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I don't know what this helmet is. Was it part of a line, one of a series? Or a quick Star Wars one-off cash in? It's one of my few - possibly the *only* of my - original childhood toys that somehow survived the great purge of 1981, and as such, I treasure it.
I painted it myself at age 10 or 11 - if you couldn't tell - and wore it for Halloween in (I think) 1978. It failed to win me the costume contest at my Elementary School that year - didn't we all have one of those? You know, the one where we changed into our costumes at school and paraded by grade around the gymnasium, and two winners from each grade were picked out by the obese, speech-impedimented female janitor named Regina, who always pointed with her middle finger rather than her index finger? But, the year after that, my last in Elementary school, I reused the black outfit Mom sewed for me for this, and a different mask and won. The anticlimactic prize was a large plastic candy cane or cylinder full of M&M's. And Pride. Much, much Pride.
Anyway, since getting back into vintage toys as an adult, I have never seen, nor heard tell of one of these. I don't even really know what to call it, and searching on 'toy helmet' or 'helmet' on ebay yields far too many results, and other searches nothing even remotely like it.
It still fits my adult head, and the only clue to its manufacture is the too-general-for-google company name 'Toy Box, Inc. Made in U.S.A.' embossed on the right temple. The metal rivets evident in the picture are to secure the elastic band inside, which keeps it fairly secure on one's head. It was sold unfinished, and looks to be made from two fairly thick vacuformed plastic halves.
What do you say, megoheads? Anyone of y'all ever seen one of these or have any stories relating? I feel like I remember a stack of these at the toystore where I got mine, likely the King of Prussia, Pa. Kiddie City. Am I the only one who remembers these or has one?
I'm going to repaint it to its original all-black, I think, and add dark or reflective one-way plastic film to the eyes.
I painted it myself at age 10 or 11 - if you couldn't tell - and wore it for Halloween in (I think) 1978. It failed to win me the costume contest at my Elementary School that year - didn't we all have one of those? You know, the one where we changed into our costumes at school and paraded by grade around the gymnasium, and two winners from each grade were picked out by the obese, speech-impedimented female janitor named Regina, who always pointed with her middle finger rather than her index finger? But, the year after that, my last in Elementary school, I reused the black outfit Mom sewed for me for this, and a different mask and won. The anticlimactic prize was a large plastic candy cane or cylinder full of M&M's. And Pride. Much, much Pride.
Anyway, since getting back into vintage toys as an adult, I have never seen, nor heard tell of one of these. I don't even really know what to call it, and searching on 'toy helmet' or 'helmet' on ebay yields far too many results, and other searches nothing even remotely like it.
It still fits my adult head, and the only clue to its manufacture is the too-general-for-google company name 'Toy Box, Inc. Made in U.S.A.' embossed on the right temple. The metal rivets evident in the picture are to secure the elastic band inside, which keeps it fairly secure on one's head. It was sold unfinished, and looks to be made from two fairly thick vacuformed plastic halves.
What do you say, megoheads? Anyone of y'all ever seen one of these or have any stories relating? I feel like I remember a stack of these at the toystore where I got mine, likely the King of Prussia, Pa. Kiddie City. Am I the only one who remembers these or has one?
I'm going to repaint it to its original all-black, I think, and add dark or reflective one-way plastic film to the eyes.
-Tallahassee 
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