The Motherlode

[SpaceGhost2K]

Guys, I got the box with the insane plates in it. Insane plates are insane!

Between pictures and descriptions and stories and everything, it's going to take me a while to fill up this thread. So, for the time being, I need some help.

If you have any of these plates in the original package, would you please take pictures of the front and back of the packaging?

Microsoft Woody
Microsoft Blue Hod Rod
Microsoft Aluminum (Silver)
Microsoft Orange Swirl
Microsoft Project Gotham Racing (with or without green tab at the top)

Here's why I ask. The Woody (plate and package) looks like the countless Woodys I bought to use for customs. However, the Aluminum, the Blue Hot Rod and most interestingly the Orange Swirl, have markings on the back of the package that mention the 2006 Worlds Cup in Germany. I never knew they were made in unique packaging, but more importantly, I didn't know the Orange Swirl ever came in any package that didn't have Japanese text on it.

I'm not really a packaging collector but I know some people want any variation and this jumped out at me.

I have school in a bit so I can't get photos up right now, but I'll try to at least get started tonight with some of the more interesting stuff.

**EDIT** Here is the folder where I will put all of the photos. Hopefully you can get into it with no problems.

http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...%20Motherlode/

[Repo Man 360]

I know I have all of that, but it will take a minute to get it out. I will get it this weekend if you still need.

[SpaceGhost2K]

Ohayo!

OK, so most of the pictures I took today were either of duplicates that I'm going to offer on eBay, or of Star Wars figures I needed to list on eBay. However. I did get pics of a couple of the unique things, so I'll do those then get more pictures of the other good stuff later.

Maybe you recognize this plate:


It's in the database here:
http://www.xboxaddict.com/faceplate-...ar-Common.html

Turns out it was made by Pegasus Technologies, so I need to change that in the database.

Anyway, check this out:



The photo on the bottom is the plate that came in the motherlode. More about it in a second.

The plate above that isn't a plate at all - it's either a pressed paper form or a pressed super thin styrene plastic form. It's flexible and bends. It looks like it is the thing that had the image painted onto it, and then it is applied to the physical plate.

The plate above that is the final plate plate that was produced.

OK, so here's where it gets interesting. You can see that the prototype plate on the bottom is quite a bit brighter than the produced plate. Well, not only is it brighter, but it's actually metal flake on the red and gray areas (not the black area as best as I can tell). I'm not sure you'll be able to see it here, but maybe you can:



I took that picture in the direct sunlight, hoping that you could make out the sparkles. Evidently, this was too expensive or they didn't like the effect, so it wasn't used on the production plates. It is also NOT on the paper/styrene form.

I'll post the other pics in the next post.

[SpaceGhost2K]

Here's a close-up of the prototype:



Here's a closeup of the paper/styrene piece:



Here's a look at the paper/styrene piece from the back:



And here's a look at all three of them from the back. Notice that the production plates ended up on black plastic where the prototype is on white plastic.



Now for the one piece of bad news. The prototype had just enough of the rod off of the USB door that holds the spring that the spring won't stay on. I removed the metal plate, took out the spring, put the door back in place, and cemented the plate down so the door was firmly reattached to the plate. I didn't want the door to suffer additional damage or get lost, so I did that at the expensive of leaving the plate in "as-is" condition.

Many of the other plates are in early prototype condition (with no doors or i/r ports at all), or even earlier "mock-up" condition.

Mock-ups are something that was put together to present the idea of what could be done with plates, but not pitched as a final plate or ever put into production. (At least two of the plates I got were what I believe to be mock-ups. They are metallic snakeskin and metallic crocodile skin with a textured feel to them.) Like the Pink and Green Fur plates, it's highly unlikely they could ever have been mass produced, but they look good when you're trying to make a point.

The prototypes are plates that were actually factory produced, but may never have gone into production, or went into production after changes were made to the prototype concept. One of the plates I have is the "Woody" but with a silver button. That concept was dropped and the finished plate went into production with the Woody design continued onto the plate (The E305 plates kept the silver buttons).

[SpaceGhost2K]

Here's another weird one. This is an NFL plate for the New York Giants made by Mad Catz. This one is different because it's not packaged for normal retail in a sealed plastic bubble. It's on a two-piece plastic clamshell taped together. Reason? The plate has "FPO" printed over the barcode (Fleet Post Office), so maybe this was the version sold at the PX to go to service personnel and they had to have packages that could be opened and resealed. Just a hunch.







(Maybe it just means FACE PLATE, OMG!)

[SpaceGhost2K]

There's something else unusual about two other loose NFL plates. Mad Catz usually has the Mad Catz logo embossed into the back of the plates. These two plates are plain on the back. On top of that, they images aren't situated perfectly on the plates.







I'm not sure I still own any loose NFL plates. I got some on packages and I think I sold off the others as a lot. Anyway, I'd be curious to know if the final faceplates had the logo on the back. Until then, I'm inclined to believe that these were also test runs on generic plates, just to see how the design would look on a plate. If you look closely at the Ravens plate, the image is off and you can see white on the left part of the i/r port. You can't see it from the picture but there are other points on the plate where it looks like the image was pieced and didn't match up perfectly.

[SpaceGhost2K]

Here's an example I mentioned in the first post. This plate was only released in Japan, in packaging with Japanese text, as far as I knew. Yet here is a package with multiple languages (none of them Japanese) and a printed ID for the 2006 Germany World Cup.







The Aluminum (Silver), Sun (orange swirl) and Blue Hot Rod are all like this. the Woody and PGR3 are not. Neither is the "I Made This". The PGR3 and I Made This plates also do not have barcodes.

[MoonTar]

I have seen a few of those orange swirl plates for sale in Germany, none in the packaging though.

[SpaceGhost2K]

This plate was only given out in Mexico City if you bought a Peugeot. Weird.



This plate was given out at X05 Canada. I saw a picture once but I'd never known anyone who actually had a plate.



Ninety Nine Nights promo plate from Japan. Don't know the details whether it's a free with preorder or a media piece.



This is a Joytech "black tribal" plate. The info in the database may not be correct as I'd never actually seen one of these plates except for the one in the promotional picture. It's a picture, not a render, so I knew at least one existed. This plate does not have doors or a power button and never did - all spots are clean. It's possible they did a test run, took pics, and then decided to pass on it.

Here's the page in the database:
http://www.xboxaddict.com/faceplate-...Twin-Pack.html



This is an unusual Canada plate. I've never seen one before and don't know the story behind it. It's one color (white) on dark orange (not red). I wish I knew something about it.

[SpaceGhost2K]

This was shown with other prototypes, but there have been no pictures of an actual plate. There is a bootleg version out there, though.

Bootleg (white plastic plate, printing on USB door, non-metallic silver button):



Prototype photo (white plastic plate implied, black button, black USB door):



Photo of actual prototype plate (white plastic plate, no doors or button). Notice that there are two tiny tips of red flames above the power button. There are two on the prototype photo and the actual prototype, but only one on the bootleg. There's actually a LOT less detail on the bootleg plate, like the thin red lines are gone, too.

[SpaceGhost2K]

While there are no known "bootlegs" of the Microsoft "Woody" faceplate, there are some variations between the prototype and the final plate.

Here's an image from the database of the final retail faceplate. It has matching woodgrain sync button and power button:



Here's an image of the prototype, with black sync button and chromed power button:



And a photo of the plate from the back.

[SpaceGhost2K]

Here are some close-up images of the other prototype plates from the lot:

[SpaceGhost2K]

This is one of the plates that was distributed as a sticker pre-attached to a faceplate, but this one is a little unique. It is a faceplate produced by EA Sports for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, but this plate was exclusive to Korea. Most importantly, unlike the other pre-stickered plates (Ninety Nine Nights, most of the X05 plates, etc.), this one features an "EA Sports" raised logo disc (carbochan?) in the center of the power button. Some of the pre-stickered plates Ive seen have the sticker coming up slightly in places and others don't. This one has the sticker coming up from the plate pretty significantly on the USB door.









The sticker was placed on an OEM Microsoft faceplate, but one of the ones used on the consoles (which say "Microsoft" on the back) and not a retail plate (which say "PATENT PENDING" and have the small holofoil oval). This is the only one I've ever seen and have never even heard of it until it arrived in the lot.

[Repo Man 360]

My mind is officially blown! Great inside info and keep it coming.

[SpaceGhost2K]

Poor Kamshaft is at my house and can't find a place to sit down because of all of the faceplates everywhere. He's sitting on the floor.

[Variation-XBA]

Poor Kamshaft is at my house and can't find a place to sit down because of all of the faceplates everywhere. He's sitting on the floor.

Where's those pics?!

[Repo Man 360]

Where's those pics?!

Obama won't release it

[SpaceGhost2K]

I added eight more plates to the database - 6 of the MadCatz sports plates from the motherlode and two others. I didn't get Repo's plate added yet, but I will soon.

**EDIT** Oops, the MadCatz plates were from another lot, not the motherlode. C'est la vie.

I did check them against the "prototype" NFL plates from the motherlode, and it's true. The protos really are protos. They are on plain plates, not on MadCatz logo-embossed plates. There are also cracks in the image where it was crudely applied to the test plates on the Ravens plate. Cool.