Posted on August 22nd 2014 by Steven Mapes
This is one of a couple of unidentified Visionaries 2-Up resin hard copy pieces which we own. We believe the item belongs to an unreleased Series 2 Visionaries vehicle, as we purchased it with some other series 2 concept pieces. For now in this article we shall be referring to the piece as the Unknown 2Up.
This hardcopy piece is very different to the other resin hardcopies in our collection (both Visionaries and Transformers) as not only is it a 2-Up (we'll cover that later) but it's quite a heavy piece due to the bulky nature of the resin the item is cast out of.
The Unknown 2Up appears to be from a Vehicle rather than from a Visionaries weapon due to the bulky nature of the piece and that the back is both completely smooth and also unpainted. All of the Hardcopy Resin Visionaries piece which we have seen (both those we own, have had in our possession and those we have seen from a far) have all be painted grey. This piece is the same, other than the pack which is the natural resin colour. This suggests the item would have be stuck or fixed against another object and would only be intended to be viewed form one angle.
The Unknown 2Up also reminds us of some GI Joe / Action Force figures backpacks, though there is no pin the unpainted area would also be indicative of the hollowed out area on the final toy.
As mentioned above this item is known as a 2-Up (two-up or occasionally referred to as a 2nd-Up in design paperwork). This name refers to the scale in which the model is produced, twice the size of the final production piece. This allows the sculptor to work at greater detail then on a smaller item. Due to the size of the Visionaries toys the 2-Ups for that line are quite large.
With that in mind the final production piece of this item would have been as large as the Series 2 Visionaries figures shields, which would be quiet small for a vehicle - therefore the item may not actually be a 2-Up and could be production size …. we doubt that though.
The true identity of the item remains a mystery to us, which is both interesting and frustrating at the same time. We hope to uncover its secrets over time (be they spectacular or not). One thing we will say is that this piece is exceptionally made and quiet beautiful.
Most of the images of the Unknown 2Up are showing off the detail. It is broken on the horizontal bar (possibly a handle). The details on the two exhaust style pipes and many circular patterns (resembling fuel intakes), along with the quad-blade (looking a little like a fan) are extremely detailed. In many ways this item reminds us of the GI-Joe Awe Striker's engine piece.
Where the broken piece is, you can see some extra resin on the piece. Other than this flaw it is pretty smooth and well made. You can really appreciate some of the detail, like the levers due to the grey paint on the resin.
If you can help identify the item please get in touch with us.