7th Annual Top Ten Myers Mask Replicas (Part 1 of 2)
The votes have been tallied and now the results of our 7th Annual Top Ten Myers Mask Replicas can finally be revealed. Four masks from last year’s countdown didn’t make it to this one, two were in the top five last year (Trick or Treat Studios Halloween 2018 Myers mask, N.A.G.’s 2K) and one (the KHDW, Ken Hertlein/Dick Warlock mask) is a legend! The fourth mask not making it this year is the Warlock by CGP (Cemetery Gate Productions). This gave room for two old favorites to reappear in this year’s countdown as well as two exciting newcomers. Let’s get on with it!
This year’s NUMBER TEN falls from number six last year, Handiboy Studios’ DEAD RINGER. Nick Mulpagano (owner/operator of Handiboy studios) decided to take another crack at a Myers mask using the Kirk life cast again. He had used a life cast the year before but realized he had obtained the wrong life cast (“like when Igor grabbed the wrong brain for Dr. Frankenstein.” – Nick M.). So, he tried it again with the correct life cast and better references. Nick released the Dead Ringer on the most appropriate day of 2017… Halloween! The mask released to very favorable response. In Nick’s own words, “It’s becoming my most popular mask [and has] been picked to be the official mask of 2018 Las Vegas’ Halloween celebration, “The Night HE Came to Vegas” and John Carpenter Day.” Below is a costume shot showing the Dead Ringer in action:
Holding at NUMBER NINE this year is the “KHU” (KEN HERTLEIN ULTIMATE) mask. Ken Hertlein is responsible for (arguably) the most sought after Michael Myers replica mask in the hobby, the beloved KH/DW. He is also known for his successor to the KHDW, the KHSLE. In July 2017 it was announced that Ken thought he could improve on his first two H2 efforts and bring us the “ultimate” H2 mask. Besides being a great Halloween II replica mask the Ken Hertlein Ultimate also has two really cool unique features. One feature is a watermark of sorts, a skull face was added into the paint of the mask itself that is only visible with the aid of a black light. The second feature is these masks come with a single hair from the actual hero mask used in the original Halloween and Halloween II. Some have this hair laminated into the COA and some have the hair sealed in the neck or hairline. I’ve heard some have one laminated on the COA in addition to having one sealed inside the mask. Pictured below is a great worn shot of the KHU by member Hybrid Moments:
At NUMBER EIGHT is a mask that hasn’t made an appearance on the countdown for awhile but is nonetheless a worthy entry, the H2SM or “Halloween 2 Stretch Mask” by Bryan Hoffman of Masket Case Studios. This mask is a variation of Bryan’s HMK (Hoffman Medley Kirk mask), the face is wider and the paint up dirtier as this mask attempts to recreate the look of the hero mask as worn by Dick Warlock in HALLOWEEN II. Due to the fact that the HMK (and therefore the H2SM) originate from a real 1975 Don Post Kirk, the result is one of the better H2 masks to date. This particular copy was finished into a Halloween II “Blood Tears” Myers by Rowland Kelly (Death Row Masks) for our member “theshape1974”:
Coming in at NUMBER SEVEN we have an old favorite making a reappearance, Nightowl/Justin Mabry’s PSYCHO. The Psycho is one of the all-time legendary masks of this hobby that will never grow old and is one of the best selling , most beloved Myers replica masks to date. This mask was a retool of Justin’s previous “Nightmare Man ’78”. In essence, it became an angrier and more intense variation of its predecessor. Seen below is my own 2007 copy:
The mask at NUMBER SIX was last year’s number two, N.A.G.’s “98 Proto Cast”. In 1998 Don Post Studios supposedly laser-scanned one of their 1975 Kirks to make a new Kirk mask. Unfortunately the resulting run of masks produced from this rumored scan were a bit of a disappointment. However, a few proto masks surfaced and proved to be far superior in look. Two N.A.G. masks had there beginnings from one of these Don Post Kirk proto masks, the “75K” and the “98 Proto Cast”. With lineage to the hero the 98 protos have a great likeness to the Myers mask we see in the first two films. Below is one of the best 98 conversions I’ve seen to date, this one was done up pure H1 for a customer by our own James Carter:
This concludes part one of the 7th Annual Top Ten Myers Mask Replicas results, stay tuned for part two (coming HALLOWEEN) for the masks that made the top five. Last year NAG’s Castle Stretch mask won the top spot, will this year be a consecutive win for this mask or will we have a new mask holding the crown?