Original ANH Stormtrooper helmet and Armor - Just the Facts

[SeanB13]

He looks depressed

And nude.

 

[CTF]

That is the coolest picture that I've seen today.

 

[omp uk]

I was just looking through an old Christies auction catalogue from 2004. One of the lots is a Stormtrooper helmet and the blurb quotes Ainsworth;

"According to Andrew Ainsworth, who was responsible for making the helmets for Star Wars in 1976, this is one of only six of the first Stormtrooper helmets ever made. These six helmets were all made from the khaki-coloured material used to make fishponds (High Density Poly Ethylene) and then painted white. They were commissioned by George Lucas to illustrate his final pitch to the film company executives to obtain funding and it appears that they were subsequently kept and used in the film. When the project was given the green light, 50 more helmets were commissioned and Ainsworth decided that, as the paint had not taken to the plastic very well, he would instead use white vacu-fomed plastic for all the other helmets."

It looks like he got mixed up - the 6 being ABS rather than HDPE.

 

[Brian Muir]

You can't be serious?! That's just insulting!
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So what are Ainsworth's intentions? Why is he doing this?
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It's completely obvious he's lying, what is he hoping to gain from this shameful public display of deception?
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Is it greed? Does he really profit that much from the sale of misappropriated helmets and armour?
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Is it vindictiveness? Does he feel that he wasn't sufficiently compensated for his limited amount of work?
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It's the same answer to all your questions = $$$$

 

[Brian Muir]

I was just looking through an old Christies auction catalogue from 2004. One of the lots is a Stormtrooper helmet and the blurb quotes Ainsworth;

"According to Andrew Ainsworth, who was responsible for making the helmets for Star Wars in 1976, this is one of only six of the first Stormtrooper helmets ever made. These six helmets were all made from the khaki-coloured material used to make fishponds (High Density Poly Ethylene) and then painted white. They were commissioned by George Lucas to illustrate his final pitch to the film company executives to obtain funding and it appears that they were subsequently kept and used in the film. When the project was given the green light, 50 more helmets were commissioned and Ainsworth decided that, as the paint had not taken to the plastic very well, he would instead use white vacu-fomed plastic for all the other helmets."

It looks like he got mixed up - the 6 being ABS rather than HDPE.

Ainsworth was not involved with the production until late February 1976. How could these helmets have been used for the final pitch when filming in Tunisia was booked for March 1976 let alone the fact that John Mollo and John Barry had a production meeting on 15th December 1975.[/B] Also by the end of January Liz Moore had by then produced several C3P0 concepts and nearly finished the final version? So the production was well on its way by the time he had any involvement.
The truth of the matter is that Ralph McQuarrie produced 5 or 6 detailed concept paintings which were used to illustrate Lucas's vision with the final script in early 1975. There is a letter of confirmation of the production agreement from 20th Century Fox to Lucas.
It would appear that indeed there were 50 HDPE helmets produced @ £20 plus vat.
Ainsworth then ordered one ton of white ABS at a cost of £656.10 on the strength of being asked to vacuum form the armour. He said himself he commissioned the ABS especially for the armour.
He has shown an invoice dated late April 76 showing 6 ‘good’ stormtrooper helmets @ £100 each plus vat
So yes I would say he was ‘mixed up’ in the information he gave to Christies when selling the helmet - although he KNEW the details and still had all the documentation from 1976

 

[defstartrooper]

Ainsworth was not involved with the production until late February 1976. How could these helmets have been used for the final pitch when filming in Tunisia was booked for March 1976 let alone the fact that John Mollo and John Barry had been employed since December 1975. Also by the end of January Liz Moore had by then produced several C3P0 concepts and nearly finished the final version? So the production was well on its way by the time he had any involvement.
The truth of the matter is that Ralph McQuarrie produced 5 or 6 detailed concept paintings which were used to illustrate Lucas's vision with the final script in early 1975. There is a letter of confirmation of the production agreement from 20th Century Fox to Lucas.
It would appear that indeed there were 50 HDPE helmets produced @ £20 plus vat.
Ainsworth then ordered one ton of white ABS at a cost of £654 on the strength of being asked to vacuum form the armour.
He has shown an invoice dated late April 76 showing 6 ‘good’ stormtrooper helmets @ £100 each plus vat
So yes I would say he was ‘mixed up’ in the information he gave to Christies when selling the helmet

I wouldn't be surprised if he mixed it up on purpose, i think it's possible he wanted to convince people that the majority of the original helmets were produced with white abs plastic as that's the material he was and is making his replicas with, thus giving the appearence that his replicas are true to the originals in materials aswell as form.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

WOW... £20 + vat for HDPE helmets. Now there's a price I could agree with.

I guess HDPE is a cheaper plastic to ABS!?

 

[Brian Muir]

Well he would certainly have had the HDPE to hand from his canoe building but I don't have any information of it's cost in comparison to ABS.

Another bit of info I discovered this week was from a plasterer who is working on the film I'm on at the moment. He was an apprentice on A New Hope and they moulded his hands to use for modelling the Stormtrooper handplates (not sculpted by me). Also they moulded his feet to use for modelling 'feet' on the Stormtrooper (also not sculpted by me) but didn't like the result and went for the boots.
He also remembers the fibreglass tools being made for the Stormtrooper armour in house and some sheets of armour being vacuum formed in the Studios.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Another strike against AA.

 

[Brian Muir]

Another strike against AA.

Yes.

I was signing in Harlow recently and 2 Stormtroopers from the UKG were approached by a plasterer, Arthur Whippy, who worked on A New Hope. He told them that he remembered the armour being pulled in house on the Elstree Studios vac forming machine. They then told him about me signing and he came over and had a chat. I hadn't seen him since the ANH production.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

That's cool. :cheers

 

[wolf]

I don't think there are too many folks who still believe AA and his version of events , I have read his latest stories and want to know more about the other helmets, the Tie Pilot, Xwing , Imperial Gunner etc , did he devise any of these? His story reads like George Lucas was very lucky to have him working on the Star Wars movie. Thankyou Brian for every bit of new info.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Well, he took already existing helmets and coupled with other parts and the stormtrooper face. He was likely provided with those existing military helmets for the job. The level of his input on what went with what is debatable.

 

[exoray]

Well, he took already existing helmets and coupled with other parts and the stormtrooper face.

Looking a the craptacular job he did mending the crinkle tube to 'his' version of the trooper back and his mad and bad @#$ angle grinder skills, I'm inclined to believe he didn't do any of the blending, coupling or mending of the other helmet styles as they are actually 'clean' and show a level of creativity and skill that I have failed to see him show 1st hand... IMO he was almost certainly under the instruction of an 'artist' that was simply using him as a machine operator and assembler...

 

[Brian Muir]

I don't think there are too many folks who still believe AA and his version of events , I have read his latest stories and want to know more about the other helmets, the Tie Pilot, Xwing , Imperial Gunner etc , did he devise any of these? His story reads like George Lucas was very lucky to have him working on the Star Wars movie. Thankyou Brian for every bit of new info.

Ainsworth would have you believe that he designed it all :wacko and I think he actually believes it himself now.
He stated that John Mollo drew the characters in his detailed sketch book AFTER Ainsworth had DESIGNED and produced them. The judge ruled against another one of Ainsworth's delusions. Ainsworth had the sense to retract a lot of his statement regarding John Mollo while the court was in session.
The truth is that John Mollo designed the characters and Ainsworth did the vacuum forming.

 

[Spaceace]

Who designed and made what was needed for Ainsworth to vac form the other Imperial and Rebel helmets, or was most of them done by someone else. Can he take any credit for any of them.

 

[Spaceace]

Sorry Brian...just noticed your post about Mollo.

 

[Apollo]

Just found this Thread and want to say thank you Brian for the facts and making sure Liz's work still gets credited.

You are a Scholar and a Gentleman!

 

[RoCKo]

You are a Scholar and a Gentleman!

quoted for truth!
thanks for sharing all you knowledge and insider views with us!

i followed the AA against LFL dilema almost from the beginning and i can´t believe it´s still getting worse?

 

[CSMacLaren]

Well, he took already existing helmets and coupled with other parts and the stormtrooper face. He was likely provided with those existing military helmets for the job. The level of his input on what went with what is debatable.

Interesting. The Rebels' helmet - wasn't that based on the U.S. Navy Talker helmet? If that's the case, unless Ainsworth had, in particular, U.S. militaria lying around to vacform, I doubt he pulled all these things out of his ass. Moreover, wasn't he a pond or boat maker before being approached?

The APH helmet used for the Rebel X-Wing helmet is also American militaria.

If I had lived in England back then, I would have used British militaria.