some models (I dont know for the 5'). But this is a possibility to keep in mind for other unID'ed decals.

 

[rbeach84]

Thanks for the brainstorming, guys! Interesting as always; the idea of 'flipped' decals sounds reasonable given that it would tend to obscure the origin of any graphics so treated.

At this point the majority of the work is resolved but for the few minor nits. I do wish we had better reference images of some of the graphics (such as the Diehard logo under the aft end... for example) but unless there are still some that are not yet included on the Tracker, all that is left is the detective work of finding sources for the originals and, of course, resolving the few currently missing items (like this one...)

I'm still praying for those period images!

R/ Robert

 

[TazMan2000]

What about this being a segment of a decal? If you take your initial image and turn it CCW, I can see this could be something different.

TazMan2000

 

[rbeach84]

Tazman, definitely it is a part of a larger decal that was trimmed and also then 'weathered', plus also possibly suffering from 'silvering' which shows as white spots...

R/ Robert

 

[portland182]

Am I the only one that sees red numbers on a white background?

I see 2-27, but upside down...
like a licence plate?

Jim

 

[leyrich]

Yes I see the same thing to her is a pic of a licence plate I fend and tweet with .