How was Vader's helmet modified from ANH to ESB to ROTJ

[Imperial Weapon]

Here it is. Mike Warren´s new ROTJ mask, combined with his ESB dome.
I have a custom ring mount on my ESB dome that allows me to swap it easily. I don't know if Mike´s original ESB ring mount would fit the new ROTJ mask.

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Thank you for showing me this IMO the combination looks perfect could I trouble you for a photey of the dome ring?

 

[Imperial Weapon]

You're not imagining it. That is also in the Arnaud Grunberg collection. Here's some photos I saved when it was on ebay. I saved a lot of photos from ebay back in the day but couldn't afford to buy any of it.

that neck looks kinda like ROTS I wonder why they went back to that?

 

[joevader]

I put my Mike Warren ROTJ (left) next to my GH ROTJ (right), in order to see what makes each one unique.
Both are astounding pieces, great addition to any collection.

Note: As it is common with the GH, I reshaped the dome skirt. And I also rebuilt both cheeks on the mask with polycarbonate, for better visibility. But the rest is intact.

 

[cdyoung]

Thanks for posting that comparison. Those are two beautiful examples of Vader’s ROTJ helmet!

 

[Imperial Weapon]

I put my Mike Warren ROTJ (left) next to my GH ROTJ (right), in order to see what makes each one unique.
Both are astounding pieces, great addition to any collection.

Note: As it is common with the GH, I reshaped the dome skirt. And I also rebuilt both cheeks on the mask with polycarbonate, for better visibility. But the rest is intact.

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I really like the GH ROTJ but is it me or does the dome seem kinda big for it? I mean the original ROTJ dome was from cast that shrunk by about 5%.

 

[Darth Africanus]

I really like the GH ROTJ but is it me or does the dome seem kinda big for it? I mean the original ROTJ dome was from cast that shrunk by about 5%.

I think it's more a case that the GH ROTJ Facemask is too small for the dome rather than the dome being too large.
As I can clearly see between my GH ROTJ an TM that the GH face is much smaller but the domes are not far off in size

 

[pengbuzz]

I think it's more a case that the GH ROTJ Facemask is too small for the dome rather than the dome being too large.
As I can clearly see between my GH ROTJ an TM that the GH face is much smaller but the domes are not far off in size

Yeah; looking at them both, on one, the face appears slightly smaller. I can especially tell looking at where the eyes are near the brow of the dome.

 

[joevader]

Pics usually don't tell the full story. Both the MW and the GH look super awesome in person.
The cool thing is that the GH's smaller mask can be compensated by placing the camera at the right distance, and get that perfect "Vader look".

 

[lethyry]

yes the faceplate on the GH is smaller than say a TM or the Jorg which mikes ROTJ originates, probably because of where each of them were taken (molded from) jorg's was off a tour helmet which were cast off the screen used Rotj, where as the GH was from a LFL source in the early 2000's, i believe, i think it the Gh having a wider flare makes the size difference appear to be more than it actually is.

 

[Imperial Weapon]

I think it's more a case that the GH ROTJ Facemask is too small for the dome rather than the dome being too large.
As I can clearly see between my GH ROTJ an TM that the GH face is much smaller but the domes are not far off in size

yes the faceplate on the GH is smaller than say a TM or the Jorg which mikes ROTJ originates, probably because of where each of them were taken (molded from) jorg's was off a tour helmet which were cast off the screen used Rotj, where as the GH was from a LFL source in the early 2000's, i believe, i think it the Gh having a wider flare makes the size difference appear to be more than it actually is.

Thank you both for mentioning this I was thinking about a GH ROTJ for a while, I think I'll just stick to my current helmet build.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

The GH has always suffered from a warped dome. Some have been able to fix the warp to make it look awesome, but it is what it is. It's still one of the better RotJ helmets out there.

 

[Imperial Weapon]

The GH has always suffered from a warped dome. Some have been able to fix the warp to make it look awesome, but it is what it is. It's still one of the better RotJ helmets out there.

Yeah I mean I don't want my comments on the GH to look like I don't like it I still think its a nice piece and way better than the SPFX one thats just an ESB with tiny tweaks.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

I've seen the GH facemask paired up with Don Post Deluxe domes and that looks great.

If there was a way to alter the actual GH RotJ dome mold to make it more accurate - such as perhaps sandwich the silicone over a correctly shaped dome and then create a new hard shell mother mold, that would fix the warp and make the whole thing perfect. I would imagine. Though, I don't know how the molds were made, so the silicone part could be too thick for something like this.

 

[Darth Africanus]

I've seen the GH facemask paired up with Don Post Deluxe domes and that looks great.

If there was a way to alter the actual GH RotJ dome mold to make it more accurate - such as perhaps sandwich the silicone over a correctly shaped dome and then create a new hard shell mother mold, that would fix the warp and make the whole thing perfect. I would imagine. Though, I don't know how the molds were made, so the silicone part could be too thick for something like this.

The GH ROTJ is an awesome ROTJ I love it to bit's it just has a stunning look that looks very close to an actual ROTJ or Tour helmet.
But it also has the stand out differences to the better authentic cast's TM/DJ/SL/CFO

I think shenphong can possibly do something about the GH ROTJ mold as he has the master molds/casts and I believe he mentioned he is going to work on the molds with modifications.

Would love to see a GH Rotj with a Don post dome have never seen that pairing

 

[Darth Africanus]

I have been lagging with doing what I want to do with this thread

I will be updating lot's of the info and possibly creating it in a form that folks can easily keep with them
sort of like a pdf book or something so stay tune for the continuation of more Vader goodness

and the next section how did the painting change from movie to movie
in terms of application, brand and patterning in the two tone

then accessories/finishes of the Helmet's
in terms of eye lenses and their color's
mesh and their patterns
tusks and their shapes
foam, thickness etc.
and the strapping/harness to attached the mask's to Dave Prowse's head

and Finally the unique helmet's
such as stunt and reveal

But for now here is some up resolution and light editing I did of some of the well known photos of the prop helmets
I added more resolution using Gigapixel AI

 

[joevader]

Here are some pics from Objets Du Mythe in high resolution of the ANH mask. I particularly love the brush strokes of gray.

 

[lethyry]

that's great to hear, i know for a fact that would help a lot of people, i have all the colours and tint codes and mesh measurements scattered in different files in my shop and house lol. would Definitley make things a little easier to keep track of.

 

[Darth Africanus]

Here is the screen used ANH

Up resolution with topaz Gigapixel AI
and some exposure added to see more details

 

[Darth Africanus]

ESB suit photo

Up scaled

 

[Imperial Weapon]

Here is the screen used ANH

Up resolution with topaz Gigapixel AI
and some exposure added to see more details

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Is there better pictures of this? also whats with the 2 pointless strips of velcro on the edges on the side of the facemask