Prop store auction - Darth Vader helmet

eethan

eethan

Master Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
Hey,
Does anyone want to discuss the Darth Vader helmet cast that prop store is currently auctioning?

img01.jpg

I'm super curious about what people think of it. How does that compares to the cast that CFO had access too? does anyone know anything about its past, what do you guys think in general.
Very sorry if it's a bad idea to discuss it, I was just surprised that no one brought it up yet and am very curious to hear opinions about it.
cheers
 
I heard something recently about a tour suit helmet, maybe that's what this is?

Sent from my VS996 using Tapatalk
 
Just read up on the E-11 blaster so basically nothing on it other than the Sterling gun was used, the dressing is all new, and it's marked at being worth 30-50k. I got a magazine which is supposedly from Bapty on my deac with all dressing added, as this possibly is a piece of an original made up to resemble a full blaster does that put it in the same price bracket, lol?
 
Yes the E11 is surprising, I wouldn't pay that much for something almost all new. Anyways, i wouldn't pay that much period :lol

anyone on the Darth Vader cast? :$
 
Kroenen77 said:
Looks not like a cast of a screenused helmet.Looks like a "TM brother" or something to me.
Click to expand...

If this is the case the description is pretty surprising.

" The cast was taken from original production moulds during the making of the film and cast in black fibreglass. It was ultimately not needed for shooting and therefore never finished. "
 
It looks to me like it was cast out of a production mold but never painted. For the shoot? Who knows. But it looks very sharp and very good in my opinion.

Propstore has a great, finished Vader helmet that looks extremely similar to this.
 
Kroenen77 said:
Looks not like a cast of a screenused helmet.Looks like a "TM brother" or something to me.
Click to expand...

not a cast of a screenused helmet, but a cast from the original molds. which is even better no?
this would the same situation as the TM if I understand properly. What about the cast from Bill the Carpenter that CFO casted? same kind of story as well right?

thanks guys for your input :thumbsup
 
This is an awesome cast. Basically the same as the TM. I'd put it at a higher price than they say though.


Ben
 
Its not painted black,right?Its black fiberglass...the details are a lot softer as on a TM.Look..no "worms"under cheekbone.Looks like a cast of a thick painted helmet.And what is with the too small cut out triangle under the mouth...if this would be a cast of a finished ESB set helmet,the triangle would be bigger and rounder shape in the corners.I know there was a helmet with an ANH trianglecut in ESB in a very short scene..but on this helmet here the cut out is bigger as ANH.
Its nice...and has a great story..but the cast itself is not the best.Thats why the price is so low.
 
Last edited:
Marv said:
Just read up on the E-11 blaster so basically nothing on it other than the Sterling gun was used, the dressing is all new, and it's marked at being worth 30-50k. I got a magazine which is supposedly from Bapty on my deac with all dressing added, as this possibly is a piece of an original made up to resemble a full blaster does that put it in the same price bracket, lol?
Click to expand...

This happened to all the Sterling E-11 conversions put up for sale. In a way if you get a screen used resin Pugman ESB type blaster, you might be closer to screen used than the E-11 from these auctions, because the resin one was used as is, but the metal Sterlings were all cleaned up after filming - most new greeblies on them are accurate, but not screen used. And for that money you'd better get a full screen used item instead or partially used.
 
Kroenen77 said:
Its not painted black,right?Its black fiberglass...the details are a lot softer as on a TM.Look..no "worms"under cheekbone.Looks like a cast of a thick painted helmet.And what is with the too small cut out triangle under the mouth...if this would be a cast of a finished ESB set helmet,the triangle would be bigger and rounder shape in the corners.I know there was a helmet with an ANH trianglecut in ESB in a very short scene..but on this helmet here the cut out is bigger as ANH.
Its nice...and has a great story..but the cast itself is not the best.Thats why the price is so low.
Click to expand...

Hey,
sorry, dumb questions, what are the "worms", I tried to find and couldn't. thanks
I don't really see those softer details. the worst area might be the 3 small cutouts on the nose, they are a bit rounded seen from the side but the rest looks quite similar to the TM.

I tried to compare more in detail, for me the helmets themselves are definitely exactly the same castings:

comp_01.jpgcomp_02.jpg

for the mask, i don't really know, it's a bit harder to compare, with the dark tones of the propstore auction and the poor quality of the TM pictures I found, plus the fact that the positions are not matching.
comp_03.jpg
 
Actually it looks like maybe it was just very quickly painted and roughly finished a ways back. That COULD be black gel coat but starting to doubt myself.

And the bottom triangle was probably just cut wider at some point for ESB. My thoughts are that someone did cast this out of an ESB mold and then took it and quickly tied it together with eyes, screen, and paint maybe. A good cast in my opinion!!! Great actually.
 
I was thinking it had to be paint, as well. I guess a gel coat can be that glossy, but I haven't seen a Vader helmet that was.

Sent from my VS996 using Tapatalk
 
eethan said:
Hey,
sorry, dumb questions, what are the "worms", I tried to find and couldn't. thanks
I don't really see those softer details. the worst area might be the 3 small cutouts on the nose, they are a bit rounded seen from the side but the rest looks quite similar to the TM.

I tried to compare more in detail, for me the helmets themselves are definitely exactly the same castings:

View attachment 841116View attachment 841117

for the mask, i don't really know, it's a bit harder to compare, with the dark tones of the propstore auction and the poor quality of the TM pictures I found, plus the fact that the positions are not matching.
View attachment 841118
Click to expand...

The "worms"are little artifacts under the cheekbone.You have them also on the ESB hero helmet from the cloud city dining room.

About the TM and the casting details:The TM was painted on your pics...but because it was,they removed the paint to show the real sharp cast under the paint.
But this one looks like a cast of the painted TM or a similar helmet.So thats why it has softer and lost details.And if this one is black fiberglass and not black painted you cannot rip off the paint to show the details.If its black painted you could do that.
Dann: The ROTS hero was only high gloss polished fiberglass from what I know.You can polish fiberglass to mirror shine when you have the right tools and polish.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well, I don't know, maybe the "worms" are missing, I cannot see that, but I spent a few hours tonight as you can see, comparing photos, doing overlays and all and even on the face and neck, I can see more and more details pointing to the fact that those are the same casts. It's just very hard to say if the propstore version is painted or not.
I don't know if the gel coat could be cracking like it is there. You can see there is a very thin layer that's cracking or small flakes lost in some places. Would a gel coat be so thin?
 
You must only look on the pic that shows the back of the facemask to see how thin this cast is.
And if a cast has cracks,you can see that also under thick paint if you don´t put a lot of work in it to remove the cracks before painting.
So like I said...this cast looks to me like a softer TM casting.
 
There was a piece on the Propstore auction on Breakfast TV this morning. Quite a bit of SW stuff, and a lot that wasn't but it all would cost you a fortune to buy.
 
This thread is more than 5 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.

Similar threads

blewis17
PICS Lager Toys Darth Vader Helmet
Replies
4
Views
938
CHSimp94
CHSimp94
absulition
Darth Vader Shin&Cod Template
Replies
1
Views
187
lethyry
lethyry
Anakins father
Darth Vader's Rogue One lightsaber
Replies
15
Views
659
Anakins father
Anakins father
Skywalker1973
Darth Vader ESB armor 501st eligibility
Replies
11
Views
1,160
Skywalker1973
Skywalker1973
Tempideus
Vader helmet identification help
Replies
9
Views
632
Too Much Garlic
Too Much Garlic
Back
Top