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[Tattoo Shane]

Hey guys,
I'm really not too sure how many of you are into prototypes but i snagged this on ebay a couple months back and wanted to share with you this AMAZING piece of Joe history:
http://www.tattoosandtoys.com/images_yours/DoJo2upF.jpg
http://www.tattoosandtoys.com/images_yours/DoJo2upB.jpg

I've got to be honest, seeing as how i'd never seen a GI Joe 2up in person (i think only 4-5 have ever surfaced), i didn't really know what to expect from it. After getting it in the mail the other day i was totally blown away. I mean, i knew it would be large, but it's LARGE (as seen in this comparison shot: http://www.tattoosandtoys.com/images_yours/DoJoComp.jpg). It appears to made from a white resin so it's also quite heavy.

Initially, I also wasn't sure how exactly it was made, whether or not it was hand made or if it was taken from a mold. I figured the latter simply because that's the way 2:1 or 4:1 protos from other lines were done. Sure enough, it was made from a mold (most likely silicon if Hasbro did things the same way as Kenner back then) or rather, several. By following the parting lines, it looks like each leg, the torso, each forearm, each bicep and the head all came from individual molds. The articulation lines that are apparent on the piece are actually faked...the forearms are held to the biceps by what looks like hot glue, the waist is glued to the legs and i'm not quite sure how the head fits in. While at the knees, the legs may look like they're two seperate pieces, they're actually one with what would be the articulation carved in.

It is obviously handpainted seeing as how it was the paintmaster. Overall it's in really nice shape with just a few minor cracks here and there. There is a hole in the back of the head where the ponytail would have been rooted and i think it'd be interesting to find out whether or not it would have been a part of this particular piece at one point or another but honestly, my bet would be that it wasn't. There are no real differences in the sculpt between this and the production piece but there is a symbol (which looks to be a Ying Ying with a couple of swords through it) rather crudely painted on his right bicep that isn't present on the production version. The 2up is also affixed to a base which has DOJO written accross the bottom as well as series of numbers.

So, that's that. Overall, I'm really happy with this piece, escpecially considering i was expecting to pay quite a bit more for it than i did.
Here are a few more pics in case you're interested:
http://www.tattoosandtoys.com/images_yo ... Side01.jpg
http://www.tattoosandtoys.com/images_yo ... Side02.jpg
http://www.tattoosandtoys.com/images_yo ... Turn01.jpg
http://www.tattoosandtoys.com/images_yo ... Turn02.jpg

[Pete The Greek]

The comparison link doesn't work.

And what is a GI Joe 2up?  First time I have heard of this.   Just want to be educated  

Peter

[Tattoo Shane]

He's the comp shot url:  http://www.tattoosandtoys.com/images_yours/DoJoComp.jpg

A 2 Up is a hardcopy (HC) prototype that is made at a 2:1 ratio of the final production version. It's thought that all GI Joe prototypes were originally sculpted as 2 Ups very early on in the production process although to the best of my knowledge, only 4-5 2 Ups have ever surfaced from this line due to the fact that Hasbro was very strict on what happened to their pre-production material.

The pre-production stage for GI Joe follows the same line as the vintage SW line, a figure would start out as a wax sculpt (probably one or two at the 2:1 ratio for GI Joe, one for the overall design, the other for the breakdown of parts). A silicon mold would be made from each of the wax parts which may or may not have destroyed the wax pieces in the process. From the molds, a few (anywhere from 3-5) resin hardcopies would be made which would serve a few purposes. This particular piece served as the paintmaster which means it was handpainted and the pantone colours used determined the colours for the production version. Another HC would have been used as the tooling master which means it would have had it's features traced in a pantograph machine which would then reduce the 2 Up by 50% ultimately creating molds for the production size figure.

I may have missed a step or two in there but overall, you can see how significant a piece this really is.

[Pete The Greek]

He's the comp shot url:  http://www.tattoosandtoys.com/images_yours/DoJoComp.jpg

 :shock:  :shock:  :shock:  :shock: Man, that is big.  

I didn't know about what a 2 UP until now.  A very cool piece I bet not to many people know about.  Heck, I didn't know.  I guess knowing is half the battle.

If they made the current busts/statues like that, I would be sold on them.

Peter

[Raptor]

The Mortal Combat 2 ups were released by a knock off company. I've been trading off my collection of 2up Sonya Blades slowly through the last 5 years, and I'm finally out of them (I hope).

2 up joes and similar figs are often copied by cheap companies, and realeased as knockoffs. I assume that if your's is a hand painted resin, it's real, but I would be very careful before buying one online.

I've seen a 2up of an original cobra commander, but I'm not sure if it was a knockoff or an original. Either way, they are an interesting and unique artifact.

Raptor

[Tattoo Shane]

Well, you should be very careful before buying any prototypes online. The provenance on this piece couldn't have been better and i asked all the relevant questions before hand so i wasn't worried at all about authenticity. The differences between a produced 2 up bootleg and this piece are very telling so it's quite easy to tell between a legit 2 up proto and a factory produced bootleg.

The only legit 2ups i've seen come to market are a V1 Stormshadow, a Lady Jaye, a V2 Bat and recently, the same seller i got mine from offered up a Street Fighter Dhalsim which failed to meet the reserve.