To start with, let's look at the DS 20th Century sitting next to an eFX ANH mask...



I started with this in terms of relating the size of the eFX ANH mask with something that is more commonly known. The eFX is larger than the DS 20th C, but just by a little bit. So these are actually quite similar. Of course this is comparing an apple with an orange, but from the point of view of size reference I thought it was an interesting first pass.

Jumping ahead to a detail comparison, I took images at the same angles, same lighting of an eFX ANH Legend mask and the SL ANH mask of the left upper tusk tube area toward the rear termination point. In this kind of lighting, details will tend to jump out a bit, even if there is some paint that may obscure them. Anyway, this is just one example.

yeah the efx looks taller. but the DS actually looks wider. at least it appears that way. wonder if the efx was oblonged somehow during the casting stage? i was also wondering. was it made known that they used the original mother molds with the original rubber Rick Backer molds? or did efx make new mother molds for the new helmets? i cant remember. that could explain why the efx is taller and not as wide as the DS.
the other image seems to have some indications that they are the same. the tube's termination point looks to me to be correct. and you can see the indentation on the bottom of the efx's tube matches where the, ill call it the Y crack, is on the DS's. and you can also see a tiny little divot or pit that is a little distance out away from the end of the tube on the efx that matches up the the DS too.
looking forward to more of your comparisons with the helmets sithlord

Sithlord was comparing the rear tube end between the eFX and his SL. The 20th C helmet doesn't have that level of detail as seen on the SL side.

Also, when placing the 20th C at the same level of the eFX - I cut it out and used 50% opacity to line the 20th C up with the eFX, then pulled the 20th C on the left up to that same position. Actually, the two line up extremely well and you'll see that only the front of the neck and a slight bit of the very, very top of the head is extending further on the eFX. It has always been known that the 20th C helmets had short necks.

This is what it looks like when they are leveled.



I know I warn against overlays as photoshop warps the two pictures towards each other the closer you get to 50% opacity... however, I am not skilled at making gif images that switch between two pictures... so please take this comparison to ONLY show the difference between the front of the neck and the very top of the head - NOT anything else!

aaahh yes..i see. hahaaha i made a mistake this morning when i posted before work. i was still a little groggy i meant the SL's tube not the DS's..
i really cant wait to see the comparison between the SL and the eFX ..

Here is the SL ANH next to an eFX ANH Legend helmet....



The main things that stick out, at least for me, apart from the overall cleanup, are the size difference, the cleanup on the flaring edges on the eFX, and the inward curvature of the lower part of the front flaring on the eFX. I am still not sure why they would have to modify the front flaring edges (and the entire circumferencial edge at the base of the helmet) to make them more uniform and square on their edges. Incidentally, there is absolutely no difference between the early eFX prototype and the production version, and the shape of the flaring is consistent helmet to helmet. So this kind of thing was there from the start. I could compliment the eFX helmet in many regards as a collectible, but that isn't the purpose of this thread.

yeah you can totally see the differences in size. and the flaring of the dome.
im curious to see the comparison of the face masks them selves without the dome. such as the height and width.

Thanks for taking the time to post this Sith Lord,Very interesting and i hope to see more

that's a good possibility. and the fact that the mold they used was 30+ years old too boot. could it have shrunk some you think? and thru the years had lost some of the detailing. and then Efx removed even more? and the mother molds were made in a way that distorted the rubber molds within them? in return distorted the castings. that would explain its oblong narrow shape of the face plate. in return would make it more narrow to fit a head into.
i wonder if its a combination of all these things that made the efx what it is. one thing is certain. we will never know..

The size is smaller than what could be accounted for by having a master pull from the mold, and then a 2nd generation copy, so I do suspect that there was some shrinkage of the mold, which considering the 20-odd years difference between the master pulls (SL vs eFX), would not be out of the realm of possibility. I'll try to get the mask comps up sometime after I reshoot them....I shot them but then deleted the photos accidentally from the SD card....duh!

That's interesting - presumably shrinkage of the mold would result in making certain (if not all) details smaller/ less pronounced too.

Actually from what I can see, the gross details are intact and any size difference at the scale of smaller details would really be negligible (tiny fractions of a mm). Any lack of detail is simply from the cleanup that was done, not in relationship to the condition of the mold. For example there are areas, like under the tusk tubes, that retain more detail because it is natural for someone doing cleanup to be not as thorough there.


By the way, I did find differences between the replacement helmets and the originals. The replacement helmets have a deeper black color, and a bit more shine to them than the original eFX helmets. Also I noticed slight differences in detail which I might try to show at some point. Oddly enough, it seemed as if the replacement helmets had a tiny bit more detail here and there. Go figure.

Could that be because of a thinner paint application?

Possibly but I don't actually think so. I guess it will be clearer when I am able to post comparison shots. I didn't have time to really study them myself yet as it was an impression just from looking at them side-by-side. I actually like the look of the replacement domes better.

Remember what thick paint hid on the TM back then. And from what I'm seeing of the paint job on the eFX, then it is very generously applied - not something you'd do if you want to show off all those details and bumps.