Just received this beautiful cast of the DJ Vader helmet and wanted to show it !! Its amazing !! Vadermonkeys casting work is impeccable ! Nice and sharp ! Huge shout out to him. So now I have the dome mounted where I want it on to the painting. Any Vader enthusiasts know what paint was used on the original ANH vader ? It would be much appreciated ! Im ready to paint and weather this bad boy!!

Wow so awesome I believe the original paint's used was rollse royce paints
Good luck with painting it I use rustoluem gloss black and metallic grey out a spray can works good for me
Hope there is another run of the DJ such an awesome piece you must be so proud

What a lovely casting.

Rolls Royce paints was used. We know all helmets in the OT used the same black - likely Mason's Black. And ESB and RotJ are most likely the dark Tudor Grey. Some Rolls Royce cars has this exact two-tone look, so check the net for how they look. ANH is a little tricky on the gunmetal used - could be Rolls Royce Tudor Grey or some brand the prop or costume department used for metal highlighting.

Thanks so much for the painting tips ! Its truly an amazing helmet. I really want to take my time and get the paint right on it. I will be posting pics of my progress.

Does this casting show the C-scar?

No. It was sanded down by DJ.

Why?

Because during that time nobody cares about such surface details.

The DJ was really not sanded much at all. And not with sandpaper either - just a rough compound that would not "level out" anything.

Just that drip off the neck and a circle drip of paint on dome were sanded off.

Surface was roughed up just enough to color.

You'll note that the SL also does not have a C-scar to speak of. That is in that TM I guess. I forget.

The C-scar on the on the TM ( unfortunately) was fabricated by adding material. In reality the C-scar is very faint and you need to look at the surface of the cheek while playing with the angle of the light. Its there, but the helmet was casted after the repaint so ths scar itself was under some paint at the time the US (Backer) mold was made.

Guess I was mistaken, sorry guys.

Sorry for going off-topic. The original TM faceplate exhibited at Filmuseum Frankfurt features the C-scar, which is part of the casting. It‘s size and shape corresponds with the C-scar on the original ANH Vader faceplate in Arnaud Grunbergs collection. I have seen it with my own eyes.

The only reason the C-scar isnt that prominent on the SL/DJ as on the TM is because the Baker mold was made after the repaint of the screen used Anh Vader.

There's no way the UK mold was made before the US mold, as the face mask has a crack down the side on the UK mold, which the original now has, which it didn't have at the time of the US molding. So they both come off the re-painted helmet.

The difference in sharpness of the details can be in the silicone used. I've noticed with some model kits for instance that molds made with different silicone on the exact same model kit master offer differences in sharpness and detail - could very well be the same thing happening here.

That sounds correct Carsten but in the end the result is the same. Key surface details and shape of all the authentic casts are different in the end because of multiple reasons during the casting process. So best is to own all of them LoL