DynamicMenace wrote:
and then you mention a little bit about the locking tabs on the top of the mask
" But, the tabs are unique in a few ways from anything else and I don't mean they are different tabs, I mean they are the same tabs but in a different state." and im wondering if you mean that they looked to be newer or less used than what was on the original helmet that was molded post-production.
oh well thats the only logical conclusion i can come up with with the facts you are stating here. but it would be nice to know exactly what you meant by the tabs being in a different state.
i mean honestly, the only other state they could be in is new or not as worn looking if they are the same tabs and in the same position as the ones on the originals.
so spill it man. what kind of state were they in?
Ok ok, hehe. Mainly the right tab, Vader's right, on the TD ANH is flush with the surface of the mask, namely curved....whereas on other masks (ie: two other well known ESB lineage masks)...have straighter right tabs that lift off more in the front than on the TD. An exception is the DS 20th C. Strangely enough, the 20th Century mask is a bit like a really cleaned up, smaller version of the TD ANH. It has the curved and flush tab on the right. I'm not sure if I would offend by comparing the TD to other UK sourced masks, but it does help to show how it is distinct. But anyway, it would seem that over time, the right tab detached a bit in the front and straightened out as a result, so that by ESB, it was straighter.
Here's the inside rear of the TD ANH, something I've never shown before on a public forum. There's a large foam strip on the top, a foam strip over the eyes, there was thinner foam strip on the nose and under the eyes but that is gone now. There was also a thin strip of foam, curiously enough, around the base of the neck. The pattern of green paint can be seen as well.
One thing I'll mention is that the top of the mask has quite a bit of wear in the black paint consistent with it being mated with a dome, or at least something was rubbing the paint away on the top of the mask.
The undercut on the rear of the TD ANH extends further back than any other mask I've seen. Two things that were revealed from that was the latch system used to connect the original REAR half of the head with the front. When I showed Brian Muir this he then remembered there was a latch system that connected a front and rear half of the Vader mask and so I assumed that the rear half was discarded because it was deemed sufficient that the dome would cover the actor's head in the rear....and it would be a lot cooler for Dave Prowse if there was no rear half (ie: not a full head) even though Brian sculpted a rear section. It was also molded as a complete head. So the remnant of the latch system can be seen on the TD ANH rear of the center tab, although it is different than what is seen on later castings, as it is a specific type of latch mechanism. There is also the possibility that there were side latches and there might be evidence of that on the mask as well. In any case, because the undercut had to cover the rear of Dave's head partially (ie: behind the ears), but the front and back halves were molded with a seam nearly around where the ears would be, the TD ANH shows a seam where the rear sections of the rear half of the head remain. It was originally thought that the seam was real, ie: not in the casting, but that as yet hasn't been proven because of the paint covering that area.
One of my guesses as the type of latch is a small handbag latch like this:
Although then one would expect screw holes for that latch. There is also wear just in front of the latch, as if something wore out that depression in front of it. But the latch or what might be a latch it part of the casting, so hard to say what it might be, but that's my best guess.
Here's an old image of the top rear of the TD ANH showing that strange protrusion (latch?):
Here is a microscopic view (from 2007....I got this mask June of 2004) of one of the breaks in the resin on the neck edge, showing the gold in the cold cast resin, something I've never shown on any forum before:
Again under a microscope, here's another break in the resin along the neckline, showing a bit more of the structure of how the resin/fiberglass is organized...
I know this doesn't look like much, but I actually scratched the paint on the mask with a razor blade going right through the major paint line on the chin. And that line is in the center of the microscopic field of view. I'll let you be the judge whether it is in the casting or not.
And here's a photo of the TD ANH under the microscope used to take these images.
I plan to do some macro photography of the mask using a Nikon DSLR with macro lens and extension tube, so we'll see how that goes
EDIT: forgot to add the inside view of the mask