Does this make sense? Read on and we'll try and explain.........

Where it all began....

The sculpting of the Stormtrooper helmet was done by Liz Moore (who also sculpted C-3PO) with the body armour sculpted by Brian Muir at Elstree Studio's. The bucks from these sculpts were then given to Andrew Ainsworth at Shepperton Design Studios in Twickenham, London who fabricated both the helmets and armour. SDS became a key manufacturer of costuming parts for the film, providing helmets and other hard-parts for the Stormtrooper, TIE Pilot, Death Star Gunner, Imperial Guard, Rebel X/Y-Wing pilots, Rebel Fleet Trooper and Rebel Ground Crew/Guards.

The decision to use Ainsworth/SDS may look a little strange today, given they'd had no previous experience with TV or Movies. However when you consider the massive costuming project that was in place it is a little more understandable that the Production Design team were looking for people who could solve problems. Recent court reports suggest that John Mollo contacted Nick Pemberton (who DID have experience in prop-making in the entertainment industry), and Pemberton knew well of Ainsworth's abilities in vac-forming plastics, since his business was literally just a few doors down the road from his own.

Here a shot of some partially completed helmets and armor outside Shepperton Design Studio's near London in March 1976. As you can see the Khaki HDPE helmets have all been spray-painted white - and many have the ears and brow trims attached. If you look closely the "mic tips" look more bulbous and less defined than the screen-used ones suggesting that they were replaced by the Elstree Art department at the Studio. Behind them you can see some vac-formed sheets of armor, ready to go to the Studio where John Mollo's team assembled the costumes...

SDS's original receipts dating back to 1976 show that in total they fabricated fifty-six Stormtrooper helmets, twelve Imperial Forces' (Gunner) helmets, twelve Imperial (TIE) Fighter Pilots' helmets and twenty X-Wing Fighter Pilots' helmets - along with the Imperial Guards and of course the Stormtrooper and TIE Armour.

Stormtrooper Helmets - Hero's and Stunts?

However, because painted helmets don't look all that great under close scrutiny, Lucasfilm/Mollo requested that Ainsworth also produce six "close up"  helmets when Stormtrooper were to be featured more prominently - such as when Luke and Han are disguised as Stormtroopers,  although they can also be seen in numerous other shots as well. We refer to these six as the "Hero" Stormtrooper helmets as they were made to a higher specification. Instead they were vac-formed in a shiny white ABS plastic, with higher quality detailing including curved eye lenses. Hence in the screen-shot above the Hero is on the Left, with the Stunt on the Right. Note that the armor is the same, only the helmets varied.

Three years later for The Empire Strikes Back, John Mollo and his team simply re-used the same Stormtrooper costumes and helmets that had previously been used in A New Hope. This was the simplest solution since only 12-14 were required - and it also saved them money on what was a strict budget since they only really needed a quick tidying up.  For Return of the Jedi over 50 were needed so new armor and helmets were produced - cast from an original ANH set. You can read more about these different versions in the following sections below.....