This item was bought through Wake's website Termight Replicas and is absolutely superb. No sooner did I open the parcel when it arrived than it was on my head and I was stood in front of a mirror admiring myself. Don't laugh, you know you would do the same, if you had the chance!
It was made by the very taleted prop maker Jonathan Bayliss (he of the Lawgiver build) and he gladly told me about the whole build process -
"I sculpted it in clay and moulded it in silicone,from that mould I made a fibreglass master which I spent a long time cleaning up. Once I had a helmet in a reasonable state I remoulded that (again in silicone). With that mould I pulled a number of fibreglass copies, each one has to be finished with lots of sanding and car body filler. Once they are done I primed them and sprayed them into matt black, once thats done I mask up the helmet and spray the red. Once that has fully dried I give it a couple of coats of lacquer. Once that is complete I attach the forehead badges which were made in the far east (these were commissioned by wakefield carter of termite replicas they are made of a zinc alloy and plated in 24 carrot gold... I originally thought that was over kill but I have to admit I do think it added a lot to the final pieces)
I then hand shape the lenses and use a special process to tint them, once they are installed I make up the padding with plastazote and glue that in place. Finished helmet!"
These are one of those items that a fan just adores, at it really is one of the main, if not THE symbol of the Judges in the comic (as far as I'm concerned). It's so distinctive that as soon as you see it, there can only be one person wearing such a thing and that's a Judge!
Obviously the above is a pristine helmet. Below is what one looks like after the first day on a Hotdog run in the Cursed Earth (this is a prop from the Judge Minty film and was made by Daniel Carey-George, you didn't think I would damage a helmet did you!)
I bought my helmet from Wake when he mentioned that he had a second batch of 10 in production. I only just missed out on the first batch, still I have one now and that's all that matters. Rumour has it that there may be one last batch of these beauties on the way and it may be more than 10.
Just a few final pictures to wet your appetite!
I think I can see some eagles in that last picture, very interesting indeed!
Cool article Mr B! Definitely one of the best bits of Merchandise you can get. Worth every penny, especially when you read how much work goes into them, wow!
ReplyDeleteOn the rare occasions that I get the house to myself, mine goes straight on and I run around shooting imaginary perps! Nothing better!
I know what you mean Pete. There's many a time I will put on my helmet, grab one of my Lawgivers and dispense justice around the house!
ReplyDeleteGot my Termight helmet from John eventually, and was completely disappointed. It was shoddy to say the least. Chunks of fibreglass were missing from inside the edges, just looked seriously rushed. I took it down to the bare glass, and bondo'd a few areas for accuracy, then sent it off to my chum in Cal for a nice glass like finish. Serious improvement. Now I have the new Planet Replicas Judge Helmet from Dan, and my Dredd needs are fulfilled. Wake is a hell of a guy and a good businessman - not his fault,I just had this bad experience, still a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
ReplyDeleteSorry to see that happen to your helmet, very strange indeed! I winder if anyone else has had a negative experience!
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