Darth Africanus
Well-Known Member
Hello All hope all are good
So I have been searching the intranets for this little nugget of information
I read all threads I could find but to my surprise nowhere is it discussed in great detail what did
the prop makers at LF do to the Vader helmets from ANH to convert it to the ESB version and then from ESB to ROTJ.
I have learned a great deal such as the widows peak being trimmed
the paint finish being more smooth on ESB and ROTJ
height of the dome on the ESB and ROTJ and of course the larger chin vent on ESB,ROTJ compared to ANH
But also I wonder did they alter any physical dimensions on the mask from ANH to ESB to ROTJ?
Was the dome altered from ANH to ESB/ROTJ ?
I gather most look at screen caps and guess the detail changes and make a rough assumption that
the cheeks where made smaller on the ESB helmet.but there are those who know the dimensions and such as
they have seen production made helmets and that that information they hold is very precious
I know there are those lucky few people who have rare castings who know these things but are reluctant to share
of fear of re casters prying eyes or that their item becomes devalued because now someone can remake a helmet using those details but imo it's 2019 a long time since the scourge of heated Vader discussions of the early 2000's where very few details where shared.
and the only real person I see in the community that is untrustworthy is SPFX and imo I think it's time the community opens up about
talking and sharing the intricate details of Vader and not keep it all stored away
as I for one would like to know al the intricate details of the prop and openly discuss it and all it's nuance little details
and I will be honest I would like to know because I want to try my hand at using pre existing Vader helmet to accurize it more according to the actual prop
Hopefully my honesty doesn't kill the discussion around this topic and that it can be discussed openly and
that previously unknown information about the Vader prop helmet can be shared free lie
If not at least I tried lol
So I have been searching the intranets for this little nugget of information
I read all threads I could find but to my surprise nowhere is it discussed in great detail what did
the prop makers at LF do to the Vader helmets from ANH to convert it to the ESB version and then from ESB to ROTJ.
I have learned a great deal such as the widows peak being trimmed
the paint finish being more smooth on ESB and ROTJ
height of the dome on the ESB and ROTJ and of course the larger chin vent on ESB,ROTJ compared to ANH
But also I wonder did they alter any physical dimensions on the mask from ANH to ESB to ROTJ?
Was the dome altered from ANH to ESB/ROTJ ?
I gather most look at screen caps and guess the detail changes and make a rough assumption that
the cheeks where made smaller on the ESB helmet.but there are those who know the dimensions and such as
they have seen production made helmets and that that information they hold is very precious
I know there are those lucky few people who have rare castings who know these things but are reluctant to share
of fear of re casters prying eyes or that their item becomes devalued because now someone can remake a helmet using those details but imo it's 2019 a long time since the scourge of heated Vader discussions of the early 2000's where very few details where shared.
and the only real person I see in the community that is untrustworthy is SPFX and imo I think it's time the community opens up about
talking and sharing the intricate details of Vader and not keep it all stored away
as I for one would like to know al the intricate details of the prop and openly discuss it and all it's nuance little details
and I will be honest I would like to know because I want to try my hand at using pre existing Vader helmet to accurize it more according to the actual prop
Hopefully my honesty doesn't kill the discussion around this topic and that it can be discussed openly and
that previously unknown information about the Vader prop helmet can be shared free lie
If not at least I tried lol
[
Im going to try and put out a Time line of basically the Vader helmet story from research I made
would love to hear input from other Vader collectors but this is how I believe it all went down
The path of Vader's helmet as I have it to my knowledge as follows
Production for ANH starts Mr Muir using a cast of David Prowse Shoulders and head
sculpts a face mask in clay over David Prowse plaster cast using a small side sketch of Vader's helmet
provide by John Mollo
The Mask is sculpted Asymmetrically giving Vader that perfect organic real look
not that weird look of the Rots
The tusks on the side of the mask was sculpted after the Mask and then added onto the mask
by Mr Muir as well as two tear ducts beneath each eye in the shape of a half moon
then he sculpt's in clay the dome on top of the face mask
after this the helmet(mask and dome) is casted in plaster
and is further Refined and sharpened by Mr Muir
from there it is taken by other members part of the ANH production
and then further refined by them
Dome and Mask is then molded and casted in fiberglass ( 3 helmets are made for ANH Only one is used onscreen in the movie)
The mask is smooth on top of the crown and receives three 3M Apple connector tabs on top of the crown
that connects to three 3M tabs on the inside of the dome that is mounted on a spacer inside the dome
The mask has foam padding on the inside and 3 elastic bands used to hold the mask to Prows face
the eye lenses is a clear color ( not red)
and the bottom chin triangle is small
The Dome Has a sharp widows peak area
with a indentation and the dome flange area or skirt is thick
The dome sits very low on the ANH mask giving it a nice angry look
the dome center stripe is sharp and quite thin
Both mask and dome is painted gloss black with an automotive gloss black
the mask doesn't pick well up on camera and the mask is painted quickly
with an metallic grey in an alternating pattern by hand with a paint brush
The black cheek has an indentation in the shape of a C called a Cscar
d9w9gfB.jpg
After ANH production The Helmet is molded in two different molds a US mold (known as the Rick Baker Mold)this mold spawns
helmet's used only for promotion and touring purposes of Darth Vader in the US to promote the release of the movie
Helmet's coming from the US baker mold in fandom is
SL
DJ
EFX
The other mold is known as the UK Mold this mold spawns casts used to make the ESB screen helmet and Rotj screen helmet
Here is where most authentic cast helmets originate from as well from cast's of the UK cast etc
The Casts all start out as perfect copies of the Original screen used ANH Dome and Mask
the mask retains the 3M tab in the new cast's and surface details from the original ANH mask
Uk casts in fandom are
TM
GS/CFO
TD
How the UK cast made ESB and ROTJ helmets to follow
/QUOTE]
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