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Stormtrooper by Andrew Ainsworth, I call BS.


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Yeah, that is one of a three part video segment that AA and his attorneys made for the court case. It was an attempt to show a "generalization" of how Ainsworth supposedly created the Stormtrooper and the other helmets back in '76..................

 

Also that is why there isn't much talking/narrating in the videos. This was to allow Ainsworth to narrate and answer questions in the court room while the videos were playing.

 

I think we all pretty much know and can tell that Ainsworth is not making off of the original molds, nor does he have them anymore. There are missing and changed details, not just with the Stormtrooper stuff, but throughout his whole line of products, (Tie Pilot, Jawbone, Cheese Grater, Rebel Pilot Helmets, the variances of the Rebel Soldier Helmets, etc). It doesn't take that keen of an eye to see that all of these are not authentic, plus if you were the person that artistically created something, you would remember your details or least reference them in books, pictures and the videos, (frame by frame), before trying to pull something like this off.

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Interesting to see how he puts them together.

 

For those that have his helmets... are they actually built with paper fasteners and hot glue, or is that just for demonstration purposes?

 

I like his vacuum forming machine. And I need to get one of those hand held 1" belt sanders!

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Interesting to see how he puts them together.

 

For those that have his helmets... are they actually built with paper fasteners and hot glue, or is that just for demonstration purposes?

 

 

 

No, SDS lids (back/cap to faceplate and ears) are held together with nuts and bolts. But, the Hovis are held on with hot glue.

 

AA just uses the paper fasteners while he is assembling and adjusting the helmet.

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Interesting to see how he puts them together.

 

For those that have his helmets... are they actually built with paper fasteners and hot glue, or is that just for demonstration purposes?

 

I like his vacuum forming machine. And I need to get one of those hand held 1" belt sanders!

 

Rougetrooper is right on the money with the Hovis they are hot glued in but my two lids came with paper fasteners when I got them, that was a few yrs ago.

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Rougetrooper is right on the money with the Hovis they are hot glued in but my two lids came with paper fasteners when I got them, that was a few yrs ago.

 

The couple of SDS, TK lids that I have actually gotten to see and hold didn't have the paper fasteners, but I didn't question whether they had done any mods to them. But, if that is the way Ainsworth puts together his TK products, that is further proof that he has no clue how the original lids were done (no offense to anyone that owns one of his lids). It seems unprofessional of him to do things that way, especially for the kind of money he commands for his product.

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I never paid attention to this case but after seeing this video what's the story?

 

Ainsworth pretends he sculpted the Tk and he didn't ?

He was only hired to vac form ?

 

 

Here Pat, check out this link:

 

ANH Stormtrooper Helmet and Armour - Just the Facts

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Read the court ruling from the UK case. It's interesting to see how many times he was caught fabricating information. At least he didn't take credit for creating the Intarwebs with Al Gore. IMO, both parties won and both parties lost in that whole mess. I'm still trying to figure out how they aren't works of art, but meh...not really my problem.

 

Brad

Edited by Sentry02
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Wow..

Thanks to all who are discussing this post.

 

Generalizing my foot.... From what i've seen, a clay sculpt was made from a female art student and they must have made molds from that.

 

NOT the way it was portrayed in the youtube BS.

 

As if AA slathered on the mixture then reworked it all over again... <_< , why go thru all that rework, when you can do it an easier way/method.

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he shows his process for making a new buck.

 

the old 1976 buck is shown in the video sitting next to this one he's created.

 

he did not lose the helmet bucks in the shop fire.

 

his design was taken from liz and needed to be resculpted to add the details for the vocoder and other elements.

 

AA is the person who created the original bucks for the armor, and he IS the person responsible for making

 

over 50 plus suits for ANH that is a FACT!

 

there is no reason to suspect that he originated the design, he simply had to make changes to the sculpts for the

 

materials he's using to complete the design.

 

he sculpted the ears to cover the gaps, and saw and took measurements and ideas from the moore sculpt and made changes.

 

he did not simply recast the liz moore sculpt, he had to change the shape to allow it to be a forming buck.

 

lots of people don't understand the situation, and make AA out to be lying... I don't think that he's doing anything

 

except trying to explain that he created a derivitave work because of the industrial process needed to create the design.

 

on the front page of the reception center there is a caption stating "weird post ANH helmet" and that helmet is a pre production

 

model where he was trying to introduce a new concept into the back cap undercut. that design was rejected by lucas, and he went back

 

to the smooth cap n back for the rest of the helmets.

 

there is no reason at all to think that AA didn't work on the original films. he is the man who did what the studio originally could not

 

acomplish.

 

AA never claims to have created the original design, he's just showing the differences he needed to make to turn another sculptors work

into a forming tool.

Edited by TK Bondservnt 2392
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On 12/29/2010 at 4:05 PM, TK Bondservnt 2392 said:

on the front page of the reception center there is a caption stating "weird post ANH helmet" and that helmet is a pre production

 

model where he was trying to introduce a new concept into the back cap undercut. that design was rejected by lucas, and he went back

 

to the smooth cap n back for the rest of the helmets.

 

Really? You mean this lid vern? pre production? :huh:

 

--------

 

after a close lookC I'm not too sure about that ;)

Edited by gmrhodes13
link not working removed
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on the front page of the reception center there is a caption stating "weird post ANH helmet" and that helmet is a pre production

 

model where he was trying to introduce a new concept into the back cap undercut. that design was rejected by lucas, and he went back

 

pretty sure the so called proto lid came after the fact ?

the only thing ainsworth fabricated is his history/story, oh & he pulled some plastic

 

vern do you wanna buy big ben i'll take a cheque ;)

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On 12/29/2010 at 4:52 PM, riveting said:

Really? You mean this lid vern? pre production? :huh:

 

----------

 

after a close lookC I'm not too sure about that ;)

I believe that lid is owned by a swedish collector, who has a thumbnail of that image (the larger image-link is broken) on this page, and the following info about it:

Quote
Prototype Stormtrooper helmet made of 3 separate pieces. The main difference from the final version is the ribbed neck. It originally came from a crew member who worked on the production at Elstree Studios in England.
Edited by gmrhodes13
link not working removed
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he shows his process for making a new buck.

 

the old 1976 buck is shown in the video sitting next to this one he's created.

 

he did not lose the helmet bucks in the shop fire.

his design was taken from liz and needed to be resculpted to add the details for the vocoder and other elements.

AA is the person who created the original bucks for the armor, and he IS the person responsible for making

over 50 plus suits for ANH that is a FACT!

 

there is no reason to suspect that he originated the design, he simply had to make changes to the sculpts for the

materials he's using to complete the design.

 

he sculpted the ears to cover the gaps, and saw and took measurements and ideas from the moore sculpt and made changes.

 

he did not simply recast the liz moore sculpt, he had to change the shape to allow it to be a forming buck.

lots of people don't understand the situation, and make AA out to be lying... I don't think that he's doing anything

 

except trying to explain that he created a derivitave work because of the industrial process needed to create the design.

 

on the front page of the reception center there is a caption stating "weird post ANH helmet" and that helmet is a pre production

model where he was trying to introduce a new concept into the back cap undercut. that design was rejected by lucas, and he went back

to the smooth cap n back for the rest of the helmets.

 

there is no reason at all to think that AA didn't work on the original films. he is the man who did what the studio originally could notacomplish.

 

AA never claims to have created the original design, he's just showing the differences he needed to make to turn another sculptors work

into a forming tool.

 

Vern

Really surprised at your post mate, especially after Brian Muir (stands up and salutessalute10re.gif) replied to a very similar

Post from your good selfm1727.gif

 

 

Well Bondservant I'm glad I'm here to so that I can speak up for myself and Liz and get the truth out there!

 

To answer your questions....

 

Liz Moore sculpted the helmet and I sculpted all the armour in clay.

The clay sculpts were moulded and cast in plaster by the film plasterers at Elstree.

I then carved and sharpened the plaster positive casts.

These were then moulded and cast in fibreglass and fixed to a board to create a board of armour parts for vac forming.

The Studios then vac formed suits but then had a problem with the machine and had to outsource them so the moulds were sent to Ainsworth

He did not have any imput into the design of the Stormtroopers. It was a team of artists starting with Ralph McQuarrie, John Barry, Liz Moore and myself. Ainsworth was just the manufacturer and did what he does best - pulls vacuum formed plastic.

 

As they had already pulled suits at the studios undercuts and any other problems had all been ironed out.

 

Your comment 'perhaps AA after looking at Liz Moore's sculpt went to his shop and resculpted it as he mentioned ' my only answer to this is WHY when Liz's sculpt had already been passed by Lucas. As you can see by the photo above Ainsworth never did have the ability to sculpt and never will.

 

 

No one is debating that Andrew ‘Walter Mitty’ Ainsworth vac formed the armour and lids, the trouble is that his fabrication

skills have branched out over recent years to grossly untrue verbal variety. :angry:

Vern, everyone is entitled to their own opinion mate and if you decide to believe the dross that Mr.Ainsworth spews out

Then so be it, but please don’t quote them as FACTS when they have been proven otherwise.

 

I’m just glad we have the honour and privilege of Brian being part of our community to openly share with us information

on a subject that we all so passionately love.

Ask me who I believe is telling the truth?, …Brian, every time, without question, :)

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