Hondo-san,
The more I study Vader, the more I develop my eye and what I expect out of myself as a hobbyist sculptor and modder. I worry that changes that are too basic are oversimplifications and do not correct for the needed elegance and menace of the remarkable sculpture we know as Vader. In the case of the Rubie's the proverbial apple has been very forcably fallen far from the tree.
Initially I had a theory that I approached the Rubie's accurization incorrectly and began to formulate an easier approach and considered starting all over again.
But then I did this photo analysis with a Don Post Deluxe just now:
According to this photograph, the approach I had taken -- which involved destroying all previous work done to the eyes and bridge of the nose that I did as a newbie following the available tutorials of the time -- was the right call. Notice the arch of the eyebrow and frown of the DP DLX is different than the Rubie's. Notice also the location of the three rectangles in the bridge of the nose (tutorials that tell you to patch the bottom most notch are incorrect because such only makes the nose look disproportionately long -- and that is how you can spot a lot of eBay modded Rubie's recasts -- they all follow the same existant tutorials.)
I thickened the right mouth wall and removed the plastic insert and thickened the nose wall -- that was the right call. I also redid the arch of the nose and that was the right call also.
NoHumorMan's call to lower the teeth holes and to make them rectangular was dead on.
Despite having done all these, the Rubie's fails to look like its older cousin.
So at this point, Hondo, I really don't know what to say. Those who study Michelangelo's David will have a hard time with tourist replica statues. Since I'm not that well studied on that antique scultpure, I may find great joy in collecting the tourist replica. If I've studied the David for a year, I might notice all kinds of subtleties and body language that the tourist pieces just fail to capture -- and then I am ruined.
Similarly, fanmade Han Solo blasters that are basically modified Denix Mauser broomhandle pistols don't do anything for me. It has an approximation of the look but not the real look. When you examine online photos of the real thing, it's like night and day. If you can relate to this, then you can relate to why some people go for machined aluminum parts -- be it for their blasters or for their Bobas.
There is also an issue of what you have an eye for versus what your skillset is, level of patience, and resources (powertools, etc.). My modifications can be attempted by anyone who already own at least a Dremel tool.
The price of all my materials and tools exceed the cost of the helmet.
The "Do these 7 things to make it screen accurate" unfortunately oversimplify the aesthetics and do not do Vader justice, but then again the Rubie's itself does not do Vader justice.
The only saving grace it has is that if you paint it gloss black, the aesthetics are boosted by 200-300% alone despite its great inaccuracies and mishapenness.
Anyways, you can tell from the above photo that the Don Post Deluxe has a wider face. It is as if they took the master of the Rubie's Deluxe and sanded the sides in, then pressed the face inwards at the sides. They also modified the eyes for the worse in order to facilitate front mounted lenses. The angle of the upper and lower inner eyelids are not accurate.
I'll keep an open mind. I'm still constantly thinking about this.....