Was thinking that this deserved its own separate thread from the symmetry study, as it truly is the first time a Vader helmet that is completely 100% true symmetrical has been made. It is not mirrored symmetrical. It is not Frankensteined symmetrical. It is pure and simply true symmetrical, created by averaging both face mask and dome. As of yet, only the face mask has been completed and it truly is interesting to see how it actually looks completely symmetrical.
Onto the helmet itself. Like I suggested to Dan, DynamicMenace, with how he created his symmetrical Stormtrooper sculpt, this one is also utilizing the averaged symmetrical method - though unlike his fantastic piece which was sculpted from scratch by him and his modeler from various references, this one was created from a digital scan, run through software that was able to create the fully symmetrical model.
Since I got into the differences between the various methods to make an asymmetrical object into a symmetrical one in Dan's thread I won't bore you with it here as well, so will just try to keep things short. But I can't say enough how thrilled I am at seeing not only the Vader helmet being made with this method of creating symmetry, but also Dan's excellent trooper as well, which is why, I hope, he's cool with me calling this the TS Vader to compliment his TS Stomtrooper helmet which can be found here:
true-symmetrical-trooper-helmet-vt4962.htmlOriginal on the left and averaged symmetrical on the right:
The 3D modeler is hard at work with the dome scan to get things ready for making it symmetrical. It isn't just taking the scan and then computize the result. No, a scan file has too much data for that to work. First the whole object has to be retopologized, which is basically creating a simpler meshed surface which retains all shapes and contours, but gets rid of the complexity of the mesh. I'm sure he can explain the procedure better than me, so I hope he'll chime in if he feels there's a need to explain things further. The surface nicks and paint drips and damage was removed while keeping the edges and shapes sharp, as those details were not needed for the symmetrical model, but would rather be in the way, which is why the symmetrical model has smooth surfaces.
The original plan was to print it in sixth scale, but there may be options for other scales up to full scale down the line. Certainly, a fully averaged symmetrical full scale Darth Vader helmet would be pretty cool.
This is a dream come true for me and I can't thank everyone involved enough for helping making this happen.