**TDH Exclusive** Real Boba Fett helmet casting

Many of you may recall the Boba Fett helmet casting/plug that was offered a few months back on eBay. I instantly began to research the item and started communicating with the seller. My research revealed that FXdudes declarations were correct and I was able to confirm that the plug was indeed a first generation casting from a REAL helmet. I made an offer after the auction was closed and through kindness,fate or blind luck he accepted my offer.


While the helmet looked warped in the eBay action, the "warpage" was completely due to the lens focal length and camera type (which was disclosed in the auction). As you can see from my pics below taken with the equivalent of a 50mm lens to give a true eye view, there is no warpage in the helmet at all only asymmetry from the original helmet (Photon Magic photographed it he will be happy to answer questions) . This is just another example of why images can be so deceiving! The surface is also not rough it's actually smooth to touch. The illusion is created by the fact the casting was sealed with a copper paint to prevent moisture damage and the green areas are oxidation. Except for a few chips here and there it's in perfect condition.


Before anyone asks, let me say I currently have no intentions of going into the helmet making business. Others here on the board have that market pretty well wrapped up. I just wanted this piece to add to my personal collection but I also wanted to share it with you because it's another great piece in the growing history of Boba Fett. Enjoy!









Just wanted to include this as well. It's a comp showing how focal length messes with perspective.



I have been getting many requests to show comps of helmet well instead of comping it to a fanmade I had a little fun and did my best to splice it on a real one. Not much of a fan of doing this but it was all in fun. Enjoy.


Here's one with Brak's cool little eyes helmet picture. again just goofing nothing more.

Well I guess I was wrong on this one. I was extremely doubtful of the owner's claim...but now I believe it. That was a very very bad picture of it from the auction. I am guessing this is an ROTJ helmet?

Oh my dear, that's amaizing Lee!
So by you stating that you're not into the helmet making business...does that mean this won't create some helmets for us?

Bobo

That is the coolest thing I have seen in a long time! Congrats on the beautiful collector's piece you have aquired. What's it cast in? Plastic or FG?

It was cast in Ultracal all 32 lbs of it LOL.

Hey, congratulations Lee! I'm glad to know it went to a good home.

Lee:

I would like to thank you for the opportunity to be the first person to get to photograph this piece of Star Wars history! Although I don't have the technical expertise to appreciate as much of the details of the helmet as most of the other board members would, it certainly is impressive to look at and shoot.

Mike

HO-LEE-CARP!

I expect to see a "SEEKER face" any moment now...

Great score Lee!

****, ****, Dammmmnn!

You lucky YOU! The dents and nics look consistant with those on a Pre-pro helmet ....... Vive le pre-pro!

While the dents and dings match precisely, it is possible that this helmet was not a direct casting off the Prepro 2, but rather a direct casting of a helmet that came from the same mold as the Prepro 2 helmet, which included the same physical damage.

True, very True.

Sweet dude! You got the hook up!!

I just shat myself!

Thats pretty wild Lee!!!! Congrats!! Hope you didn't have to give your right arm for it

Dented helmet = Dented wallet

Thanks everyone!


Lee

Holy ****!

Congrats man, that's frickin' beautiful!

You Sir, are the man Sir...
Congrats to you,
ST

C'mon...
Give in to the darkside. Make some helmets...

WOOHOO!!!!!!


That is just amazing Lee, i hate to think what it cost, but to me it was worth every penny you paid.

Thats a piece of history you own there.

Nathan

UN...BE...LIEVEABLE!

WOW. I can't think what else to say Lee - except to quote Luke from ESB..."Why didn't you tell me?".

Aweseome.

Chris

WOW!!

That is really Impressive!!!!

...and never worry about the cost; when questioned (interrogated?) by my wife I always refer to my purchases as "investments"

Nice one

Jez

LOL. I had a tough time getting this one past the spousal approval process.

**** great
congrats
now you need to make a great and secure shelf for that

That would make a nice display piece at the TDH MotF panel at D*C this year. {hint, hint}

that is by far the coolest thing yet on this board. rock on lee!!!!

Rogue Studios wrote:
LOL. I had a tough time getting this one past the spousal approval process.

So even a big time prop guy like Lee has to go through the spousal approval process eh? That makes an amature like me feel better! Great find by the way!

everyone has to go through the spouse approval process even if you are not married.

I Appreciate the comments everyone thank you very much.


Bobafettish: YES it will be at DC count on it!

Lee

Never eat more than 2 whole chickens in a given day.

Rogue Studios wrote:

Bobafettish: YES it will be at DC count on it!

YES!!!

cking wrote:
UN...BE...LIEVEABLE!

WOW. I can't think what else to say Lee - except to quote Luke from ESB..."Why didn't you tell me?".

Aweseome.

Chris

Guys..... I DID !!!!
regards, Ken

Looks like SOMEONE (cking) isn't visiting TDH enough...

fxdude wrote:

cking wrote:
UN...BE...LIEVEABLE!

WOW. I can't think what else to say Lee - except to quote Luke from ESB..."Why didn't you tell me?".

Aweseome.

Chris

Guys..... I DID !!!!
regards, Ken

My oh My what a week can do. First Braks finds a pic of a totally new paint job now RS has a casting of a real helmet. We are getting closer and closer every day. TDH Rules. Great pics too, they really show what angles and other things can do to a helmet.

***....way too cool.

That is history.

'm/

mindphunk wrote:
C'mon...
Give in to the darkside. Make some helmets...

Sounds like a plan...?

HOLY S***!!

Miss several days and...!



Magnificent score my friend, simply magnificent Bro!



take care,

-Rex

Very nice indeed! I'd sure like to see a comp shot of this casting with an MSH or MSH2. Is this a possibility?

Rednave
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Very nice indeed! I'd sure like to see a comp shot of this casting with an MSH or MSH2. Is this a possibility?

__________________________________________________ __________

This is kind of a hard spot for me to be in to be honest.

The makers of fan produced helmets spend countless hours of research and time working on them and they really put their hearts and souls into their productions. If I were to post comparisons pictures I feel that would be unfair to these builders and a disrepect to their time and energies.

I'll be bringing this with me to Dragon con so if anyone wants to look at it at the TDH forum I'll have it with me. I want everyone to see it but I ask that it not be put up for comparison with other helmets (side by side type thing). This is out of respect to the helmet builders and I hope you folks understand my quandry.

Awesome catch Lee.......at 32lbs. I can't even imagine the shipping for such a thing Better have one heck of a sturdy shelf.

Rogue Studios wrote:
Rednave
__________________________________________________ __________
Very nice indeed! I'd sure like to see a comp shot of this casting with an MSH or MSH2. Is this a possibility?

__________________________________________________ __________

This is kind of a hard spot for me to be in to be honest.

The makers of fan produced helmets spend countless hours of research and time working on them and they really put their hearts and souls into their productions. If I were to post comparisons pictures I feel that would be unfair to these builders and a disrepect to their time and energies.

I'll be bringing this with me to Dragon con so if anyone wants to look at it at the TDH forum I'll have it with me. I want everyone to see it but I ask that it not be put up for comparison with other helmets (side by side type thing). This is out of respect to the helmet builders and I hope you folks understand my quandry.

How would that be unfair? I'd expect the fanmade helmets to actually look better than this thing...

Awesome catch Lee! You are a lucky man!

Guys don't hassle Lee too much.. he is honoring my wishes, something to be proud of these days...

Ken

Good god.........it looks just like the original pix in my Dad's files..............He worked on the original..........I know of only 2 others in the world.LFL has one,you have one,and one is somewhere in australia...........good score...well done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even if it looks a little rough, appearances are deceiving.
Congratulations RS for this amazing purchase! Can't await pics of the paint job ...

Thanks for sharing the pics.
Michael

It is neither an ESB or RotJ, but believed to be a pre-production (likely pre-pro 2). Lee, correct me if I am wrong.

Lee, where in Florida are you located? I'm near Clearwater. Port Richey to be exact.
Were you at Megacon this year? I was with 501st table,i was hanging with Skaught and Dean.
Sorry i just noticed you were in Florida. I sure would like to see this new Fett piece in person;-)
Michael

Yep was at Megacon I only went for a day mostly to hook up with some friends as pre-dragoncon type thing we do every year I spent most of my time drooling on Hellboy props. I live near Orlando.

Lee

Wow. Amazing, just amazing, Lee.....

Hey, after groping over three different helmets with a caliper here's the answer to what I have been getting asked the most I certainly hope this helps everyone out and this is not to endorse or expell anyones product this is just a plain and simple disclosure of facts. I'm really happy that folks have been so positive to me about this whole thing I thought I was going to be stoned for being an information hoarding infidel . Well here goes.

First off none of the helmets available are 100% accurate they ALL have their imperfections but from the brow down the Mystery helmet is **** close so **** close SOME measurements are exact. Please do not accept the MH as being an exact casting there are some TELLS on it that have been adjusted or fixed to change the asymmetry also the helmet height is off by a few cm's and is very different from the casting also the dent is close but a tad smaller(millimeters)also the dome shape like many others is the biggest problem it's not very accurate but adequate and overall it is a bit more "Squat" than the orig. If the MH was cast in fiberglass it would be a great helmet but the resin casting has a lot to be desired and is very flimsy and not not a good alternative to fiberglass.

I would say one portion of the mystery of this helmet(the MH) is solved it was not a 100% casting of an original it appears to be a rework of some sort possibly for DP studios.

Lee

Well thats some good news!

Now, you're comparing this cast to the pre-pro and the ROTJ mom exhibit right? Does it compare the same to the ESB version of the bucket? I'd really like to know how close this thing is to the ESB...if it is at all?! Maybe you could do a comp pic?

I guess you're still not going to post comparisons of this vs. the MH or MSH huh?

Thanks Lee!

Ok the following you are about to read would be considered heresy on any Fett collectors list but here goes.

Except for a few construction differences the ROTJ, ESB, Prepro are all appear to be the same exact helmet casting I think what makes the ESB look flared out more is the correction they made to straighten out the visor which pushed the upward corner of the mandible in and the bottom of it outward on that one side. Many of these helmets are treated like **** and are exposed to all kinds of abuse which can alter the shape.
Take it for what you want but from what I have determined they were all from the same mold and all of the helmets we have seen except for maybe the stunt versions were delivered and built at the same time. I am going to get some heat for this but that is what I believe and if you disagree that is ok too since I could definitely be wrong on this claim.

This Helmet has similarities to all (ESB,ROTJ,Prepro) helmets I have been able to compare it to and based on what I have here I don't buy too much into the ESB being that significantly different from any of the others.

Lee

I'm not afraid to admit that when I started research into the Boba Fett hobby I believed there were significant differences between the various "real" helmets. However after studying the helmets carefully for several years, I have to agree with RS's assement of the film helmets; they are not as different as our mind has made them out to be.

I believe the majority of the differences we see on film helmets are due to trimming, visor installation, added physical damage, and possibly slight warpage out of the molds, like mandible warp we see on the Jedi,- these are all factors that happen AFTER the helmet has been cast.

Quote:
I believe the majority of the differences are due to trimming, visor installation, added physical damage, and possibly slight warpage out of the molds, like mandible warp we see on the Jedi,- these are all factors that happen AFTER the helmet has been cast.

Man, then Rubies must have seriously raped their helmet pulls if they had anything close to an original mold!

Bartek

I am sooooo glad you came out & said that!!!! I always kinda wondered when I heard people say the "ESB has way more flare to it" and that it must be a different helmet altogether. I have seen pics of the ESB helmet where it looks no wider than the ROTJ helmet. But I have seen pics that MAKE the helmet APPEAR to be wider which has more to do with compression of the pic or stills as opposed to a different helmet. Another thing might have to do with the weight or built of the actor wearing the helmet & costume. I always thought Jeremy B has a pretty long neck, which raises the helmet higher up. The higher up the helmet from the shoulders, the wider it appears. This can be seen in the "banquet room" scene with Vader & Boba in ESB. Another good example of this can be scene in the SW Chronicals book in the series of pics of the pre pro suit (I think it's version 2 PP). The first pic (the long one) the helmet looks to be pretty wide & the helmet is off the shoulders. On the next page you see pics from the same shoot, but one pic in particular (the one were the RF is in the down position) the helmet looks closer to the shoulders & does not seem as "flared". I'll try to get some pics up for comparison.
Just my 2 cents,
Art

Let's not forget camera lenses & focal lenses can alter what we see on film as well. I'm no expert on this but I remember seeing a Speilberg interview from Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade where he was talking about the way the boat scene was filmed to make it look as if the actors were closer to the spinning boat prop that eats up their boat than they actually were.

Maybe the camera just made Jeremy LOOK 10lbs heavier?

bigkidbiggertoys wrote:
Maybe the camera just made Jeremy LOOK 10lbs heavier?

Don't they say the camera always adds 10lbs on to a person?

Lynn

Trust me I got the camera focal length down I have been preaching it from the start and that is exactly why folks shouldn't fall for the flare thing.

Lee

RS - You've just gotta pull at least one helmet from this thing and bring it to DCon along with the mold. I think lots of people here would love to see what the actual helmet would REALLY look like.

You don't have to do any comparisions with the other equally great, fan-created helmets out there, but just so we could see what an original would have been like.

I promise to have some cool stuff to show at DC.

Well, thanks for the lead in to how I shot Lee's helmet....

For those members interested in the technical aspects of this shoot, I shot this with 2 cameras: a digital camera (Canon Pro 90 IS) and a professional 35mm (Minolta 9). With the digital camera, I set the zoom to the equivalent of a 50mm lens on a 35mm camera and shot at ISO 100 in RAW mode. This (50mm equivalent) is considered the "normal" focal length, which most closely approximates the angle of coverage the human eye sees. With the 35mm were shot with a 90mm Sigma macro lens, which has more of a telephoto effect on the helmet. I chose that lens as it is an extremely sharp macro lens for good close-ups. The film was Fuji NPC professional {prints}, ISO 160. I scanned the negatives with a Cannon 4000 film scanner, although my monitor is not color calibrated so I had a hard time getting the colors right. }

It was mentioned that a short explanation on focal lengths might be useful to the board. Although I am no expert, please allow me to share a brief explanation as to how focal length affects images. The focal length of the lens used, along with the distance to the subject, is critical in how the image will appear on film. Varying either of these will create different looking results as to how the subject appears. Angles can change so significantly that 1 object (say a Fett helmet) shot with 2 dramatically different focal lengths (say 28mm versus a 200mm) can appear to be different helmets (although obviously very similar).

This can be tested by anyone with a camera with a zoom lens. Put your object (helmet) on a raised object with even lighting (outdoors in the shade is a good start). Shoot the helmet with as wide an angle as your zoom will allow, and FILL the viewfinder with the helmet so there is no space between the helmet and the edges of the viewfinder. This adjustment is made by getting closer or further away from the helmet. Now, shoot the same helmet zooming your lens to it's most telephoto setting, moving further back so the helmet fills the viewfinder exactly the same as the first shot. Print both photos and view side by side. You should see quite a difference in the appearance of the helmet. The difference is more apparent when your zoom has a bigger range.

Again, thanks Lee for the chance to shoot your great score!}

Just amazing that Lee got this piece. And we will have a peek on that cast at Dragon*Con! YOOHOO!

Robert

Ay, I would kill for a helmet cast of that. Nothing better then an authentic helmet, am I right? Oh well, maybe someone will come across another mold if there is one. Perhaps if someone knows how to contact the maker of the Jango Fett helmet......I dunno, I'm next to desperate for a helmet at this point.

-tubachris

It would be soo great to see a size by size secuence of pics comparing this helmet with the MS3... both in the sames pics. :$.

great find, and great information.

Indeed, impressive and very informative.

Cheers

Why woudln't he make recasts of this helmet. I'd pay soo much money for a recast of that.

Originally Posted by cookiemongoloid

Why woudln't he make recasts of this helmet. I'd pay soo much money for a recast of that.

recast = BANAGE

I know. But this is history. Well, there can be ways around it...like sculpting a model VERY VERY close to it. I'd pay a lot for that. Or I would just pay a lot for what is pictured here.

I would have to say that at least half the people on this board own a "Mystery" helmet that in part has roots in a recast of the origonal so that would be a lot of people kicked off the sight if it was enforced for ownership of a copy of the origonal.

I think in the case of a recast of the origonal helmet, that is a different story. If you get the chance to safely copy the origonal, I dont blame you. If that helmet was privatly owned by an individual then this is different. But its property of lucus films.

I wont hate anyone who recasts that, and while were on the subject is the copy that Rouge has in his possesion that he posted pics of a while back a recast?

It was cast right from a helmet that was pulled from the mold I bought it from the guy who molded the real one.

Ahh, I didnt know the back story to that... But that explains the point I was making, thats cool, if you obtain it from sombody who owns it, even if they didt do the sculpt, and by owns it I mean bought the mold... I still say its funny that most of us own at least in part an altered mystery helmet... thats 90º of Fett right there!

I wasnt calling any one recastings, just trying to define some of the grey ares in recasting.