SithLord tells Vadermonkey the VP run wasn't going forward -- yet it did go forward and a bunch were made.

And as a result Vadermonkey couldn't be trusted... because... the opposite of what SithLord told him actually took place?

Are we missing something here? I really don't follow the "cannot be trusted" accusation.

Thomas probably asked Vadermonkey to keep quiet about any such runs, which it seems he did until now. So, for Vadermonkey talking about it...well after the fact, mind you...Thomas thinks he is not trustworthy.

Either that, or speaking the truth about Thomas making a run of these helmets...even if it was for his bestest buddies...goes against a condition of getting these helmets.

No nothing like that. It is no secret that TD copies exist....it was said none were offered and that is a lie. It is very simple to understand.

The VP thing is an attampt by SL to get under my skin. He is a control freak no doubt and it makes him feel like a big man or something...I dont know...??

I was asked to not reveal who has a helmet by those people that I know have one, and I'm sure they were probably told not to say anything but this is all smoke and mirrors trying to get the focus off the issue at hand.

SL was caught in his own lies plain and simple and he lacks the balls to make it right.

On occasion, lawyers try to cause the jury to disbelieve and devalue a person's testimony by bringing that person's character and reputation into question instead of debating the question directly. It is a tactic of misdirection. I'm not falling for that.

As we now all know the truth that VP castings DO exist and WERE made - which contradicts the "VP not going forward" words. Someone here is either in error, is misled, or is misleading.

I then have to question whether it's Vadermonkey's good conscience and his inability to remain silent when seeing the public being fed untruths that is untrustworthy or, rather, if it's the one misrepresenting the facts to us.

wow, the ugly head of Vader costuming rears itself once more!

"will this never end?..."

This shocks you why? The guy has been wrong so many times, it is difficult to keep track. Never once has he taken the high road and said "Oops, sorry guys, I screwed up." Bah, I should not say "never", more like I haven't seen it happen.

As far as I know the initial run of VP helmets was supposed to be 10 pulls but the mould died after 7 pulls.
The VP run had nothing to do with Thomas which is why I was curious about his remarks to Mike - if Thomas had been responsible for the VP run I certainly wouldn't have got one.

Lets hope that the next ANH Vader helmet is found by one of the good guys.

Amen.

Here is my question about the mold issue. Why not make another mold just for the three remaining that were "promised" to others?

I heard through the vader grapevine that Thomas made it such an unpleasant experience for the moldmaker that the run almost didn't happen and that may have put him off from offering any more casts. I also heard that he cut the line, so to speak, and offered the moldmaker more money to be the first to get a cast thereby cutting ahead of everyone else.

Hi Guys,

As I said earlier the VP run only produced seven casts. I will clear up a few things about the run and anything that happened during it but please be aware this is my recollection of things that happened between one and a half to three years ago and without trawling through hundreds of emails it is just a brief account of it all (although looking at this post it isn't that brief) . I really don't want anything to do with the VP run to be used as an kind of ammunition in an argument. I am not a conflict and controversay kind of guy on forums or in real life - more of a prop hippy really

The whole VP faceplate was supposed to be a bit of fun for fans and kept off the radar as the guy who made them still works in the UK TV and film industry.

I have an online friend who knew the propmaker who got the casting of the VP in the 1990s my friend was a middle man all the way through the run so nobody spoke directly to the propmaker. I saw pics and liked what I saw of the helmet and faceplate and the provenance was really good. I spoke to my friend and he spoke to the prop maker and he agreed to do a run if 10 people were interested to make it worth his while. One thing I will point out was the VP was not an expensive faceplate compared to other high end casts so even though money was involved it wasn't going to make anybody financially comfortable for the rest of their lives

At the time of trying to start a run I genuinely didn't know many Vader fans (I had always been a big stormtrooper collector) so I asked around if there would be any interest and between me and a couple of other people we scarmbled together 10 bodies. Unfortunately people kept dropping out and then becoming interested again then dropping out. Believe it or not the name VP comes from the up and downs of the run. In the end I was taking three casts one for me and the other two for friends of mine. Three went to another friend and one went to Thomas which he has shown off here and on the RPF so it is no secret. Thomas dealt directly with my friend the middle man so any dealings they had were private which was fine by me as after taking an age to get the ball rolling I was just happy to get things really happening.

I know Thomas was very demanding on information and images of the master but that was his prerogative and quite understandable as it is clear his interests are in studying Vader so any information would be appreciated by any Vader fan.

As for the order the casts were given Thomas got the first then there was a gap as the propmaker was busy then the other six were made back to back. I personally couldn't care less who got their casts in what order all I was concerned about was after speaking to people about the VP nobody was let down. To my knowledge (remember I only dealt with a few friends) everyone I knew personally who 'definitely' wanted a VP (and I can only speak for the people on my side of the run) got one. I have spoken to people after the event who were interested in a copy but they had no direct with me at the time but had contact with the other interested parties.

If Thomas paid more for the first cast then that is no problem as then my mate got a few extra quid in his pocket

So in a nutshell any VP stuff was done and dusted about a year and a half ago after a long time in the mix. The reason people did drop out was because of the waiting time but no money was taken up front from anybody money was only taken for a product in hand.

If I could get one for every member of this forum who wanted one I would get them tomorrow and at the same reasonable price. Unfortunately circumstances outwith my control dictated the end of the run.

I hope that fills in a few gaps and if there was any bad feeling between Vader fans due to this run that was never meant to ever have been in the equation it was all meant to be good fun.

If I ever had anything to do with a prop run in the future I hope I have learned from this. I also wish The Prop Den had been up and running and I knew more of the Vader people I do now.

I really hope you guys can work out your differences.

Cheers Chris

Qui,

The truth is I don't know any people waiting for a VP if there are I am sorry. The reason another mould wasn't made was the guy who done it lost interest and seriously at the time I wasn't sure there was any real demand. Looking from were we are standing now on Vader lids there clearly would have been interest.

Also the VP was a really sensible price and if the price was kept the same it would not have covered costs for materials if only 3 more were made.

Cheers Chris

Thanks for the info Chris. That was what I pretty much heard about the VP run and it basically backs up what I heard about Thomas. Either way, I don't think there's ever been any disgruntled vader fans with regards to not getting a VP, at least none that I'm aware of. I think it's a great faceplate and one to be proud of having in one's personal collection. Thomas' statement read something different, almost as though he was personally going to do a recast run of VPs. I'm not implying that he did, just that his statement read that way to me. I'm sure he will come on here and clarify what he meant.

*Perhaps this thread should be renamed to: The SL, TD and VP Controversy or better yet, The Thomas D. Conspiracy Theory.

Hi Darth Karo,

This whole thread is about the TD stuff and I am thinking that I have thrown it way off course and I really do not want to get embroiled in any aggro

I am going to start a new VP thread and discuss a few things with Vader fans on the forum all hypothetical stuff as I cannot speak for the propmaker but if I were to try to raise the Phoenix from the ashes what would people want / expect etc.

Cheers Chris

Yeah, just to clarify I have no ill feelings toward anything VP...having one or not. It is a fine helmet though as is the others mentioned and I look forward to this new thread.

Pete, my take is he was speaking of the only run that happened....but I dont think it matters as it was just said to try and validate his slanderous comments.

Ok, yes Mike, I see what you mean. He was just basically trying to keep you out of the initial run. I had read it differently. Cool.