Rubies 1997 Darth Vader Question

Back in 1997 Rubies made an Empire Strikes Back Darth Vader. The Vader is lifesize and is mounted on a stand with a run size of 500 pieces.

Now here is my questions:

Is the helmet on this statue considered movie or size accurate?

At first glance the helmet looks very good but for some reason ( maybe its just me ) the helmet does appear large or oversized.

Does anybody know if the helmet was cast off an original prop or if the scale measurements where obtained from one?

Thanks for any help or info,

KJ

I never saw the statue in person... but I can say that if it's the first time you've seen a life sized Vader helmet, it will seem very large.

In before the bash.

With that said, this piece has been the subject of some controversy among fans with regard to accuracy. I'd remind the folks who are *about* to rant that there are plenty of other threads that go into lengths about that. Just trying to keep the peace and the thread on topic.

Sorry I can't answer specifically, because Ive never seen this up close but it's very true that Vaders helmet looks MUCH larger in person, particularly the dome, that we would imagine.

KingJawa said:

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Back in 1997 Rubies made an Empire Strikes Back Darth Vader. The Vader is lifesize and is mounted on a stand with a run size of 500 pieces.

Now here is my questions:

Is the helmet on this statue considered movie or size accurate?

At first glance the helmet looks very good but for some reason ( maybe its just me ) the helmet does appear large or oversized.

Does anybody know if the helmet was cast off an original prop or if the scale measurements where obtained from one?

Thanks for any help or info,

KJ

The size perception is off because the shape is off. It looks like the domecap base is flared, which suggests that when molding an original they did not reinforce the mold with a mold jacket. Helmets/domes are typically left to cure upside-down, so the weight of the fiberglass and resin would force the shape outwards.

Thus isn't not bigger in the sense that someone sculpted a larger helmet. It would have been the right size if a mold jacket were present.

The entire statue is not real accurate. Correct on the flare of the helmet. The suit is molded rubber, if recall correctly, and the armor is very thin.

But hey - this was 1997!

I have one of these statues in my home theater (342/500). According to the accompanying C.O.A. and paperwork, everything was molded off of the actual screen-used pieces stored in the LucasFilm Archives. Rubies acquired the rights to produce a 1:1 Vader and Lucas allowed them access to the props. I actually contacted Michael Burnett Studios, (the company responsible for the castings and production of the piece for Rubies) and they confirmed that the armor is all casted off of original pieces.

"Michael and his crew made rare and valuable visits to the Lucasfilm Archives, where they were able to take reference photos of the actual costume worn by David Prowse in the film The Empire Strikes Back. Actual pulls from original movie molds and numerous blueprints were used to create this work of art. Stands at over 7 feet tall and comes mounted on it's own stand. Comes with signed Certificate of Authenticity. Limited Edition - 001 to 500."

Some have complained that the statue looks "too thin" to be Darth Vader. While the armor pieces were cast off the originals, they were not able to get David Prowse to sit for a body-casting. They actually used Dolph Lundgren as a stand in since their heights are comparable.

I can not speak to things like "flaring" in the casting or the insufficient reenforcement of the casting jacket, but I can say that all the armor IS DEFINITIVELY all cast from screen used source material by a professional L.A. FX studio that should know what they are doing, (Mike Burnett is now the Senior FX designer for Universal Studios Florida), and it is the only licensed 1:1 Vader ever produced. Certainly the only one ever produced with full access to the accurate source material.

I own one of the Vaders too but I don't have the paperwork. I just thought the "scaling" looked to be slightly off. If the casting was done without a mother mold then this would explain the "flaring" issue. I was basically wondering if anybody has attempted a modified sculpt of this helmet. I see their are many vendors of the Vader helmet but I have never heard of a Vader Rubies design.

I have no intentions of making one, I was just wondering. I do however want to add a Vader helemt to my collection and have been tinkering with the thought of buying one.

Cast or cast-not...

There is no "casted".

KingJawa said:

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I own one of the Vaders too but I don't have the paperwork. I just thought the "scaling" looked to be slightly off. If the casting was done without a mother mold then this would explain the "flaring" issue. I was basically wondering if anybody has attempted a modified sculpt of this helmet. I see their are many vendors of the Vader helmet but I have never heard of a Vader Rubies design.

I have no intentions of making one, I was just wondering. I do however want to add a Vader helemt to my collection and have been tinkering with the thought of buying one.

The mask is approximately the right shape. Any Don Post Deluxe based dome will be reasonably okay for it. I don't know about the inside mounting system. That you'd have to play around with yourself.

OldKen said:

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Cast or cast-not...

There is no "casted".

Well said...lol

Thanks everyone for the feedback, this has been helpful.

Vader looks so... malnourished. lol.