MR Stormtrooper helmet. Opnions?

[defstartrooper]

I like the helmets, and I am sure they will sell just fine. I don't believe they could have done one that pleased everyone. On these boards alone every version of all the different trooper helmets made over the years is argued over, corrected, and debated. The Stormtrooper helmet in particular is probably what I have seen the most arguing over on the boards (with recasting and Vaders helmet being a close second & third) I don't see any way a company can worry over that. You just make the best you can and sell as many as possible. I think it is probably smart to shoot for a general audience over the nit-pickers. Not to say that it is bad to want perfection, but I see the same folks tearing into MR about almost everything they make-so I tend to discount those folks after awhile. Some people you just can't please. For those, there is always fan made stuff. As for MR the only complaint I have is the cost. I have been impressed with all there items, but most are just too expensive for me. But even then I don't blame the company, if they can sell something for a high price then they should- it just sucks that I can't afford it.
These will sell just fine - keep up the good work MR.

Good points but they really shouldn't use terms like authentic etc when describing this helmet as it is far from authentic.
Given the resources they have to replicate stuff and the fact they had access to both a stunt and hero original you would think they would be able to produce a helmet that if not perfect was at least extremely close.
I really don't understand why they chose to use fibreglass over ABS :unsure

That's interesting about the lenses Gino i hadn't noticed they were green before do you use green in your hero helmets ?
P.S is that trooper stiffling a giggle at seeing the MR :lol

 

[KevVader]

Glaring inaccuracies aside, I'm sure that MR will still sell a ton of them to those who aren't nearly as anal as we are here....

 

[Jedi-72]

Glaring inaccuracies aside, I'm sure that MR will still sell a ton of them to those who aren't nearly as anal as we are here....

You're probably right. Most consumers are completely ignorant about much of what they buy anyway. But, if MR intends this to be the level of "authenticity" that they'll be delivering at premium prices, then they should change their name to Rubies.

 

[Star Wars Helmets]

Jez, I agree that the TIE helmet lenses were not green.
Also to note that the lenses in the tie helmets were much more bulbous/bulging/bubbly than the ones used in the hero troopers.

Problem is your evidence seems to rely on a screen grab from a behind the scenes program (shot on 4:3 video). no other evidence?

Mines based on AA's notes, invoice for the transluscent acrylic (same as the RFT visor) and a TIE helmet in my posession for many months

I guess people can make up their own minds

Cheers

Jez

 

[GINO]

Jez, I am not disagreeing with you about the tie helmet lenses.
I'm saying that the hero trooper helmet lenses were different in shape and color.
Also, the arguement was made in the past that all the stunt helmets were white ABS because AA had a purchase order showing the purchase of a bunch of white ABS plastic. That doesn't mean that is what was ultimately used and has been proven not to be the case. I wouldn't put as much faith in AA's notes as you do. I'm not saying that they are wrong, just that just because he bought it, doesn't mean it was used.
Case in point, AA formed the x-wing visors in smoke tinted plastic, but later the art department decided to use yellow tinted visors on the hero x-wing helmets so you could see the actors faces. All the background x-wing helmets still used the smoke tinted ones.
What was intended to be used and what was "actually" used can sometimes be two different things.

 

[Treadwell]

The making-of footage was shot on 16mm film, not video.

 

[GF]

I really don't understand why they chose to use fibreglass over ABS

Much easier and faster to produce in fiberglass for mass production, even though you have to paint the whole helmet, no major assembly and trimming required, imagine doing mass production in vaccuform then removing from mold which is a real pain and very time consuming, then trimming and assemble each helmet! it's not cost effective.

The only better option over fiberglass would have been injection molding, not accurate to movie but still much better than fiberglass for a more accurate look.

GFollano

 

[defstartrooper]

I see what your saying GF but im sure most trooper fans would happily pay a higher price than the current offering for a truly authentic piece just look at the money people part with for one of AA's.
I'm sure production and labour costs in Asia where the MR stuffs being produced is a lot lower.
Production times might be longer but again im sure most people would be happy to wait.
It's not right to market something as a high end authentic prop replica thats so far off being authentic.

 

[Davy Jones]

A little OT here sorry, can anyone help me get the "Making of" video that Gino's picture is of? I have seen various pictures from it, but is it possible for one to view it?


Thanks.

And my opinion of the current MR stormtrooper is very low indeed...:angry

Jez, it looks like at least a couple of the heros were green lenses for sure. The ones that don't have green showing through, well some stunt stormtroopers look like their eye material is black too.

And if I read it correctly, there is a quote from Mark Hamill in the new Making of Star Wars book saying that he felt weird being stuck inside the suit and helmet, and from inside the helmet everything you could see was green.

Case closed.

 

[Gytheran]

To think I was gonna buy 2... :lol

I'm so glad MR no longer makes things I want. It makes it so much easier on the pocketbook...

 

[Sewbacca]

If these pics resemble the actual helmet I'm gonna :cry :cry :cry :cry :cry I was waiting so long for this helmet, I would eat, sleep and @#%# thinking about this bucket. I guess I can eat sleep and @#%# in peace now:angry But crossing my fingers they'll surprise us with somthing totally different.
I just dont understand WHY a company of this caliber would let such a ICONIC piece out with so much inaccuracies, just baffles me where I want to run my head through the wall, well maybe using one of these MR ST buckets if I can get one free. :confused MR, just alittle business pointer, release the actual pics of your product your selling even if you have to wait a little longer. It will make your consumer much happier and less for the crowd to sting you with if need be. By the way, who makes these crazy decisions in there :confused Not to bash the company, I do appreciate with much respect on what you have done for us but Hense the name "Master Replicas"

To think I was gonna buy 2... :lol

 

[KevVader]

You're probably right. Most consumers are completely ignorant about much of what they buy anyway. But, if MR intends this to be the level of "authenticity" that they'll be delivering at premium prices, then they should change their name to Rubies.

:lol ...agreed.
But I was really looking forward to this one from MR. Despite all of the issues with the Clone lids, I really like my plain Jane MR Clone...I think they did a real nice job on it.
A nice clean Trooper would've been great like their initial prototype.....what they've shown here is just 9 different forms of ugly.

 

[Star Wars Helmets]

Jez, I am not disagreeing with you about the tie helmet lenses.
I'm saying that the hero trooper helmet lenses were different in shape and color.
Also, the arguement was made in the past that all the stunt helmets were white ABS because AA had a purchase order showing the purchase of a bunch of white ABS plastic. That doesn't mean that is what was ultimately used and has been proven not to be the case. I wouldn't put as much faith in AA's notes as you do. I'm not saying that they are wrong, just that just because he bought it, doesn't mean it was used.
Case in point, AA formed the x-wing visors in smoke tinted plastic, but later the art department decided to use yellow tinted visors on the hero x-wing helmets so you could see the actors faces. All the background x-wing helmets still used the smoke tinted ones.
What was intended to be used and what was "actually" used can sometimes be two different things.

I agree, we can just use one persons recollections (hence why's Hamill right and AA wrong?). Away from this the only info are you going on is a single behind the scenes shot where they look green, whereas on all others they dont!

Also what evidence do you have that they remade the lenses which are "different in shape and colour". Every lens was hand blown so theyd all look slightly different - how do the TIE lenses look diffferent from the Hero's?

I can understand why they changed some of the Xwing helmets visors, but why change the Hero helmet lenses from shady grey to shady green???

imo its too much emphasis on screen grabs!

Cheers

Jez

 

[OldKen]

Just saw my MR Email...


WHY!!!!!!!


WTF? It is wonky... but it doesnt look right.




Was really lookin forward to this.

 

[ghostryder]

I'm so confused - were green lenses used anywhere in original production Stormtrooper helmets?

 

[ghostryder]

Just saw this over at rebelscum:

OK Everyone,

Here are Bryan's comments on the helmet. Please know that this is the weekend so he will not be available to answer any questions today. He was nice enough to take time out to write this for me. He also wanted me to let you know that the pic you are seeing is the pic from Toy Fair that has been photoshopped so it isn't exactly what the final piece will look like.

Here are the facts and reference materials that the Master Replicas Stormtrooper helmet was based on, developed and produced. Lucasfilm will only us to base our reference on people who worked on the projects or had direct knowledge that they can confirm.

1. All of the Stormtrooper helmets, whether it was a stunt or hero version, were vacuum formed from the same molds. We had an actual stunt version and we cast the INSIDE of the helmet and not the outside in order to get the copy of the actual mold and not the resulting vacumm formed helmet, which varied from piece to piece. This included the face, dome and ears. We also digitally scanned the Hero helmet that was in the archives to use as reference.

2. The finishing of the helmets differentiated the stunt and hero versions. More time was obviously spent on the Hero versions than on the stunt versions. For example, in the frown, you can see different variations. Some had more “breathing” holes cut out than others. Some have even said that the hero versions were made from a thicker material, but we have not been able to actually confirm that.

3. The placement of the brow is a critical element. However, the position does vary from piece to piece. Some are higher and some are lower. Remember, these helmets were put together very quickly and were only to be used for a few days of filming. We have placed our brow in the lower position, to have a slightly more “menacing” look, rather than “surprise”

4. The paint scheme is based on the hero version that is in the Lucas Archives. This includes the PMS colors of the grey, blue, etc. Some people make think this is wrong, but we took the colors off an actual helmet and not off of screen shots, which as you know can alter the color depending on your monitor, printer, photo finishing, etc.

5. The nozzles were cast from a casting of the actual piece that was used on the helmet. Even though we had to remove it, the piece that we cast had the manufacturers name on the side of the piece that we cast.

6. For the stripes on the cheeks, the artwork was developed from a tracing of the Hero version at the Lucas archives supplied by Lucasfilm. If you look closely each of the “crescents” are not the same, or evenly spaced.

7. The earpieces are not exactly correct. This is because we are making these helmets in fibgerglass and not a thin piece of Polyethylene. Therefore for the “step” between the dome and the face piece is much larger. We therefore made a small step on the underside of the earpiece to accommodate this larger step.

8. Also, the bottom cut-out may not be exactly correct, since it varied from piece to piece. These were cut out by hand. So for the bottom, we could only extrapolate what the whole pattern may have looked like.

 

[defstartrooper]

1. All of the Stormtrooper helmets, whether it was a stunt or hero version, were vacuum formed from the same molds. We had an actual stunt version and we cast the INSIDE of the helmet and not the outside in order to get the copy of the actual mold and not the resulting vacumm formed helmet, which varied from piece to piece. This included the face, dome and ears. We also digitally scanned the Hero helmet that was in the archives to use as reference.

That makes no sense at all to make a fibreglass helmet like they have you would need a mould of the outside not the inside.
What was the source of this stunt version used ? was it an original from the LFL archives,an original in the hands of a private owner or dare i say a replica from elsewhere ?

On a side note is it not missleading to use pictures that arent the actual product on a sales site without making it clear that its not the actual product ?
I'm aware most people here and other forums are probably aware MR do this but the average Joe public wouldn't be.

 

[Jedi-72]

Isn't it also a bit odd that they would mould a stunt in order to produce a hero? However, the MR piece also bears more resemblance to the stunt than it does the hero. To me, the stunt and the hero look like two completely different helmets, especially in the grin. I don't think you can pass one off as the other. But, then again, I'm not possessed of the level of bucket erudition that so many on the forum are.

And the nozzle part cracks me up..."The nozzles were cast from a casting of the actual piece that was used on the helmet". So, what....they're second generation twice removed?

I'd like to know where the "authentic" part comes into play. It's not quite a hero, not quite a stunt, details are nowhere near accurate, and yet it was digitally scanned by their "engineers" from a surviving original to bring this unprecedented level of quality and detail? Talented folks on this board have scuplted better by hand from little more than screen caps. For shame.

It's ironic. Just as with the PT, all the technology in the world can be used to produce something, but it doesn't mean that you'll wind up with a quality product.

 

[rad1701]

Their servers are trashed right now anyway. Can't even order one.

 

[steveo]

I was taught "if I didn't have anything nice to say, then I shouldn't"