Star Wars Helmets

THanks for the comments guys Bezerkus - I'd rather you didnt refer to it from ebay in case your auction could be misconstrued by a potential bidder. I never have a problem people using the images from my site except for auction purposes. I hope you understand Cheers Jez

Hi, the second of my video reviews is up - this time an Original TIE helmet from ANH/RotJ. I had more footage of this one so there more to see (around 6 mins when edited) - and like the other its in standard and "high" resolution: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LMK_mv8z-iQ For those who didnt see the (shorter) Original ESB Stormtrooper review, here's the link: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tuJDdVEn0_4 Hope you enjoy Cheers Jez

Thanks for the comments guys. The next one will be an original TIE which should be done in a couple of weeks. Apart from the editing, most of the time is writing the text to synch in with the video - hard in the case of the ESB helmet as I only had a couple of mins footage. Ive more for the TIE Cheers Jez

As promised I've pulled this together over the last few days. The footage dates back to just a few minutes I grabbed about 3-4 years ago - so I've had to pad it out a bit to make more of a "review" of it. I've stuck it on Youtube and its in two different resolutions, the upper one is not bad. Let me know what you think. I've tried to make it as accessible as I can - ie assume the watcher has a bear min of info upfront (e.g. Stunt and Hero etc.) Cheers Jez

Mark, Your helmet looks superb - well done. Feel free to post whatever pics you want of the original from my site - thats what its there for Cheers Jez

So dramatic - but I thought I already had one? Whatever - on a lighter note and of more interest to others I'm going to pull together some video I took some time ago on an ESB Stormtrooper helmet, which I'll post in a separate thread soon. Cheers Jez

Sorry, I didn't mean to touch a raw nerve. It just looked like another example of you showboating without anything to back it up. I presume TE told you "No" so it ended there. Please detail where I have posted anything of yours without permission and I will gladly remove it from my site Cheers Jez

Nice work Mike The guys I was thinking of are already on your list. Note that there were a dozen or so guys in Tunisia too, but have no idea who the names are. However there's the daily sheets they produced which should list most of the people, LFL has them but I dont think have ever released them all - just extracts. Cheers Jez

alas after 6 months it sounds like more broken promises! Cheers Jez

That is funny I had heard about $2k per set. Add this to the fact that they are going to have to make compromises due to the mass-production environment (and that theyre licensed, pay taxes, have to please shareholders etc. etc.) suggests to me that UNLESS the "LFL official" tag is important to you, you're going to be able to get something a lot cheaper and more accurate from one of the leading fan-made producers Cheers Jez

From the photo's Ive been sent from early-adopters It doesn't look good to me. The helmet is particularly frightening - which is a surprise given its based on the Don Post deluxe moulds from the mid 90's (which though not very accurate as symmetrical I still quite like) HOWEVER, IMO this armour could be "rescued" if its dressed correctly (the pics Ive seen so far are just HORRIBLE) AND the addition of a different helmet (the cheapo Master Replicas Stunt CE may work). I did contact the muppets in Rubies' marketing department to see if they would lend me a set so I could do a proper review of it, but they werent interested. You can lead a horse to water but........ Bottom line is a fan-made set would be infinately better. Here was an "official" company who tried to do it, wasnt interested in discussing what the fans really wanted, and have produced something that will I believe be rejected by precisely the people Rubies would have wanted to impress. Muppets! Cheers Jez

I'm conscious that people have a knack of posting theory as fact. There is a theory that AA moulds are derived from the (incorrectly termed) prototype helmet which was produced after ANH. However there is another line that says that AA is using the original moulds (used to produce the helmets for ANH), but damage/age/whatever means they are no longer in the same state they were in 1976 - which would be understandable. So there's been a lot of discussion/arguing on the boards but no proof. In the legal case the judge didnt comment on the originality of AA's moulds. AA armour moulds DO appear to derive from other fan-made designs such as GF and TE, which were themselves cast off an original RotJ set - which was itself cast off an original AA-produced ANH set in 1976. Complex isnt it! As far as the legal action its incorrect to say AA lost, and would probably be more accurate to say that "LFL didnt win" since they were unable to stop production since the judge seemed to suggest that AA had rights to reproduce his own work, which was classed as "Industrial Design" and thus out of copyright. This therefore posed more questions than answers so its highly likely LFL will re-commence legal action from a different angle Hope this helps Cheers Jez

For the money I think they're fantastic. Note sure about the 501st bit though, although I have to say that it would be madness to deny the MR CE while at the same time allowing the bobble-head FX Cheers Jez

Now thats what I'm talkin's about! Cheers Jez

You guys need to go back to trooper school! Don't you know to make a truly accurate ESB helmet you need to stick a dirty great big fabric "Star Wars" patch to the rear of the helmet! Cheers Jez

------------ The Don Post "Deluxe" mould isnt the best starting point. I like it as it has a certain look that I quite like - however its patently inaccurate But somehow Rubies has managed to make it look even LESS accurate. Man that requires talent Cheers Jez

Much of what Gino says is correct - although its worth pointing out that some is conjecture, although his conjecture is based on a significant amount of research he, myself and a number of others have done over the years. The chronology as I see it was therefore: 1) Stunt helmets made in crappy HDPE. No payment of contract from Lucafilm (or even the knowledge of what the “production” was). Hence there was no wastage. Everything was used no matter how badly formed or warped the helmets were. Initially these were to have been made in a white material but only HDPE could provide the undercuts necessary so they continued with that, AA spray painting the helmets himself next to his cars in the rear of the factory using his car spray rig. Much of the forming was done on his rear vac-forming machine which was used for his Garden Fixtures (also made from HDPE). 2) The vac-forming of the 56 HDPE Stunts caused significant damage to the extremities of the moulds which were not intended for such a quick and (relatively)high volume run. The mould used to heat up during forming and this made vac forming more difficult. However due to the time pressures of making the Stunt helmets in time they were forced to rush the helmets causing further damage as they often had to be cut from the moulds. 3) As the weeks go by, LFL (now engaged directly)asks him to form the armour as well as some other helmets. Fiberglass casts of 2 US Airforce/Navy pilots provided, which form the basis of the X-Wing, RFT, DS Gunner, Imp Guard" 4) At the same time, LFL requests 6 "close-up" Stormtrooper helmets and is prepared to pay more for them. AA perseveres with ABS and despite high failure rate produces 6 "Hero" helmets from white ABS. However, in advance of this the moulds were cleaned up and repaired following the damage from the 56 stunts. Apart from the obvious things, there are numerous differences between the Stunt and Hero faces, some due to the modifications made, others partially due to the different materials employed. 5) Its likely at this point that the detail in the tear was removed since it does not appear on either the Hero or TIE/ATAT helmet faces. I’m due to look over an original TIE helmet soon so will double check the insides of the cheek to see if there is any evidence of the oval but from what I recall there is not. 6) Following the success of Star Wars, some time in 1978/79 AA revisits the Stormtrooper helmet producing the “Serrated Neck” helmet mistakenly called the prototype. Cutting the back section (due to damage?) away from the cap/Back section he fabricates a new “U” section from aluminium and hosing. 7) When he started production again in 2003(?) he retrieved his moulds and readied them for usage. As to what state these were in none of us knows. However we all agree that the moulds were significantly different from the state they were in when he started to make the first Stunts in 1976, although perhaps more like they were when he made the hero’s. So turning my attention to Dan’s new helmet - I think its great that there’s another quality helmet available. I think adding the tear oval is a unique idea and as a very accomplished prop maker, Dan’s done a great job with the helmet. I concur with Gino’s assessment about the extent the oval exists. Certainly in the numerous original Stormtrooper helmets Ive handled it has not been as pronounced as others may have suggested. The following photo of two different helmet tears one form the inside the other from the outside should illustrate that. However that’s not to underrate Dan’s helmet, just to offer some detail on this specific attribute. I’m going away so will not be able to comment further for a few days but am pleased that this topics back on track - and in good spirits Cheers Jez

Good post - I cant disagree with any of it. Cheers Jez

Jumpin Jax - Again it seems your master has been spinning you the same lies again and again. It really is about time you grew up and stated thinking for yourself! Defending AA - not at all, just trying to add some balance by suggesting people read the judgement rather than relying solely on LFL's press release. I think most people here would find that pretty balanced - however as I've said since youre effectively TE's partner (or is it master and servant?) maybe that isnt financially attractive to you. I take it that when you mention 40% thats the going rate you get from TE? "Whoring E-FX" - absolutely, along with my "whoring" on StarWarsHelmets.com of TE, GF, MR, SDS, TE2, GH, VM, TM, FX, Rubies, Sideshow, Gino, Crprops, CO, Altmanns, AP.... oh the list goes on and on Cheers Jez

I've only just seen this thread but would like to comment. People who know the history of the "armour wars" will know that I am no supporter of Gino. However I know for a fact that much of what he's said here is correct. TE's history in this hobby is littered with untruths, re-invention, deceit and countless bad deals. Mike's removed his posts so I can only guess what his comments were - however I can understand people's frustration when they or their friends are on the receiving end of yet another "TE deal gone bad". Hell there's been so many of them maybe we could get a new tv show commissioned. Jumpin Jax, you're so close to TE (even admitting in the past to helping him form helmets, plus your constant shilling) that you're practically his partner. Sure you could have thrown that at me concerning AA three years ago but not any more. Anyone with any knowledge in this subject disregards your comments as merely TE-speak. Looking on the positive side I found this post very refreshing and I applaud you... And just to show there's no bias on my side, I have a huge collection of helmets which include lids from ALL these producers. Unfortunately that did not originally include a TE2 so I ordered a full set of armour from him which I am confident I will be blown away by. Cheers Jez

I'm sure they will be just fine Cheers Jez

Its just the lightingg. They are blue - honest! Its just theyre a dark blue (prob too dark) More pics and comparisons here.... http://web.ukonline.co.uk/bingo275/efx_sto...oper_helmet.htm Cheers Jez www.StarWarsHelmets.com

Its interesting that the TIE was assembled incorrectly. However the original TIE in the LFL archives is also assembled incorrectly so it shows why they made the mistage! As you have said that strip should be on the inside, covering the gap where the face plate ends and the front of the x-wing hemisphere's. Like you have said these will be very cool helmets as they have real provenance attached to them. I look forward to hearing more Cheers Jez

I hope the little guys doing okay. I saw him a few months ago. I was driving down the M1 (big freeway in UK that links London to the North) and I thought I saw him in his car (big Jag I think). It freaked me out so I slowed down to have a better look. I dont know if he thought I was stalking him of something so I sped off. He was siuttting quite high in his seat, I dunno if he was sitting on an Ewok or something. So thats my Kenny Baker story.......... Cheers Jez

Yeah - what John said! There were 11 Stunts (Painted HDPE) and just one the one Hero (white ABS) in ESB so it'll be interesting if he DID wear the one Hero. Maybe you could ask him if he has any pics? Oh and ask him whether he noticed that Carrie was stoned out of her box during filming! Cheers Jez