New Hockey Mask Blanks

I've been working on perfecting my P3/4 buck for about three years now and I believe I've gotten it as accurate as I'll ever get it. Below are some comparisons between my test blanks and the best shots I could find of the original Part 3 and 4 movie masks. 

Below is the Part 3 hero mask as photographed for a Part 5 poster, next to my Part 3 test blank. 

And a raw Part 4 blank compared to the movie mask.

The Part 4 hero photographed back in 2012 along with the Part 4 blank.

These blanks measure 20 x 26 cm (10 5/16 x 8 in.) so they're pretty large. Comparing with our only measurement of an authentic Part 3 or 4 screen used mask (below) they seem to line up perfectly.

A finished piece can look nearly identical to a movie mask, as shown below. Note that the below example was made from an earlier version of the buck, before several holes were moved. 

I started this project back in 2022 after I saw the Hollywood Museum mask in person for the first time. I started with a copy of a Plante mask, and built it ground-up from there. It was a more complex process than I thought and quite a few changes had to be made to get it to look accurate, which has taken years of refinements.

I created this buck for my own personal mask projects. I don't plan on selling a lot of these, but I will make a few available for a short time. Pulled in .080 gauge clear PETG only.

Study of the Part 3 Straps

Here's some brief analysis of the original straps on the Part 3 mask.

As far as I can see, they were almost certainly 22 mm braided elastic bands. This is an odd width (roughly 7/8 inches), typically used for watch bands. The braids can be counted in the top strap of the Part 4 mask and the side strap of the Part 3 mask in the photos below; in both cases, there appear to be 11 braids in each strap. 

The only 22 mm braided strapping I've found has 12 braids per strap, so it is possible they are 23 mm, (even more rare), but more likely just a slightly different braid width.

Using a ruler, I lined up the centimeters in the Dario measurement photo of the Part 4 mask with those on a real ruler and came to a width measurement of 21 mm for the straps on the part 4 mask. Allowing for a tiny margin of error resulting from the tape being lifted off the strap, these almost certainly imply 22 mm nylon.

It is very difficult to find accurate straps for these masks, but they do occasionally pop up on Amazon, often from Chinese sellers.