Could I get some help from some of the experts here

I bought this on ebay 3 weeks ago. Guy claimed it was a DP deluxe. I've got it back up for sale there, but I'm hesitant in its validity. Does this look like a real DP deluxe to those of you that would know for sure? All the earpieces are aluminum, but one thing I have noticed is that they're not painted. Any help would be appreciated. If it's not a DP deluxe then I'll pull the auction and will begin taking steps to get my $$$ back.

Thanks,
Cruzer

It looks like a repainted DP Deluxe to me.

i'd agree. the bucket looks like a DP Deluxe but the paint job looks different to the others i have seen.

Thanks guys, someone else has also mentioned that it may be a SFP helmet. I've ended the auction and have contacted the original seller to begin the steps of returning the item. Hopefully it won't go as far as filing disputes with ebay and Paypal.

Thanks,
Cruzer

Also the black cloth interior is missing

Looks like a repaint and the black interior indeed is missing inside.The little plack should on the lower right side of the helmet.I think that the visor is completly cut out on the real dp deluxe.

Wow, lots of good info. The buyer has refused a return and insist that it is real because he worked for Don Post. I'll check the rf right now, and lorenreale I recognize your name...weren't you the one who questioned it genuinity via ebay and I told you I'd check...small world...well I'm checking.

Thanks FP for chiming in, I totally trust your opinion and knowledge without a doubt.

let me check
Cruzer

Well, if he worked for Don Post this could be explained that he got an unfinished one, or whatever other story adds up. The fact remains, if you were not told it was an 'altered' or 'not a retail version' of the helmet then you're due your money. After all, I could work for Ford years ago, have gotten the shell of 1967 Mustang as an employeee; it would not allow me to sell it as a genuine andcomplete car no matter how nice a job I did on it..

Yeah, lorenreale you MAY be right when it comes to dealing with Paypal and ebay disputes and trying to get my $$$ back...but I just took of the all aluminum ear pieces and MAN are they IMPRESSIVE. I'm thinking I should just cut out the visor area for a full visor, and find someone to give this thing a kick butt paint job. There are no LEDs in the RF and the top cap seems to be glued on. But it seems to be the original due to the stalk matching the ear pieces. It doesn't seem to have a repaint job...so I wonder what happened there?

I don't really need my $$$ back, so maybe this would make for a nice project.

Cruzer

They probobly either got greedie and kept the RF guts (they're pretty nice, I used tehm in one of my helmets for a long time) or this could have simply been a prototype DP ROTJ paintup if it doesn't appear to be a repaint. But if that's the case, the paque doesn't go with this helmet, because I've seen #600 + that were the same cheesy ESB paint jobs. But for them to get to the ears to remove them for stripping paint, they would have had to rip up the lining and the plaque. Hence the seperate plaque.

Dude, It's a DP DLX bone structure without a doubt. Wether it was a proto, or a production, it doesn't matter, it's still a DP DLX core. The casting of the helmet, bondo filler here and there, metal ears with holes, visor "T" inside like the DP vinyl helmets, the front monted visorect. ect Can't stress it enough. This isn't an opinion ... If you want PROOF POSITIVE, rip the t-visor out. If you're going to redo it anyway. You will find that the plastic visor is actually embedded under some filler in "tabbed" areas on each side of the red portions of the helmet on each side. That cannot lie.

FP

Rock 'n roll. Well, you were only selling it because you felt that painting it
was going to ruin the collectibility. Well, that was already done, taking you back to square one and if $ 250 that you paid seems sensible (and that's always a personal choice), go make an incredible Fett.

Looks like it all turned out great and as far as ebay, noone inadvertently bought yours for $ 250 thinking they had something worth $ 600 or more.

Now this is over, go have fun.

The rf is solid resin. The rf stalk appears to be glued in with CA glue and then the whole rf painted with black paint. However, the rf stalk has the same texture as the ear pieces so I'm concluding it is the original.

I wonder how this thing would look with a kick butt paint job? Man I wish I knew how to paint Boba buckets!

Cruzer

There are artists you can contract the work to. Just review these pages. As always, great work costs money.

You're right FP about the visor, it's riveted underneath filler in 4 different areas. Too bad the rf isn't the original, that would have been way cool to have.
Well now I'll have to figure out what to do with it.
Thanks guys,
Cruzer

Whoa, that changes some things. If the stalk is resin ... then it could be from a Don Post Boba Statue There were many DP Statues that were released with resin stalks The problem with that theory though, is there would be a gigantic plug recepticle in the helmet aroung the dome area, the shape of a pyrimid that's had the top chopped off if that makes sense

Nevertheless ... if you're going to repaint it, lay this puppy to rest, and remove the visor. It will chip your mandibles because as I said above, the visor is monted with tabs, and in the tabbed areas, they put bondo on top to act as an acnhor. The edges of the visor at the squint are also recessed behind filler ... pretty much as shown in the following pic ...



If it's like this, it is a REAL DP without a shadow of a doubt


FP

Well, that could take us back to an employee assembled helmet from various parts they had handy:

"Hey, can I make a Fett helmet from this pile of parts ?"

"Sure go ahead."

And years later, here we are.

Man Lorenreale...this theory of yours kills me. LOL!

Yep FP, that's the exact layout of the visor tabs. As for the rf, it's solid resin, but the stalk is aluminum that matches in texture to the ear pieces.

That still doesn't explain the paint job. It's doesn't look like a repaint what so ever. I'll have to ask the original owner what happened.

Now I'm wondering if I shouldn't mess with it

Cruzer

Oh, I thought you meant the stalk was resin, sorry. So, then we're definately back to a repainted DLX. If the paint was stripped, you wouldn't know either way.

There is one way to tell a true DP paintjob though. The kill stripes were stenciled horribly. There was usually overspray all around them.

My opinion, given the info you've provided is that it's a repaint. I could be wrong there, but I'm not about it being a real DP

FP

Sounds good to me FP....so then should I mess with it and put in a full visor? Or do you think it's some sort of factory oddball that I shouldn't touch because the guy worked for em. The seller was Monstermasks on ebay if that matters any.

Thanks,

Cruzer

Luv ya FP!

Lorenreale...your conspiracy theory is killing me!



"If it weren't for those mettling kids and their manegy mutt"

Mystery solved

*The guy just emailed me, was nice in his reply too until the part about not bothering him anymore , and said that he got it when he worked for DP and that he was part of the team that helped create the paint scheme for this helmet and that it could be an old paint master for the approval process.

Thanks guys,
Cruzer

Well, the paint really does look like something they'd do

Repaint it anyway


FP

Now, I wish I bought the dang thing instead of calling attention to it.

Just Kidding. Again, all's well that ends well. Get it painted, by a pro, and have somthing pretty darn special.