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The "Real" Imperial Helmets & Armor

Scout Trooper/Biker (ROTJ) 

Finally, above a couple of ROTJ Scout Trooper press shot's, 
and below from SF MOM Exhibition.

Below, here's a great shot from Brinn 71 of him wearing one of the original Biker Scout costumes when doing some work for Lucasfilm a few years back. Cheers for the pics Brinn!

Below a great photo from Grant from a recent Lucasfilm Exhibition of a screen-used Biker Helmet. Considering its 23 years old it looks in really good condition.

Imperial Snowtrooper (ESB) 

Above, from San Francisco's Might of Magic Exhibition thanks to Rear Admiral and Volguus. 
Below a couple of ESB test shots of the same from Anson

Below a close-up of the Helmet from the LFL Archives

Below, another great shot from TK7602 from one of the LFL exhibitions.

 

Imperial Tie Fighter Pilot (ANH and RotJ)

BTW don't forget to check out the Original TIE Pilot Helmet I had in my possession a few years back, including loads of images plus a 3d Pic!

Above and below are shots of what is supposedly one of the original Tie Pilots, used in ANH and then modified slightly for ROTJ.  Only 12 of these were originally made for ANH, a number of which were later modified for ROTJ.

Below some shots sent to me by Anson of what purports to be one of the screen-used Tie Pilots. As a comparison the "screen accurate" Don Post Classic Action and Deluxe helmets are (in inches)11W x 15L x13H which make this look a little small.

Above, a photo from Christies recent Auction for a "Prop Imperial Fighter Pilot's helmet, of black vacu-formed plastic, with ridged top and sides, simulated vents and clear plastic eyepieces, decorated with two circular black and silver stickers -- made for the 1977 20th
Century Fox/Lucasfilm production Star Wars; accompanied by a letter concerning the provenance
"

It then goes on to say "Identical helmets can be seen worn by the Imperial Fighter pilots in the battle sequence with the X-Wing Star Fighters. This helmet was presented as a gift from John Mollo to Andrew Ainsworth after being used during filming".

Above a behind the scenes image from Christie's if the Tie prop. Below a shot I had not seen before (thanks Stormtrooper) showing the rear view of this TIE helmet. This one has a vac-formed detail as oppose to the pill box found on one of the other helmets.

Below a shot of a completed TIE Pilot from the Might Of Magic Exhibition (unknown source) which Tim Steele's dug out and sent to me.

Below, a cool Hi Def screengrab of a TIE helmet from ANH
..and below some more Hi Defs from RoCKo

on the next one you can see the actors eyes through the right hand lens. Peek a boo!

Fast-forward over 30 years and I managed to get my hands on this particular helmet recently, thanks to Stephen Lane at the Propstore. As you can see its still in fantastic condition.

The helmets in wonderful condition and the highlighted paintwork is a graphite colour in appearance rather than "silver/grey" which we previously thought - all hand painted on. On the shot above you can even make out the detail in the Aurebesh pilot-ID letter/numbering on the forehead.

Above a straight on comparison with a screen grab of the actual helmet in action and the match is clear. The distressed weathering on the cogs was interesting - from the looks of it the costuming guys seemed to have gone to work on it with something like wire wool pads, with a bit of the graphite paint smudged in.

The helmet was almost exactly the same as the other Original TIE I reviewed some years back (the Video of which is here - and Photo's are here). Though the great thing about this helmet is that it can be specifically placed in the movie due to its "Hero" highlights.

The graphite-coloured highlights were added to differentiate the different pilots from each other in the Movie and to also add lighting highlights in the dim cock-pit setting.

As with the other TIE's it has smoked Grey lenses. In addition the two plastic greeblies between the mohawk were also present. Again thanks to Stephen for the chance to review this helmet.


AT-AT Driver (ESB)

Only the one picture, but its a good one. Regular contributor CKing's sent me this shot of him in the early 90's wearing what's believed to be one of the original two screen-used AT-AT Driver helmets made for The Empire Strikes Back in 1979. The AT-AT helmet's used were in fact unused TIE helmets from ANH, which were subsequently painted grey and detailed for ESB. This is a great shot from Chris although on behalf of him I'd like to apologise for the shirt! Note that the helmet appears white as the photo is significantly over exposed due to the flash. We review the only other AT-AT helmet in glorious detail on this page here.

The story behind the helmet was also very interesting, especially as its orighinal acquisition was quite similar to the TIE Pilot Helmet  we also featured on this site. However this story did not have a happy ending!. 

The AT-AT Driver helmet was owed by Jim "Mr Star Wars" Stevenson from Mansfield, Nottingham who had/has one of the largest collections of Star Wars items in the UK. In the early 90's he was approached by a guy called Vic Menay. Vic worked as a transport driver for Lucasfilm during the filming of ESB and Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

Now here comes the sad part:
Jim bought the helmet and was thrilled with it because it was his first genuine prop from the movie. Several months later, Jim was burgled and the helmet was stolen (as well as many other rare items of his Star Wars collection). The helmet was never found.

Below, some recent shots of an original AT-AT helmets located recently. Note that it has a number of clear differences with Jim Stevenson's and therefore is NOT the same helmet.

Thanks to Dom for these new photos which really shows off the details. As you can see its it good condition with only a few of the various greeblies missing - not bad when you consider its age.

Its missing one of the breather tubes but the other is still intact - also its great to see that the decals have not been damaged. Overall its missing the clock parts between the eyes, some of the smaller buttons and the two black clips that fit on the danglies just above the side of the eyes. However again when you consider the age that's pretty great!

Another side shot and view from the rear, where you can see the pill-box. Unfortunately I've only had these pics so have not been able to inspect this helmet yet so don't know if the lid lifts up!

Thanks again to Dom for sending me these pics. There's now a full review of this helmet here.....

In Empire Strikes Back there are just a few short scenes where the AT-AT pilots are seen- its almost a case of "blink and you miss them", however here's a screen-grab showing a couple of different At-At helmets, these ones have red stripe down the rear. Having looked at some recent Hi-Def grabs it could be that these are in fact the plain helmets with topical weathering and red electrical tape running down the rear. Very similar looking electrical tape is used on the rear cannisters.

Below, this is the only At-At seen from the front and is NOT the helmet just above (you can tell as the Red Imperial Cog doesn't line up and the eye detailing is slightly different). I recon instead this is the Jim Stevenson helmet that was stolen some time in the 90's.

Imperial Death Star Gunner Helmet (ANH & RotJ)

Above from the same Christies Auction a "Prop Imperial Forces helmet, the aerodynamic shaped helmet of black painted vacu-formed plastic, with simulated receiver and aerial to the left ear and clear plastic eyepiece strip -- made for the 1977 20th Century Fox / Lucasfilm production Star Wars; accompanied by a letter concerning the provenance.  Similar helmets can be seen in the sequence where Princess Leia undergoes interrogation by the Imperial Forces to induce her to reveal the location of the rebel base. They are worn by the Imperial officers who are ordered to destroy the planet Alderaan". It sold for $26,360

Again it says "similar", suggesting that it may have been the prototype, rather than screen used. Shepperton Design Studios' original invoices for these Imperial Forces'
helmets describes them as "Jawbone" helmets. 12 "Imperial Forces" helmets were made, whether this includes the Squad Commander's helmets also is unclear.

Jorid sent me this shot of one of the originals made by Andrew Ainsworth. This one at the Might of Magic show and below the same helmet pictured in the LFL Archives.

..and a hi-def screen grab

and below a shot of an Imperial Fleet Trooper from the same Archive, and below that another Hi Def screen grab from RoCKo (best we could get)


Imperial Royal Guard (RotJ & RotS)

Above, again thanks to Franz Bollo for this great exhibition shot.

Above, Emperor's Royal Guard from Lucas Archive's and on display at the SF MOM and below a close-up from the LFL Archives.

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