There seems to be an overriding assumption here that the parks costuming department did the Vader sculpt both from scratch and in recent years, and therefore they must have gone out of their way to make a bad product.
Do we know for sure that it’s a recent, in-house scratch sculpt?
If not, then I see two additional possibilities:
- Maybe they purchased an inaccurate but far cheaper knock-off replica – or a team member volunteered their own – and they molded and cast using that. Perhaps they also modified the pre-made pattern to fit some anticipated need or park-management-dictated condition (logical or otherwise).
- Maybe they used an in-house scratch sculpt, but from a long time ago. “Star Tours” debuted in 1987, and by 1992 it was running in four separate parks. Could they have sculpted it for some associated event back in the 80s / 90s? Given a choice between A) ordering or internally-requesting a $300 piece, versus B) picking an old leftover off a shelf – free and already in-hand – and calling it good enough… I have a hunch which path most would take.
From what several members with park connections have shared regarding limited cooperation between disparate entities within such a massive corporate conglomerate, it sounds like barring the patience for internal hoop-jumping, they likely needed to mold and cast something regardless (presuming that a decent quantity were required for rotation). Even within film production, logistics and timing can get in the way of departmental coordination – leading to, for example, hero and SFX versions of the same prop needlessly looking completely different.
Another point to consider:
A great many of us fell in love with Vader at VHS-resolution; park visitors have only ever known Mando in HD. So while a higher focus on consistency with Mando is undoubtedly driven by its freshness and marketability at least in part, it may also be a practical response to more naturally-scrupulous eyes.
