I've posted this on a couple of other forums but thought i'd share with you guys, and for the record although this project started absolute ages ago there were many private reasons for the delay in completing which the owner of this kit is aware of and fine about.
First off I apologies for the large amount of photo's, my intention for this WIP thread was to show start, middle & end shots but having photographed the item in question it was clear from the start that there are more than just a few area's that need work and I wanted to document every area so you can all see how poor this dreaded recast actually is. you will see from the photo's the recaster couldn't even be bothered to deliver something half good!!!!
What you see before you is a lame and backhanded attempt to recast a Vader helmet. i'm not a fan of recasting and hate the fact that someone is making money off anothers work
The FacePlate
Outside & Inside, Shocking TBH... not even cleaned!
The inside is so rough and poorly done
Where ever you look there were holes to be filled, area's to be filed out, overall the surface would need a re-skim and plenty of sanding.. and thats without even tackling the grill which is some of the poorest work i've ever seen.
My understanding is that this was cast in resin and that fibreglass was literally slapped inside to re-enforce the cast, usually this is fine but as you can see, this was done without any consideration for when it dried.
There are many areas of the Faceplate cast that are so thin in places, even with the added fibreglass the job was done so poor that certain critical areas have been missed. Look closely at the pics showing the edges and notice how the sunlight comes thru the wafer thin areas. The top of the face was another major concern as its clear that the resin was breaking down in the mold, even to the point that when the fibreglass was applied the resin collapsed into it.
Now for the Dome!!!
Again some sights that are sadly beyond belief... how anyone (even recasters) can charge for this type of work and expect to get any kind of reputation other than bad is beyond me.... the usual surface breaks, scratches, indents, overlayed resin, cracks, bubbles.. you name it and its on this dome.
the peak was going to take some serious reworking on its own, and the seam would need a bit of a rebuild as at one point in the front the seam tapers into two.
The inside surprise surprise was just as bad.... the edges were splitting and have been poorly refilled, the horseshoe piece has been screwed in place and a large amount of slop thrown around it, even then it was off centre meaning problems later!!!
All in All a mammoth task lay ahead and many hours were going to be spent on this but its the challenge that interests me rather than the recasting issue, i'd rather see this looking like something close to a Vader lid than just a piece of resin poorly made and dusted with primer as if all the new owner had to do was paint it black!!!
Any way moving on it was many hours of filling, sanding, filling, and then more sanding!!!, eventually leaving me with a surface that was pretty good. I wasn't going to be fooled tho as experience on these type projects means that i need to paint it a base colour to get the imperfections to stand out better having worked on it so much in grey. primer applied then a coating of black...
Seam now rebuilt and as it should be
Heavily warped face plate, nice to know the cast wasn't rushed!!!
Ok, imperfections and bad spots noted time to put the faceplate away for a while and get a good coating of gloss black on the now sanded dome. all but for a few areas of mist spray left behind this just needs a good going with compound before lacquer
While the dome dries for a week or two its back to the faceplate and after more rework and sanding i'm now in a position to get the grey applied
Neckline looking far better
another view of the intense warping that has to be contended with
mask up ready for the black check design ANH style
A few paint bleeds but nothing that five mins of work won't fix
surface prep then lacquer followed by a weeks wait and polish down, added the eyes which were a very poor version full of airbubbles and a poor fit, these were just tacked in and the owner will replace later, nose, grill and tusks done
Finally after what seems for ever we are at a stage to put things together and although not fixed with velcro or anything I was able to get a good fit even with the off center fitment which was a ***** to rework, all was placed in my hands for a final photo session. Nothing left but for a bit of polishing on the faceplate before going back to the owner. Vader experts please forgive my attempt to position the dome if its off key, the final version will sit better and be held in place properly, this was simply balanced in position and in my hand weighing quite a bit, i just needed to get the pics done before the weather changed.
Would I do it again? ................. NO!!!!!!!
Just like to give a quick nod and thanks to Steve Hird & Si "Havoc" for their assistance with advice and reference on this project, definately not an area of expertise for me Vader!!!
First off I apologies for the large amount of photo's, my intention for this WIP thread was to show start, middle & end shots but having photographed the item in question it was clear from the start that there are more than just a few area's that need work and I wanted to document every area so you can all see how poor this dreaded recast actually is. you will see from the photo's the recaster couldn't even be bothered to deliver something half good!!!!
What you see before you is a lame and backhanded attempt to recast a Vader helmet. i'm not a fan of recasting and hate the fact that someone is making money off anothers work
The FacePlate
Outside & Inside, Shocking TBH... not even cleaned!
The inside is so rough and poorly done
Where ever you look there were holes to be filled, area's to be filed out, overall the surface would need a re-skim and plenty of sanding.. and thats without even tackling the grill which is some of the poorest work i've ever seen.
My understanding is that this was cast in resin and that fibreglass was literally slapped inside to re-enforce the cast, usually this is fine but as you can see, this was done without any consideration for when it dried.
There are many areas of the Faceplate cast that are so thin in places, even with the added fibreglass the job was done so poor that certain critical areas have been missed. Look closely at the pics showing the edges and notice how the sunlight comes thru the wafer thin areas. The top of the face was another major concern as its clear that the resin was breaking down in the mold, even to the point that when the fibreglass was applied the resin collapsed into it.
Now for the Dome!!!
Again some sights that are sadly beyond belief... how anyone (even recasters) can charge for this type of work and expect to get any kind of reputation other than bad is beyond me.... the usual surface breaks, scratches, indents, overlayed resin, cracks, bubbles.. you name it and its on this dome.
the peak was going to take some serious reworking on its own, and the seam would need a bit of a rebuild as at one point in the front the seam tapers into two.
The inside surprise surprise was just as bad.... the edges were splitting and have been poorly refilled, the horseshoe piece has been screwed in place and a large amount of slop thrown around it, even then it was off centre meaning problems later!!!
All in All a mammoth task lay ahead and many hours were going to be spent on this but its the challenge that interests me rather than the recasting issue, i'd rather see this looking like something close to a Vader lid than just a piece of resin poorly made and dusted with primer as if all the new owner had to do was paint it black!!!
Any way moving on it was many hours of filling, sanding, filling, and then more sanding!!!, eventually leaving me with a surface that was pretty good. I wasn't going to be fooled tho as experience on these type projects means that i need to paint it a base colour to get the imperfections to stand out better having worked on it so much in grey. primer applied then a coating of black...
Seam now rebuilt and as it should be
Heavily warped face plate, nice to know the cast wasn't rushed!!!
Ok, imperfections and bad spots noted time to put the faceplate away for a while and get a good coating of gloss black on the now sanded dome. all but for a few areas of mist spray left behind this just needs a good going with compound before lacquer
While the dome dries for a week or two its back to the faceplate and after more rework and sanding i'm now in a position to get the grey applied
Neckline looking far better
another view of the intense warping that has to be contended with
mask up ready for the black check design ANH style
A few paint bleeds but nothing that five mins of work won't fix
surface prep then lacquer followed by a weeks wait and polish down, added the eyes which were a very poor version full of airbubbles and a poor fit, these were just tacked in and the owner will replace later, nose, grill and tusks done
Finally after what seems for ever we are at a stage to put things together and although not fixed with velcro or anything I was able to get a good fit even with the off center fitment which was a ***** to rework, all was placed in my hands for a final photo session. Nothing left but for a bit of polishing on the faceplate before going back to the owner. Vader experts please forgive my attempt to position the dome if its off key, the final version will sit better and be held in place properly, this was simply balanced in position and in my hand weighing quite a bit, i just needed to get the pics done before the weather changed.
Would I do it again? ................. NO!!!!!!!
Just like to give a quick nod and thanks to Steve Hird & Si "Havoc" for their assistance with advice and reference on this project, definately not an area of expertise for me Vader!!!
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