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The Empire Strikes Back |
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Click HERE for the NEW section on the newly
found ESB helmet
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| John Mollo's sold some
memorabilia at Christies in London on December 16th 2003 (www.christies.co.uk). There are only three Star Wars lots but one of them is
this excellent looking ESB trooper, presumably one of the 12
"reconditioned" ANH helmet (allegedly by Berman and Nathans), since no "new" Stormtrooper
helmets were made for ESB they simply reused old props. |
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| Its condition looks very good
considering its age (although its missing its mic tips). The sale details
were as follows: "9771, Lot 203 A prop Imperial Stormtrooper's helmet—made for the 1977 20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm production Star Wars, from the collection of John Mollo.
Estimate: £3,000-£5,000".
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| As you can see its definitely ESB
(and therefore was one of the 56 made for ANH by Andrew Ainsworth at SDS in
1976). Ignoring the obvious (black) frown it also has pre-printed decals
(in place of the ANH hand painted detailing) which were present
on the ESB trooper helmets and the eyes look like they've been cut back
slightly. |
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| This is a very interesting one! As
you can see the helmet is made from the khaki-coloured fish-pond
(HDPE-Polythene)
material used for all ANH Stunt helmets. |
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| Looking at the helmet face on the
asymmetry of the helmet is clear, especially when you look at the larger
and more bulbous right hand tube (as your looking at it). The Christies
description says "According
to John Mollo, this helmet was made for Star Wars in 1977 and
was used in the film
. This painted helmet was apparently retained as a sample when new
"Mark II" helmets, made of white plastic, and as such unpainted,
were made for The Empire Strikes Back, 1980. The condition of the helmet
is explained by the fact that John Mollo's children and their friends used
to play with the helmet when they were small!
" Note that the "Mark II helmets" sentence is
incorrect as all the ESB's helmets were reconditioned ANH's. No new
helmets were made until RotJ was in production in 1981. |
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| Above, as you can see the overall
quality is very good, especially the front. Notice how sharp the detailing
is under the eyes and how deep the tear sections are - and also the
"pinching" of the ABS on that tear. |
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Above, close up of the left ear showing the brow trim
and the decal details, and below a final shot showing a close-up section
of the chin area and the (missing) aerators. |
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Above a front-on shot showing that
it really is in excellent condition, despite missing the front "mic tips".
Its clearly been looked after with only a small amount of paint flaking
off on the front. Like the ANH stunt the lenses are just a single sheet of
green plastic. |
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Above and below - Scene, Cloud City
thanks to Braks Buddy for the photo. |
Scene - Carbon Chamber |
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| Below are some great NEW shots of a
new helmet due to go under the hammer at Christie's Movie Auction in
London this December (2004). As you can see its another fishpond helmet
but to be honest this one is in really excellent condition and unlike the
Mollo from 2003 is fully complete with mic tips, trim, decals, EVERYTHING. |
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| As you can see its another khaki
"fishpond" HDPE helmet (Polythene) which was originally produced
by Andrew Ainsworth at Shepperton Design Studios for Star Wars - A New
Hope in 1976. |
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| It looks like it may well be
one of the dozen helmets that was "modified" in 1978/9 by Berman
and Nathans for The Empire Strikes Back. It would be interesting if it
could be placed in the movie. |
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| It looks to be in wonderful
condition. Apparently the owner bought it in a "car boot" sale in UK 11
years ago for a nominal fee. Well if that sounds like a great excuse to
scour the car boot sales of England. |
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| Above and below a couple of shots of
the inside. Again note it has the original green Acetate screen over the
eyes as well as the "Maple-leaf" sponge, chin strap and
all the brow and neck trim. |
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Below is a scary image - that badge is actually stuck on! |
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Even with the badger, its a fantastic find.
Below are a couple of comparisons of this new find
(left) against the Mollo (right) |
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| Finally - after some excellent work
done by Gizmo in Australia I think its pretty safe to say that this helmet
can be actually placed on-screen in the following scene. |
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Excellent work from Gizmo for locating this. Thanks also
to Jevster for the movie screen grab. The helmet eventually sold for
around £13k ($24k) but was sold again a few months later by Profiles in
History for a slight premium. |
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Click
HERE for the NEW section on this newly found ESB helmet |
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For
A New Hope Stormtroopers go here |
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For
Return of the Jedi / Special Edition Stormtroopers go here |
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or
to compare ANH Vs ESB Vs RotJ Helmets then go here |
