First off I apologies for the large amount of photo's, my intention for this WIP thread was to show start, middle & end shots but having photographed the item in question it was clear from the start that there are more than just a few area's that need work and I wanted to document every area so you can all see how poor this dreaded recast actually is. In the original recasting discussion thread we talked about our disgust that someone dared to recast a VM02 in the first place, well as you will see from the photo's the recaster couldn't even be bothered to deliver something half good!!!!

This helmet belongs to McMaul and after a few discussions and the wanting of a genuine challenge I think its safe to say that I have one here!! We discussed many of the issues and McMaul agreed that I should start a WIP thread for future reference. TBH we spoke at length about a timescale for repair but I think that our original estimate was far too short considering the work so at this point we are best to leave an end date as "open"




The FacePlate

Outside & Inside, Shocking TBH... not even cleaned!



The inside is so rough and poorly done, I'm not sure what i'm going to do about this yet



Where ever you look there are holes to be filled, area's to be filed out, overall the surface will need a re-skim and planty of sanding.. and thats without even tackling the grill which is some of the poorest work i've ever seen.




My understanding is that this was cast in resin and that fibreglass was literally slapped inside to re-enforce the cast, usually this is fine but as you can see, this was done without any consideration for when it dried.













There are many areas of the Faceplate cast that are so thin in places, even with the added fibreglass the job was done so poor that certain critical areas have been missed. Look closely at the pics showing the edges and notice how the sunlight comes thru the wafer thin areas. The top os the face is another major concern as its clear that the resin was breaking down in the mold, even to the point that when the fibreglass was applied the resin collapsed into it.





Now for the Dome!!!

Again some sights that are sadly beyond belief... how anyone (even recasters) can charge for this type of work and expect to get any kind of reputation other than bad is beyond me.... the usual surface breaks, scratches, indents, overlayed resin, cracks, bubbles.. you name it and its on this dome.

the peak is going to take some serious reworking on its own, and the seam will probably need a bit of a rebuild as at one point in the front the seam tapers into two.















The inside surprise surprise is just as bad.... the edges are splitting and have been poorly refilled, the horseshoe piece has been screwed in place and a large amount of slop thrown around it







All in All a mammoth task lays ahead and many hours are going to be spent on this but its the challenge that interests me rather than the recasting issue, i'd rather see this looking like something close to a Vader lid than just a piece of resin poorly made and dusted with primer as if all the new owner had to do was paint it black!!!


Doug, I know we've spoken about this a few times but i'm sure you'll agree that this deserves time and a recording of events... it will be worth it mate.



Future updates will include surface repairs, rebuilds, and overall cosmetic work. I'm not even going to talk about the painting of this kit just yet.



Thanks for looking and I hope the many photo's didn't hinder your broadband




Alex

Bloody hell that is really shoddy it's much worse than the one i got
The one i got is far from good but it's a hell of a lot better than that overall the outside surfaces on mine are ok the grill needs working on and the nose a little and the inside is rough as hell but i dont see any weak spots or gouges anywhere.
Apart from that i need to work on the two keys on the top of the face that correspond with the locator piece in the dome which also is poor.
I'll be interested in following this thread for sure

Man thats terrible, and shocking. I feel for anyone else who unknowingly buys one of these helmets.

Are you going to try to rework it and make it wearable, or just toss it and bite the bullet.

Defstartrooper - I figured that there would be bad and worse versions of this, looks like you have a head start on me mate LOL



Dak Lord - TBH I couldn't see this as wearable at anytime in the future, I'd be concerned for the owner having pieces break in his hands just picking it up, let alone the vigours of costming, McMaul only has plans for this to be a display piece, normally I wouldn't take this on but the curiosity of the challenge got the better of me so its gone to the workshop for a reworking.

I'm shocked at the state of this helmet... it appears as bad workmanship as some of the helmets CSMaclaren bought and is now fixing up. I so feel for all who gets such sorry looking pieces through their door.

Got one question though... may be a heated one, but are you going to restore it to VM V2 standards or is there going to be added tells to make this its own helmet. I can understand the need to make it as close to its source as possible... but I really think it is important that these helmets have features that makes them easily recognizable as what they are - not original VM V2's.

Seriously... I'm not trying to start something here or trying to diss the helmet or anything... just asking...

I hear you, Carsten. If I ever came to part with this in the future (which believe me, I will certainly NOT be doing after all of Alex's graft) it would be sold as a fan made helmet, and not a VM02. I have asked Alex to give it the paint job it should have, i.e- the ANH look, although i love the chequerboard paint scheme, I would never try and pass it off as an original. And I concur with everything Alex said, this was roughly made by somebody who holds nothing but contempt for real enthusiasts and propmakers alike. Looks like I got the Lemon, Gaz. The golden rule is this-NEVER BUY FROM KAMINO CLONE on ebay.

No heat NHM and I fully understand your question.

The intention is to turn nothing into something, and certainly not to pass anything off for what its not, namely a VM02, you can be rest assured of that. McMaul simply asked if it can be salvaged and it is my intention to create a passable vader helmet. A few "tells" can certainly be added if people feel that it should be identifiable in its own right.

I'm open to all and any suggestions or input on this project

Well... the thing is... I sorta feel stupid for even mentioning it... and I just feel like I'm dissing McMaul and you because of this. Sorry, I do feel like a rotten tomato for bringing this up, but glad it wasn't taken the wrong way.

From what I have seen in these pictures - yes... it may be worse IRL than is able to be seen on the pictures - but having been subjected to CSMaclaren and what he has accomplished for some time now... I almost feel that no project is impossible. But regardless... I'm interested in hearing how you are going to tackle the scratches and how to build up the strength and durability of this helmet! Actually... there are a lot of things I'm interesting in seeing the progress of... but one question: how durable is the resin? Is it well cured and not prone to cracks and crumbling? Man... I really it's sturdy, so at least that won't turn out to be a problem.

Forgot if I asked... will it be a pristine idealized paintjob or a shoddy and crappy one like the original?


I'm a bit confused as to what you mean here... so thought I should better get it clarified...

Lol!! I am hoping it will be as lovely as possible, carsten!! I am going to display it with chest armour on a bust, so want it to be pride amongst my statues in my lounge. At the minute, my Attackus maul takes the centre space, but Vader is possibly a contender!!

The paint job will be the last thing on the agende, getting it looking barely structurally acceptable is the real mountain climb!!

And I am eternally grateful to alex for taking this on, he has big balls, you'd think he was a Manchester city fan!!

Well, I see a lot of sanding in your future!

NHM mentioned the horrible kits I have.

In truth, this is cleaner in one sense, and far more detailed, but either the VM02 had all kind of cracks, scratches, inconsistencies, etc. or that KaminoClone just didn't know how to brush on the molding compound properly. Some bumps can be explained by air bubbles, but the scratches --- eeek --- how the heck do you get scratches that horrible when teh VM02 was supposed to be a thing of beauty?

Unless he cast himself a positive and then molded off that again, but if that's so, why not get it right the first time.

I don't understand.

But then there is a lot about that guy I don't understand.

Any further developments on this, Al??

Bump!!!!!!! The sound of tumbleweed is drivin' me nuts, man!!


Alex, get in touch if you're reading this,man.I have tried contacting you several times, bud. Let me know if all is well.

WOAW... that's some serious pass-time without word.

Hope he'll get in touch as soon as possible.

Is there anything I can do to help?

Heard from him yet?

He hasn't been online on the RPF since late October either... wonder what's going on.

It is worrying, but Alex is a good, decent bloke, who doesn't faff about, I have heard he is having some family troubles. so I ain't gonna bend his ear over a mask, Man. He is also top brass staff in the uk garrison 501st, doing the GML job, which must get him around a hundred emails a day (at least)

I have every faith he will show up soon, and show us the extra graft he's done.

I'll leave it until he does just that. Us Sith are known for our infinite patience..