| The RotJ and Special Edition
Stormtrooper helmets look quite a lot different from the ANH/ESB helmets
as new helmets were made for Return of the Jedi in 1981/82. The design was amended quite
significantly by the prop makers in London from the ANH/ESB look and it features a more
squashed or streamlined look with significantly thinner ears. The majority
of the
helmets had GREEN bubble lenses. In addition the mic tips are different.
Pic below from Veedox |
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| Rather than use the few remaining
sets of helmets and armor made by Andrew Ainsworth, new moulds were made
(from an existing suit) but adapted quite significantly giving the RotJ
trooper helmets a more "squashed" look. However the recasting process was
not without its problems and the right hand side of the face gave way during
the process further accentuating the asymmetrical appearance. |
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Above, a rather beaten-up ROTJ
Stormtrooper prop from the Lucasfilm Archives, cast off an original ANH helmet
it has the tell-tale asymmetry of its parent and this is especially
apparent when you look at the different size/shape cheek
tubes. Interesting the VERY SAME helmet is featured
in the following photos sent to me by Brinn '71 who has some other photos
lower down. Brinn worked for LFL in the 90's so was able to don the suit
himself on a number of occasions! These shots were taken in 1994/1995. |
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His names written on the inside of it, along with
another 2 chap. He also found a pair of riding boots with the name "Harrison Ford"
on the inside! This next photo below is
good as it shows how the RotJ armor had a lip running around the major areas
like the chest piece. |
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Also note the design of the hand plates, these were
radically different on RotJ, as were the shoulder bells which have a more
"pinched" look. Again many thanks to Brinn 71 for sharing these unique
images. |
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| ..and below thanks to an anonymous
(but regular) contributor to this site of his original RotJ helmet which
looks to be in superb condition when this photo was taken. |
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| Below, here's a very special one.
These images are of David Oliver's (www.propmasters.net)
original RotJ trooper helmet. The history of this helmet is very alarming. It spent most of it's life in
Blackpool (UK seaside resort near Liverpool) and belonged to an extra from Jedi. It is what is termed as a
"lesser" mask, as would only have been used on long shots where
detail was not required (i.e. like a Stunt helmet). Made from a Styrene,
it is rather thin when compared to an ABS helmet. |
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| This item was in mint condition
until a few years ago when (gasp) the original owner allowed his kids to play with it and run around the house with it
on! (noooooooooooooooo!!!!).
The eye lenses have been replaced with green lensed bubble versions as the
majority of the originals used in filming were green although there
has been a rumour over some turquoise lenses. Interestingly, this helmet
was up for auction on April 10th 2003 at Cooper-Owen here in the UK but
didnt reach its reserve: The following is the description from
Cooper-Owen:
A production used Imperial Stormtrooper helmet, of off-white painted
vacu-formed plastic with rubber edging details. The crown and sides are a
single unit, and the face panel is an inset panel. With attached ear unit
on right hand (left hand side is missing). Inside the helmet is a piece of
'petal' shaped foam padding. Condition: well worn, and some restoration
(full details on request) Measures approx. 13 inch (33 cm) high, 12 inch
(30 cm) at widest point at base. It was put up for sale in 2002 by www.cooperowen.com
lots 234-250.
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| Note that all the "painted"
areas are infact labels. The ones with grey on them, have been painted grey on black sticker material. The blue on the stripes is on
white sticker material. The only part painted (and rather badly) is on the ears. The number of stripes on the grey areas on the back of the helmet are not even, one is 8 and the other 9.
Despite its condition, its still a piece of history, many thank to the
owner for the photo's and info, as well as the update from Cooper Owen.
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| Above (excuse the quality of the
shots), here's a couple of images of the Helmet auctioned by Lucas, the
proceeds of which went to the families of the September 11th victims. |
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Above a couple of nice shots from Anson showing the
slightly sleeker ROTJ helmet look. |
and below
shots showing a fairly camp looking
trooper from the MOM exhibition |
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Above, slightly showing its age it has the hallmarks of
the ROTJ bucket (e.g. thin ears etc.) |
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| Above and below some shots from the MOM Exhibition
in London. Note that the belts on the "real Troopers" at the back
are made of fabric and can clearly be seen from these shots. Thanks
to Drewski for these photo's. Note that these ones above and below may
well Fox "Tour" suits, made in the early Nineties for promotion
of the Trilogy re-release. |
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| Brinn 71, who's been fortunate to be
able to wear the original costumes (ROTJ) as well as the tour suits has
said the following:
Velcro held the calves together, but that is all, except for the belt and over-the-shoulder
fasteners / shoulder pads. My calves were too big so they gaffer-taped mine shut with white
tape (Ed - I've had this same problem with a ROTJ copy too). The arms and thighs were glued-
together NOT Velcro. The main body was held together with elastics. The boots just slipped on.
Under the pelvis was a rubber belt (that slid between the legs) that was bolted into the back piece and clamped into the front cup with a female button on the belt, and a male bolted to the front cup.
We never wore holsters or the thermal detonators. They were afraid people may try to take them off of us- we wouldn't have known! You really cant see much! |
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A belt was worn under the suit to loop the front thigh elastics into to hold them up. I could not sit in my suit! These were made for thin 70's British guys. The gun I had was METAL. In the archives I did see resin ones but mine was always metal. |
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The helmet lenses were rounded and GREEN. There were no screen mesh in the mouth holes in the helmet- just holes. An adjustable ring like a construction worker's hat was in the top of the helmet for your head, as was a rubber strap to go under the chin. My name is written on a piece of masking tape and it is inside the helmet (to this day, I think?) along with 3 other names (worn by stunt guys and troopers from the films). I had seen other suits of armour that had wiring in it (we thought maybe for squibs??). The ST belt was bolted to the main front body and
Velroed at the back. Not a very comfortable suit unlike the BIKER SCOUT
which was!
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| Above and below are interesting
shots of an original ROTJ trooper from one of the UK Exhibitions. The
armor's been incorrectly fitted and is therefore showing off the detail
around the Ab section and its connections. Thanks to Paul A for these
images he took himself |
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| The final 3 shots have been sent to
be by Jeremy Firth who's visited a number of the SW exhibitions over the
years. These Lucasfilm licensed exhibitions have toured the World over the
years and typically the same exhibits such as these RotJ troopers. |
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| These two above and below are from
the MOM tour in 1992 and look like a modified RotJ helmet which has had a
flat lens fitted (the others missing) |
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| The next one below from the Art of
Star Wars exhibition at the Barbican in London in 2001. I am wondering whether this could
possibly be an SE helmet? |
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..and below a shot of a RotJ Trooper helmet as it sits
in the LFL Archive today. |
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| Below a new shot from a recent
Lucasfilm Exhibition of a screen-used RotJ Stormtrooper helmet. It looks to
me like it might be the same helmet as at the top of this page, only
slightly restored. Thanks to Grant for sending this photo in. |
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| Finally a shot of one of the Stunt
helmets used in filming, this ones missing its eye lenses. |
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Special Edition
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| The Special Addition Stormtrooper
Helmets and Armor were essentially based on the RotJ look. If you watch
the ANH Special edition (such as the scene where the Droid ring is round
near the escape pod on Tatooine) you can clearly see the difference between
the ANH and SE helmets. |
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Finally some
behind the scenes images from Anson from ROI featuring shots of the production of some trooper helmets for the special
edition versions. I've just added this shot below which is better
than the one above as it shows the colour variation between the new SE
face (in his hand) and the RotJ helmet on the desk which would have been
over 13 years old at this point. |
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Below, here's a nice full-length shot of the SE trooper
from the Dorling Kindesly book. From a continuity perspective it was very
strange that these troopers were used in the SE editions of ANH, despite
the clear differences in head shape and the colour of the detailing. |
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...and as good as I can get it a close up of the SE
helmet. |
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The Tour Suits
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| In the mid 1990's Lucasfilm produced
a significant number of Darth Vader and Stormtrooper Costumes for various
promotions tours around the world. As Don Bies, the Lucasfilm Archivist
explains... There were a total of 18 Darth Vader's made for the Fox
marketing campaign of 1995, and I believe 32-36 Stormtroopers made. Fox
needed so many for different campaigns around the world, so they were sent
off to places such as Australia, the UK, Italy, Spain, France, Mexico...A
manual created by me accompanied each set (One Vader and Two troopers),
explaining sizes of actors, how to dress, and how to act. Unlike the popular
myth, the suits were not made for the Special Editions, although many of the
Stormtroopers were used in some of the scenes for extra filming, as the many
original suits were in bad shape.
The ILM model shop, under the guidance of Charlie Bailey, made the
Stormtroopers, and I believe they were created using styrene. The molds were
fabricated by pouring plaster into existing parts (ESB or ROJ era suits),
and cleaned up here and there--though many parts are not as sharp as their
originals. Additionally, some smaller patterns were created new, such as
belt and knee details. They also molded prop guns to go with the characters
out of urethane.
The Vader's were created by my wife and I under our company banner (at the
time) of DNA Productions. The mask was cast in fiberglass, and the helmets
and chest control boxes were vacuum-formed black styrene. Urethane details
were cast to dress the control box, and stock electrical project boxes were
used for the belt details. Grant Imahara of Mythbusters fame provided a
digital "breathing" soundbox, as well as blinking electronics. The suits
were made of fake leather (pleather?),as the budget would not allow anything
higher quality.
To the best of our knowledge, the costumes all made their way back to the
archives and are occasionally still used, though many fan-built suits today
are better, in my opinion. Some details and accessories of the costumes were
lost (or stolen), but I think everything was accounted for at one time or
another. One Vader and two troopers were destroyed in a car accident in
Mexico--nobody was wearing them, as they were in a van in their crates when
the vehicle rolled over. That suit was returned to the ranch for inspection
and replacement, though it was never recreated.
Below are a couple of nice photos
from Scott - TK7602 of a RotJ Tour suit taken at a recent exhibition. You can tell
they're Tour helmets as there are a couple of subtle "give-aways"
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For
A New Hope / The Empire Strikes Back Stormtrooper's go here
or
to compare ANH Vs ESB Vs RotJ Helmets then go here |
