I kinda doubt they went for the correct paint. In my view they would more likely go for a strong durable paint with a close enough match, than go for the accurate paint that may not be the best for a licensed piece.

Thanks, but that's not what I meant. What I meant - and I know it may be a bit early to ask, since no Limited has been shipped - what are the fysical differences between a Legend cast and a Limited cast. Or is it just these two spots plus the 'hand brushed' paint job and the 'c-scar'? Because the overall look of the Legend's face plate appears to be clean and baby smooth imo.

Excellent Point!

oh, OK. well yes..that's exactly it..the limited will be all polished and clean. an idealized version of the Legend/original....and yes its hard to tell now becasue the production pieces of the limited have yet to be seen..but here is what is posted on efx's website on the limited page...

"This helmet has the asymmetric geometry that many feel capture the true evil essence of Darth Vader. The face mask will have the screen accurate two-toned black and gunmetal sprayed (as opposed to the brushed on Legend Edition) paint scheme. The dents and scratches that were in the original mold have been filled in or removed, giving the helmet a more pristine appearance but still remaining faithful to the original filming prop."

here is the link to their site.... http://www.efxcollectibles.com/c-11-istar-warsi.aspx

does anyone who has received a Legend have serial/edition numbers on their helmets them selves? not just on the box or the metal plaque. but anywhere on or under the dome or on or under the face plate? Ive gone over mine with a fine tooth comb of my two and i cant find any numbers anywhere. i even looked on the little white star wars tag on the face plate. even the straps on the face plate. and the plastic clips on the straps. but nothing.
i emailed efx about this but yet to receive a reply back.
so maybe all of you have received one could go have a look and see if this is the case with yours. it just might be seems how i have helmets 261 and 292. and neither one of them have them anywhere. unless of course im totally blind and cant see them...if that's the case its definitely time for new glasses..

if there is serial/edition number. where in the hell are they?..

please let me know where to look if you find them..ill post what efx says as soon as they reply back to me.

I took a look at my helmet. There was no serial number or edition number. The ONLY way that people know you have the Legend edition is the booklet with the Certificate of Authenticity....well, that and the signed plaque. I better make a copy of the Certificate for insurance purposes. "Yes, insurance adjuster Sir, I DID spend $1,000 on a Legend Edition DV helmet. No, I don't have proof, just this plaque that says so".

This is what I want to know too. The legend looks quite pristine - surprisingly so given all the promotion about it. The limited may well be the value for money choice.

hhhmmmm..wonder if anyone else has checked for the serial numbers also. but im not talking about making sure it is a Legend. becasue the paint scheme and design of the helmet indicates that it is. what i am saying is...if the case is none of the helmets have the serial numbers on them. then how do we know for a fact that the helmets that we have received in the boxes are the actual numbers that they claim to be?. we just have to take EFX's word for it? yeah guess so. but how do they (efx) know that the helmets are the actual numbers that they claim to be?..they are just taking the production companies word for it? lol after all, people are only human and make mistakes all the time..what if a worker started on the wrong end packing up the helmets and put no. 364 into box no. 1 and all the way down the line? why wouldn't they have made sure that the numbers were marked in the helmet's themselves? pus i would think that the serial number would be listed on the COA as well. but it isn't. usually every COA that i have every seen with an edition number has it on the COA as well. but even if it was your still in limbo on weather you have the actual numbered helmet that the box and the metal plaque is claiming it to be. and you have no way of proving that you do..man that really doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever.
unbelievable!

that's a smart move on your part to be insuring this. just too bad that you cant prove that its the edition number its claiming to be. even with the COA..seems how there is no serial number on it as well.

well it does look quite pristine in that photo. but i have it in hand and up close and every little blemish dent nick ding and imperfection is there. even the dome is riddled with subtitle indentations. just hard to see it in photos..im sure as soon as Sithlord gets his 2 he will compare the living bajeesus out of them to see if they do have all the proper imperfections to warrant them a true legend. .

just found out some information about the legend serial numbers...dont know if it is true or not but i just found this out over on another forum...


"eFx has stated on numerous occasions that the serial numbers are completely random. So no one knows if they got a helmet from early on in the run, etc. And the domes and faceplates are not "matched." So getting a smaller serial number means absolutely nothing."


now if this is true.. i cant believe it man.. what a friggin joke..are you serious efx? please say it aint so..

has anyone else heard of this tool?

This is very common. MR did the very same thing with my ROTS helmet, and TOS Enterprise. It is rather pointless to even number them if this is what they have in mind is to issue numbered plaques.

i couldn't agree with you more Darth Stone..

well here is the answer to the serial number issue. Bryan from efx just emailed me back and here is what he had to say concerning the serial/edition numbers..

"The serial number does not represent the order that the helmets were made. Since through the manufacturing process the order constantly changes. With our QC program, pieces are taken out for inspection or touch up etc. So there is not way to number the components and keep them in order.

The plaque number is the number that was assigned to that particular finished helmet as they are complete in the production line. This is typical of all collectibles."

Thanks

Bryan




this is typical of all collectibles? last time i knew edition sizes/numbers were numbers that were sequential to the collectable in the order that it was pulled from the mold. guess i thought wrong.

so this explains why there isn't any numbers on the helmets or on the COA. i would have thought that they would have gone the extra mile to assure that all the face plates and domes and COA were in sequence with one another. so now anyone of us could have the #1 face plate with the #364 dome..or vice versa and whatever other combination you can think of... unless they made sure to keep the first few pulls such as #1 thru #5 in sequence with one another...its like these were just another batch of mass produced toys coming out of China. it is what it is.. but ill admit..im really disappointed.

I've never understood the idea behind numbered plaques. It's nice, but it tells you absolutely zero about the prop replica itself.
It should be a production number, engraved on the inside of the helmet imo.

I've been watching this Efx release with interest, and you have finally nailed it on the head - the reason I have not bought one - It is a MASS PRODUCED replica out of China- If you are looking for a real helmet - make connections on this board and try to get an authentic cast. If you want a COLLECTIBLE than this seems to fit the bill correctly, and is the best one commercially available, albeit a bit pricey. No one will care what dome/facemask number you have but you.

These weren't made by monkeys in a zoo or by the millions on a robotic assembly line. As far as I can tell they were hand-made by professional workers who happen to live in China. Wasn't the original helmet hand-made by professional workers who happened to live in England and were just doing their job.

It really bothers me that people seem to down-grade the value of these helmets just because they were made in China in a factory. I went to China to meet some animators that were doing work with us a few years ago. They were professional working people just like me trying to feed their families. They were quite capable of producing quality work on a daily basis.

I know there are some fantastic copies of the Vader helmet in the collections of some of the members here. But unless I just don't understand something, the EFX helmet is a legitimate and authorized copy that is 2 or 3 generations from the original screen used helmet. That seems like a very real helmet to me. It probably isn't the best one, but I will bet it is close.

I wasn't able to order one in time, but I personally would be very happy to have one of these.