Review: EFX Boba Fett Helmet

After months of pre-order and years of speculation and anticipation EFX has finally shipped their Boba Fett helmet. Touted as a “precision crafted replica” the helmet sells for $379.00 plus shipping, handling, and taxes if applicable. Is it worth the price? Well that’s up to you.

The helmet comes in a branded shipping carton the declares what’s inside. Opening up the shipping carton reveals the product box. This is my first EFX product so I was surprised to find the product box was the same two tone black color scheme and design as many of my Sideshow pieces.

The front of the box has a line drawing of the helmet along with the Star Wars logo and item title, and the back features a small picture of Boba Fett along with a summary of the characters appearances.

My box has some warping damage on the back as well as a small tear near the lid. After opening the box I realized this was because the packaging that surrounds the helmet does not fit well in the box.

Where as the Master Replicas’ helmet came in a molded styrofoam case, EFX has chosen to use a vacuformed plastic molding reinforced by cardboard banding to protect the helmet for shipment and storage. Packed with the helmet is some paperwork explaining their return policy, warranty, and instructions for changing the batteries and operation of the rangefinder.

The batteries come preinstalled with a small plastic pull tab designed to prevent the electrical connection until the tab is pulled. Once the tab is pulled the LEDs on the top of the rangefinder activate anytime the rangefinder is moved to the lower position. Once the pull tab is removed the only way to turn off the LEDs in the lowered position is to either open the battery compartment and reinstall the pull tab, or remove the batteries completely.

This leads to my only design criticism. I understand wanting to maintain visual consistency with the original helmet from which this is molded, however the helmet can only go back into its packaging with the rangefinder moved to the lower position. This means anytime you intend to store it you will need to disable the batteries by removing them or opening the compartment to reinstall the tab. EFX seems to have anticipated this because they do include a tiny Phillips head screwdriver in the packaging.

EFX did not include a display stand, however one can be purchased separately from EFX for $59.00. The stand is branded to EFX but does not reference a particular character or helmet. The website is a little confusing saying it is a preorder to ship in September 2019.

The interior of the helmet has some foam padding on seams and the top of the inside but it is not fully lined. Much of the helmet feels like plastic, almost flimsy, however the ear pieces and rangefinder stalk are diecast metal.

Right, but how does it look? It looks incredible. It looks like metal. The color and shape look like it was pulled directly of the screen. In terms of size, it looks like it might be a little smaller than the original but they molded it so I’ll take their word for it. The weathering looks amazing to me as well. I’ve seen some reviewers saying it’s not 100% perfect to the screen used helmet, but it’s pretty damn close. It’s close enough for me and I’m very ESB biased when it comes to Fett schemes. Disclaimer: I’m by no means an expert on screen accuracy.

Bottom line is, this is a great piece. It looks amazing, and is probably the most accurate bucket we can get, and for a decent price to boot. I’m glad I bought it, I hope the display stand hurries up and gets here. Is it right for you? That’s between you and your wallet.

Rating

Photos: Scott Casanova