Hi all!
As many of us did, I pre-ordered the EFX PCR helmet right after Celebration Chicago last April. I checked my records and I placed my order on April 21st, 2019.
The helmet arrived yesterday, and I was very excited to open it up!
This will be my review. I'll include both some facts and opinions. So please take my opinions for what they're worth.
First off: overall impressions.
I have to admit when I unboxed the helmet, I had a big grin on my face. Because even through the plastic "clamshell" packaging, the helmet just had the right look. The color palette that EFX used looks really great! I've done my share of staring at reference pictures, and these colors look superb. Then when I took it out and handled it, the size, shape, and proportions all looked excellent as well.
Here are some overall shots.
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First impressions: 8/10.
The helmet interior is fairly basic. It's just bare green plastic with a foam disc in the crown, and some thinner sections of self-stick foam covering the ears, the edges of the visor, and the keyslot area.
From what I understand, EFX doesn't really have a costume license like Anovos, so this was never meant to be wearable right out of the box. If someone intends to wear it, some additional support will be needed. Maybe a hardhat liner or a set of ACH pads.
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Interior: 5/10.
Paint app:
Since I am a painter, this was one of the things that interested me the most.
The process EFX used, however it was done, is pretty amazing. They managed to capture the shapes and proportions of just about every detail on the screen used ESB lid. There are a handful of exceptions that I'll describe further down.
As I mentioned in the intro, the colors themselves look fantastic. The colors all work together to really give it that ESB look we're familiar with.
For such a complex and detailed paint app, I'm giving it 9.5/10.
Details:
Like I said above, this is the area where I'm going to "ding" the helmet a little bit. The things I'll describe won't matter a bit to most Fett fans, but... this is TDH after all, so to be comprehensive, I'll touch on a few things that I noticed.
The first group of observations are things which EFX simply didn't include. This seems odd considering how much finer detail they did capture. Can't say whether these were business decisions, artistic decisions, or simply oversights.
White thumbprints are not present. These features are clearly visible in screen caps from ESB, so it was strange that they're not there. Likewise the "fade" below the killstripes. This effect wasn't reproduced on the EFX.
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Pale gray between the upper and lower RF ear pieces is not there. They left this area red.
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Dome staining. This looks significantly different than the production prototype shown in Chicago. In my opinion, it's a bit too heavy handed on the production helmets.
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NOTE: I did a small mod to my helmet by removing some of this "gunk" from the rear panels. I did not touch the dome though.
"Errors:" I feel that these next items were simply errors in paint application, rather than being conscious decisions.
The biggest oops is on the bottom facet of the range finder ear. The angled part that juts out. The pattern was applied upside down.
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The next area is much smaller. It's one of the little shapes around the dent. A portion that should be silver, isn't.
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So, for details, even considering the "dings" I mentioned, I'll give it 8/10.
Summary:
EFX has produced what is, in my opinion, one of the nicest licensed Fett replicas available. I think it looks better than the Master Replicas helmet from years ago.
This PCR is based on a direct cast of the screen used ESB, and even though it was cleaned up for mass production, the overall size and shape looks great!
The helmet also features metal ears and range finder stalk, as well as flashing LEDs in the range finder itself.
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Is it dead perfect? No, but I feel that the flaws are minor, and if someone wasn't concerned about the collectibility of the helmet by keeping it in untouched condition, they're fairly easy to correct.
I think it's well worth the price, and I'm very pleased to have it in my collection!
My final rating is a solid 8.5/10.
If you have any comments, or would like to share your own opinions or impressions of the helmet, please do!
