eFX ANH DARTH HELMET SAMPLE!!

[MK Ultra]

Legend is looking a bit too clean there, I'm liking more the overall look of the fan made one:lol The Legend does look like a Limited dressed up like a Legend. :confused

 

[dcarty]

I believe this was all explained when the helmet was announced as to the why things were removed.

I think where the danger lies is within interpreting the text of "advertising copy". Just to confirm what we were told I went back and looked at the first show off thread:

http://www.therpf.com/f9/efx-new-hope-darth-vader-helmet-90572/index2.html

To quote Gino from post #50:

"As far as the master pattern goes, I can assure you, only MINIMAL clean up was performed. Most of you guys know how particular I am when it comes to this.
In other words, all the physical features of the original helmet will be present with the exception of some of the minor topical blemishes.
While the fanatics like myself and a handful of others may like to see that level of minutiae on our personal replicas, they simply would not fly for the greater majority of consumers.
Rest assured, I cleaned up ONLY what was absolutely necessary. The master pattern is EXTREMELY close to the screen used helmet. You will love it."

 

[ave4uevoli]

Finally - someone is talking about the clean up. You know that feeling when you're in public and you have to hold in your farts? That's how I felt for the last few days.

Kudos for breaking the ice.

I agree, it does look a bit cleaned up but I will reserve judgement until I get it in my hands. There are always details that you can not see when you are looking at other people's pictures.

 

[Zenwalker]

I would like to see ALL of the surface imperfections on this as well.

But how many of them occurred AFTER the helmet was molded?

I bet A LOT of them happened when the helmet was painted and banged around on set.

And that is probably something eFX would not be able to capture even if they wanted to with a cast coming right out of the mold.

You would have to mold the screen-used helmet to capture ALL of it.

 

[vader71]

And that is probably something eFX would not be able to capture even if they wanted to with a cast coming right out of the mold.

You would have to mold the screen-used helmet to capture ALL of it.

This is a casting from the Baker mold, so it should be from the screen used helmet not the original Muir sculpt.

Nice quote retrieval Dave. Will be very interested in your review and you have some excellent fan helmets.

 

[Jedi-72]

I have to give EfX credit for at long last producing what looks to be a nice helmet. But, as someone who has a "Legend" on order, I'm somewhat disappointed in what the final product appears to look like, which is a Limited with a slightly different paint job. It just looks too clean. It doesn't have that mojo to it. When I first started seeing the photos surface, I wondered if what I was seeing wasn't a Limited helmet. Just not the look I was expecting for the "Legend" line, and I have to say, makes me much less enthusiastic about any future "Legend" products. It's still a nice collectible. But for something of "Legend" status that one would assume targets the hardcore fans...it looks to miss the mark a little.

I don't understand, or even fully buy, the argument that only a handful of "hardcore fans" would really notice the changes that were made in the clean-up process. With only several hundred made world-wide, aren't those "few hardcore fans" the customer base with an item like this?. Aren't those details the very reason we're willing to shell out for a "Legend" product? I know. Dead horse.

Well, lesson learned. Still a nice helemet. Just not quite as "Legendary" as I'd hoped. I have a fan-made Vader already that, to my eye at least, looks more accurate. I'll reserve final judgment until the EfX arrives, though. But, given what photos seem to show, and the wet blanket that the protracted wait has thrown over my excitement for the piece, I may not have a hard time selling this one down the road.

 

[dme3o]

It would be interesting to see pics of the actual item against the Prototype pics. If any Legend owners can do this for educational and reference purposes, that would be much appreciated.

 

[dme3o]

Vader71: Thanks for sharing your pics and congrats! I've been meaning to ask, which "Fan Made" ANH is that you are comparing the Legend to?

 

[Avenger]

Looking at the original mock up that Gino did, aside from some paint details, the casting looks the same as what we're seeing to me. If it's been sanitized, it has been all along. But, overall it does look cleaner than the prototype. I'm still excited though. I don't have any Vader helmets, and it seems like the price for quality makes this a good one to have.

 

[nwjedidave]

I've now received a tracking/shipping notification. They are finally on their way!

It would be nice *IF* the helmets were shipped (and numbered) as they were ordered.

Part of the fun is always "the hunt" but another part of the fun is when the product you're buying is being disbursed in numerical order as those orders were received. (numbered editions)

With internet ordering the site that is taking the orders always bogs down, and it has always been interesting to me when companies distribute based on the order number to see who ends up with what. Plus I've always been a #s kind of guy. (something I LOVE when I order my statues, and they are all sent with the same #)

 

[CSMacLaren]

Are the domes any different? Earlier photos by Gino showed a difference in the widow's peak area. One version was reproduced as-is, the other was modified by Gino.

 

[dme3o]

Mac, do you have pics of those handy? Or links?

 

[Ronan87]

I remember people complaining about the shipping price... Did it ever get sorted out?

I just got a huge box (45" by 20" by 20") that was quite heavy shipped to me from England, 4 days express by FEDEX for $65.

Is this thing that much bigger?

 

[Art Andrews]

Big surprise. The same crowd who helped create one of the longest threads in RPF history, doing everything they could to poop on the eFX helmet in an effort to shore up their own helmets still are disappointed, even after eFX bent over backwards telling people what to expect, what changes were made, and the reasons for it. Yawn. SSDD... Same Sith. different day. Play on broken records.

 

[phez]

Just a quick question. I am trying to figure out what is going on with the two pieces in the photo. Are these both supposed to be from the same original mold or is the one a custom fan sculpt?

I am far from a Vader expert so I do not recognize the different fan made helmets :wacko.

 

[wannab]

EFX Legend is and will be the best licensed ANH Vader, period. It will never be the best ANH Vader out there, period. Most people will not know the difference anyhow. The EFX will be the most available to the public and the closest most people will ever get to production made -- so grab them when they come up for resale. The superior casts out there are EXTREMELY hard to get, and extremely limited, so most will never have a shot at one -- the EFX is your best shot.

I opted out of this run because of what what I already have and what was to be done to these, and knew I wouldn't be satisfied and would not have kept it in my collection -- you're welcome whoever got my spot, you have a great collectible! I would not have felt right just buying to flip it later.

If you have one of these it should be considered the prize of your SW collection. I think EFX did a fine job on these with all things considered. thumbsup



Doug

 

[Darth Stone]

I believe the one on the right is from a former member on the RPF who is now banned. It is a Twentieth Century based helmet with many fan added embellishments to make it look like the film used piece.

But I honestly feel what many were hoping for was to see some new, and unknown detail in the surface area. Efx has done some small, ongoing changes to the offering over the last year. And I for one was not sure what the final piece would even look like until I saw the delivered piece such as in these photos. So yes, it was a bit of a surprise that what I had maybe wanted, or expected to see in the final piece was not going to come to life in the new castings. But still overall I feel that it is worth collecting and having a copy next to a Don Post, Master Replica ROTS to fill in a rounded licensed product line up. (Sorry Altmans, licensed custom sculpts are not my thing).

 

[Aragorn]

I really don't understand how anyone can be disappointed with the legend!

Please guys, this is a mass produced item. You cannot compare it to a fan made helmet where some guy spent more than triple the time and effort painting the thing.

The pedigree of this efx helmet is equal to those highly exclusive and rare vader helmets like the SL that are out there...it is from the exact same rick baker mold. It is just as good if not better, because you are getting it from a licensed company and not some guy on the Internet who may be pulling a fast one.

There is nothing to stop you from getting your efx vader legend helmet and modify it to be as good or even better than the SL vaders etc.

If you don't like Gino's cleanups on the helmet, you can always get a screwdriver and follow reference pics and scratch the helmet up. As for paint job, you can always learn how to DIY or get a pro.

The point is, thanks to efx, anyone can have an extremely accurate vader helmet.

 

[wannab]

The pedigree of this efx helmet is equal to those highly exclusive and rare vader helmets like the SL that are out there...it is from the exact same rick baker mold. It is just as good if not better, because you are getting it from a licensed company and not some guy on the Internet who may be pulling a fast one.

Not equal at all, the EFX master was altered quite a bit (EFX says so) after being taken from the RB mold, the SL wasn't (with the exception of a "tell") and a couple other lesser known weren't either. So not equal. It could have been though, and maybe Gino has an unaltered of his own.

It is the best licensed ANH Vader that will ever happen.




Doug

 

[cking]

Art - I take offence at this. I'm not trying to drum up sales for one of my helmets and I'm not trying to promote anyone else's helmets. My comments were purely an observation and disappointment based on the production helmet pics posted by Vader71.
I honestly can't see the point of a "Legend" edition if it's cleaned up so much from the original mold. Just stick to the "Limited" version and be done with it. I'd be pretty upset if I'd paid extra for the Legend only to find it looking the same (apart from the paintjob) as the Limited.

Sure - it's probably THE best LICENSED Vader helmet we'll ever see but that doesn't take away the disappointment that it COULD have been supplied to us as originally advertised - namely, straight out of the Rick Baker mold. I'll bet that GINO would rather display his unaltered casting instead of the sanitized version we're seeing here.

Chris

Big surprise. The same crowd who helped create one of the longest threads in RPF history, doing everything they could to poop on the eFX helmet in an effort to shore up their own helmets still are disappointed, even after eFX bent over backwards telling people what to expect, what changes were made, and the reasons for it. Yawn. SSDD... Same Sith. different day. Play on broken records.