| Don Post Deluxe Darth Vader was
their most successful and interestingly accurate helmet 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. CKing's sent me some photos of
his Excellent low-numbered Deluxe Fibreglass Vader. This particular helmet
is especially good as its a 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. |
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DP Classic Action
Darth Vader |
| In order to address the
"mid-market", DP produced the Classic Action Vader form 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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DP Deluxe Boba Fett |
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Above, a couple of nice pictures of
the limited edition Don Post (Fibreglass) Deluxe. Like the Deluxe Vader is
only "available" on ebay, again at typically $600 -$800 ish.
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DP Deluxe Tie Pilot
Helmet and Chest Box |
| Here's some photos of the Deluxe
Helmet and chestbox which I've recently acquired. Mounted on it a bespoke
plinth it's an impressive sight. Given its made of fiberglass it also weighs
a ton! |
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| I'm not sure as to the history of
this helmet, and specifically whether it was a custom sculpt from Don Post
or whether they took maybe half a TIE helmet and mirrored it (as with the
Deluxe and Classic Action Stormtrooper) |
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| Again as with the Stormtrooper its
not the most accurate but it is a very impressive collectable and the finish
on the gel coat fiberglass is superb. The ear detailing looks unusual
however Ive seen original TIE helmets with different gromits used so it may
well be the helmet Don Post used as reference |
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| Front on it suggests they did mirror
one side of the helmet |
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| Being fiberglass its obviously just
a since piece so there are no gaps or joins as on the originals (and ABS
replicas). There's a stamp on the rear underside (which you can just see
here) and also a brass numbered plaque on the inside |
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| Above another Don Post DELUXE
TIE fighter helmet (this on number 72), sold a few years back on ebay for $925. |
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Above the Tie Deluxe with Chest box
(DP Ref 82115) , this particular one owned by Andrea77 from Italy. |
Above is an interesting one from Steve the
Swede, its a modified DP Classic Action Tie Pilot with a re-spray to
match a specific ROTJ film-used prop. It has additional areas of silver,
often added to help increase the contrast of the helmet when used
on-screen. Its similar also the the recent $27k ebay-sold real prop here. |
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Above and below are 5 images from Andrea77 in Italy
who bought this very low numbered Don Post Deluxe TIE around eighteen
months ago, which I am sure he is extremely pleased with. |
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| Made of fiberglass, this specific
one is just the 5th TIE helmet produced by Don Post so is quite a find! |
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Classic Action Tie Pilot |
| I've had a couple of questions from
readers over the different Don Post TIE helmets and the one produced by
Rubies. In the 1990', Don Post made THREE different TIE helmets from TWO
different base moulds.
The "Full size mould" was probably part "cast from original", part
modified and was used to create both the Fiberglass Deluxe TIE Helmet
(which came with chestbox and stand - see above), and the Vinyl Classic
Action TIE Helmet.
Don Post also produced an "Undersize Mould" which was used to
create the Standard TIE Helmet and was a new sculpt so had NO direct
link to an original helmet whatsoever. When Rubies took over helmet
production they used the Standard/Undersize moulds, not the Full
Size/Deluxe/Classic Action. |
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| Above left is the Don Post Classic
Action, and a comparison against the Standard Don Post (photo's not to
scale!). Not much
difference in the look of the helmets, although if you look at the
following photo of a Standard DP Tie (Owned by UKG Member Foxy SL/TI 3145)
and the Classic Action (UKG Jools) you can see the difference is
significant. See fan-made TIE's here with
comparisons against the DP C?A |
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| Below a couple more shots of the Classic
Action. Note the small "plaque"
on the top of the underside image, that is not present on the Standard
(its just stamped). The dimensions of the screen-sized C/A are (in inches) 11W x 15L
x13H, whereas the standard is 11.5W x 13.25L x 10.75H |
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| Above another comparison shot of the
Classic Action (Left) against the Standard DP. These shots above and below
have been sent to me by Martin Johnson. In order to troop he's spent a lot
of time modifying his helmets and these mods include integral fan and helmet amp system
(see pics below) |
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The insides have been filled in with spray foam, then covered with black liquid
electrical tape. Small black switches were mounted on the bottom of the
ear pieces to run the fan and the amp.
The Amp board is tucked away in one of the ears as you can see, and a hard
hat liner has also been fitted.
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| Finally below a nice shot of DarienVader's
Classic Action TIE helmet. Jim's the PRO from the Midwest Garrison
of the 501st and has spent a significant amount of time and effort on
his helmet and is I am sure well pleased with his efforts - nice one
Jim!! |
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| Now I know they're not the most
accurate Star Wars Helmets produced but I REALLY like DP's Classic Action
range. Marty's just sent me these photo's of his CA helmets so many thanks
to him. |
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| As you can see it derives form the
same mould as the Deluxe - its an accurate helmet although like most in
the DP range has been made more sanitised and symmetrical in order to
please most fans. Its screen size which is great. |
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| Marty's sent these greaat pics of
his two CA helmets side by side so you can see the size differences
between these two helmet types. Both are just about screen-size accurate,
although the TIE is the more accurate helmet overall. |
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| Both helmets actually look their
most accurate from the back- nice to see the TIE pill-box. And below a
shot from above shows how DP cleaned up these helmets and made them more
symmetrical. If you look at screen-accurate helmets from this view the
warping is really significant. |
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DP Deluxe Biker / Scout
Trooper |
| The this is a real rarity! Don
Post brought out the later additions to the "Deluxe" range just at the
wrong time, when interest in the movies had dipped to a real low point
before Episode I. Only 25 of the Deluxe Scout helmets were ever made due
to lack of interest so they're quite rare. |
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| Its current owner, Brian lives in Encino, CA which is only about 8 miles or so from where Don Post Studios was located.
He therefore took the opportunity to pay them a visit following a phone
call and found an employee who was willing to part with it! |
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| Brian suggests that as there's
only 25 of them out there (and GL supposedly has #1), maybe you guys
should get together and form your own club!! |
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| Thanks to Neil for sending me
these pics and to Brian for letting us all see this ultra-rare helmet
from Don Post, one of jus 25 ever made. This one is marked Number 2! |
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| Below a great comparison from
Andrea comparing the DP Deluxe with the Altmann's. |
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DP Deluxe Stormtrooper
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| Here's some new shots (Aug '04)
from Tommi of his DP Deluxe Stormtrooper helmet, which are practically
the same as the helmets on their life-size
Statues (see here). The overall likeness is okay but the facial dimensions are wrong. Supposedly Don Post took the mould from half an original helmet and then
mirrored the opposite side, its symmetry resulting in a slightly unusual look
about it. |
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| Whether this was because the original helmet was damaged,
incomplete, or because Lucasfilm didn't wish to have exact matches
around is unclear. However despite these glaring inaccuracies, The
Deluxe (DP Ref
82102 - limited to 1000) is still a nice helmet. |
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| As mentioned above its from the
same Don Post cast as the soft-Vinyl Classic Action (see lower down) and
exactly the same as the helmet on the life
size statue, except for the eye lenses which are obviously
transparent on the helmet but not on the lifesize. Here's a comparison
pic below of the Lifesize (left) and Deluxe (right). |
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| I recently snagged myself one of
these. I know its not the most accurate but I just HAD to have it! |
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| The ubiquitous "brick wall" shot -
sorry I must get a decent photographers background! Anyway - this
helmet is HEAVY, feels like a huge lump of fiberglass. The build quality
is really nice and the glossy finish perfect (MR please take notice!). Inside,
the finish is really
nicely finished with black padding although its very hard to see out
through the eye lenses (not that you'd ever troop in this anyway) |
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| The only criticism (away from the
overall
accuracy) is the mic tips which are just resin hunks. Below, the rear
actually looks quite accurate. |
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| The tube stripes are also painted
black as opposed to blue, but overall I suppose thats a minor point |
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| Mine came with this interesting
looking stand from Don Post. Similar to the TIE stand it was an early
prototype idea which was subsequently shelved. |
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DP Deluxe X-Wing |
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| You don't see many of these
around. I think it was probably quite a small run and like the other
Deluxe Range was made of fiberglass and then detailed on the interior. |
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DP Deluxe Anakin Pod Racer Helmet |
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| Again this one was not a big
seller, however it was an extremely impressive prop replica from Don
Post. Only 25 or so were ever made. |
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| Above and below, Merlin K sent me
these pics of his Don Post Deluxe Pod Racer helmet he got back in 1999. As
previously mentioned there were not many Deluxe helmets made and the range
was a disappointment to Don Post who were expecting the new movies to
match the merchandising hype of the original movies. |
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| As you can see the finish from Don
Post was excellent, with the shroud area made of suede. Not sure how many were made by Merlin K's was marked as #2! |
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DP Classic Action
Stormtrooper |
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The great thing about Don Post is that they went for
three price ranges of helmets, with the Classic Action fitting in the "mid
price" range at the $100-$120 range. The Classic Actions (CA's) were more
accurate than their budget counterparts and were fabricated from the same
moulds as the Deluxe range - however were made of Vinyl rather than
fiberglass. The DP CA Stormtrooper is a good example of this... |
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| DP Classic Action Stormtrooper (DP Ref
82107). Not completely accurate but I still
really like this one. It comes with padding, although I've added a bit
more on the inside around the ears and it looks very nice. Its a nice helmet, with the same design as
the rare fiberglass Deluxe, only the C/A is made from a strong vinyl. |
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Above and below some pics from David of his
reworked Don Post Classic Action which looks really great... |
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David
spent over 40 hours dremmelling away the molded neck trim and eye sockets,
hand painting the details, replacing the lenses/neck trim. |
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He then remodeling the
entire inside to look "functional". Cool work |
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Don Post - Standard
Range
Don Post also produced a range of Cheap masks and Helmets, which
typically retailed for around $50-$60, and some of them like the Biker
Scout and Imperial Guards were extremely good |
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| The DP Scout Trooper (DP Ref
82???), as with all
Don Post Star Wars helmets is no longer made. If you want one you can
try Nightmare Warehouse (see Links), or you'll need to search on ebay
for one. Rubies are now manufacturing one and from the photo it looks
good. If you've seen one then let me know. |
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DP Tie Pilot (DP Ref 82025), cheap and certainly when
compared with the other standard DP helmets, big and fairly close to the
original (although not as good as the rarer Classic Action lower down.
Being black it doesn't suffer from the discolouration evident on the Stormtrooper
helmets.
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| Above a couple of shots from Wayne
(TI-0350) who's modified his standard DP by replacing the lenses and
adding a custom "widows tears" colour scheme reserved for the
most feared pilot. A nice example of what you can do with this helmet. |
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| X-Wing (DP Ref 82026) - Comes ready padded, with
a working visor and a really good helmet, especially as it was so cheap
(typically $50-$60). Again Rubies are manufacturing their version of
this and it looks exactly the same |
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| Boba Fett (DP Ref 82019) - A bit on the small
side, but apart from the expensive DP Fiberglass (£1,500 ebay?) and
possibly the Altmann's, it's
probably the best licensed available - especially if your prepared to modify the
visor and give it a proper paint job. Worth using as a base for a Jango
Fett, as the "real" helmet was pretty small (the actor who
played him was a bit of a midget!). |
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| Above is the very hard to find DP
Imperial Royal Guard (DP Ref 82020).
I managed to get mine off a fellow Props board member, and it has been
completely sanded down, re-sprayed with a new visor fitted to more
closely match the "real" ROTJ version. As you can see below,
the finish is much improved. |
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| Above is my "Cheap" 1979
Vader (Don Post Ref 2001). This was
the first helmet I bought, from a trip to DisneyLand in Los Angeles
in 1979, so I've had it a long time. It's in very good condition,
despite its age. |
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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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| Finally some comparison shots
between (top) the DP Classic Action, FX and DP cheapo (DP ref 82002), and (bottom) the DP
Classic and FX Helmets. Essentially the Don Post is about 10% under,
while the FX is about 10% over size. However the extra space is useful
as it allows you to customise with fans, etc. |
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I found this ad (left) recently for the original
Don Post helmets, feature in an old Star Wars poster monthly from 1977.
Whether retail prices have dropped over the last 25 years, or its an
indication of the U.S.'s low inflation rate I'm not sure, but a 70-80%
increase in prices over a quarter of a century is extremely low (as an
indication, UK prices tend to double every 10 years). Economics' lesson
over. |
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Don Post -
Prototype |
| This "helmet" never made
it to production but here's a couple of photo's of the prototype TPM
Battle Droid head. |
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| Its a shame the helmet/costume
design for The Phantom Menace was so poor as it really didn't give Don
Post much of a chance and unfortunately the range really suffered, as did
the company subsequently. |
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Click here for Don Post
Life-size Statues
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