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As was previously discussed in the History of Autocon Exclusives, these items are fan-made, and given away as gifts to our friends. Below are pics of the assembly of the 2005 exclusives. The exact manufacturing process, and the identities of the people involved, have been ommitted by their request. They've asked me to provide only the barest details. In their own words, "After all, if we told you everything, it would take all the magic out of it." Which is true, I suppose. :-) Mostly, I figured it was to avoid lawsuits, but either way... The figure and package design were fleshed out by a 3-member team. One person to manufacture the item, one to design and print the packaging, and another to assemble and promote the item to the rest of the group. My understanding is that it took literally months to complete the components to each figure (and considering the number of figures, that's no small feat). Two sets of prototypes and testshots were gone thru before a final design was chosen and implemented. Below are some of the 'in-process' pieces (with proto-packaging) leading up to the final product. Note how the original product was going to be green. :-)
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Each component of the figure had to be individually assembled. Application of paintapps, as well as the process for assembly, were changed between prototype and final product (as was the look of the package). The package itself, once designed, was outsourced to another firm.
 Tweaking and tuning: A slowdown mid-point in the process; it was discovered that a batch-run of components didn't match the original mold tolerances and thus, could not be used. In other words, each of the three figures had one component that wouldn't fit! Thus, none could be assembled. Replacement parts were sought, but to little avail; a stop-gap measure was initiated. Some components had to be physically altered to make the minimum number requirement for each convention. And though the individual figure counts were originally meant to be even, it turned out that one guy was quite a bit short-packed compared to the others (by about a ratio of nearly 10 to 1), thus rarer than all heck. Few got that one special piece (as if it weren't impossible enough for any one person to assemble a complete set; you'd have had to go to all three conventions). :-)
 Final assembly and distribution: all the components were assembled, the paintapps applied, and the package affixed to the item. When presented in its final format, it makes for an excellent display :-) I have to admit, I was stunned by the final product. I'd be proud to own one of these:
 Final Pic: A comparison of the item the figure was based off of, next to the completed autocon convention-exclusive. Notice that the colors are vibrant, consistant, and in the case of the plastic, the clear red really sets off the piece. The paintapps are excellent as well. This looks like something that your Sentinel Maximus toy should hold. And what do you know, he can. :-)
 These figures brought to you by the fine folks at Autocon. |