Ended auction for ANH Vader helmet

[PantheraGem]

Originally posted by DarthKahnt@Feb 7 2006, 04:02 PM
I'd just like to have the lid to remember Graham, who did so muchfor the Vader costuming community.

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I wish I had been active on these boards when he was around.... Even more than that I wish he was still around. I lost my own (and only) brother in a car accident when he was 21. A life cut-short like that is, well, there just aren't words.

 

[SithLord]

So sorry about your brother . Congratulations on the win. Pics please



Thomas

 

[Darth Kahnt]

Originally posted by PnatheraGem@Feb 8 2006, 04:58 AM

I wish I had been active on these boards when he was around.... Even more than that I wish he was still around. I lost my own (and only) brother in a car accident when he was 21. A life cut-short like that is, well, there just aren't words. 

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Im so sorry for your loss. I cant imagine having to deal with the death of one of my own siblings.

I wasn't on these boards when Graham was around either but I have read a lot about what he did and I have chatted to people who knew him and I have a great respect for what he did and the kind of person he was.

 

[PantheraGem]

Thank you very much for your kind words guys. It means a lot.

I just got back from my Disneyland vacation and the box was here. I did expect from the photos for it to be a little rough, which it is. There's some nasty spots along the nose where it looks like something was dropped on it, and plenty of paint chipped off where the dome hits the face. It may be in need of some tlc and a repaint, but I'm in no hurry. It sucks because I really like the finish on it. Luckily I know a guy who does fiberglass work and paint jobs for show cars/hot rods though. There's no padding or straps on the inside, though I suppose that's rather normal for most of these helmets?

I'll try to put pics up soon. I can say this, it looks mean. Real mean. It's a world apart from my JB V2, which is immaculate and pretty.

On the inside of the face, and on the inside of the dome are signatures. It's hard to write it out and would be easier to show in a picture, but it says "V/\/1 15/50". Like I said, I'll try to put pics up of the beast soon.

 

[PantheraGem]

Well here's one pic at least. You can see some of the damage, which oddly hardly bothers me. It does look very good sitting on my lifesize right now. There are some more pics of this alongside my JB V2 in the ongoing ANH Vader thread. If you want any certain shots feel free to post it here or pm me.

 

[Clutch]

There's damage?.

 

[SithLord]

Ya...huh? Where's the damage? I see a little paint off the side of the flaring? Don't repaint it. It's worth much more I think as a VM original with the original paintwork which I think is certainly one of the best ever....no car painter no matter how good they are will know the intricacies of replicating the ANH Vader look...just MHO...let's see a 3/4 view like the one in my avatar .

:cheers,

Thomas

 

[PantheraGem]

Well, the bridge of the nose is actually chipped and gone over with a black permanent marker. There's a few other places too. I can try to get pics of the damage, though as I can see it doesn't show up on pics very well. I really haven't had a chance to go over it really good yet.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

I would leave it as it is. It looks really cool. Wear and tear looks more real on these helmets than the clean and unused look.

I'm sorry to hear about your brother. I cannot imagine how that must feel.


Congratulations with your helmet.

 

[Darth Kahnt]

Let me say again how much I love that helmet and what that helmet represents to the Vader community. I will have one... one of these days.

You're very lucky. I agree with everyone else, leave the paint as is.

 

[PantheraGem]

I see your collective point, and shall leave it as is, for the most part. It looks very good on my lifesize, but it does need some sort of strapping to make sure it doesn't fall off (or if I feel the need to wear it for pics or whatever ), and a more secure way to keep the dome on. I would hate to come home to it broken on the floor one day. I wouldn't much enjoy it if I couldn't even display it on my Vader without worrying about it doing a Humpty-Dumpty. This baby's mine, it's not leaving my collection.... I'm in no hurry though, and will do it in a way that completes the helmet, not ruins it.

I meant no disrespect with the idea of filling the chips and repainting at all, quite the opposite. Most of my background is with cars, so I was just applying my way of thinking to the helmet. Take something that's been treated bad, fix it up, make it pristine and proud.... but I see your point will leave the paint as is. I wish there were a way I could remove the black marker without damaging the paint even more though. Mixed with the paint it makes for a nasty purple-ish hue in person. I can't figure out how a helmet that never had straps, padding, or a secure way to mount the dome got so beat-up when it was obviously never worn. So anyway here's a few more pics.

One of the beat-up areas. Even the inside corners of the lenses have black marker all over. Again, it's much more noticable in person.

15/50

A couple that SithLord requested. Marginally at the same angle as your avatar....

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