Well to be fair I've not seen this auction helmet in its unfinished state, although that would be nice to see. But based on the way the dome was treated, I doubt there is much in the way of fine detail left over on the mask. But still as far as being a really early pull it has some value. It is harder I think to put a value on a replica than on an original. The MP is a promotional helmet, the TM is reportedly from the ESB production, and the SL is "just" a pull from the Baker/ILM mold so each casting will have different things to lend to its value.
PIH Production Vader Helmet Up for Auction / Vader Helmet Discussion
- Thread starter EvilRocketeer
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Well to be fair I've not seen this auction helmet in its unfinished state, although that would be nice to see. But based on the way the dome was treated, I doubt there is much in the way of fine detail left over on the mask. But still as far as being a really early pull it has some value. It is harder I think to put a value on a replica than on an original. The MP is a promotional helmet, the TM is reportedly from the ESB production, and the SL is "just" a pull from the Baker/ILM mold so each casting will have different things to lend to its value.
Guys - I like Profiles and History, but I get skeptical with their Star Wars items. The description on the Vader hemet was vague. It should have been more clear and said this was not used in the film. I guess if you were dropping that kind of cash you would have figured it out.
How did the other items like the Blaster and Y wing do? Are the final prices posted anywhere?
How did the other items like the Blaster and Y wing do? Are the final prices posted anywhere?
You may check out the prices realized for Auction 43 at the site below since they are not yet posted on the PIH site:
iCollectorAuction43
iCollectorAuction43
Too Much Garlic
Master Member
In what way do these now appear to be different than on the UK masks? Is it because they are intact on the Malone picture?
Well not in and of itself. If it was just that the knobs and stalks were all intact that would just suggest that the UK masks came from a later mold assuming the tabs were the same. In a nutshell it looks like they were replaced, namely after the Baker/ILM mold was taken, again assuming that the UK mask tab profile is earlier. But there are little things, how they are seated against the top surface of the mask, how the glue sticks out of their bases in certain areas, imperfections on the side wall, end edge shapes, longitudinal curvature, screw tilt, etc. So I think it makes sense that after the Baker/ILM mold was taken they put a new set on for the tour. That's a theory, but based on what look to be a number of differences.
Too Much Garlic
Master Member
Actually, as I've mentioned to someone else. What you are seeing on the UK style masks are the intact tabs being molded. It is very likely that the blobs on top of the tabs are caused by the intact tabs ripping the mold in that area when the original helmet was removed from the mold. And the breakage seen on all the stems correspond with breakage as seen on harder plastic - such as resin and not something you'd get from the softer, pliable plastic used for the 3M tabs - in the first casting and the remaining of the stems blocked up the holes for the subsequent casts, giving the continuous broken tab look. You would not get clean breaks on that type of plastic the tabs are made of. That is the only logical explanation for the look of the tabs on those casts and where and how they are all broken off.
I still don't believe the Baker mold was taken while the helmet still looked like this.
I still don't believe the Baker mold was taken while the helmet still looked like this.
I know. But I wasn't talking about the blobs.
Did it ever occur to you that what you are seeing may not be the original breaks in the stalk bases? In fact, the break points differ depending on the casting. So yes, the breaks probably occurred in the resin at least as we see them, but if you look at my post I didn't mention that as a reason (that's why I say but, there are little things), and because they can break in the resin afterward, we don't know what the tabs looked like after molding of the UK mold in terms of stalk breakage. But again, I wasn't talking about the stalks or the blobs as a basis for my reasoning.
Neither do I, so I'm not sure why you say that? I believe they would have taken off the original tabs, filled the holes to make the Baker/ILM mold, then after the molding of the Baker/ILM mold remove the filler and add new tabs. Those are the tabs we see later on, the tour tabs, versus the production tabs that we see left over on the UK type castings.
Too Much Garlic
Master Member
We have three pictures showing those exact same tabs - the VH1 domeless picture taken during production, the Elstree blue carpet picture and the Malone picture. Tell me - what details do you think doesn't match between the tabs on those three? Certainly similar color and style.
Yes certainly the same kind of tabs and what appears to be the same kind of plastic. I've done a lot of side/top view closeup photography of the tabs on my TD ANH, the TM, and the DS 20th C (as you probably already knew) and compared them to the ones at the time of the DP licensing arrangement and there are differences as I mentioned in my previous post. But I think it is the kind of thing left for others to investigate further since I just anticipate the usual back and forth arguing as anytime I bring something new up. I'll just drop the seed of question for now whether they are the same or not. Personally I don't think so, at least at this point from what I've studied.
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