I picked this up from a prop guy in 1996 or 1997 I think. He said he had access to one of the studio molds and made 4 copies. I did some minor work to it: I cleaned up a few cast imperfections and put Bondo on the inside of the helmet to cover the fiberglass. Prior to the days of DVD's and all the information available on "today's internet", I did the best I could to finish it out. I found some tusk ends from a metal supplier that I thought at the time was close enough. I also made the lower chin mesh (yes, now I can see it is inaccurate). I then painted it black and stuck it on display behind my desk - for 20 years. Now I'd like to make it into a more accurate representation. Can someone tell me what this is? ROTJ? If it helps, the person that gave me the helmet also gave me the chest armor. The armor looks a little taller and narrower than others I've seen.

Any help would be appreciated. I want to make it as accurate as possible.

Also, this is the first forum I've ever joined - be kind if I've botched something or have ignored some sort of forum decorum.

Everything I see on that helmet points to a Don Post Classic action or Deluxe recast. Can you share a picture of it without the dome on it, to see the mounting system on top of the facemask?


I'm 50% on it being Don Post. Its got rounded nose ridge slots. the neck looks like it was squeezed together a bit too much making it too slim. the center strip on the dome is very wide and soft.

On the other hand I'm seeing some really sharp details on the cheeks that could lead to believe otherwise.

The two are (somehow) joined together. They wiggle a bit, but won't separate. Looking inside, there's definitely a ring of some sort that holds the two together, but it looks like there's been bondo added to lock the two in place - while still allowing for a bit of wiggle. It's odd.

Did you get it from the guy who runs Collectors Gallery Online ?
Back at that same time he was selling Vader lids saying the were 20th century without too much other info off his website.
I bought one but sent it straight back as the paint flaked off straight away & the centre ridge was so soft it could not be "from an original"
It looks exactly Like it
In hindsight now I know a lot more I'd say he was running his own recast business & praying on the Ill informed.
Perhaps he sold you one of those casts?
....or perhaps not.
Either way dont stress, it's got a great finish & would look great in your house. If you enjoy it -- That's what counts

No, when I got it the cast was raw gelcoat and fiberglass. Straight out of the mold. The guy that cast it owed a company that did fiberglass theming and prop work and was based north of LA but I don't recall the company name. Not that it matters, but at the time he had a big job making massive pieces for the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas - just prior to the hotel opening. My original question is still the same: Is this a ROTJ helmet or ESB?

It's not a DP anything, unless it's been radically modified (and for the worst).

It looks like a Rubies recast, and awful, I'm sorry if that sounds rude, not meant to be offensive.

yeah after seeing the additional pictures, I can tell this is not a DP and my next guess was gonna be a Rubies, but I've never owned a Rubies to recognize the details. Is the grill on the Jaw vent molded on to the rest of the helmet??

We're talking the helmet from the Rubies life-sized Vader statue and I think you may have nailed it .

Dave

I put the grill on the jaw vent. Like I said, this was before high quality DVD's and I didn't realize the mesh was to be inset, not flush. I'm going to fix it.

BTW, I'm not familiar with all the mask molds/types. Can you enlighten me on what a "Rubies" is? If you think it was used for a life sized vader statue, that makes sense considering the company that gave it to me. They did contract work and didn't sell anything directly to the public. That would also explain why the face and dome are connected - never meant to be worn.

Hi Eric,

This is a bit of a write so my apologies in advance, lol, and of course any corrections to the information that can be offered are more than welcome. The Rubie's Costume Company usually makes inexpensive, mass produced, costumes and accessories and, for better or worse, currently holds a license for Star Wars. Their "Supreme" plastic Vader helmets are what they are currently producing but the helmet in relation to your casting is very different.

In an odd set of circumstances that I would love to know more details about, in the mid 1990's Rubie's won a bid to produce a high-end full sized Darth Vader statue right out from under the noses of Don Post Studios who were simultaneously producing similar statues of Boba Fett, a Stormtrooper, R2-D2 and C-3PO, as well as their "Deluxe" line of Star Wars helmets. I say it is odd as apparently the contracts were exclusive for each character independent of the others and would have expected Don Post to sweep up the contracts to do all of the characters in question. The Don Post Deluxe helmets were of extremely high quality for the time and were the first products of their kind that could legitimately claim to have screen lineage (however convoluted that lineage actually was and how much or little of that lineage ended up in the final product -- things ain't changed that much, lol).

With that bit of background in place I don't know much about the Rubie's Vader statue. I can say that the helmet is an entirely different source from the Don Post Helmet and does look to be of a similar origin to the 20th Century fan-made Vader helmets -- so-called because they derive from 20th Cent Fox Publicity Tour helmets which were made by ILM's Don Bies to help publicize the "new" Special Editions of the OT. So it's entirely possible/logical that Lucasfilm would have provided the same source helmet to both Rubie's and Don Bies. I've seen one fan-casting which is said to have derived from the Rubie's Statue helmet and it does seem to share a lot in common with the 20th in geometry as well as having the 3M tabs on top. Hopefully those more knowledgeable can comment.

To carry the story a bit further Don Post lost the Star Wars license around 2003-4 and Rubie's picked it up. At this point Rubie's either bought the molds or recast the Don Post Deluxe Vader (very poorly) as their own fiberglass cast limited edition Deluxe helmet. These were sold a lot through Sharper Image and are recognizable by their square stair-step stand. I mention this so as not to confuse the two helmets.

For further research starwarshelmets.com is a fantastic website with great photos and is a fun read with excellent write ups on all of these.

Cheers,

Dave

Well written and thorough reply Dave. I also see features in the mask that match the Rubies statue helmet, such as how the eyebrow extends down into the nose bridge. The dome could be a cast from any of the Rubies line IMO. If it were mine I'd finish it as a ROTJ.