Stormtrooper face plate on TIE Pilot helmet???

[BWA]

Hi all.

A question.. we all know that the stormtrooper helmets were warped which gives them a very characteristic appearence... now, according to what I know, they used a stormtrooper faceplate together with an APH-6 flight helmet in order to make the TIE Pilot helmets (and added a few other greeblies, yes)...

So, shouldn't TIE Pilot helmets have a warped faceplate too then? I don't recall seeing a TIE Pilot helmet with a warped faceplate although I wouldn't want to bet on it... (and I'm not talking about Don Post or anything but good replicas of the TIE Pilot helmet...)

Have a nice day.

Elias

 

[gonk27]

I believe that's because by the time the TIE pilots were made the trooper helmet moulds had been smartened up slightly to produce the hero troopers, the same face mould was used to make the pilot's faces which is why they appear the same.


Jeremy

 

[BWA]

But the hero helmets were warped as well weren't they? At least my SDS Hero helmet is almost as warped as the stunt helmet generally are...

 

[gonk27]

Ah, sorry I thought you were referring to details like the missing bump under the TIE's right eye that you see to varying dregrees on the stunts but is more reduced on the heros.

Well a lot depends upon assembly also the TIE's were black ABS plastic and not the HDPE that the stunts were formed from.


Jeremy

 

[Java]

I have a TIE Pilot helmet, made by LFL/ILM. It was made specifically for Don Post Studios for use as a reference piece for the Deluxe edition. It was made around 1995.



(Yes I know the piece on the face was re-assembled incorrectly)

What "warping" are you referring to?

 

[troopermaster]

I think he's refering the actual warping of the whole faceplate with one side flaring out more than the other and the assymetricity of the thing.

I believe the hero face plates were used for the TIE helmets which were cleaned up and wider as far as I can tell.

 

[BWA]

I think he's refering the actual warping of the whole faceplate with one side flaring out more than the other and the assymetricity of the thing.[/b]

Yeah that's right, I'm talking about the warping of the entire faceplate...

Java, is that some sort of master for the Don Post deluxe? Thing is, none of the DP helmets are accurate at all but that looks kinda neat though... at least it's more accurate than the production helmets...

So.. they first used stunt helmets, discovered some cosmetical errors and fixed them without fixing the entire face being skewed and produced the still warped hero helmet.. after THAT they fixed the warping and made the TIE Pilot helmet? If so it's kinda strange but Iäll buy it..

Would be interesting though to see how a TIE Pilot with a warped helmet would look like.. one would think, in theory, that a warped helmet only gives an ugly and "incorrect" (assymetrically seen) look which it doesn't at all.. to the contrary, that's what gives stormtroopers their special appearance... one doesn't really think about it or even notice it in the beginning when looking at it from straight ahead, but it's still there When holding it in front of a mirror one realizes pretty fast though

 

[AnsonJames]

The faceplate on the TIE is wider because of the width on the two APH halves
- it's screwed into both halves on either side so it's splayed wider like this:

 

[tk5378]

Yeah, the face isn't really any wider, it just gets stretched a little side to side when it's screwed into the inside of the flight helmet. If you look closely at any of the pics of the original helmets, you can see where the bump in the right eye was, it's just been smoothed out a bit...the black abs on dark lenses really helps make it less noticable as well.

 

[BWA]

Yeah you're both correct What I wonder though is why it's not skewed like the stormtrooper helmets but since no one knows for sure, I'll ask Ainsworth and see what he says

 

[Java]

Java, is that some sort of master for the Don Post deluxe? Thing is, none of the DP helmets are accurate at all but that looks kinda neat though... at least it's more accurate than the production helmets... [/b]

No.

This helmet was used by DPS for reference. DPS did not directly copy this helmet. This helmet was made by LFL from their molds, and was purchased by DPS.

 

[BWA]

So then it's a helmet from the SDS molds... or am I wrong?

 

[Java]

No way I am getting into the SDS molds vs. LFL molds.

All I know is that this helmet was made by LFL for DPS from sources inside the US, specifically California.

 

[BWA]

Got an answer from AA:

"Thats right the Stunt & Hero are the same as the original asymmetric sculptings. The Tie was made, using the Stunt face and two side mouldings of the X-wing helmets, which were modified to accomodate the asymmetry of the face. And so the face is still asymmetric, but this feature is disguised more when used for the Tie Pilot."

So I guess they're skewed, although not as obviously as the stormtroopers'