Vader Helmet Opinions Sought

[SithLord]

Mac, what is the TM?

This use of the UK mold phrase is a misnomer because it is hypothetical. So to say the TM is a first gen casting from the UK mold is not true. There would be some ancestor of the TM from a hypothetical mold taken off the original ANH helmet in the UK around the time of the ANH production. That ancestor would have served as a basis for the ESB helmets, and one of which was modified, then a mold made of that, and that gave us the TM mask.

 

[LeAngeSolitaire]

Why does the RPF log people out so quickly? This is the second time I spent a long time writing a detailed reply and it logs me out! What is the point?

Then it gives a message like this:

Your submission could not be processed because you have logged in since the previous page was loaded.

Please push the back button and reload the previous window.


Then I lost my second attempt at posting, so what is the point?

:angry


It is just a DP style derived heavily modded mask and helmet made to look like a ROTJ reveal and has no relationship to a production helmet.

The DP was around since 77 and versions of it popped up around the early 90s probably earlier as well so it was available to use as a template.

Muir would be a better judge than Clarke. Muir sculpted it and has seen many castings over the years claimed to be original but were not. His friend worked on ROTJ and gave Brian a production ROTJ helmet so I consider his word the final one.

That is fantastic! This is the good stuff I've been after.

What's a DP mask? I am clueless in these things and acronyms just leave me even more confused.

Moreover, can I see more pics of the DP mask? And why would a DP mask surface at Shepperton in such a form? More questions.... :confused

Having looked at your rather nifty overlays, the only thing I can see that's the same as the DP mask is the teeth. The overlay shows more in common with the GH ANH that the DP unless I am missing something. Truth be told, this head looks like neither of them particularly... :confused

Edit: Just realised DP means Don Post. Doh! Which one are you refering to? There were several of varying degrees of accuracy if I can recall. And weren't they supposedly meant to be accurate having been moulded off a production piece? Sorry for the ignorance, but I am a Vader newbie.

 

[mike d]

Edit:
Sithlord: The DP that you talk about is it a cast that Don Post studios based their DLX on? Having a hard time with the overlays as they are photographed in different angles, but the teeth looks quite simillar.

Le Ange:
The DP (Don Post studios) did licensed helmets. You might already know this.
There are 3 different Don Post Vader helmets. The standard (undersized) first one came out in 1977. Around 1996/1997 Don Post released 2 new helmets that had lineage to a real Vader helmet. The CA (Classic action) helmet were molded in heavy vinyl plastic. And then there was The DLX Vader which was cast in fibreglass. It had a reversed paint-job. The Don Post masks were widely popular and you can still get them as they pop up on Ebay from time to time. People often used to do modifications to them in order to make them more screen-accurate as they had some issues like the warped neck and soft features.

for more information check out:
don post helmets

That is fantastic! This is the good stuff I've been after.

What's a DP mask? I am clueless in these things and acronyms just leave me even more confused.

Moreover, can I see more pics of the DP mask? And why would a DP mask surface at Shepperton in such a form? More questions.... :confused

Having looked at your rather nifty overlays, the only thing I can see that's the same as the DP mask is the teeth. The overlay shows more in common with the GH ANH that the DP unless I am missing something. Truth be told, this head looks like neither of them particularly... :confused

Edit: Just realised DP means Don Post. Doh! Which one are you refering to? There were several of varying degrees of accuracy if I can recall. And weren't they supposedly meant to be accurate having been moulded off a production piece? Sorry for the ignorance, but I am a Vader newbie.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

This reveal cast has more accurate features still intact than the DP ANH/Jeff/Fyberdyne/GH line of helmets does. I do not see any connection to those at all.

 

[vaderdarth]

The overall features of the facemask does seem to match the DP closer than any of the other fan helmets. But even so, there have been tons of mods done to it. Wasn't Harrison connected to Elstree??? I seem to recall lots of other props that the name Harrison was attached to that were supposed to be screen related but turned out to be fan made.

SL, do you have a profile shot of the DP and this new helmet??? I'm particularly interested in that line from the top of the cheek, compared to the tubes. To me that is the most damning evidence that it was a fan sculpt.

 

[dreaminspired]

umm. don post helmets existed 20 years ago.

from jez's website.

i said this on page 5. :angel
anyways, here's a picture of a don post vader helmet from star wars helmets .com which shows the curved cheek detail under the eye.

 

[Clutch]

Still waiting to hear what Kenny had to say...

 

[BGHUNTER]

Yeah this isnt a modified Don Post casting no way

 

[LeAngeSolitaire]

The owner of the helmet took it to Kenny Clarke on Friday who examined it and confirmed the helmet was from a production mould. However, it is still a mystery as to why the helmet is the way it is. Due to the methodology utilised in producing these helmets and the silicone moulds used, even helmets from the same mould could look very different. In this case, some aspects could be attributable to this but it is highly likely it was an art department resculpt probably by Brian Archer. It was theorised this was probably a work in progress during the development phase and was dead end in the evolution of the screen used reveal. Incidentally, the screen used reveal was moulded in one piece, 100% without question. At this stage, this helmet will probably remain an oddity but it is NOT a fan build, that much is certain.

 

[BGHUNTER]

Your explaination is what I have thought from the start
it makes perfect sense,
and although some thinkj they know every Vader its very posible there were peices that never got finished and other options took over