Prometheus Rising Studios   Ben Mininberg's models, toy customs, and design work.

Most people today only remember the venerable 3 3/4″ Star Wars action figure and vehicle line from Kenner, but one of their cooler non-figure toys was the diecast Star Destroyer.  The seven inch long hunk of Imperial might featured an opening hangar for storing an itty bitty <1″ long Tantine IV Rebel Blockade Runner miniature.  The little Correlian Corvette is often missing, robbing the awesome Star Destroyer of a great play feature.  Thanks to 3D printing, and a vintage sample for reference provided by a fellow collector, Prometheus Rising Heavy Industries is pleased to announce a reproduction ship available through Shapeways, as detailed above.  Before we get into the details, I want to make it clear upfront that the reproduction parts feature a distinguishing mark so as not to be confused with the original items.  I know repro parts can be a tough subject with vintage collectors, and it was important to me not to make collecting more difficult for my fellow vintage-minded peers.  Rather, the PRHI Mini Blockade Runner is meant to provide an affordable alternative to the original part, as well as a few novelty items.

Head on over to the Prometheus Rising Heavy Industries Shapeways Store to purchase your reproduction Blockade Runners today!

The Kenner diecast Star Destroyer is a beautiful piece of vintage hardware.  Most of the toy is cold, hard vintage gokin.

Underneath, a hatch slides back to reveal the hangar with the Blockade Runner securely clipped in place.  The original part is made from an off-white waxy plastic similar to the material used for the action figures.

After taking myriad measurements of the original, I modeled the part on my computer and printed a rough test in ABS plastic on my UP Mini 3D printer.  The detail is rough, but the ABS test part fit perfectly in the Star Destroyer’s hangar.

Once I was happy with the file, I uploaded it to Shapeways and ordered test prints in their White Strong Flexible polyamide material, and their WSF Polished material.  I knew the Polished material would have a nicer finish, but I wanted to make sure it would still fit.

Fortunately, both the WSF and WSF Polished versions fit in the Star Destroyer like a glove!

This is an extreme closeup shot of the tiny ship.  The detail is not quite as sharp as the injection molded original, but at viewing distance it looks the part.  The ship is also available in Shapeways Frosted Ultra Detail for the detail-minded collector.  Visible here is the PRS logo on the fin, making it clear from a distance that this is a reproduction part.

There is something really elegant and utilitarian about the blocky geometric sculpt of the mini Tantine IV.  It has only a few shapes but is immediately recognizable as that iconic ship.  I whipped up a 2x scaled version and removed the mounting fin so I could have a nice sized mini of this beautiful sculpt.  The 2x version is available in plastic and metal.  I recommend Stainless Steel or Brass for a nice hefty little pocket ship.

When I was discussing our plan with the collector that originally came up with the idea to offer this repro ship, he mentioned wanting a version with a hole cut in the fin.  A version of the normal sized ship is available on my Shapeways store with a 2 mm hole cut out of the fin.  You can buy a pair and add a wire to make a snazzy pair of sci-fi earrings, or add a string to make a cellphone charm.  The sky’s the limit, and the mini version with hole is available in plastics and metals.