Star Tours park used C-3PO Head ID Help

joez2391

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RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
Hey everyone,

I've been collecting Disney park props for years and recently came across this WDW park used C-3PO head. Just wanted to share some pics to make sure this is the real deal and not a garage kit being passed off as real. It came from a good source, but i'd rather be safe than sorry. The third pic is inside the helmet behind the eyes, there are spaces for LEDs but no electronics. Thanks for the help!
 

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Any chance to get more pics and the faceplate separate from the back? It would be easier to see if it's an original prop from disney...or an existing replicas from a prop maker.
 
Any chance to get more pics and the faceplate separate from the back? It would be easier to see if it's an original prop from disney...or an existing replicas from a prop maker.

The faceplate and the back are stuck together with the two brass screws holding in the neck bolts and i think one inside on the top of the head. Here are some more detailed pics, I can get more if you need them from specific angles
 

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This is the inside of C3PO's head back from EP3, which I was told that no new hard parts were made for the prequel trilogy. That would make him OT. I was told some new plating was done. At the time the Star Tours props and such came up and I was told at the time, SW was done and all the stuff was just in storage. So instead of opening shop and pulling new parts, LFL sent original items to Disney for use on the ride. Its not to say new parts or complete replacements were made since the rides creation, just what I was told about the original items source.
 

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The LED holders for the eyes look like the standard inside of a tap light. That seems a bit "off the shelf" for a Disney Prop. It also seems too clean on the inside for something that was meant for one of the animatronic 3POs. I would assume there would be mount points and places to secure it to the skeleton. It just seems a bit off on those two points to be something the parks actually planned on using.
 
This is the inside of C3PO's head back from EP3, which I was told that no new hard parts were made for the prequel trilogy. That would make him OT. I was told some new plating was done. At the time the Star Tours props and such came up and I was told at the time, SW was done and all the stuff was just in storage. So instead of opening shop and pulling new parts, LFL sent original items to Disney for use on the ride. Its not to say new parts or complete replacements were made since the rides creation, just what I was told about the original items source.

Thanks for the pic of the inside of the EP3 head, mine actually has the same spot at the top inside of the faceplate for the screw to secure it. Since no new sculpts were made, that would line up with my head looking like the Vos/Zorg kits since those had lineage to an ANH head as well.

The LED holders for the eyes look like the standard inside of a tap light. That seems a bit "off the shelf" for a Disney Prop. It also seems too clean on the inside for something that was meant for one of the animatronic 3POs. I would assume there would be mount points and places to secure it to the skeleton. It just seems a bit off on those two points to be something the parks actually planned on using.

Awesome catch on the tap light, 100% matches up. So I was able to speak to the seller for a while this morning and I got some more info on the backstory/lineage of this piece. This head was taken off of the ride during a refurbishment and was repurposed for use in photoshoots and advertising.

Unfortunately there's just so much variation to the 3PO heads used on Star Tours and not a lot of clear reference from the queue itself. I got a chance to dig out one of my Disneyland Star Tours banners from storage to compare the head casting. One of my bigger initial concerns on my 3PO head was that the mouth was pinched slightly on the right side and the lower right side bulged out a bit. I took some measurements and these same irregularities are present on the promo 3PO banner as well! So it seems like the tap lights were added in quickly after the head was removed from the ride to be used in marketing.

I really appreciate the help guys, tough to nail down something like this but I feel much more confident after looking matching irregularities on the banner 3PO. I know its not the one used in the banner but at least it can tie it to matching the ones used in the Star Tours molds.
 

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Just as an update, this has been confirmed on the C-3PO Builders Group on Facebook as being a Zorg/Zorg copy and not used on the animatronic in the Star Tours queue. I presented the evidence to the seller and he has offered to give me a full refund. Just wanted to let everyone know to be careful just in case it pops back up for sale. Thanks for all of the help guys!
 
It's what I though but wasn't sure (and didn't want to offense you).

The little hole on the top of the horseshoe of the back piece remind me the Zorg replicas.

Generally, direct cast of screen used helmet (I guess it's what the Imagineers did when they created the AA for Star Tours) have the "notch" of the antenna "hook" (little part of the faceplate that we can see on the picture posted by robstyle).

Nevertheless, if you have a chromed Zorg helmet, it's still a very nice replicas ;-)
 
It's what I though but wasn't sure (and didn't want to offense you).

The little hole on the top of the horseshoe of the back piece remind me the Zorg replicas.

Generally, direct cast of screen used helmet (I guess it's what the Imagineers did when they created the AA for Star Tours) have the "notch" of the antenna "hook" (little part of the faceplate that we can see on the picture posted by robstyle).

Nevertheless, if you have a chromed Zorg helmet, it's still a very nice replicas ;-)

No offense taken at all, I had a weird feeling about it too trust me. Something just didnt seem right.

I found out that the animatronic Star Tours parts were cast from an ESB suit. One of the biggest tells on this one (besides the Zorg similarites) was that there were no mounting holes in the head to attach to the animatronic framework. Some of the details like the back of the head were a bit softer than an original Star Tours piece too.

It was a great helmet, but for the price I paid for it i was happy the seller agreed to a refund ;) The strange part is is that it did come from Disney, it might have been used in the Droid Builders section of the gift shop since those droid parts were replicas sourced elsewhere, but there's no way to prove its from there since reference is slim and it doesnt have the same appeal as a ride used one.

Bummed out it wasn't real but I'm glad I at least found out before it was too late.

If anyone has any connections to Star Tours props, especially a ride used 3PO head I'm still very interested!
 
Any chance to get a pic of the top of the faceplate (taken from the inside of the helmet) please? I' would like to see the "lip" (sorry for the bad word) that fit inside the back part.
 
On the close up of the eye grill i can see a "tell". a flaw that is in my castings. I will confirm later.
EDIT@@@@@ 100% my eye grills, flaws match up.

The close up of the neck bolt i cant tell if there are 2 grooves in the center area or not. I had my master made with one groove as another "tell" if its 1 its out of my molds.

The head itself , From its inside it doesnt look like my fiberglass work, the very first zorg heads had the pinched mouth as you have there. I stupidly straightened it in following versions (sorry everyone!)
 
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Any chance to get a pic of the top of the faceplate (taken from the inside of the helmet) please? I' would like to see the "lip" (sorry for the bad word) that fit inside the back part.

Not the best pic ever but it's the only one i have showing the top of the faceplate. Hopefully that shows you what you're looking for?


On the close up of the eye grill i can see a "tell". a flaw that is in my castings. I will confirm later.
EDIT@@@@@ 100% my eye grills, flaws match up.

The close up of the neck bolt i cant tell if there are 2 grooves in the center area or not. I had my master made with one groove as another "tell" if its 1 its out of my molds.

The head itself , From its inside it doesnt look like my fiberglass work, the very first zorg heads had the pinched mouth as you have there. I stupidly straightened it in following versions (sorry everyone!)

Thanks for the info! It's so hard to tell with 3PO especially once it's vac plated and with the lack of solid clear reference from Star Tours, I figured my best bet was looking for 'tells' on different replica heads. I cant tell you how much I appreciate the help and the confirmation that it didn't come from the Disney molds. Would have been awful to find out if i decided to sell it down the road.
 

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So I just stumbled across this...

“C-3P0” mask from Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World.

100% the replica head I had. Evidently it was sold last May through Profiles in History, eye positions are exactly the same and you can see the cheap tea lights in it too with the missing bolt on the head. I doubt it sold for that price as I got it significantly cheaper than that.

There’s absolutely no way this was worn by a character actor, the front and back parts weren’t separable and how could they see out with the plastic lights blocking the eyes? Also no padding inside? I know Profiles doesn’t have the best track record with doing their research on provenience of pieces and I have a strong feeling this is the case here as well.
 
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