GINO

I know a lot of you are already familiar with what differentiates a hero TIE helmet from a standard TIE helmet, but for those who aren't, here is a quick at-a-glance comp. As far as I know there are 3 distinct hero helmets made for ANH. They started out as standard (background) helmets but were detailed and weathered for close up cockpit shots. Every helmet I've seen in the film has the one metal greebly on each ear and that's it. PS, there was footage shot for ANH of the standard TIE pilots running down the death star hallways and the hero TIE pilots in the cockpit that were used in ROTJ. All the TIE helmets were made for the ANH production, none were made for subsequent films. .

Almost finished. Made in the correct color, gloss and thickness of ABS. Still need to get decals made and tint the visor. For the x-wing helmets, I plan to do a couple versions of x-wing helmet including both hero and background style. For the Tie helmets, I plan to do a hero, background, and of course the AT-AT pilot (one of my all time favorites). Here's some pics so far. .

The bumps/texture is absolutely part of the mold. It is on every hdpe background helmet made for the movie. The exact same bumps can be found in the exact same spots on every helmet. Some helmets are sharper pulls than others, therefore making this effect look more apparent. It has nothing to do with paint or debris. When I spoke with AA, he maintained that the only helmets made in hdpe were prototypes and there were only 6 while the rest were abs. This is completely untrue and is actually quite the opposite. There were 6 abs hero helmets made for the film and the rest of the background (stunt) helmets were hdpe. Forming hdpe does put sometimes put rippling texture into a part, but this is not the cause of what we are seeing on the helmets. Also it is not reserved to just the back/cap, it is also on the faceplate just not as prominent.

Just to clarify a couple of things. The detail in the tear is supposed to be there. The detail was not removed by TE as it was still present on the mold when I received it. It was filled in for replicas that were sold for reasons mentioned above. But it is still present on my mold. Here is a pic of what it should look like. ------------ More can be found here:------------ .

Actually, that helmet has the bumps/texture as well. It is just not as prominent as some of the others but make no mistake, EVERY trooper helmet for ANH/ESB (with the exception of the 6 ABS hero helmets) had the bumps/texture present. There are some good screen caps that show the bumps/texture quite well. One scene that comes to mind is the one where mr. no stripes' helmet comes into the frame full size while he says "she'll be alright, inform lord vader we have a prisoner". .

Here you go as requested. http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=13295 .

Hey Dmaian. I'd be glad to offer it here as well. I'll put a thread up in the ongoing sale section if that will be helpful. .

This is exactly the situation that I ran into when I had mine custom made. It is also why I have to charge so much in an effort to try and make my as much of my money back as possible (which I still haven't). It's a bad financial deal for the person fronting the money (ie me) because it's doubtful that I'll ever be able to recoup from t-track sales. I had to have it made and bite the financial bullet because I wanted to see it made correctly once and for all. In other words, I did it a what will most likely end up being a loss rather than turn any profit whatsoever. I did have it made and it turned out awesome and incredibly accurate. I still have some left, but unfortunately, it's on the pricey side. No sense re-inventing the wheel when it is already available. Unfortunately, the cost of accuracy can suck the fun out of things (and our wallets). .

I've already explained why the bump might not be there on some helmets. BTW, the detail in the teardrops are on my molds, and they look nothing like what is on the Laws helmet. This detail was kept out of any helmets I made for other people. Guess what. You're never going to have one with it because I'm never going to offer one to a non-friend, and no one else has a mold with these details intact. .

Not proven to some. But to those who matter, yes. .

That's beyond ridiculous. You're reaching so far. You need to just stop and let it sink in that what I'm saying is true. Unless you already know his is a recast and you are just helping keep it covered up. I sure hope no one would stoop to that, but then again... .

It's not inapplicable considering the great amount of people posting in this thread who have no morals when it comes to the hobby. They are like pirates not to be trusted with anything of value. They could care less whether or not TM recast or not. They only see a nice guy who sells them stuff being attacked. No interest in the truth whatsoever. As far as the part about nothing is worth sacrificing one's morals, and it's not the armor but the person who is in it, I couldn't agree with you more! .

That's good and all. The point I was trying to make was that they would be just as happy if you guys showed up in FX armor. It's your own selfish desires to have something more accurate and to obtain it by any means necessary that I have the problem with. Poor form to say it's for the kids when it's not. For the millionth time, this thread is not to discuss the pro/cons of recasting etc.. or these other tangent topics. It's about the truth of TM recasting his helmet vs. him saying that it was sculpted from scratch. .

Good. Finally good to see someone with the balls enough to be able to admit it to themselves. .

You know what don't even get me started on that crap. The reality is IF all you really cared about was the children and charity, why care about recasting the more accurate armor? I'll tell you why, because YOU want it for YOU. Not the kids. Kids dying of cancer don't give a rats a$$ about whether or not you wear FX or a recast screen derivative. .

It's not about me being alright with it. I don't care if he sells a million of them. It's about what is the truth. No more BSing about what it is. .

See that's what makes this so frustrating. It IS fact. It's trying to explain, educate, prove, it to people like you that is practically a fool's errand. Yet I try anyway. Why? Because for every idiot out there, there is another guy quietly sitting at his computer thinking to himself, holy crap he's RIGHT. Superior being? No. Enlightening you with my knowledge? Absofrigginlutely yes. For years. More than probably anyone else in this hobby. Yes I have faith in my experience and knowledge because it is truth I've learned over many years of hardcore dedication and research people like you will never fully grasp. You know what? You're welcome. Intellectual honesty? What the hell are you talking about? What does that even mean? I call it like it is. Always have. Always will. Even when I KNOW it will make me unpopular with a lot of people. .

Some people are just thick. I said way earlier, some will remain unconvinced regardless. It is inevitable in situations like this. Whether the bump is there or not makes no difference. It WAS there on an earlier version. Perhaps it was removed when he did further clean up. I don't know. It's not important why anyway. If you can't tell it's the same face, there is no hope for you. Good thing you aren't builders because your props would suck. As far as me not contributing. The problem with most costumers is that to them, their measure of whether someone contributes, is if they are selling them stuff. What they don't realize is most of the knowledge you have or the pieces that you run around in were provided to you by people like me. Either directly or indirectly. The reason I don't sell stuff is because of douchbag recasters and their supporters. Why share it just so they can rip you off and recast your stuff. Screw em. Let them make do with whatever crap pieces they can get their hands on. The good stuff would be wasted on them anyway. They have no appreciation for it. As long as they look good for little kids right. This whole debacle is not about the measures of recasting, not about whether you agree with my perspective on the hobby, whether or not I think you are a douchbag or not (I probably do). It's about the FACT that TM lied about where his helmet came from and that does damage to the clarity of origins of fan made stuff in the public arena. Nothing you say is going to change that, so you might as well start accepting it. .

Overlays are not reliable for comparisons such as this. Differences in assembly and photo angle etc.. cause to many variables to draw any conclusions. Has anyone gotten a response from Paul on this? .

Yes, I am quite certain the whole helmet was recast, then modified/cleaned up. TM has been making helmets for years based on these recasts so I would not be surprised to see variances between different styles or versions since the time he started. As far as his armor goes, I have to say that I have not taken enough time to examine it enough to tell if it started out as a recast that he modified as well. My first inclination is that it is scratch sculpt because it is so far off from the screen used in many places (in areas that the rotj armor is inherently still correct). Everyone knows my feelings about recasters. That's not what this whole thing is about. It is about keeping clear the lineage of fan made trooper stuff out there. I think it would go a long way if he were to come here and own up to it all. We all know he did it. I know he's been reading the thread here and on RPF. If he can't admit it now after all of this, I fear his honor and credibility amongst his peers will never regain itself. .

runnriott- If I were to share what I truly think of you and people 'like you', I surely would violate the terms of not only this board, but my own as well. What you fail to understand is that I'm not in this hobby to play dress up, and I'm not in it to make friends. I'm not in it to sell product, or to win a popularity contest. What I do offer is info you can take to the bank. And if you knew how rare that is in our hobby, you might appreciate when I do a little more. A ton of the info about vader and troopers that you benefit from, come DIRECTLY from me whether you know it or not. Whether it has been regurgitated from some other person on some other forum or some other site who heard me say it. So next time you dress up in your trooper costume, or put on your vader boots, you can quietly thank me for help paving the road and laying out the knowledge that makes people like YOU able to wear something resembling accurate. .

But they do. And frequently. And what's worse is when it is by those who are significantly less knowledgeable. That is what usually caused me to lose my cool, or post in a sarcastic or irritated (arrogant sounding) way. I'm not saying that I'm all knowing, or that someone who doesn't know as much as me can never be right and me be wrong, because I don't think that. That's not what I'm talking about. It's about saying, hey maybe we should listen to what he has to say and not lead with our emotional knee-jerk reactions to his 'unpopular' statements. I do thank, and notice those who don't do this. .

GZ is right. I'm sorry rolf, some of the things you said hit me the wrong way and I let my emotions get the best of me. .

I appreciate the compliment. Maybe in time people will understand that my tone in posts comes off as arrogant out of frustration. And glad to see someone with courage enough to speak his mind amongst his peers even when his sentiments are 'unpopular' among them. Some of you guys could learn a thing or two from Smitty. .

OMG. Both of your guys comparisons only further show what I have been saying. Anyone who can't see this really should just shut up, and be happy little armor buyers. .