Well, since you guys are so nice to me today
I thought I'd share the love so it's time to discuss my avatar.
Now keep in mind I have thought about camera angle, distance etc. but because I have the SL ANH I can rotate it around and see if I can get the same effects...but it still seems different to me.
This is a photograph of Bob Anderson wearing an original ANH Vader costume. Although Bob isn't formally listed in the credits for ANH, he consulted with Peter Diamond on the use of the lightsabers for ANH. He's listed in Imdb as a stunt double. I've never seen this photograph published anywhere, so it's a prize in my collection. When I get home maybe I'll write up what was said about this photo. For the longest time I just appreciated the angle and drama of the photo, but then after the HD versions of Star Wars became available, I compared this photo to the one of Vader looking down at Ben Kenobi's cloak. And there were a few things that made me wonder....why does this helmet look so different?
Well, I'll maybe show a comparison later, but there are a number of things that I found different about this helmet, even something I found out last night.
First thing that caught my eye was the paint boundary on the nose. Where the black paint goes over the nose and there's a paint boundary between the black and gunmetal...on Vader's right side under the eye. That paint line or boundary on the screen ANH is quite straight when looking down on the mask, but on this one it's more curved. The right tusk tubes on this one seem thinner toward the end than on the screen mask. The dome or helmet itself seems different both in terms of the width of the flaring edge and the eyebrow line shape (although that could just be the angle). I checked last night the grill mesh on this one, something I was meaning to do...and compared it to the screen mesh and the center and left gaps show a different pattern (!!!). The right tubes as well appear blacker but that could be lighting. There's also a distinctive paint blemish pattern on the right front cheek of this one that's different than the screen mask. Also, there's a black mark going down the right side of the mouth triangle...that particular feature looked familiar to me and I think (I'll have to look for it) it's on a photo of Vader in the Death Star council chamber. The nosebridge also appears to be darker than that of the screen mask. The photo itself seems to have been taken in uniform overhead light so I doubt it's the lighting that makes it look darker, as with the tubes. Oh, and the tusks seem different in shading. Anyway, I'll try to show more about what I mean later when I get to my home computer.
In essence, my guess is that Bob is wearing a second ANH Vader helmet that was used as a stunt helmet. But, I have yet to find it onscreen.
One thing I'll add is that this could have been around the time of ESB but it's an ANH suit. And there seems to be a widow's peak.
