Bram Stoker's Dracula Movie Armor - Has anyone tried making this?

[Darth Mule]

That would be Brion Bero who most likely sold you the helmet. I have been told he has recast that armour and the helmet you had most likely was a 2nd generation copy. You are correct that most helmets out there are missing the correct tail or all together. As for fit, Gary Oldman has a very small head and the helmet was sculpted to fit him very close.

The original was made in fiberglass, but thin, not like many film FRP pieces, which have a tendency to be comprised of too much resin and not enough glass. and no they didn't care, many repairs were made to the armour, which was originally to be made in a flexible urethane, but the shooting schedule was moved up and the "masters" had to be used for the heroe (and only) armour. Production did not want to pay for a second suit.

So my question is... How is it you've come to know so much about this armor? Did you have some association with production? Or just did some thorough research on it? I'm rather curious.

 

[SgtFang]

Hey, do we have any good pics of the back of an "accurate" helmet?

...or, barring that, does anyone know how accurate the old 1/6 model kit was as far as the helmet?

Thanks!

-Sarge

 

[DarkHeart Armoury]

To answer the original question...

... I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried making it? Or would know how to go about making it?

I haven't done that armor, exactly, but plenty of similar stuff. :cool My preference would be to work in either steel or aluminum. The basic forms would be fairly straightforward; once those are shaped, I'd back them with pitch and work the ribs in from the front.

Someone who's comfortable with large scale clay and fiberglass work would probably do it differently, of course. I have to say that if I were to start on one of these I'd hunt down a cast of the helm, for reference's sake.

 

[marcvs66]

That would be Brion Bero who most likely sold you the helmet. I have been told he has recast that armour and the helmet you had most likely was a 2nd generation copy.

No - that wasn't the guy who sold me the helmet - I would remember that name... not sure, if the helmet was really from production molds or not... no way to proof or disproof that at this point... but - the helmet was extremely sharp and detailed... like no other Drac helmet I've seen out there... which is the reason why I ended up buying it and paying the big bucks for it... if it was a 2nd generation copy, it was done extremely, extremely well - but - who knows these days - right?

You are correct that most helmets out there are missing the correct tail or all together. As for fit, Gary Oldman has a very small head and the helmet was sculpted to fit him very close.

Yeah - I figured Oldman must be a smaller guy w/ a small-size head - thanks for confirming that... the helmet I owned was cast pretty thick throughout (up to half an inch in some spots)... and not flexible at all - really rigid resin... really meant to be more of a display piece.

The original was made in fiberglass, but thin, not like many film FRP pieces, which have a tendency to be comprised of too much resin and not enough glass.

That makes perfect sense. I bet, if my helmet would have been cast in thin fiberglass... it would have been big and flexible enough to be wearable.

and no they didn't care, many repairs were made to the armour, which was originally to be made in a flexible urethane, but the shooting schedule was moved up and the "masters" had to be used for the heroe (and only) armour. Production did not want to pay for a second suit.

The armor and helmet don't really have that much screen time - so, I'm not surprised that they didn't pay for a full second suit. Flexible urethane would have been the way to go...

I wish, one of the armor-makers out there would do the full Dracula armor as a vac-formed suit! Should be absolutely possible... well - maybe not the helmet w/ those wolf-ears... but - man, wouldn't that be cool - an affordable full set of Dracula armor! One of you guys should tackle that one! I guess, there wouldn't be enough interest out there to justify the cost for prototyping something like that...

 

[hydin]

From talking with wolf years ago, I remember that the helmet was pretty small, and oldman had a very tiny noggin.

I didn't know wolf had passed away, that sucks. He did owe me a lot of stuff, but he was still a decent enough guy to run stuff past about casting ideas or project ideas. Hate to hear he is gone now.

Back to the original topic, I would LOVE to see this helmet done. Fiberglass, resin, metal, anything. The design is amazing. I might not be able to afford one, but it's still nice to look at the pictures and see how cool something looks.

Chris

 

[PHArchivist]

If you're ever in Vegas the PH has the costume upstairs usually. Up towards the giant Dracula's castle model.

All good RPF threads need some eye candy...

 

[PHArchivist]

The one and only original complete suit is I believe at Coppalas Winery. in Northern CA.

Please don't copy my photos. These were taken personally by me.

Please don't copy my photos...

 

[RichmondEFXLab]

if i were to go through the trouble of making this suit i would most definately do a full body cast of the person who was going to wear it. then all one would have to do is sculpt all of the individual pieces plate by plate onto that bodycast just like a creature suit. sculpt the breastplate first then mold that and begin the second layer (the gorget and pauldrons) over the cast of the first this way they fit together nicely. i will gladly try to post a more in depth procedure on making this if anyone is interested.

 

[DarkHeart Armoury]

Someone who's comfortable with large scale clay and fiberglass work would probably do it differently, of course.

if i were to go through the trouble of making this suit i would most definately do a full body cast of the person who was going to wear it. then all one would have to do is sculpt all of the individual pieces plate by plate onto that bodycast just like a creature suit....

Toldja. :cool

 

[Wesman]

Hi. I did minor work on the suit way back when at Global Effects. It was sculpted in chavant clay on to an actual Gary Oldman form by an effects artisan whose name escapes me. Fiberglass molds were made from which fiberglass parts were pulled. Chris was an actual armorer as well as an all around genius, so the armor parts were attached like real armor on to a custom gambeson. It's one of my pet peeves watching the movie and hearing the sound of fiberglass when he moves instead of them looping in the sound of real armor. My main contribution to the movie was Renfield's hand restraints, bugs and a few hand props and weapon masters.
Wesman

 

[Funky]

Well, pleased to meet you, sir. Welcome.

BTW, has any more progress been made with the duplication of the helmet? Surley someone has finished a sculpt by now. Right? :confused

 

[weaselflinger]

I'm working on the helmet with all the bells and whistles right now. Should have the first one cast by mid June.

 

[bluenathan]

Hey all, I'm new to the Forum and I in fact made my own version of the Red Armor Dracula Costume. It was a dream of mine and I had to make it. I used Foam and carved out the organic lines with a Dremel tool.

It isn't exactly screen accurate but it was my first time making a large costume piece of any kind, so give me some breaks. Let me know what you think and please send along any pictures if you have made any progress on your own version.

I got more pictures if you'd like to see more. Let's keep this thread alive!

 

[Art Andrews]

Very cool, bluenathan! Welcome to the site!

 

[PHArchivist]

Here they are again...

Please don't copy my photos. These were taken personally by me.

Please don't copy my photos...

 

[Joe Pep]

Is there anyone out there that might have a copy of this helmet in a 3d format, like obj or any other???? if there is could you please send it to me or let me know that you have it thanks.......................

 

[mdb]

Thanks so much for reposting those photos!

I love this armour, and Eiko was so obsessed with muscle suits I've made (Mina's red dress from later in the film) it's a very subtle riff on that same theme (you see lycra muscle suits in her Ring Cycle opera designs and in foam latex for The Cell).

 

[mrsmartypants]

I just learned earlier this evening through a friend that a full suit of armor (with helmet) is on display at Coppola's Winery here in NorCal. I saw a couple of photos they took and it looks amazing. I'm going to drop by the winery over the weekend and see what kind of photos I can take of the suit. It's on display in a glass case. I'll post the photos I take if anyone would be interested in seeing them.

 

[Morg]

Awesome yes please! I'm currently searching for referances for the 1/1 suit and have had minimal sucess! Thank you and any pics will be much appreciated

 

[Beachhead175]

Wanted to share an awesome gift given to me by a best friend on a special occasion. Maybe he can share some light on its history ... Been debating whether or not to give it the Tom Spina Design treatment.