SW prequel helmet--original or replica? edit: who made this?

[Force]

There is a prequel era helmet I was offered for sale. No COA, but an interesting (and unverifiable) story that it was supposedly gifted from production at one point. I'm not certain if it's actually a replica. I don't collect replicas, so I'm not familiar with some of the tells or all of the various replicas that have been produced over the years.

The helmet is a little obscure and only appeared in one scene for a few seconds. I'm not entirely certain if it was a real helmet or a CG helmet, although likely CG. If it was a CG helmet, there would've been little to no reason for production to physically build one for someone to wear.

The helmet is fully finished and ready to wear. If it was just a production made prototype or paint test of some sort, it doesn't seem like there would be a reason to add padding to the inside of the helmet.

Maybe it was one of those doubles made for a movie premiere or exhibit display? I can't seem to find that style of helmet in any of the photos I've gone through, though.

I did some searching, and was not able to find replica helmets or kits that seemed to have the same details or that were made in the same way.

• There are no copyright stamps or dates visible.
• There is thin black fabric bonded to cheap sponge foam padding glued (with yellow glue) to inside of the helmet. The padding nearly covers the entire interior.
• It seems like it may be a fiberglass helmet. Areas of the helmet that would not be generally visible from a few feet away have an unfinished fiberglass texture, including the interior of the helmet, and the underside of pieces that are glued to the helmet (one of these pieces has detached, giving view to the back side of that piece). I would think these surfaces would've been finished in a replica helmet (at least, in a commercial one, anyway).
• This was definitely not 3D printed, and definitely not vacuuformed. I'm not sure if/how it was cast--I didn't spot any mold seam lines anywhere.
• The is some very fine dust inside some of the crevices that appears to be paint dust from sanding.
• The paint has cracked along one of the detail lines on the helmet. I haven't seen that sort of thing happen on a replica helmet.​

I'd prefer not to post photos publicly at the moment, but I can share privately. Is there an expert in prequel era helmets I should talk to?

Thanks

 

[laellee]

I think you're going to have to share photos to get honest feedback and a better idea of the legitimacy. In lieu of that, do you know if the character wearing it had a name? There have been quite a few characters that were completely dressed out (helmets and weapons included) that never made it on the final cuts (or very minimally); Tam Posla is a great example of a character (and helmet) that existed during production and was filmed, but didn't make it into Rogue One; there would have been only one of those that I know of.

You'll need to give us a bit more to work with to get any real help. You can PM me a pic or two and I can see if I recognize it. Otherwise, I'm sure another older member or two will offer to take a look in a bit. Good luck either way!

 

[joez2391]

just sent you a message, hard to know without pics and provenance but happy to try and help.

 

[Force]

Ok, it's sounding like it's a replica of some sort, but I'd like to try to confirm who may have made it. It looks like a lot of time & effort went into it.

It's Commander Bacara from ROTS.