ANH Vader Helmet Mounting System

[kalkamel]

I've just received an ANH Vader lid kit from one of the members here and I was just wondering how the Vader gurus with ANH lids attach their faceplate to the dome? The faceplate I got doesn't have any mounting mechanism (neither does the dome). At the top of the rounded faceplate (where a mounting ring would usually be on a DP Dlx), there are imprints of 3 tabs which I know to be the Apple computer tabs they used in the days of yore :lol . In my neck of the woods I would be more likely to find the Ark of the Covenant rather than those pesky and illusive Apple tabs, so I was thinking of using industrial strength velco on each of those tabs plus a large one on the forehead to attach it to the dome, but I'm not sure if that's secure enough (I've seen the behind the scenes footage where the dome would fly off while Prowse was duelling with Guiness). So any input would be very much appreciated.

 

[ob1al]

Is it for wearing or just display?

If for display, in mine I used a piece of velcro on the forehead and some foam sheet inside the dome. Works fine and I can adjust the position quite easily.

 

[kalkamel]

Al, preferably for wearing.

 

[ob1al]

OK - well, the other way I know of is to use two pieces of PVC pipe (one slightly small diameter than the other) and one fiberglassed to the inside of the dome, one to the top of the faceplate. Kinda of like the Don Post helmets.

 

[The Manlet]

velcro on the forhead of the mask and use foam

 

[yodakiller1138]

Do what Gundam said. I did the very same thing for the opening of Episode 3 and had NO PROBLEM whatsoever. Helmet stayed on.

 

[KevVader]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ob1al @ Mar 7 2007, 12:17 PM) [snapback]1433871[/snapback]</div>

OK - well, the other way I know of is to use two pieces of PVC pipe (one slightly small diameter than the other) and one fiberglassed to the inside of the dome, one to the top of the faceplate. Kinda of like the Don Post helmets.
[/b]

Yeah, I wouldn't trust just velcro if you're wearing it. What Al said, 2 pieces of PVC pipe where the inner diameter of one fits over the outer diameter of the other. In conjunction with industrial strength velcro on the forehead...should be secure enough for wearing.

 

[Darth Kahnt]

I have a spacer and I use velcro. But I won't wear mine a lot either. The PVC pipe suggestion sounds good.

 

[DB73]

i took a rubber housing/reducer that you get going from the back of a house toilet into the 4" drainage pipe(unused) and glassed it into the dome.. its made of black strong rubber and sits well in conjunction with velcro plus looks pretty apt for the job

 

[kalkamel]

Guys, any pics?

 

[DaddyfromNaboo]

Seven years later ... still an unanswered question?

 

[banthapoodoo]

Personally, I say it's a travesty, a travesty, yes a travesty, to use a ring, hat, or any fixed mounting configuration for Darth Vader ANH. The dome mount position for ANH can be summarized by one word: RANDOM! To be able to recreate the look of the Vader helmet for a particular movie scene, you really need the same degrees of freedom offered by the original 3-tab connection. It isn't necessary to actually use the 3 tabs, but the range of motion should emulate it. For my Darth Ugly ANH, I dremmeled off the dome ring and replaced it with wide strips of industrial strength velcro with complementary velcro strips at the top of the facemask. Not that there was anything wrong with the default positioning; in fact it was nicely done. I just like the added flexibility of changing up the look from time to time.

 

[DaddyfromNaboo]

Personally, I say it's a travesty, a travesty, yes a travesty, to use a ring, hat, or any fixed mounting configuration for Darth Vader ANH. The dome mount position for ANH can be summarized by one word: RANDOM! To be able to recreate the look of the Vader helmet for a particular movie scene, you really need the same degrees of freedom offered by the original 3-tab connection....

I do understand where you are coming from. But how in the world is the helmet supposed to sit correctly on the face mask, and how was the helmet held on the wearer´s head during filming? Only by those three tabs? And if so, there had to be some kind of construction so that the corresponding tabs in the helmet are at least somewhere near those on the mask?

There is a huge gap between the inside of the helmet and the top of the mask. It´s a mystery for me how the ANH helmet is supposed to connect to the face mask.

 

[banthapoodoo]

Good questions!

The answer to how it was held on the wearer's head during filming is "Not very well!" You see the dome moving and flopping around relative to the mask in several scenes, particularly during the lightsaber duel and in the very last scene in the TIE fighter . I doubt that any of the 3 tabs were actually connected in place during such scenes. The dome must have had tabs identical to those of the facemask, located so that they would snap together when the dome was fitted on top of the facemask and pushed down on it. Here's a behind the scenes GIF image sequence showing this:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B13YyeojRHKeZDVab2l2WEVjVVU/view?usp=sharing

Notice how the helmet and mask are being pushed together in turn starting with the top and then for each side to ensure the tabs in the dome snap down into the 3 tabs on top of the mask.

I had an Apple 2 computer when I was a kid (and still have it in my attic today), and I can tell you from experience that these tabs were quite temperamental. It was difficult to make a good connection, and they would easily pop out of place.

 

[banthapoodoo]

I have never run across a photo of the inside of the ANH helmet (and would love to see one if it exists). We can estimate where the tabs in the dome were located by superimposing two images: 1) with the facemask alone, and 2) with the facemask in the same position with the dome attached:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B13YyeojRHKeQVdSUTZ4X0N4NWhHMU94UW1Ldkk4MS1Cbkdn/view?usp=sharing

It looks to me that the gap between the top of the mask and the inside of the helmet where the tabs are located would be no more than 1/2 inch. The helmet tabs could have had some sort of small spacer between them and the helmet, or the tabs could have been flush-mounted onto the helmet. Any mismatch in curvature would make it difficult for the tabs to connect well.

 

[banthapoodoo]

Here's how I modified my Darth Ugly ANH, it's done basically how the first post of this thread suggests. I removed the dome ring and installed strips of industrial strength velcro inside the top of the helmet. I installed velcro on the top of the faceplate and added a piece of high density foam to the center to provide a curvature that better matched the shape of the top of the dome. I also added a velcro-wrapped piece of high density foam at the forehead to help stabilize and to establish the lateral offset between the nose bridge and widows peak. I also added fuzzy velcro at the sides to minimize scraping of the dome against the faceplate.

The Ugly ANH is fairly light, and the industrial strength velcro is pretty strong, both the adhesive side and the velcro itself. It allows me to turn it upside down and maintain the connection under its own weight (in case tempted to do cartwheels while trooping):

 

[banthapoodoo]

What this mimics is a ball and socket joint type of connection which has approximately the same degrees of freedom and constraints as the original ANH mount.

 

[banthapoodoo]

And this enables me to configure my Ugly ANH similarly to the screen helmet in various scenes.

"The plans you refer to..." Vader:

"This will be a day long remembered..." Vader:

And everyone's favorite,
"You are part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor!" Vader:

 

[BigT]

Hmmm... Are you sure the dome sits that off in the scene as shown in your second picture? The gap seems huge...

 

[banthapoodoo]

It's pretty close!

And incidentally the dome positioning is the same for the "They've just made the jump into hyperspace" as well as "This will be a day long remembered" which leads me to believe these scenes were shot back-to-back or as one continuous shot edited into two scenes. Probably the latter. Star Wars did win the Academy Award for "Best Film Editing" after all