The look of the VM2 is quite fascinating.

Could you possibly post shots of the facemask alone? If you can photograph it 6-feet away and zoom in, that would be awesome.

Well... not warped in that sense that they are bent... but that the teeth angle the whole other way - from bottom to top from left to right, where the originals are from right to left.


Well, the way you presented it, iirc, then you theorized that the GH had a DP CA as a source. That is not so.

The source of the GH is an ANH style helmet, reportedly molded and cast by DP Studios.

The DP DLX and CA is of an RotJ style source... hence... no real connection between the two.

However... the mistakes the company makes on one style of helmet, during manufacture... can logically also occur on another style of helmet later, if it is the same guy handling the casting. Just as "mistakes" of one sculptor often pops up in different pieces of his own work.

This is just theory on my part.

Sure, here you go. Don't mind the little sweat drop on his forehead in the second shot. I had just washed the faceplate.





Here's a comp against the Christies vader, not too bad:

The right cheek on the top surface was built up on the source of the GH/Jeff/Elstree etc. (not done by GH himself)...to make it more symmetrical with the top surface of the left cheek. That's why the outer corner (temporal to be more precise, as opposed to the nasal side) of the eye is soft and rounded. Other than that it's sanding.

Added another puppy to the litter. Thanks Mike.

JB ESB

Does anyone have any experience with the ROTS Vader helmet Customsprops is selling? (http://www.customsprops.com)

Customprops formerly known as Fusionprops (or is it the other way around?)
That's the Lucas Alvarez store IIRC. It's a rather small pic, but it looks like a Portumac to me.

Do we know if DP Studios was given an ROTJ or an ESB casting?

I'm voting for RotJ with the details on the face and the dome mount at the top... it just feels more RotJ than ESB. The only feature that is ESB to me is the shape and size of the chin vent... but that could have been cut out wrong on that helmet making it ESB style than RotJ style - if there are more ESB features on the face, other than the chin vent, I would love to hear about it.

Mac, the VM2 faceplate is the 20thC. The maker (MJ/Ojika) sanded the tabs off the top but its the same faceplate.

IIRC the dome's off a Fiberdyne derivative mask and helmet Graham bought off Sporak (GH's brother)

Cheers

Jez

Jez,

When VM worked on the 20th Century facemask for his own, were there a lot of his own refinements and such that went into the facemask, such that if you put a VM02 side by side with a 20th Century you'd see notable differences?

Not sure what the differences were and tbh not sure what work Graham himself did on the helmet.

IIRC the work was done by Mark J, (aka Ojika) who working out of a replica prop/costume shop in Banbury produced a number of props etc. including a nice 20th C, along with a number of other helmets and props (most of which were cast from various sources). MJ was the guy who did the CKing's Vader as well.

The VM01 was a Fiberdyne type helmet and looked ok. About this time a number of us were looing at the 20th C and its heritage to the ANH helmet (given away by the connection tabs). Because of this a few prop makers took 20thC faces and then added various domes to them (usually the GH).

I know of a number of prop makers who got a 20th C from MJ and then used it as the source for their helmet. The JB ANH (one of the latter versions) springs to mind. That deal saw a straight swap between a MJ 20th C and JB's V1 ANH (which MJ sold to Baden Harrison and that helmets on my site). Dave Gielda (CRProps) also had one - dont know if he made a Vader helmet from it though

Cheers

Jez

The VM01 was a reworked casting similar to the GH (similar source). The VMO2 faceplate shows signs of sharpening if I recall correctly...but essentially 20th C material...to me the dome Graham kept from the VMO1 to use with the VMO2 faceplate seems a bit large in relation to the faceplate...but I've not had a VMO2 in hand.