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Don Post Deluxe
Darth Vader Helmet |
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| Don Post's Deluxe Darth Vader was
one of their most successful and quite importantly, accurate helmets the company
produced. Fashioned out of fiberglass they had a wonderfully glossy
appearance and at the time was a massive step-up in quality for a Star Wars
movie collectible. It is a very accurate helmet cast from an original ESB
helmet which only had one glaring fault - for some reason the grey/black
colour scheme on the face plate was reversed - and this was believed to be
at the request of Lucasfilm Licensing to differentiate them from an original
prop. This has never been confirmed but if it was the reason then its a
pretty daft one since its hardly rocket science for a fraudster to repaint a
helmet the right way! From a licensed perspective, the OT Vader Helmet has
never been matched, and the great shot above from CSMacLaren fully
demonstrates that. Below some photos from CKing of
his (now sold) low-numbered Deluxe Fibreglass Vader. This particular helmet
is especially good as it has a really low number (see plaque photo its numbered just
86), and therefore benefits from an overall better shape (later ones had
additional warping as the same mould was used again and again, as was not
effectively cleaned over the production run of 1000) |
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| As you can see its in fantastic
condition, and (as of Jan 3rd 2003) is about to go up for sale on ebay.
The photo's below so the face, along with its certificate and plaque
showing its low number (#86). If i'd had a few more quid I wouldn't be
telling you about this now. I'd a done a quite deal with Chris and this
baby be mine! Oh well, so many props, so little cash! |
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The Don Post Limited
Edition Deluxe Darth Vader (DP Ref 82100). Only 1,000 of these helmets
were ever made, and you can therefore expect to pay circa $400 in this
depressed market for this
great helmet, although price varies greatly according to condition
and plaque number. It was supposedly moulded from an original ESB film-used
helmet - although there is some disagreement over whether the Dome is in
fact a ROTJ. It's made from Fiberglass and therefore
fairly heavy. Each one has a plaque inside and is individually
numbered, early numbered ones are especially good as they have by far the
best shape. Note that for some reason the face colour scheme is reversed (gray
where black should be and vice versa. This can be noticed on the photo's
below which shows how it looks "out the box". CKing's helmet
(above) was extensively modified by him with new lenses, tusks, grills and
a re-spray. |
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Above, a couple of excellent photos sent to me by
OOhYeahKL
of his old DP Deluxe. Each helmet has a Don Post "Original" plaque on the
inside, expect to pay big bucks for a low serial - numbered helmet.
Despite the cost, you wont lose your money on it! See the
"fans" section on this site to see his new complete Vader
mannequin. Below, another great shot from CSMacLaren of his helmet. This
time from a slightly different angle illustrating how the helmet varies when
viewed from slightly different angles. The armor is fan-made - not sure of
source. |
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Don Post Classic Action
Darth Vader |
| In order to address the
"mid-market", DP produced the Classic Action Vader using the the same moulds as
the Deluxe - except its a mass-produced item in Vinyl rather than the Deluxe's Fiberglass - nevertheless its an extremely nice helmet. |
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| Above, though it looks a little
rough, these two shots of Alex's DP Classic Action helmet are the
"before" and soon he'll be posting the "after"
following some extensive work. Based on the same mold as the excellent
Fiberglass Deluxe helmet it is nonetheless a great base to work from. |
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Above more shots of
the Don Post C/A
Vader (DP Ref 82108). These cost about
$170 a
couple of years ago, but the price is rising to $600-$700 for a nice one on ebay. It's made from the same mould as the
Deluxe and therefore the dimensions are 100% spot-on (although the
features are obviously softer). It's made from a hard vinyl plastic and is therefore much
lighter than a fiberglass helmet, and is therefore ideal for costuming. |
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| Many prop makers and costumers use
the Classic Action as an excellent base with the one above owned by Thomas
(aka SithLord) shown in its original untouched
condition. However many have customised it (like Anson below), adding a custom
spray job and replacement lenses, grilles etc. However, given the build
quality
and the level of work that's required to get it to "display" standard
its now just plain overpriced and imo you should spend your money on a decent
fiberglass
copy instead! |
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| Above from Anson, a couple of shots
of Hannon's modified CA with tusks, grills and excellent paint-job.
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| These four images above and below
show how fantastic a modified Don Post Classic Action can look. This one
was owned
and modified by Steve the Swede, its been given it a custom re-spray, new
tusks and replacement grills. |
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The following three shots are from Michael of his heavily modified Classic
Action. As you can see he's done a huge amount of work on it and the results
are just incredible. |
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| The final shot being a comparison
against an unaltered helmet and clearly illustrates what can be done with
this helmet with time, effort and a big slice of talent!
Below Juan from Puerto Rico recently sent me this pic of his totally
re-worked Don Post Classic Action Vader- again absolutely superb
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| And just to finish off a couple more
pics of another great re-worked Don Post Classic Action ESB Vader helmet,
this one by Brandon Lee |
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Don Post Standard
Darth Vader Helmet |
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This was the very first helmet Don Post produced back in
1977, along with the Stormtrooper and Don Post continued to produce them
until the late 90's, passing the moulds over to Rubies to continue.
These come up on ebay all the time and typically for $50-$75 |
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| They're really
undersized and made of vinyl such that the face mask is quite pliable and
can be bent with ease. The separate dome/helmet section is much firmer
though and if dropped from a height it would probably crack and break . I remember being extremely buzzed
when I bought mine way back in 1980 from Disneyland as my very fist Star
Wars Helmet. We all have to start somewhere - I've still got
it now. |
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| Above right a copy of an advert
from one of the SW poster mags from 1977/78. On the inside they have
stamped "Star Wars masks Copyright 20th Century Film Corporation" in big
capital letters on the inside of the dome. |
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| Above a shot of the dome/helmet
section removed showing the single strip of velcro that holds in in place.
Such is the difference in size and weight between a Standard Don Post and
a more accurate Fiberglass helmet that the latter needs far more to hold
the helmet section in place. Below some shots of a rather nice modified
Don Post Darth Vader helmet - where one of our readers has taken it upon
himself to strip, modify and repaint the entire helmet. |
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| And then just to show you what CAN
be done with a really cheap helmet, Jeremy Skidmore took his and gave it a
complete overall. Superb! |
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