Given some of the current discussions about Elstree's claims regarding "authentic" props, I though some of you might find this eBay auction interesting: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=260118330959
HH
Given some of the current discussions about Elstree's claims regarding "authentic" props, I though some of you might find this eBay auction interesting: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=260118330959
HH
Nice pics! I'd like to see what the experts have to say!
FB
Some interesting conversation about this auction going on over at The Prop Den. That mask just screams "Ghost Host" to me--especially looking at the left cheek. The distance between the corner of the eye and the cheek has been filled in just like the GH--I'd like to see a better view of the nail slot on that cheek too. The edges around the cheeks and eyes are sharper than a GH and the dome's been sharpened. I've heard that it's larger than a GH so it likely shares the same source.
Pretty good price for all that stuff as it is but it's obviously not authentic to the screen helmet IMO.
My $.02
Dave C
When the folks at The Prop Den did some careful analysis of hi-definition screen captures of the "Tantive IV" (Episode IV opening scene) prop helmet down to the subtle cracks, lines, crevasses and imperfections, the the closest prop to resemble that screen-used helmet -- hand down -- is the TM facemask.
A very close second might be the VP facemask, and the difference is very slight, being that the VP mask is slightly smaller than the TM.
Now, I'm sure this statement will offend some and kick up a spitstorm of politics, but the "forensics" analsys holds true. I've only seen hot air contest the TM's integrity to the original, and nothing that sufficiently disproves the established analysis.
Conversely, the GhostHost -- as lovely a facemask as it is -- has various discrepancies and inconsistencies to the screen-used helmet as recently documented by one board member here on RPF. That is not to diminish the value of the GH mask, as many masks out there today bear many similarities to the GH (and are possibly variations or enhancements done by their respective vendors).
There is also indication of significant difference in aesthetics between this eBay auction by Paul of Elstree Studios and the helmet owned by his father.
I suppose with all things that it's a good buy based on what it is, versus what it is not. There is strong disbelief in the claim that the suit from which this is cast is truly a forth pull of the original due to the inconsistencies not adding up.
Last edited by CSMacLaren; May 17, 2007 at 2:08 PM.
Sorry to see the usual load of BS from Elstree Props....I feel sorry for the collector who will try to snag their claimed original ANH helmet unawares when they attempt to bring it up for auction (not this copy, their claimed original). In fact, I would like to see what happens if they try to auction it as an original ANH armor set....
Ya this helmet/armor/chestbox set shares a source with the GH and is clearly a cleaned up version of that kind of source, but not sure if it's a recast. If it's larger than a GH then it's likely a similar source, however the GH master castings are larger than a regular GH copy. Regardless of the source, there is no possiblity whatsoever that this set is cast from the production molds....
I tend to agree with CS and Sithlord. It's clearly not directly from an "authentic" source. Can't they see the differences?
None of those items match what was film used.
I feel pretty confident that they were recast along the way, either knowingly or unknowingly.
It seems that the ANH Vader helmet never had that little top part, huh?
Wow, that nails it!Someone should send that to Elstree and see what the response is.
HH
Check out the auction text. It is clearly mentioned that they think the tube may have been added later and not part of the original cast. So no luck there.Spankuh said:
Wow, that nails it!
HH
[FONT=Arial][COLOR=Black]"[/COLOR][/FONT][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#00ffff][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#00ffff][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#00ffff][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#00ffff][FONT=Arial][COLOR=Black]We are starting this auction at £500 to cover all our costs, bid early if you want these as they may disappear from eBay when the sad cases who have nothing better to do start kicking up a fuss. We know who you are, it must really hurt to know you had nothing to do with the original movies, and never will, never mind"[/COLOR][/FONT]
[COLOR=Black][FONT=Arial]Do they mean us???!!
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I've already commented on the PD, just to repeat the same. Is this cast from an original? Err NO.
Still people will bid and I believe one of us on the boards will end up with it if I'm not wrong.
Well Sithlord will just have to buy this now since it's supposedly bigger than a GH making it have the best lineage of any replica
This thread should be spinning out of control any second now...
I keed.....I Keed.....
I can't wait for the proper auction though.
The way I read it, was that the tube was the outer thicker part added on top of the original "tube".NoHumorMan said:
That's certainly one way of interpreting it, but I see no reason to assume that they are only talking about one section of the tube and not the whole tube... otherwise they would probably have indicated that it was only the top piece that was added and not the whole tube.CSMacLaren said:
The way I read it, was that the tube was the outer thicker part added on top of the original "tube".NoHumorMan said:
Oh well...
Shouldn't the "MAC" snaps be visible too? I mean, they're not even there in the slightest way....
The Skull was totally smooth - no tabs, no tube, no nothing. Then the
"Mushroom-Tube" was added on afterwards -
Not if it's supposed to be cast from the original mold, which is their claim.comm510 said:
I struggle to believe that an original ANH Vader casting was languishing in the vacinity of Elstree Props reach for so long and they have only decided to make money with it now.
The items in the auction look canny good, but they don't look authentic as direct replicas of the screen used ANH Vader.
IMHO.
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