Thanks guys! This was a lot of fun. It benefited from the combined experience of my original Ugly, Goldie, Quasimodo and more.

Here's some Photoshop fun!

Had a very successful test pull. Although the helmet had arrived damage when it appeared on the doorsteps of the propmaker in the UK, the propmaker managed to repair it, and did a mold and a pull.






I love how this test pull turned out. For me, I was nervous - there is only so much I can do in the sculpting and restoration process that at some point it's like an act of faith to hand it off to someone else and mold it and cast it. There's always the danger that the apple falls a bit too far from the tree of original intention. In this case, I hadn't looked at Ugly in a few months, and so to look at that first image for the first time, my reaction was WOW!

As you can see from the side profile, it looks like the dome is very at-home with the mask. You've heard me mention in my previous threads that I approach my projects as an artistic whole. I can't arbitrarily combine a random dome with a random mask and force them together. I will modify each until their looks start to converge to not only recreate the character of Vader but to allow the combined sculpt to exhibit its own personality. I'm very pleased that personality has emerged in this test pull -- and better than I had expected!

We settled on a dome mounting system that's roughly ESB style based on locally-available hardware, and the original Ugly was modified so that ANH, ESB and ROTJ would benefit from that hat mount. The dome positionings for ANH, ESB and ROTJ could be calibrated differently through controlling the receiver ring height and position. And don't forget that ESB and ROTJ will be based off of a different dome, with ESB and ROTJ having different mid strips.

We're still discussing lenses, mesh and fabricating tusks for coldcasting. I'm pestering him for a side-by-side shot with the original Ugly.

In the weeks to come, we'll be working finishing and priming the ESB dome for casting, so I can get a first pull to convert into ROTJ (really looking forward to doing that). Also, we're going to work on achieving an authentic handbrushed (metallic gray) look as you see with the screenused ANH prop.

Let me know what you guys think!

That's looking realy cool.
Would say your work has more than paid-off.

hey everyone...im new on here, was wondering about the Ugly...i ve read some of the posts about it on here and The RPF and it looks wicked sweet... im sure its been a labor of love......... is there a way of getting one of these..for some reason its become an addiction.. an Obessesion.....where i thought id be happy with my DP CA, then reading up on other posts, i realized how much better it could look in fiberglass so i picked up a different casting...i thought it was over but i feel the need to stray from ESB and go for ANH..the EFX is just way out of my range... And in my opinion the ugly ranks up there with what i like about the EFX.. So if theres any way how much? i live in the US... i have posted on here , but still new.. so would that count against me??

I appreciate the generous feedback. But perhaps too generous. The eFX is in an entirely different league. But Ugly does sport a better ANH look than what some Vader vendors of the past had offered.

This is merely an economy helmet.

This is the official Interest thread, though now closed:

http://www.therpf.com/f13/darth-ugly-an ... ed-141947/

I realize its not EFX.. but from what it was and what its become, it think its looks fantastic and just captures a great looking Vader that you dont get from ESB or Rotj.. its a shame i cant get one.. was really looking for a affordable ANH...does anyone here know where to pick one up... its very rare that ive seen a ANH on ebay........plus im not rich.. so i would need it to reasonably priced...Any info would be greatly Appreciated.... Thanks

I appreciate your interest in supporting the project. Well, when your post count reaches at least 40 and you're a good participant and contributor in the community, that would be a start. After that you can get on the waiting list in case people back out.

The run is, for now, limited to 30. This is my fist run ever, so I want to keep it manageable. After the 30 is shipped, we'll be doing Ugly ESB and ROTJ. After the ESB and ROTJ combined run, who knows what will happen? Search the RPF classifieds for "Darth Ugly ESB" for that other thread and for pics.

do you mean more posts on here or posts on the RPF, im a member there but havent posted on there.. typically just read about other projects there and do all my posting on here Cause im a vader kinda guy..though once im satisfied with my vader i may move on to other projects, maybe a stormy, imperial guard or Boba... but i dont think ill truly ever be satisfied.. though i may make myself move on... atleast for a while..

I basically require a minimum post count of 40 (i.e. 40 meaningful posts) on either The Prop Den or The RPF. The reason is that some people have created user IDs for the sole purpose of trying to request a Darth Ugly. I don't know them from any run-of-the-mill recasters. My hope is that if you've been around for some time and understand that illicit duplication is wrong (not to mention that pirating a fanmade helmet that was meant to be a charity helmet to help raise money for someone with disabilities) then I'd feel comfortable making a helmet available to you. The people whose post count of 1 were basically turned down (although one entered into dialog with me, and shared his disdain for recasting, and I got a sense he was a decent individual, so green-lit his being on the list).

Guys -

I picked up my 'Ugly' in person today as the prop-maker lives 15 mins from my house lol.

What can I say? Mac knocked this out of the ballpark. It's amazing. So crisp, such a nice cast in tough but lightweight fibreglass with all the right gnarly qualities about it.

I got mine fully finished - the lenses, tusks and handbrushed paint scheme are spot-on.

Some lovely touches on the faceplate that have been unseen thus far, AFAIK, but I won't spoil that for anyone.

Thanks Mac!

I've owned a lot of vader helmets over the years from some top-quality sources, this competes with the best of them. Hard to believe it is a semi fan-sculpt really. Get excited to receive yours folks!

Al

Thanks ob1al! Glad you enjoy your Ugly. Thanks also for the generous remarks!

It's been a while since the Den has been up. So in case any of you have been out of the loop (the official interest thread is on the RPF) here are some shots from the prop maker in UK.


Unpainted:

Here are some painted shots:

Some more painted shots. Really love how the paint turned out and, especially, the custom lenses and their color.





The prop maker does lovely work with the paint!

And here is the first batch of Uglies....

Fun shots:





Now at some point, Ugly ESB will be in development. The dome arrived broken and banged up (thank you, shipping gorillas). Nobody knows what "FRAGILE - HANDLE WITH CARE" means any more.

But here are the lenses for ESB will probably look like:



More later....

That's great work Mac.
What is it about that charity project?

Do i see a C scar on that mask ?