T1 and T2 Endoskeleton Research Thread

[Too Much Garlic]

some stills from a 80's Japanese video on T1 the is the hero puppet full figure. Look at that septum...

For anyone who doesn't know, that video is in my video links in the first post of this thread. It has some marvellous views of the entire endoskeleton - it was the one that showed that the fork pieces on the foot are black and not chrome coloured, so again, may be a found piece.

Would be cool to get a higher res version of that video.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Always wondered if the rear cover could be a Thermos or Coffee Can lid:

Thermos lid, Siemens coffee maker - Black

Colour - Black TC91100 TC91100/01 TC91100/02 TC91100/03 TC91100/04 TC91100GB/01 TC91100

sparesonweb.com

My vacuum cleaner also have a turn dial in roughly the same size and shape.

And I saw a "handle" to a wooden chest in one of Adam Savage's videos (I think) that has roughly the same shape.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Or an oven knob.

Found one from a Microwave oven.

Kitchen Microwave Timer Dial Detachable Turning Oven Knob - Walmart.com

Arrives by Fri, May 5 Buy Kitchen Microwave Timer Dial Detachable Turning Oven Knob at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Though, we need to find something that looks sorta like this. The one on this skull is cracked, so it looks like there's a dip on the rectangular bit in the middle, but the sculpting pictures shows it being straight across.

Don't worry that this is mirrored. Many Stan Winston School pictures are.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

And ran into a round turn signal cover with 3 holes positioned in a triangle, along with round groves on the surface of the piece (though, way too many, but many with two main ones near the center) similar to the T2 rear cover. Wonder if that could be the source for that.

 

[QuartZ]

Re: the rear port cover in T1, it may have been a found part, but I've never seen anything that matched. I was able to get a REALLY good look at that Propstore T1 Explosion Endoskull when I went to Comicon in 2018. I photographed it from every angle I could (it was behind glass). But, I was able to get enough photos to run it through photogrammetry and get a good enough mesh to reconstruct it in 3D myself in Fusion 360. So, I'm nearly done with what I think is the most screen-accurate depiction of that part anyone has made to date. Others have tried, but I'm able to now see things that nobody gets right. It's actually a very unique part.

In the photos where Shane Mahan is sculpting the skull, that port area may be the same, or the part may have been changed/replaced later as they refined the skull. I believe the skull we see in these photos is not the final skull for T1, it has indented text on various surfaces, it doesn't have the indented CPU port yet, and there are even extra protrusions on the back underside of the skull that get cut off somewhere along the way (you can still see those protrusions in the photos of the gray endo parts laid out on the ground.

I say this, because I'm guessing they took this skull sculpt, molded it, changed more things, molded that new skull... not sure how many times before they had the final version we see in the film.

And I have screen grab evidence, that shows that the rear port has curved not straight "bars" that run across the center. It's subtle, but those lines aren't straight, there's an off center dip down and then back up.

That may have been from the part itself, or it may have been fabricated by SWS. It also has some funky curved latch looking piece in the center and some indented circles/screws in the recessed bottom that we cannot see without the ref photos I took from the Propstore auction piece. I think you can get a good idea of what that part really looks like in the film from that collage I posted a bit back, look at the T1 Explosion Endoskull detail in the upper right.

Whew! Anyway, sorry for writing all of that out.
-Dana

 

[Too Much Garlic]

So it DOES have the dip like the explosion skull? Interesting.

I'm thinking, that if that IS the piece on the sculpt, then maybe it's simply put on there while working on it, but it can easily be removed before molding.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

My idiot brain is now thinking bottle lid flip straw holder.

Something in the same vein as this:

Promotional Can Drink Bottle - Bongo

Can Drink Bottle is a 500ml BPA free stainless steel double wall drink bottle, shiny gloss finishing, vacuum insulated.

www.bongo.com.au

 

[QuartZ]

The closest things I've seen have been Fuel Caps. Here are several different types that all have something about them that I could see inspiring the T1 rear port. However, I don't believe any of these are in scale with the rear port. I think they are all way too big:

That said, I still have my doubts that this was a found part. It could be, OR it could have been made in their shop by someone inspired by the design and function of these styles of fuel caps.

Discuss!!!
-Dana

 

[Kroenen77]

It could also be a fuel cap of a smaller machine like a car.

 

[QuartZ]

It could also be a fuel cap of a smaller machine like a car.

Probably smaller (these are already car and motorcycle fuel caps). But, yes if we think other fuel-powered items come to mind, let’s search some more!

-Dana

 

[QuartZ]

Wow, I just stumbled upon this kind of fuel cap from the 70s. It's for a 1974-1979 Toyota Corolla KE30 2 Door Sedan. Something from this era is certainly the right vintage for a 1984 film, if it turns out to be a found part. Obviously this particular item is not a match... but I'm really drawing a lot of similarities to what we see on the endoskull. This fuel cap features a moving key slot cover that resembles what I was calling the "latch" part in between the 2 bars on the endoskull rear port. Here's hoping that by sharing this stuff we get more eyes out there and see if we can solve this mystery. Although, I'm still not sure it was a found part

-Dana

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Maybe we should look at motorcycle fuel caps. Especially Japanese version, as they often have that round sunken in area with the square center bar.

Fuel Caps. Wild Hair Accessories. Fuel Caps for Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Triumph, Yamaha, Aprilia, BMW etc.

Motorcycle accessories & aftermarket European parts are available through us for Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, Triumph, Ducati, BMW, Aprilia and other motorcycles. We provide belly pans, rear sets and more.

www.whaccessories.com

The part just seems too detailed with weird features to not be a found part.

 

[ssdesigner]

Or an oil filler cap....?

 

[joberg]

I think that the parts from Japanese motorcycles were used in many movies. Cameron used parts of Kawasaki handles + brake for his pulse rifles in Aliens.

 

[The Terminator]

I think that the parts from Japanese motorcycles were used in many movies. Cameron used parts of Kawasaki handles + brake for his pulse rifles in Aliens.

M56 Smart-gun

 

[QuartZ]

The part we are looking for is about 30mm (or 1.18”) in overall diameter. That’s pretty small.

-Dana

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Yup. While we keep searching for that and the septum piece... we could turn our attention to other parts of the skull or the rest of the endoskeleton that still needs attention and discussion

 

[ssdesigner]

We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better, than he was. Better, stronger, faster.

 

[QuartZ]

Quick update: I think I just got my hands on a better gearbox for the skull. I knew that these parts had been re-issued with some minor changes over the years, but I just bought a used/vintage gearbox and I think this might be the one!

I was excited to open up the halves and see if I got lucky, so it was dirty. I’ll double check a few more aspects tomorrow, but I think my search might be over.

-Dana