9th Annual Top Ten Myers Mask Replicas (Part 2 of 2)

 

Welcome back for part two of the 9th annual top ten Myers mask replicas countdown. In Part One the masks that made the bottom half of this year’s poll were revealed, in this second and final part the top five masks will be counted down until we get to this year’s top spot.

The mask landing at NUMBER FIVE (dropping from number three last year) is N.A.G.’s ’75K Castle Shape mask. To make this replica, Nick used two of his previous masks. He placed a pull of his 75k mask inside one of his H78 molds then foamed it (the foam expanded the pull) to create this uniquely shaped offspring. It is called the “Castle Shape” mask because it has a vertical stretch built into the mask to emulate the look of the hero mask when worn by Nick Castle in the original Halloween.  James Carter did the fantastic customization to this one:  

NUMBER FOUR (for the third straight year) belongs to Justin Mabry/Nightowl’s SHAT/CREEP mask. There are two available versions of this mask, the CREEP version comes as a completely finished Michael Myers mask did up by Justin himself. With its ghastly white paint up and solid quality, this is the best option for many people who want a very nicely finished Myers replica mask ready to wear right out of the box. For those fans who would rather have the mask in a Captain Kirk form (or for those who like to send a Kirk mask to be converted into a Michael Myers by the artist of their choice) the SHAT (short for Shatner) mask is offered. Both of these masks are of excellent quality and have great detail whether you are looking for a Kirk or a Michael Myers replica mask. Below is my own copy, I love the subtle details of this mask as it exemplifies the “no emotion” description of The Shape.

At NUMBER THREE for this year’s countdown is last year’s number two, NAG’s 98 Proto Cast Mask. In 1998 Don Post Studios apparently went back to an old 1975 Kirk production mold to make a new Shatner mask. Unfortunately the resulting run of masks produced from this project were a bit of a disappointment. However, a few proto masks surfaced and proved to be far superior in look. NAG secured one of these proto masks to create some of his best known Myers mask replica offerings, one being the 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 another James Carter conversion that belongs to member MastaBonaPi:

A new entry to the countdown, the NUMBER TWO spot this year belongs to Handiboy Studios’ “13” mask. Nick Mulpagano (artist/owner of Handiboy Studios) told me this about the inspiration to create his 13 mask:

My inspiration was to sculpt Michael Myers….not a Michael Myers ”mask” and not a Kirk, using what (I think) is the most iconic Myers look – the novel cover and the h4 painting of that picture, as my main references. This is the mask I have always wanted for myself, but never found. It is unlike every other Myers mask, yet, IS Michael Myers. I think that’s why it strikes a chord with so many people.

This one has definitely did just that Nick, DEBUTING on the countdown at number two is pretty impressive!

Below is one of these great “13” masks in all of its glory:

At NUMBER ONE for this year’s countdown is the “ID” mask by James Mangrum. Last year James became the only artist outside of NAG and Justin Mabry to claim the top spot of our countdown, this year he became the only artist to claim it twice with the same mask.  The ID mask is a ground up sculpt that attempts (successfully) to capture the essence of the hero when worn by Castle, not just a mask to capture the look of a specific scene.  

 In James’ own words:

The initial idea behind “The ID” mask came about when I came to the conclusion that all of the scenes that involved the Castle stretch were all about 95% identical. After reaching that conclusion I decided to use every angle of that Castle stretch as a reference. If my conclusions were correct, putting all of that reference together would create a very accurate representation of the hero mask being worn by Castle in ‘78. So with that said, the mask wasn’t designed to replicate any one single scene but rather a generalized Castle stretch. Considering this was my first real attempt at sculpting the hero mask, I quickly learned that any of my personal preferences or biases about its appearances had to be abandoned. Rather than trying to eyeball proportions or details, as I would in sculpting past replicas, it turned into a process of precise measurement and continuous refinement. The subtlety of the mask along with its strange ability to seemingly transform under different types of lighting made it a far more challenging replica than my previous works, such as “His Unlucky Day” and the “Son of Man.”

Below is a shot of the ID mask (as it comes straight out of the box from Mangrum) showing it’s simple and effective likeness to Castle wearing the hero in John Carpenter’s classic HALLOWEEN.

With the ID mask Mangrum has created the most excitement we the Myers mask collectors have seen in years.  It’s hard to top a ground up sculpt that so effectively captures the essence of Myers, very well done James and a huge congratulations for being at the top position two years in a row!

This concludes our 9th Annual Top Ten Myers Mask Replica countdown. I hope everyone has a great, fun, safe and SCARY Halloween 2021!