Obvious tells for repro Thor parts?

[Bizarro Amy]

I got an inexpensive Thor at a toy show, but I'm not entirely sure if his helmet is original. The seller knew for a fact that the wristbands were ordered from Doctor Mego, but couldn't tell for sure about the helmet. I've dealt with him before and trust him, so I'm pretty sure this isn't one of those "stick a repro on there and play dumb" games. He said that the hammer is original. I was looking at the accessory check, and it said that there have been no factory made repros of Thor's parts, so any reproductions are hand-cast. I am satisfied that the hammer is legit, but I'm still not sure about the helmet. I don't see any bubbles or obvious signs of a resin cast, but I'm not that practiced at spotting repros as some people here. I'm happy with the price of the figure anyway, but I was wondering if someone could help identify if the helmet is original or not, just for the sake of my wish/upgrade list.

[Meule]

I'm no expert, but if the helmet was a resin cast it wouldn't have those discolorations where the silver has come off or is worn down, no?

[PNGwynne]

I'm pretty sure it's an original helmet, just yellowed with age and with scuffing/chrome loss. Nice hair...

My first Thor helemet looked like that, until I upgraded to a MIB figure.

[MegoGeek]

That is an original Thor helmet. The doc mego one isnt really chrome its more like shiney silver.

The bright chrome inside the helmet is a good way to tell.

[cjefferys]

Yeah, that helmet looks legit to me. I think that vac-metalizing (is that the right word??) is a pretty involved, expensive process, and I don't think anyone who makes repro parts can replicate that look. Plus a lot of the finish has worn off that helmet, it looks very vintage.

[SUP-Ronin]

I agree with the others, the helmet and hammer look totally legit. Nice score. That peg in the helmet often breaks off.

[megocrazy]

Yeah helmets real. Doc's isn't like that. No shiny metal look. Hammer looks real as well compared to my DM one that has a duller look to it. Looks like a good score. So what is inexpensive? C'mon spill the beans.

[Tothiro]

Yup, it's original. Pretty much all vac toy parts from the time are done in that semi-translucent cream/white plastic, which usually yellows. The shiny silver inside is a good indicator that it hasn't been re-chromed as stated - so is the crackling or crazing visible on the back of the dome, which is typical with age. If it had been re-chromed you also wouldn't see the rubs on the wingtips, as that's something more typical of commercial vac applications vs. external chroming which would be a much thicker, detail obscuring coating. The difference between the two is that in vac-metalizing there's a powdered coating applied to the inside of the mold before the plastic is shot into it... So the vac process is showing all of the mold detail because it's done inside, whereas a post casting chroming is layering up material on top of the cast detail.
You can get close to this with a combination of silver leaf sheets which go on more lightly, but you wouldn't be able to get uniformity over convex shapes like the dome because the leaf wouldn't wrap around it properly.

Nice score. My Thor is missing his helmet peg

[Meule]

Yup, it's original. Pretty much all vac toy parts from the time are done in that semi-translucent cream/white plastic, which usually yellows. The shiny silver inside is a good indicator that it hasn't been re-chromed as stated - so is the crackling or crazing visible on the back of the dome, which is typical with age. If it had been re-chromed you also wouldn't see the rubs on the wingtips, as that's something more typical of commercial vac applications vs. external chroming which would be a much thicker, detail obscuring coating. The difference between the two is that in vac-metalizing there's a powdered coating applied to the inside of the mold before the plastic is shot into it... So the vac process is showing all of the mold detail because it's done inside, whereas a post casting chroming is layering up material on top of the cast detail.
You can get close to this with a combination of silver leaf sheets which go on more lightly, but you wouldn't be able to get uniformity over convex shapes like the dome because the leaf wouldn't wrap around it properly.

That's exactly what I said, just not in so many words

[Tothiro]

That's exactly what I said, just not in so many words

What can I say? Sharing is caring

[Bizarro Amy]

Thanks for the input, everyone. Glad to know that's one more orginal piece in the collection.

[PNGwynne]

There's a company in Wisconsin that does re-chroming of plastic parts.

I see what you mean about obscuring detail, but it might be perfect for redoing Fonzie/CHiPs cycle trim or a custom application.

[TEXASFETT]

Thor had always been a hard war through ebay.... got scammed on one months back,and finally thank god for theressa.Bought hers and it was original and flawless.It was worth the wait scored and orignal helmet/hammer to help its value......now completely mint.Good score on your end.Definite a original helmet just age wear.

[Dave Mc]

Certainly original.

[vulcan2074]

Glad to know that's one more orginal piece in the collection.

Congrats del
Sammy