AT-AT Driver helmet question

[CatfoodRob]

Ok, the potentiometer is still available ...it's the slightly rarer 15 mm body variant . ( 12 mm ones are really cheap and available from china, ten for a few quid ( dollars) .
The 15mm ones are a bit harder to find, but I got two genuine 70s ones for under ten pounds . They have rust on the legs ... added patina !!! But brand new ones are available cheap .

Edit ... the potentiometers are 16mm ( thanks to zombie killer for measuring correctly !)

 

[CatfoodRob]

On the original two helmets , the adjuster knob for the potentiometer is still there , glued against the helmet itself .
And of course, the potentiometer contacts are bent upwards .

 

[Zombie Killer]

The potentiometer these helmets have are a very rare reverse rotation pot. The switch is on the full clockwise position unlike 99% of the ones out there. Lastly I was under the assumption the pots were 16mm diameter. The 15mm ones seem a bit small. Here is a 16mm compared to the real ones. Obviously mine are not reverse rotation.

 

[CatfoodRob]

Excelent hi res photos !!!! Thanks for sharing !
You are correct about 16mm , I measured mine and they are in fact 16 not15 . I guess 16 is a standard size. 16mm is 5/8 of an inch for the Americans out there

I guess the hunt is still on to buy the correct version ...but for most people , just finding out that it is a potentiometer and that it is still available is a big deal .
So ... any clues to the sticking out bar with holes and tabs that is soldered onto the large contact ???

 

[Clutch]

Nice!!!!!!! Someone told me they were from an old radio.

 

[Zombie Killer]

For a temp arm I am going to use this stuff. AMP 350561-1 Its not the right stuff but looks the part, I still need to thin down the legs a little though. The real part is not from any pin strips. I have bought a lot of pins and this particular one is the only one I have found that the holes are about the same spread. Difference is on the real part the last hole is not in line with where the pin would be so it is not from pins since the hole on pin strips is to register where the pin is when using automated crimpers. I heard from a birdy that someone may be making some proper stuff, not sure of timeline though. Maybe he will chime in. ( if you decide to buy the pin stuff from ebay , make sure to tell them to keep the pins on the strips or they will send you pins cut off in a bag.....ask me how I know..lol

Ignore the left pins, they were the last stuff I got that was wrong.

 

[Zombie Killer]

View attachment 941130 View attachment 941131 Ok, the potentiometer is still available ...it's the slightly rarer 15 mm body variant . ( 12 mm ones are really cheap and available from china, ten for a few quid ( dollars) .
The 15mm ones are a bit harder to find, but I got two genuine 70s ones for under ten pounds . They have rust on the legs ... added patina !!! But brand new ones are available cheap .

Edit ... the potentiometers are 16mm ( thanks to zombie killer for measuring correctly !)

Are those parts under the pots casts of real parts or 3d printed?

 

[CatfoodRob]

3d printed , but look pretty close to me . They are straight off the printer , not cleaned up or sanded yet .
I haven't located any correct real knobs yet . ( and possibly never will )
I also have the pin terminal strip for the arms, but intend to superglue them on ....just in case I need to remove them , although after several years of searching , I've not seen originals .

 

[Zombie Killer]

Ya they look great ! I have looked too and have not come across the right ones yet.

 

[Zombie Killer]

Very good pics of this helmet here....

5 Star Wars Artefacts in Prop Store CEO Stephen’s Personal Collection

 

[Johnnyb]

I know they are grey but those pics in Stephens Personal Collection still look white. Out of the two stories: one says they were black tie lids then painted white but came out looking grey, the other says they had to be painted grey due to the white snow background to make them stand out, do we know which version is true?

 

[Zombie Killer]

If you look at the pics in the link I posted and look at the pic of the back you can see they were black painted light grey. The whole inside is black and wherever the grey paint is rubbed off is painted black. Only pics I have seen that the helmets look white are over exposed or high lighting pictures. Even then they still have a grey tint to them.

 

[CatfoodRob]

Let's put this to bed for ever ....
The two at at driver helmets were two tie pilot helmets painted grey .
Simples.

 

[ABE]

excellent research info

 

[Pedro]

Nice info on the potentiometers! Somehow I missed these last few posts. Nice research guys.

 

[Star Wars Helmets]

I know they are grey but those pics in Stephens Personal Collection still look white. Out of the two stories: one says they were black tie lids then painted white but came out looking grey, the other says they had to be painted grey due to the white snow background to make them stand out, do we know which version is true?

Let’s be 100% clear on this, these were 2 original TIE helmets which were painted grey. That’s it.

It’s clear when handled they’re so far removed from white it would be daft for anyone to suggest they were painted white, but somehow turned out grey.

Excellent research guys!

Cheers

Jez

 

[Zenwalker]

People need to understand the reasoning behind the painting of props from the point of view of cinematography. The reason for painting them grey was probably because a white helmet against a dark backdrop would be very difficult to light. The contrast range of film stock is very narrow compared to what the human eye can see. So to keep the lighting fidelity in balance some things would have to either lightened up a bit (ie. Vader's helmet is not completely black) or slightly darkened (i.e. the AT AT Driver helmets). Too light a helmet would 'blow out' (i.e. become too bright against a dark backdrop) under given lighting conditions. Reducing the aperture in the camera to compensate for a white helmet, and the dark background becomes black and void of any detail. To compensate for this lighting imbalance painting the helmet grey is the perfect solution. Also remember cinematography is more limited compared to photography in terms of what you can do in the camera to manipulate light levels. The shutter speed in cinematography must be the same to achieve the necessary 24 frame per second frame rate, so you can only adjust the aperture to adjust for the amount of light that hits the film. Whereas in still photography you have the ability to adjust the shutter and the aperture to manipulate what amount of light hits the film. Of course what kind of film stock is used also effects the amount of light needed to properly expose the frame.