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 Post subject: Don Post Deluxe Facemask rescued off eBay
PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 2:01 am 
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Foreword

A short while back I found a Don Post Deluxe original facemask and managed to rescue it off e-Bay for a steal. The owner claimed his daughters had a field day with it; the lenses were gone and the dome was for some reason no longer available.

While some have felt this might have been a forgery, the problem I have with that guess is that the facemask was at a price that was a steal in that it cost as much as an unpainted kit. In other words, there's no point in going through all the effort to make a forgery and sell it for so little.

Left: the rescued facemask. Right: my 188/1000 Don Post Deluxe.

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The original grills were still in place. The fiberglass and resin thickness and texture on the inside of the rescued facemask was consistent with my #188. Unfortunately the brass panel with the words "Don Post Studios, #____" was gone.

The paint color and metallic particle granularity was identical with my #188.

Left: the rescued facemask.
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It appears the liner may have been after-market. It was thicker than my 188/1000 and quite well made, and gave me a few ideas.

So what now?

Since I have various projects that are nowhere near completion, and that the quality of these kits has been pointed out as not being stellar, my immediate goal has been basically to complete this mask.

Currently, I have a DP DLX dome on order from Portumac. I asked him to paint it and that the casting be light. Since my #188 is a little on the heavy side, the lighter dome should do wonders. And if I'm successful making lenses, I will have a completed wearable helmet. But this is also a restoration project, giving a DP DLX facemask a second chance at becoming a completed helmet, and thereby rescuing a piece of movie history, as it were!

The lense-less facemask is the "rescued" mask (featured, left:)
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Last edited by CSMacLaren on Fri Apr 06, 2007 11:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 2:05 am 
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Nice rescue man.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:19 pm 
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You may have noticed I've been using a new digital camera, so my shots are less grainy. I have a hand-me-down. Slightly older technology but still quite a wonderful camera. So here are some shots.

What you are seeing is the DP facemask paid up with a recast DP Deluxe dome. It's a slightly thinner and light cast using FG mat. The texture is somewhat different than that of the original DP Deluxe domes so there is no passing it for a forgery.

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I took this opportunity to reposition the dome a little so that it's just barely over the facemask's eyebrows. I'm trying to get a slight overshadow so the dome rim is about 1 cm away from the facemask.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:20 pm 
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"Luke... come with me." That quintessential mournful shot.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:21 pm 
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"We would be honored.... if you would join us."

What do you all think?

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:38 pm 
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One more shot. I'm getting better at controlling this camera.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:57 pm 
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That's looking mighty fine. Is that the new Porty DLX dome you've been talking about? I like those last shots! :thumbsup

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:58 pm 
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Yessir, it is.

I was considering using this lone facemask for costuming for my parody film efforts -- as a backup in case it turned out that I suck working on all these various kits. So I asked Porty to cast this lighter than the original, since the facemask is perhaps a slight teensy bit heavier than my 188/1000. The combined weight makes this helmet very pleasant to wear.

There are some subtle depressions in the 188/1000 that the Porty DLX doesn't seem to have. It's shaping is very nice. I've yet to compare the flange's surface area of both helmets.

There are some problems with the paint. Porty apparently used a third party painter for this, and there is a long paint drip on the right flange edge by the facemask's side. There are some small holes/pits, and there are some very noticable scuffs and scratches.

I told him that sending this back for repair was going to increase the cost and frustration, and that I'd fix it myself. He offered a discount for my next purchase -- another sanded and primed DP DLX facemask with all acoutrements which I could pair up for with that other Northglass style dome you spotted for me on eBay. If I can get that fixed up, I may already have a buyer here at work. And he's 6'4" and would unfortunately upstage me (6 foot height) because he'd dress up as Darth Vader for the company halloween party.

But then again he doesn't have the FULL costume. I may luck out yet!

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:02 pm 
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Oh, by the way, that very last shot is where I brought the dome as forward as I could, and stuck several paper napkins on the facemask's forehead. The gap is about 8mm-1 cm. But it definitely increases the meanace and looks actually BETTER than my 188/1000.

Remember the ol' days where I kind of wondered if one should do this with a DP DLX?

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While my dome repositioning isn't as drastic as these above simulations, it's actually paying off!

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 12:02 am 
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MAC....that looks cool as hell! That dome looks better on the mask than the original dome . IMHO.

How do you go about getting just the dome? I didn't know you could even do that.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 5:25 am 
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Okay, so the facemask has a ring mounting system.

The receiver of that ring is normally this ashtray-shaped thing in the dome.

Porty made one and sent it to me. It was bubblewrapped and then glued to the dome. I pulled it off because the positioning didn't make sense. I stuck the ashtray on the facemask's mounting ring. Hence the interior of the dome was smooth and empty, so I could position it any way I wanted.

Yes, I agree. It doesn't have some of the subtle organic qualities of my 188/1888 but it does look cooler.

Shoot, now I can't sell it. It looks too good!

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 6:33 pm 
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I forbid you to sell it! That looks as good as any I've drooled over in the past years....I may even be a bit envious.....hmmmm...yep definently feeling some envy here. :sad5

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 3:21 pm 
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Hey, I just made a very important discovery. After comparing Portumac's dome with the 188/1000's, I found out that Porty's dome actually has a slightly longer flange! It's not as long as a Gypsyboy's by any means, but that in combination of the dome repositioning has created quite a nice Vader that now I can't sell.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 1:35 am 
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Very nice Mac.....Isnt it what sucks about props, putting all of your heart into something and then you cant let it go.... :lol

Looking great my friend!

You know, I think I have a spare set old DPD lenses laying around....if I do you can have them since I am not going to use them......if you want them that is....

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 3:11 am 
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Thanks, VM!! I'll bear that in mind. I have some brown lenses coming in fron Porty. Supposedly his will mask the eyes whereas the DP's smokey gray made your eyes visible.

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