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Original RotJ Stormtrooper
Helmet and Armor |
| Every now and again something REALLY special
comes along. An opportunity that's just "too good" to miss and
I'm happy to say that such an opportunity presented itself to a good mate
of mine John, here in the UK.
To be fair it didn't exactly "present itself", more it was
the result of a significant amount of detective work but the upshot of all
this is that John is now the proud owner of an almost complete ORIGINAL
Return of the Jedi Stormtrooper Helmet and Armor.
Myself and a few other guys were fortunate to be able to visit him and
have a look at it close-up and we were all 100% convinced that it was an
original set. Though its incredibly hard to say whether it was screen-used
or not, it is a real possibility. |
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| Where else could I start but the helmet. And
what WONDERFUL condition it is in. Made of white ABS it has yellowed a
little over the last 22 years but only a little. As you can see everything
is intact including the mic tips which appear to be resin casts of a Hovi
Mix (i.e. the same as the ANH/ESB helmets) although I could not see the
"Hovi Mix Pa" markings. |
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Below, here's what an original Stormtrooper looks like
after a night on the town! |
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| Notice how the armor has a lip around all the
edges to the armor. the detail in the armor itself (such as the chest/abs
piece) were not as detailed as the ANH/EBS armor, although remember that
the RotJ Stormtrooper was effectively a recast of an original ANH/ESB set. |
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| I'm not sure what material was used for the
edging but expect that it was a "found" piece, rather than
something that was specifically made for the costume. The Armor was complete
except for the forearm pieces and hand-plates. However, the set came with
the original boots, black under suit and an original resin blaster! |
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| Above and below another couple of shots of the
helmet. As you can see the decals on this helmet look VERY similar to the
ESB decals (see the Christies ESB pics
added recently) and the blue tube decals has blue and white sections (i.e.
its not blue, then a gap and then blue again). |
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| A close-up inspection of the area around the
"tears" suggests that the RotJ helmets were cast off an
HDPE/Fishpond ANH helmet and not an ABS. If you look hard you can see the
slight "pinching" of this section. Though at this stage this
cannot be nailed 100% it IS a strong indicator of its origins. This photo
also show the eye detail and specifically the green hue of the bubble
lenses |
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And below the frown. You can't see it from this shot but
the ends of the frown are squared off (some were rounded, some squared). |
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| Below a few more shots of the suit in its
entirety. Note the brow trim was slightly out of position for this photo.
You can see the harness straps on the inside too. |
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Below the legs, shoulders and upper-arm sections. |
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Below the resin blaster which also looked in great
condition. |
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..and finally the oxygen canister/Thermal Detonator
(whatever it is) |
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Below a great shot of John wearing his purchase - you
can almost see him grinning on the inside! |
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and below a close up of the lower body section |
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Our thanks to John for showing off his fantastic new
acquisition. You can be sure its being well looked after in the bank vault
where its stored! |
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