Here's a little teaser:


Cheers,
Stefan

What’s this? Plans for 3D printing? Nice work

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A02/TQ2.0.52141E1

"Errr... Roger that's a 2-1-6..."

Oh cool! Based on measurements from the real deal I guess?
Hmm, but I guess 3D printing original size is gonna be difficult...

Cheers!
Roman

The rpf had a thread on this. The panel was pallet cast offs from a pallet plant that the studio had a contract or agreement with. There was a 3d file. I worked with a local print shop and managed to get a low tack (no residue left, but adheres to floor) vinyl floor decal. I have it in my hallway at home for several years with no real degradation.

I think it was like 10 dollars for a 2 foot by 3 or 4 foot sticker. I figured for concrete floor convention centers, if they ok'd it, a great atmospheric addition to any booth.

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The impossible takes a while longer and goes over budget too...

Big Stomper I can't wait to hear more about what you are doing.

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My entry-level prop and costume tutorials: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12751

fwiw:

https://www.therpf.com/forums/threads/a ... le.150618/

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Thanks, great addition to the discussion.

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The impossible takes a while longer and goes over budget too...

I made a few 6th and 10th or 12th scale panels a few years ago.

Whoever is actively making them in 1/6th, I am definitely interested.

I know of a 3d print vendor that would love to sell those prints if they can get the proper license...

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The impossible takes a while longer and goes over budget too...

So, here's the Step-File for the Aliens Pallet in 1:1 scale.
The actual dimensions are 1189x982x142mm taken from one of the two original pallets the company has left (no these are not for sale and are the 1970s version!).
The pallet was manufactured in two colors - brownish red and white.

On a side note - the pallet is not perfectly symmetrical and the rails sections left and right of the center don't align with the other rails sections:



This is a feature of the original pallet that can also be seen in the movie.

Here a few pictures of the pallet I took the measurements from:







Please note that this is NOT the version used in Aliens!
The Aliens Version is the 1980s version where the closed off spaces for the two fork channels were opened up (here a photo from the company that produced the pallets):



It is a pretty simple change, that simply removed some material from the top of the fork channels/the bottom of the pockets.

The correct color and fork channel style can be seen in this picture.
However, be aware that this is the smaller version (about 1200x800mm) of the pallet - so also not the one used in Aliens.

Awesome! Can these be brought from that company? Is there a model number to purchase them?

edit: I see the answer is no... damn...

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still alive

prop store occasionally has these relics up for sale. Otherwise 3d printing is the only option.

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The impossible takes a while longer and goes over budget too...

So, I checked with the company and they are ok with having their name published here:

https://www.craemer.com/

But again - use this info to search for the pallets online (e.g. e-bay) but don't bother them regarding the original pallets as there aren't any left.
The last ones they had have been recycled in the 90s and the two samples they have left are of the 70s version of the pallet and the ones used on Aliens and Star Wars were the 80s version.

The designation of the pallet was C4B (yes it sounds like a SW-Droid). The part number for the brownish-red version was 81321711 though it is unclear if that's the number of the 70s or 80s version.
The white version had the part number 81321111.

Here's a picture of the label on the pallet:


The C4A pallet looks quite similar on first sight and should be quite easy to modify into a C4B - but again no stocks left.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
Stefan

So sad, you would think Hollywood would have saved a bunch... I bet the original dies still exist somewhere..

Every now and then I see a new product that is using the dies of something I remember as a kid...

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still alive

Well, I bet there are still some of these sitting in a warehouse at a studio or some other big company, being used for their actual purpose.
After all these were sold in the thousands. However, they are just tools to get a job done and no one (except a few Aliens and Star Wars crazies) cares about the type.
Also pallets aren't treated like raw eggs - so after 40 years chances are slim to find a bunch in decent shape.

As for the molds - this type of pallet is completely outdated. The C-Series was the first generation of plastic pallets produced by Craemer and there have been at least 6 generations after that.
Even if those molds would still exist, they are probably worn out and not compatible with modern injection molding equipment. Also the setup costs alone would be prohibitive to do a "small" run of say a 100 pieces.

So unless you have really deep pockets (we are talking 6 to 7 digit numbers here), there won't be any new ones.