|
Cyberman Helmet |
| So we're going to start off with
the MFX Cyberman helmet - and mine arrived today (16th June)! |
|
|
| What can I say but WOW! Made from
"cold cast aluminium resin", the front and back of the head are reinforced
with fibreglass. However its the introduction of Aluminium powder into the resin
that gives the helmet its solid steel like appearance, that goes right
through the material, rather than just a spray or paint coating on the top. |
|
|
| Because of this method, each helmet
is likely to be slightly different from each other. In addition the outer
coating will oxidise over time as its react with the air which should give
it quite a nice weathered appearance. More of this later. |
 |
 |
| Well this is what it looks like
when it arrives. A nice big box containing the adequately
bubble-wrapped helmet (complete), along with the boxed "C" Stand and
paperwork (a "welcome" letter, info sheet, nice hand signed and
numbered certificate of authenticity). |
|
|
| Its great to see the human touch
here (ironic for a Cyberman helmet) but everything is completed and signed
by hand - no automation here! |
|
|
| This really is a well crafted
collectable, although initially I was expecting a greater metallic sheen on
the surface of the helmet. However, to be fair
having not seen one of the originals up close its hard to tell. Having now taken these
many photographs, the real cold-steel like finish of the helmet really does come to the
fore. It could well be that the sheen is indeed more subtle than I had expected, since the arc
lights used during filming accentuate the finish of the on-screen costumes significantly.
With that in mind I picked up on this point with Neil and Paul at Millennium
FX and as you can see the finish on the new helmets is pretty much exactly
the same as the "screen-used" originals as you can see below - thanks to
Neill and Paul for the comparison pic. |
 |
| As mentioned elsewhere the metal
particles in the resin react with the air so the occasional polish is a good
idea and is precisely what they used on the originals. Neil picks up....."the
helmets are polished to a slightly more shiny appearance than the screen
used ones. Once polished the metal starts to dull down slowly over time due
to oxidization of the metal. In addition they dull down with handling.
You'll find that the area between the eyes probably got more contact with
hands after being polished and during the packing process. You can get the
head to an almost chrome finish if you want by using a bit of metal polish
and elbow grease. The polish we used is called AUTOSOL which is a chrome
aluminium and metal polish available from the local hardware store. If you
repeat the process several times you will get an incredible, almost chrome
like, finish. When polishing it's good to wear cotton or vinyl gloves
because as you polish you keep handling the head and keep putting more
grease back on so the gloves prevent the surface picking this up". There
you go, straight from the horses mouth! |
|
|
| In the above photo you can make out
the rather excellent Cybus Corporation stand which holds the helmet
in three points, angling the front down nicely. Made of resin it really
matches the helmet well, although you might want to invest in a quartet of
felt pads if you're going to put it on a shiny surface. Note that MFX
actually cast the emblem from the chest piece in order to create the base of
the stand, which was a great idea. |
|
|
| I've taken these photos of the
helmet against a dark black cloth (Darth Vader's cape actually) with a
couple of spots and quite a long exposure. I've altered the colour balance
of the shots to bring out the silver hue of the helmet, and also toned the
black levels down to bring the shadows and contours out more. |
|
|
| Looking at the rear and side
of the helmet shows that the assembly is a bit of a jigsaw since the
"ears" consist of several tubes, right angles and "ear muffs" which seem to
be locked into place with a pin. Neill's informed me that you SHOULD NOT
remove the pin, adding.... "The handlebars and all the ear muffs and that
pin are all bonded together. The pin on the original was actually the button
we used to open the clips to open the head. Obviously it doesn't do that on
this as the head is fixed together so that pin is only there for aesthetic
continuity and is not in any way functional." |
|
|
| You can just make out the locking
pin in the pic above, below the ear. In the shot below you can see the
inside mouth grille and black fabric hot glued over the eyes. Not sure what
the "E" means. What you cant see in the photo is the hologram stating its
genuine (nice touch that) as well as its number. Both the helmet itself and
certificate are hand numbered which is a great move. |
|
|
| Sorry to go on showing more and
more pics but I think this helmet deserves it. In my view these photos show
what a REALLY impressive replica prop this is. |
|
|
| Incidentally, the helmet is
potentially wearable, although to do so you'd need to un stick the front
and rear halves - which you'd do at your own risk according to the makers,
Neil adding...."If you did want to open up the head it is only bonded in
three small spots, one at the very top where the ridges join and two blobs
of adhesive at the bottom corners. Someone wanting to pop one apart would
just have to run a hacksaw blade between the joins on the inside and with a
little work they split the adhesive and the head would pop apart cleanly".
So in
order to wear it you'd need to dismantle and then assemble around your head.
I many respects its like the original C-3PO helmet and like I said its
possible but NOT recommended! |
 |
| By all accounts it sounds like a
lot of work goes into each of these helmets. Unlike the fantasy equivalents
there are no robots, just a few burly workers in the SE of England making
these completely by hand. |
|
|
| For the TV Production, they used a
black wipe-on grate polish called Zeebo to provide additional texture
and weathering, giving a deeper coloured Steel like finish. However the
downside of this was that it never dries and came off and went everywhere
and by the end of filming it had almost completely rubbed off. For the
replicas they've not added this although its up to the collector if they
want to. Cleaning-wise they suggest an aluminium/chrome polish like Autosol or Brasso, which
clearly shows that the finish is totally unlike a vacuum metalised C-3PO
chrome which would be destroyed by something as harsh as that. This guy's a
real beast. Hard as nails! |
|
|
| ...and finally quite a stark photo
of this cold, emotionless robot. |
|
|
| The Millennium FX Replica Cyberman
Helmet is priced at £475 plus VAT (therefore our American and European
friends actually get it cheaper than us Brits) which is a fair old price for
a collectible, equating to about US$890. Now I'm sure that will probably put
some people off, but then a product like this is only going to appeal to a
niche market, people like you reading this now!. But for that price
you're NOT getting a "Master Replicas" type of replica (and that's
not knocking either company). Millennium FX are hand-making these in I
presume small numbers and are replicating the precise processes they're
using for the original screen-used helmets, and in that respect it has some
similarity with the SDSProps proposition (licensing aside since these are
fully licensed by the BBC). I need to get my hands on an original Dr Who
Cyberman Helmet but I have a sneaking suspicion its going to be almost
exactly the same as these replicas.
Bottom line is its a bit of a chicken and egg. Because of the premium
price, the numbers produced and sold will most probably be fairly low and
therefore they're always going to be quite rare collectibles.
If like me you've been a Dr Who fan since being a kid then IMO this is a
"must have" item. Its the sort of thing you stick in your Dining Room in a
Detolf Ikea glass cabinet (along with your wife's favourite Lladro
or whatever) and I guarantee any Blokes that see it will go all misty
eyed when the see it. It IS very cool. Great design, great collectible.
I'm going to start saving for the full costume in the hope they decide to
replicate that too! Below, update 19th November - Since posting my
original shots a couple of people have asked me what this great helmet looks
like in daylight, so here are some new photos. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Back to the Dr Who section
|
