stretch armstrong's vehicle
Long before the rumors of Hasbro and Netflix teaming up to make a Stretch Armstrong series, Hasbro came to my class at Purdue with a project. They asked us to design and create a toy that could be sold in association with an upcoming Stretch Armstrong movie in which Taylor Lautner would play the role of Stretch. We were instructed to be VERY hush-hush about the matter. Obviously the movie never happened and our awesome ideas all fell by the wayside. But it was an excellent exercise none-the-less.
I began by recalling all the ways my friends and I played with Stretch Armstrong as a kid. Because he was a bit of a 'one trick pony' the first step was to explore some new play scenarios. From there I sketched up several ideas of how a toy like Stretch might be adapted to different types of play.
Most of these felt like dead ends. But then the question was posed, "What might Stretch Armstrong's vehicle be like?" It was a great question. All the best heroes have a ride of some sort.
A few early ideas
This direction presented a new challenge. This was a toy intended for the 4 to 8-year-old boy market. According to Hasbro, boys usually end up in one of two categories when it comes to the type of toys they like to play with. Either they are an action figure kid (like myself) or they prefer to play with toy cars and trucks. The legacy of Stretch Armstrong revolves around the classic, goo-filled action figure. How could I create a toy vehicle that kept the features and fun of the action figure while providing the type of play that the 'car kids' wanted?
So I went back to the most basic task: making a toy based around a movie. I asked myself, "If this was a super hero movie what would the scene when he gets his vehicle look like?" This lead me to further useful questions: How would it reflect his superpowers? Would it increase potential for an exciting chase scene? In the spirit of film, I decided to create a storyboard...
Chase scene Stretch Armstrong style!
"If this was a super hero movie what would the scene when he gets his vehicle look like?"
A 'vehicle' that used the stretchy nature of the character seemed like the right direction. But I wanted it to have a cool feature of it's own. Some of the most fun my friends and I ever had with toy cars (or anything with wheels for that matter) revolved around building a ramp and jumping it. It was a thrill! As with most games that boys play there is a winner, and in this game the winner was whoever's toy, bike, etc, jumped the highest and longest. What if Stretch Armstrong's vehicle didn't just go off the ramp like all the others? What if it jumped even higher on it's own?
After studying various spring-loaded toys I decided that some type of spring action would keep the toy simple while providing enough power to assist in a jump. I mocked up a quick and dirty prototype using some particle board, super glue, two springs, and some wheels taken from another toy. The results were surprisingly effective.
The basic mechanism was a spring-loaded hinge. When the toy was pressed flat the hinge aligned with the two ends of the springs. This locked the joint in place until the front wheels were jolted. This way when the toy was pushed toward a ramp it stayed flat until it hit the front lip. This triggered the springs which pulled the front and rear wheels together in one quick motion that made the toy jump. Sometimes it triggered right away and jumped over the ramp entirely. Other times it delayed just long enough to launch at the very end. Either way it was very fun to watch. I've included several frames of a video stitched together in one image below.
The jump was not always predictable, but made for an added level of fun.
Much of this project was spent on the prototype. Because the aesthetic direction of the character and the movie were still uncertain, I wanted to focus more on creating a fun toy that lent itself to an interesting movie 'prop.' I knew that the team at Hasbro would develop their own direction for the final toy. However, I provided a sketch rendering that illustrates the appearance I envisioned.
All together it was an excellent project that pushed us to prove an idea within eight weeks. Although I must admit I'm still on the fence about Stretch Armstrong as a super hero. Mr. Fantastic has that role pretty locked down already.
