Stormtrooper pauldrons

i read somewhere that Pauldrons were originally part of Motorcross protection gear.

They were - http://www.vintageiron.com/chestprotector.cfm has very similar ones, though in colors that would be inappropriate for a SW costume to say the least...

Though, after making the kind of remark they did, I doubt any Star wars fan would bother ordering from them. Jeesh! Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

Very true.

Special Note #2: If you are a Star Wars nut and want to buy a chest protector for your Storm Trooper outfit we wonÂ’t make them in a special color unless you order 100![/b]

I guess they feel they already have enough customers.

I may have dreamt/imagined this, but......

Is stormtrooper rank also on the helmet in the number of black stripes on the audio pickup mounted on the ears? I've seen some with one stripe, others with three.