My favorite hocks on the market

So I've received a few questions lately about painting masks and wanted to let everyone know that I don't paint and have no plans to in the future. if I ever started collecting again, I would probably just buy a mask from one of the incredible artists out there.

I've given people artist recommendations over the years, but since I have a blog I mostly neglect I wanted to put up a post illustrating what I think are the best (read: most film accurate) currently available hockey masks out there. I'm going to go right down the list from part 3 to the remake... so if you are ever in the market for the best hock you can buy, here are my personal recommendations.

Part 3: This was a really tough call because it's my favorite mask, but I think Ryan of Cursed Camp Studios is currently making the best part 3 hero. His attention to detail in the weathering is absolutely top notch, the color is solid and his blanks look really good. This is someone who has really studied this mask, and is at the top of his game.

Part 4: Like the part 3, this is one of the toughest to nail down because of the odd way the movie mask was painted. Even the eye cuts are weird. But I've been most impressed with the work done by Illusive FX. Overall his coloring and detailing, while not spot on, show that he is paying close attention to screen shots and photos and really trying to nail that look down.

I do want to make a special note here: having the right blanks is important in getting the right look if you're going for accuracy. To my eye, Crash without question has the most film accurate blanks, and is always a solid go-to for part 3 and 4 masks.

Part 5: For Roy, I have to give it to Illusive FX again. The eye cuts, strapping, overall shape and weathering are really spot on, but my favorite is the blue tone he uses for the chevs. Very well done.

Part 6: Honestly, there's a lot of artists that do 6's very well. But Crash's work on the 6's has been especially excellent over the years. He probably does more versions than anyone, including this bullet hole one and the prop damage one from the end of the film, than any other artist.

Part 7: This is another tough call. I'm definitely partial toward artists using Josh Ludemann's movie mask recast. Auz has done fantastic 7's. But I think Illusive FX might take the cake again for his killer attention to detail on these.

Part 8: I'm going to give this one again to... yep, Illusive FX. Before you ask, no, I'm not Illusive FX creating an advertisement for myself. I have no idea who he is. But not only his incredible detailing, his choice of a goldenrod basecoat, rather than a more traditional yellow, really puts him over the edge here. His eye cuts are also near perfect.

Jason Goes to Hell: The crown goes to Crash of course. This thing looks like it walked right off set.

Freddy vs. Jason: You might be wondering why Auz hasn't shown up yet on this list, but I won't disappoint you. Always one of the best artists out there, he has truly mastered the later-franchise masks in a way few others have. Offering a nearly 100% accurate resin, fully cracked mask with an unbelievable paint job and even the movie-accurate rubber backing means that I would never spend a dime on a VS mask that didn't come from Auz.

Jason X: Auz again here. I tried to paint this mask years ago and walked away frustrated. Auz has this thing down.

Remake: Once again, Auz takes the cake. Killer attention to fine details, and he offers this thing in movie-accurate thick resin. If I were to buy one, it would be from him.