Will we see any new cast from original Stormtrooper Helmets?

[JoeR]

With the cost of the lastest ROTJ Stormtrooper Helmet at approx $85,000 and an ANH/ESB one potentially even more do you think we will see any new cast from original helmets?

 

I can't imagine anyone who would shell out $85,000 and then take apart and take casts from flimsy plastic in the name of replicas.

 

Has the cast from original era come to an end? The hobby has changed so much in the last few years, the price of originals is silly at present. I think the same would be true for Vader helmets.

 

Joe

[Discharged_Mindriot]

heh Joe,

 

There was talk of a new one:

 

http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=6021

 

 

Looks like it could be sweet, but the issue appears to be that people would recast it after all the hard work they have to put in to make the molds and fix it....

[synaptyx]

Taking your ROTJ bucket aside for a moment, Joe.

 

If that's the kind of price, you can just about confidently bet that no-one will take their prized piece of movie legend apart to recast it.

 

If anything is likely it would probably be a laser scanned helmet like the Dan Laws bucket.

 

Under LFL Licence, Museum Replicas are supposed to be working from original ANH props, but as yet we have no idea if they're scanning, re-sculpting by eye, or recasting an original. I doubt very much that LFL will let them recast, so it'll either be scanned, or sculpted by eye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please note: I use the term recast for it's original meaning, not as an emotive:

re·cast [v. ree-kast, -kahst; n. ree-kast, -kahst] Show IPA verb,-cast, -cast·ing, noun

–verb (used with object)

1. to cast again or anew.

2. to form, fashion, or arrange again.

3. to remodel or reconstruct (a literary work, document, sentence, etc.).

4. to supply (a theater or opera work) with a new cast.

–noun

5. a recasting.

6. a new form produced by recasting.

[Volumino]

In my view I think that the recast stuff is going way to far. We all just want accurate helmets, don't we?

So why are people pissed of about recasting? Don't understand me wrong, I have much respect of persons who work months or even years to make the perfect mold. But every man praises that they don't wanna make any money with selling armors. So why would there be a problem? If armor sellers would sell at cost than there wouldn't be any recasting!?

[JoeR]

My project aside, I was thinking more of ANH or ESB helmets...

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

well george obviously has shown that accuracy is somthing we're headed for in the future.

 

it's like watching the don post come out.. and then watching the rubies come out.

 

we have always seen the concept "make it affordable, and easy to manufacture."

 

if LFL was officially contacted by members of this legion, and we have seen accuracy improve in the past.

 

perhaps the reason why the TK and other armor projects have taken lucasfilm so long... is that they would want

 

to go the other direction and produce ALL the armors, in all their film related variations.

 

after looking at the soft clothing that is already available, I can only hope that tradition will follow.

 

they know how complex and time consuming this process is. and how prone it can be to failure.

 

I believe that's why injection was traded for vac forming in the MRCE.

 

most likely it's about quality control, price and accuracy in a matrix.

 

when the live action series comes out it's all about mandos and tk's and clones.

 

that's the future we're headed for.

[Star Wars Helmets]

The answer to this is YES - but not in the way we're used to.

 

Like Synaptyx said, we'll most likely see scans made from the outside of the helmet to ensure there's no damage to an asset worth in the tens of thousands.

 

Bottom line is no one is going to take the risk to dissasemble an original helmet and physically make a mouuld from it when the financial argument (read risk) no longer stacks up. Especially when people still come out with dumb and crass arguments like "well if they were only cheaper I wouldnt be tempted to recast" - sure if only cars were less expensive I wouldnt feel the need to steal them!

 

However there are TK helmet castings out there that were made years ago that may one day be used to create new helmet runs (one specifically I'm aware of was made in the 90's and most certainly was not from Dave M's or Brian R's helmets). They do exist - although whether any non-licensed producer is motivated enough to go to the effort of bringing a new helmet to the market only to have some low rent recaster ripping his work off is another thing.

 

From a licensed perspective (and having worked in this space) I'm confident that they will never be able to make a super-accurate TK helmet, since the economics of production and realities of market expectations will always conflict. So a swift "No" on that front.

 

Also here's another thing. Do we really need another ANH/ESB Stormtrooper helmet type?

 

Cheers

 

Jez

[Vaj]

...

Also here's another thing. Do we really need another ANH/ESB Stormtrooper helmet type?

 

Cheers

 

Jez

 

 

...In my opinion yes because there is not even a single replica/recast that is unaltered.