| Chewbacca Mask resin mold, Child Cesar | |
| This is the mold or matrice that was actually used at CESAR’s French licensee factory for producing the Chewbacca children 1/2 face mask. It is made of a mix of polyester resin filled with aluminum powder and is quite heavy (about 1.5 kilograms / 3 pounds). Those rigid plastic masks were produced several at a time (4 to 6); resin molds were placed on a flat surface and a large hot plastic sheet was applied onto them with a vaccuform process, hence the small dots noticeable on the photo, which are actually holes necessary for that technique (a quite popular production method in the 1970-80s to produce various 3d objects such as masks, geological maps, base for games, collectible cards, displays, posters…). CESAR was renowned for its masks, initially picturing Carnival faces, and animals, followed by popular Disney characters, and later-on popular real-life characters such as stars, politics, leaders, athletes etc… and pop-culture characters. Depending of the character popularity, several occurrence of a mold could exist and be placed onto the flat surface. An average would be from 2 to 4 molds for a same character. This mold comes from the entire warehouse stock of the company that was sold in 2023 after the company went to compulsory liquidation. Only a few hand-picked persons had the opportunity to obtain some of those molds from the owners, in the mid 2000s, but at that time, the company wouldn’t let go the resin and plaster molds. More information about the CESAR company and the production process can be found from old TV footages available on the internet. Last but not least, the group photo shows the various items from left to right – adult plaster, children resin, children production, soft adult negative. |
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| Description by: | Stephane Faucourt |
| Photo: | Stephane Faucourt |
| From the collection of: | Stephane Faucourt |
| Country: | France |
| Film: | A New Hope |
| Licensee: | Cesar |
| Year: | 1978 |
| Category: | Costumes and Masks / Masks |