The crew of Halloween bought a cheap William Shatner mask and painted it white to make the hero Michael Myers mask, if it was so simple to make in 1978 why is it difficult to make it in 2018? Besides accurate weathering (which I’m sure is a pain) shouldn’t it be as easy as buying a TOTS Kirk mask and doing what the crew did back in 78 to make a serviceable H1 replica? Sorry in advance if there’s a simple answer to this, I’m new to the forum, and I’ve always been more of a Jason guy. Still learning 
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Paint isn’t the same as it was in the 70’s, same with latex
Well I think really the reason for it is that the 1978 mask has become so incredibly famous, combined with the fact that Don Post, the company that made the original captain Kirk mask they used, is no longer in business, and therefore today there are no official Kirk masks on the market. Of course there’s the TOTS Kirk mask, and all the replicas of the Kirk mask, but what I mean is, other than those replicas, there is no official Kirk mask, if that makes sense. And there lies the problem…they are all just replicas. And that means each one is that particular artist’s interpretation of what the original mask looked like, and for that reason, some are more accurate than others.
There really isn’t a good answer other than it was kind of a beautiful mistake by a guy who didn’t have a lot of experience making props. It wasn’t really a movie prop. It was just a cheap throw together thing that nobody thought would matter in 10 years, let along 40.
The exact science or art/magic of making that mask again has eluded many, many people. For one, there have been a lot of legal issues around who owns the actual mask, and many times the people who have the rights aren’t willing to go to the lengths needed to make an accurate mask. It’s been mostly left to indie mask makers to guess, recast, and remold masks down through the years with varying degrees of success. I think there is a mask diagram of some of the early attempts and the lineage of people who stole pours to make their own, but I’m not sure where it is.
Look at the films 4-6. Those were fairly large budget hollywood backed productions and they either didn’t try, had no clue, or couldn’t make a decent mask or anything comparable to the original. (I know some people like the 4-6 masks. No offense, but i’m not a fan.) People didn’t seriously get interested in what went into the original mask until after the slasher genre had died down and a lot of the people who were there didn’t commit it to memory or lost/forgot many things.
For example we still don’t know the original type of coveralls used in H1.
Tots didn’t come along until 2009 and the Halloween collecting hysteria has increased a lot in the last 10 years with mondo selling prints, and just the whole “geek culture” experience getting bigger and bigger.
since the mask was so simple, it’s actually hard to capture it perfectly. Just like the shape itself.
Here’s one
Thanks for the in depth answer man! It seems like happy accidents create the best stuff huh? Has someone ever come out with a 75 Kirk that’s miraculously somehow in good enough shape to make a cast of? Seems like that would solve the mold problem.
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The problem is you need Nick castles head in a Kirk mask under particular conditions and particular lighting and poses… Except for when you need Tommy’s head in a Kirk mask under particular conditions and particular lighting and poses.
For a lot of people you could reach back in time and hand them the actual mask right out of John Carpenters 1978 hands and they’d still say it doesn’t look right.
I’m not complaining or picking on the fandom when i say that. It’s just an illusive look, each mask is slightly different, and everyone seems to see these masks differently. Plus it was so thin and looks different in every shot.
You even see it here on the board. One person posts a mask and one person thinks it looks exactly like the movie, and another person thinks it doesn’t look at all like the movie.
I think there’s a ton of good masks out there, you just have to find the one you like the most, and if you’re really lucky it fits you really well too
There are vintage versions out there in private collections. I know Ken Hertlein used one for reference of his new Ultimate mask.
This guy posted this back on 2010:
https://forum.michael-myers.net/t/don-post-studios-1975-captain-kirk-measurements/39185/1
Copies exist, but its rare to find one in great shape since they were just cheap kids masks.
Also, I assume collectors that have them don’t want to destroy them to make molds. But I’m sure there are people on here that are more knowledgable about kirk 75s than me.
Great answers above, but if you look right at the top of the Projects and Announcements section of the board, one of the members here has done a really nice (IMO of course) TOTS Kirk conversion. A little bit more iinvolved than how they did the original, but I think it looks great.
When it comes down to the original 1978 Myers / Kirk Mask:
All hail King Tommy Lee Wallace 
My opinion why? Every mask maker has become so obsessed with making it look right that they forgot was the hero was. A simple mask. It’s oversculpted to try and achieve something that their minds see as Michael Myers, not what we see on screen.
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Good point - I was in half a mind to buy a TOTS Shatner myself and see what would happen if I just did a TLW; rip off the sideburns, cut the eyeholes and just overspray it to see what it looks like.
I agree.
This is true.
we should just admit that Myers fans are insane and always looking for a better mask.
Myself included.
and, ‘Better’ in an unquantifiable element. Some things just catch your eye, and it might be something that other people think is wrong or ugly.
Everyone sees The Mask differently.
I think the HMK was taken from an original 75 Kirk mask. And still people are searching. So I doubt we will ever find “the” mask
What i have here is a DIY which comes from the HMK. This and the SM molds came from the HMK which came from the Medley Kirk.
My first Michael Myers mask I did was literally I took a TOTS Kirk, Ripped the eyebrows and sideburns, cut eye holes with scissors and spray painted the mask and hair with the black hair spray I found on here. Honestly I had a blast doing it and I’ve never had any of my other ones come out quite the same as this one did. However I honestly like the H2 and H40 masks better. I feel they capture the essence of Michael Myers more so then the original one does.
