Qui that's hits the nail on the head right there!!!! There are lots of moulds sitting around LFL's dirty lab..........were they all made by Baker who knew his stuff, or did some of them come from "Interns" learning how to mould and cast??? How the heck could anyone possibly know that??? Because some guy told you so??? How many times has LFL gotten the real screen used props mixed up??? They are mislabeled in the licensed $300 books, and they are mislabeled in the tour pieces. Truly it doesn't matter where they came from, they originated from a screen used vader ultimately. The DJ and SL were pulled from supposedly the same mould as the eFX only all these are literally years apart. Common sense would tell you which of the 3 castings, if pulled by the same guy from the same mould........would have the MOST detail left on it. Common sense would also tell you that the condition of the mould would be slightly different after 35 yrs. I do not care what the mould material was made from, when you pull many many castings from a mask as convoluted as a vader facemask........you are deceiving yourself to believe that mould is identical to it's 1976 condition. Come on this is just first grade stuff!!! It's not a conspiracy to make any helmet look bad. It's elementary common sense.
Now, if the mould they gave eFX were made off of some master casting that nobody has ever seen, and that mould sat unused for 35 yrs............well that's a horse of a different color right there. Is it likely? Nope.
Now we take that same screen used helmet and we make another mould and that mould ends up in the UK for whatever purpose. That results in a very very screen accurate casting of that ANH helmet. In many ways sharper than that supposed Baker mould or moulds. I've seen it myself, it's just a fact.
Some of the helmets I listed are of course nowhere near the same pedigree but still did have a connection to the screen helmet. That desire to see is mostly out of nostalgia.
Here is something for you guys to think about: You know when the C3PO castings are cleaned up and vacmetalized for the plating process??? Those fiberglass pieces, out of silicon moulds (and yes they have tried every silicon they can get) well demoulding ultimately pulls very very small bits of silicon from the mould and it wrecks the finish on the resulting castings. Now review how uncomplicated the C3PO parts are in comparison to a Vader facemask. What are the chances thata the moulds don't change after 35 yrs???
gino, thinking something looks pristine is not the same as it actually being pristine and totally unchanged. You know this as well as anyone else.
If what you say is true, and the eFX and the DJ are the only two truly screen accurate castings, then the proof is in the pudding. When someone not connected to your project and not connected to an SL can sit down and do the comparisons themselves.....................then we will know what's what. But it's already been documented that at least two other helmets have screen details not seen on the eFX helmet, that can't just be dismissed.
I won't take your word for it, nor will I take SL's word for it. I have to see it for myself.
If I change my mind about any of those helmets, will it really change the fact that those 4-5 helmets will remain at the very top of the want list???? Heck no!
I will say this gino, if you turn out to be right about whichever detail you think is most accurate, I will be the first to verify it on this forum. However, if your precious eFX Vader ANH Legend helmet, doesn't surpass all the details of all the other pedigree helmets.............then nobody will be prepared to hear you crow about that helmet above any other helmet. LIke SL, you are a bit close to the helmet in question to just take your word for it. You are no more unbiased than I am. Only difference is, I am not connect to your project or SL's project. I've only seen the helmets in question. I look forward to seeing a completed Legend in person.. Then I can draw unbiased conclusions.
gino, I can say with all honesty, that the prop community as a whole thanks you for contributing to putting what will no doubt be the nicest screen used SW replica in the hands of the casual and die hard collectors. There is no denying you helped create one of the prettiest paint schemes on any licensed collectible in the universe. Nobody is gonna take that away from you. But you cannot state things about a mould that you can't prove. And you cannot dismiss details that are apparently missing from your resulting casting without offering some explanation if you choose to make those absolute statements.
1. Did the mould reach eFX in less than perfect condition resulting in loss of details?
2. Did the handling of the mould/casting process remove those details?
3. Did the finisher/painter (yourself) botch the job resulting in loss of details?
It has to be one of those 3 things. The details used to be on the screen helmet, but now they're gone from the eFX casting. Enlighten us.
Dave
