RS PropMasters Snowtrooper Helmet Review and Original Snowtrooper Costume page

Hi all, I've just added a review of the excellent RS Prop Masters Snowtrooper helmet to my site, and following some great help and insight from TubaChris, there's been a much needed overhaul of the Snowtrooper section too.

Here are some pics of the RS Props helmet....
SWH18_RSPropmasters_Snowtrooperl01.JPG


comparison with a screen-used helmet..
SHW18_RS_Snowtrooper_Orig_comp1a.jpg


SWH18_RSPropmasters_Snowtrooperl09.JPG



...and some interesting pics from the new Original Snowtrooper page..

SWH18_ESB_Snowtrooperl10.jpg


.

including this one from John Mollo's archive
Mollo_Snowtrooper_costume_design_b.jpg


SWH18_ESB_Snowtrooperl66.jpg


More pics on my site (www.StarWarsHelmets.com) - and there are links to both of these new sections from the front page.

Any comments or questions please LMK

Cheers

Jez
 
I love your website! The information that's found there is priceless, the layout of it is fantastic, & it's easy to see it's truly a labor of love. Fantastic :thumbsup
 
Thanks again for the kind comments guys.

Just looking through the new 'original' page again, is there a view that they initially wanted ALL the standard Snowtroopers to have the Commander-style helmets (ie with the solid ABS cowl), until someone smart suddenly realised this was a bad idea as the troopers wouldn’t actually be able to move their heads?

Cheers

Jez
 
The BBB came last week.
I tried to take some shots in order to build a quick review of this helmet.
I hope Jez won't mind I use his thread.

This was my first try with RS PROP MASTERS.
Order placed on March the 14th, received June the 20th.
Basically three months of waiting.
Even if we are not talking about some EFX or ANOVOS products waiting times, this was a bit long in my opinion.
I wasn't in a rush but was a bit disappointed to get the same "it will soon be shipped" answer, when it was obviously not.

Overall I'm really happy with it.
It's a great collector piece with an awesome lineage.
But I am not 100% satisfied.

So, let's go.

Part I. The package.

It was well packed, very professionaly and once shipped, you get it really fast via UPS.

First, you discover the paperworks.
In my opinion these should be inside the main compartment and not on the top, I nearly cut them while opening the box.

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You get a beautiful printed picture, the bill is in a small envelope, plus you get a great COA.
All these small stuff are really cool for that kind of purchase, considering RS is a "small" company.

2.jpg

The helmet is well secured and placed in the box.

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Same thing for the parts of the stand, these were well placed and secured into the box.

5.jpg

Here is what you get :


  • Paperwork
  • Helmet
  • Stand parts with plaque

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Next time I'll talk a bit about the stand, and then, the helmet.
 
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ABE is right.

Just for the record : your site, Jez, is amazing.
I remember checking all these great reviews like what...15 years ago, is that possible ?
Thanks for doing this.

Anyway, back on tracks.

Part II - The stand.

It comes with 4 parts :


  • the display plaque
  • the base
  • the black pvc pipe
  • the "top ball"

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The plaque is a great custom piece.
I really like the design, it adds to the feeling of having a unique piece.
I don't know if I should protect it some way to preserve the signature.
Sadly it doesn't stick to the base and keeps falling, I'll have to fix it.

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The base seems to be a tinted resin cast.
It is well designed (close to the MR ones) but just looks OK in my opinion : some areas could have been cleaned up a bit. It lacks some finishes.

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Nothing special about the tube.
It should be protected in the package, mine was little damaged in some places.

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And then...the support "ball".
You put this thing on the top of the PVC tube in order to hold your helmet in place.
It's made of polystyrene.
The idea is great and simple, but this looks so cheap.
OK, it's hidden by the helmet but hell, this is not pretty.
The few brush strokes of black paint don't add anything to it.
Why not use some PlastiDip paint or cast this directly in some kind of foam ?

14.jpg

Here you have it, the stand all put together.
Overall it's great, but finishes are just OK when you look at it closely.

Also, once everything is setup, you can't really hold or move it, since nothing is really fixed together.
I would love to see some strong magnets here and there (I'll certainly do that), this way you can easily move/assemble/disassemble it.

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Great detail in your review Stal.Thanks for posting.

Abe, mine was missing the top metal thing so I just made-do with a galvanised nail end!. I need to ask the RS guys to send me whatever it is.

Cheers

Jez
 
Thanks Jez.

So, here is the third part of my review.

Part 3 - The helmet

Well protected in the box, it arrived safely.

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And here it is.
The Alan Flyng Signature Edition. Directly molded on an original studio made helmet.
A blast from the past.

It's awesome how legit it feels.
I went for the weathered version, more authentic in my opinion.

The work on the shell is brilliant, they captured all the small details of the original one.
The ABS feels really flexible/flimsy, as the original.
The cowl looks really accurate too.

18.jpg 21.jpg 20.jpg 19.jpg

The top of the helmet also has this small metal part.
It's an accurate detail, even if I don't know what it was designed for.

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As for the inside of the helmet.

When I ordered my helmet, it was supposed to be signed by Alan Flyng on the inside.
I looked everywhere, and it's definitely not signed... Surprisingly, this passed QC too.

Also, I'm a bit disturbed by the rest of the inside of my helmet.

It comes with a yellow foam padding, as used for the Stormtroopers.
The chinstrap is just some black elastic strap, with a snap.

The RS team never showed (or presented) the inside of their replicas before selling them.
But they advertised us that this replica would be top notch.
So, logically, I was waiting for the inside to be as accurate as the rest of the helmet.
Especially since they did showed the inside of their original helmet several times.
Plus, in February, they showed on facebook that they found the exact same chinstrap as the original.

So today I am very surprised (and confused) that the inside of my helmet has nothing to see with the original one.
Disappointing.


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I asked RS about these, but I didn't get any answers yet.
I will let you know once they do so.

Cheers.

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The screen used helmets did have the nose gap, but yours, like a few others (including mine), have a much bigger gap than it should have. RS acknowledged the error and offered replacement, and this week hopefully it will arrive. Seems only about 6 lids had this problem, maybe yours is 7th. No signature inside in mine either, just the huge white cardboard piece was signed - wish that thing was also smaller, not sure where I can fit it, no folder i have is big enough...
 
Especially since they did showed the inside of their original helmet several times.
Plus, in February, they showed on facebook that they found the exact same chinstrap as the original.

The original helmet they have wasn't complete with an interior, so the picture you're referencing was them mocking up the hard hat liner they found w/ the chinstrap. In regards to the chinstrap itself, there's only been 2, maybe 3, original chinstraps found so far that I'm aware of that design, but it's also been confirmed that not all screen used helmets had chintraps, nor the same style as the MoM/Exhibit suit's helmet. I did re-read their product description don't see any mention of the interior of the helmet, but can understand why you're upset. Though, to play devil's advocate here, since I've followed their facebook page (as you have as well) it was no secret how they were building the interiors of these helmets, which have been up for quite some time. My assessments as to why they opted to not use a "screen accurate" method, is that A) While some folks will be keeping these on display, a large market of buyers have been using these for trooping purposes, and one thing I can tell you that's pretty universal is that hard hats are very uncomfortable for duration wear. B) the screen used method of securing the hard hat to the helmet is rather crude. The cap on the helmet that you don't know what's for? On the screen used helmets, that's a post that extends into the helmet and "holds" the hard hat liner itself. There are some blocks of foam sandwiching it, but that's how the real deal is.
 
hi @tubachris85x, do you know what is the piece on the top of the helmet ?
thanks

If you're asking for what the actual piece is, I don't know, but it's used to secure the hardhat liner to the interior of the helmet
 
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