Black Series Boba Fett Helmet Announced

[Ackbar16]

I don’t have any skin in the game here, but I’m going to jump in anyway.

WhiteShadow’s work is outstanding, and may have been an original creation. Yes, it may have been designed to be used in a piece of Disney owned, intellectual property. It also might be infringement on Disney to use his creation in their mass produced product.

All of this could be completely accurate, and it still could do more damage to this community if legal action were taken. The prop making community has been extremely lucky that Disney has not pulled the plug on any sales activity Of their IP. Unfortunately the law doesn’t always work for the little guy. WhiteShadow could sue, and win. That is completely in the realm of possibility.

It’s also completely possible that Disney loses, and decides to retaliate against this entire community as a result. Disney hasn’t sued anyone that I know about, but sue Disney... well, that may change everything.

 

[E Williams]

I make a foam padded helmet liner that looks like electronics. The design is original and 100% mine.

So it's 100% yours and you took zero inspiration at all from the Riddell Boba Fett mini-helmet interior? Certainly you must admit this is not the case.

Hasbro is not directly molding your piece, and though some geometry is clearly inspired by yours, it's still changed and reinterpreted. Given the concept, overall look, and even some detailing of yours was cribbed from Riddell to begin with, what leg are you standing on?

The big company let you get away with selling a product clearly inspired by the design of one of their own products. They demanded no credit, nor did they interfere. It seems like that courtesy should extend the other way as well.

When that reciprocity of turning a blind eye to (real or perceived) infringements breaks down you get (at the extreme) situations like what is going on in the other major Star-franchise between the studio and the fan makers. There's been a crackdown to such an extent that garage kit shops of non-canon wholly original ship models, and even something as innocent as instagram pages of fan art, have been shut down.

 

[dr_slurpee]

I think Riddell would disagree with this.

The implication being that he copied Riddell's helmet insides? Depending on the terms of the license LFL may not even have the right to reuse anything Riddell did for the inside of the helmets they made.

At best LFL could bar Whiteshadow from making any reference to their character, but the helmet liner itself and it's design is not something they can or cannot take ownership of unless it's a derivative of their actual IP (which would have to be their own helmet inside design not the outside of the helmet). I have not compared against the Riddell helmet so I can't say if it is too similar, but in terms of making a helmet liner for a character that is an IP of anyone, the only thing he can't do is use the name or likenesses to sell his unique designs.

 

[MrFlibble]

At best LFL could bar Whiteshadow from making any reference to their character, but the helmet liner itself and it's design is not something they can or cannot take ownership of unless it's a derivative of their actual IP

You don't think a Boba Fett helmet liner (intended to fit in the specific geometry of a proprietary helmet) is a derivative of their actual IP?

 

[Gerard2567]

These last two pages gave me a headache. It's people arguing points that wont even be valid in court.

If his original interior design was copied, no matter if the interior was an accesory to an IP, he still has a better case against hasbro.

However if he was selling copies of the actual IP (boba fett helmets) Thats a conpletely different story.


Just because he sells interiors to be put in IP's it doesnt mean disney owns it, especially if its an original concept.

Please end this discussion, it's ridiculous.

 

[MrFlibble]

Just because he sells interiors to be put in IP's it doesnt mean disney owns it, especially if its an original concept.

I don't think anyone has claimed Disney owns White Shadow's work.

It is evident that Hasbro did not copy his design.

 

[WhiteShadow]

 

[MrFlibble]

Confirmation bias.

 

[Gerard2567]

I don't know it looks like hasbro ripped his design.

 

[MrFlibble]

I don't know it looks like hasbro ripped his design.

Not any more than he ripped off Riddell's design.

There are a lot of differences there. The entire left side. The design of the Riddell box in the back. The entire right side except for arguably two greeblies. The only significant similarity is the number of pads, which don't even share the same design or layout.

 

[WhiteShadow]

The first question I asked was "why didn't they just use the Riddell interior design?"
In trying to find the answer, I found out that the original agreement with the artist that designed the entire mini helmet series dictated that the interior would not be replicated for any mass produced 1:1 helmets. That's why master replicas recreated the quarter scale helmets w/interiors but didn't add them to the full size line.
That being said, any helmet interior hasbro added would need to be different enough from the Riddell design that a casual observer wouldn't confuse the two. Otherwise they break the agreement.

So you can say I drew inspiration from the Riddell interior.... Because I did.

But hasbro needed to integrate a detailed interior that wouldn't be mistaken for Riddell's. They were successful because if you look at the top and bottom pics, there are dramatic differences.

The middle and bottom pics... Not so different. I mean one looks fan made and one looks like a 3d render

 

[DiggsBarklightr]

I preordered a bucket already thanks for the design? Not sure what else I’m supposed to do with this information of yours.

 

[MrFlibble]

The middle and bottom pics... Not so different. I mean one looks fan made and one looks like a 3d render.

This is where the confirmation bias comes in IMO. The middle and bottom pics are substantially different. The entire left side of the lining is unique in both images aside from the number of pads, which is most likely an example of convergent design based on scaling up the Riddell helmet for a human head. The size, shape and placement of those pads is different.

The back of the helmet is as different from yours as yours is from the Riddell version. Both are clearly based on the Riddell box. Both use different "speaker" designs and placement. The only similarity here is the presence of a smaller speaker disc, but again this is of a different design in the two helmets, and circles are pretty obvious filler greeblies that any designer might pick independently.

The right side is the only section with any real similarity, and I suspect you are latching onto these similarities and incorrectly applying them to the liner as a whole. The two similarities here are the presence of the cylindrical greebly and the silver row of greeblies. However, the silver greeblies are significantly different (yours almost appear to be a single block of tubes vs the blades on the Hasbro version). The greebly band at the bottom is completely different on both liners, and the ear area is radically different - there is nothing even faintly resembling your (very cool) disc-and-wing design. The stark differences in the rest of the design strongly suggest the cylindrical greebly here is also a coincidence - it's a very common Star Wars greebly shape.

I'm afraid I just don't see your argument here at all. However, I should note that I think your design is by far the coolest of the three.

 

[WhiteShadow]

Sorry for the quality of this collage. It's just what I came up with on my lunch break. With a digital pallette and design choices limited only by imagination, they coincidentally made the same choices I did 3 years ago.

 

[MrFlibble]

The color palette is influenced in both examples by the Riddell interior and the Boba Fett design itself.

The only real similarity I see in your collage is the cylinder on the right side and arguably the dome on the left side. Both of those fall well within the realm of obvious Star Wars greebly choices designers might arrive at independently - especially considering the stark differences pretty much everywhere else.

I understand how close you are to your project, but this is the very definition of confirmation bias. Hasbro didn't rip you off.

 

[benhs1898]

I do think they ripped your design. What do you realistically want? You wouldn’t get credited whether they asked you or not.

 

[WhiteShadow]

One last example and then I'm done. I absolutely need to get back to work.
I understand what you're saying about observational bias. I've considered that. I've considered the differences between the designs. There are many.


The arrows are meant to highlight 2 hard drive reader arms. Why would hasbro integrate two hard drive parts into their design at the same location? I know it's a minute example, but I see those examples all over.
Maybe I'm completely off base with all of it. I understand that for those reading this, your decision one way or the other has already been made. There's nothing I can put in front of you to change your mind.
So I'll stop hijacking the thread... You guys can get back to discussing paint details and how many helmets you're going to buy. Irregardless, thank you all for the feedback.

 

[WhiteShadow]

I do think they ripped your design. What do you realistically want? You wouldn’t get credited whether they asked you or not.

Amazon.com

Page 85 details the designer of the mini helmet interiors.
It's not much, but something like that would be nice.
I'm not dense. I know there's virtually no possibility of any kind of official acknowledgement.
But if this design is potentially going to be official canon... This is likely the closest I'll ever get to being part of that. Why wouldn't I at least mention the situation to some potentially like-minded fans?

 

[MrFlibble]

With the greatest of respect, I think you're seeing what you want to see. You are finding areas of similarity and ignoring the (many) areas of difference.

I still prefer your helmet, but the fact that I can even have a preference just underlines that they are different objects.

 

[H0llyw00d]

I dunno, if one of my builds became canon I think I'd nut...