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The "Real"
Imperial Helmets & Armor
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Imperial Death Star
Gunner Helmet
(ANH & RotJ) |
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Above from the same Christies Auction a "Prop
Imperial Forces helmet, the aerodynamic shaped helmet of black painted
vacu-formed plastic, with simulated receiver and aerial to the left ear
and clear plastic eyepiece strip -- made for the 1977 20th Century Fox /
Lucasfilm production Star Wars; accompanied by a letter concerning the
provenance. Similar helmets can be seen in the sequence where
Princess Leia undergoes interrogation by the Imperial Forces to induce her
to reveal the location of the rebel base. They are worn by the Imperial
officers who are ordered to destroy the planet Alderaan". It sold
for $26,360
Note it says "similar", suggesting that it may have been the
prototype, rather than screen used- which given it's missing the front
Imperial Cog decal looks less likely. SDS's original invoices for these
Imperial Forces helmets has them described as "Jawbone Helmets", a term
coined by Ainsworth and Mollo
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| Jorid sent me this shot of one of
the originals taken at one of the Might of Magic
shows in the late 1990's. Below the same helmet pictured in the LFL Archives. |
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| ..and a hi-def screen grab from ANH - reused
again in RotJ |
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| Below an on-set photo of the DS Gunners... |
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| ...and finally a shot from the same scene from a
HD source showing the the shiny leather suit |
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Imperial Fleet Trooper Helmet
(ANH, ESB & RotJ) |
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Despite appearing in numbers across the original trilogy,
the Imperial Fleet Trooper helmet is one that did not had much coverage. This
first shot is one featured in the Lucasfilm Archive. The helmets for ANH
were made by Andrew Ainsworth at Shepperton Design Studio's - although its
not clear who was responsible for the design work although is believed to
be John Mollo's work. |
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| and below that another Hi Def screen
grab from RoCKo. Despite it appearing in number, its rarely in close up, and
this was the best we could get. However you can see how reflective all the
front section is.... |
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...However they were given more prominence in RotJ as this
early scene shows. Note that we don't know whether these are re-used AH
helmets or something new produced for ESB or RotJ. Our belief is they were
probably new helmets cast off existing ANH's since its unlikely so many
would have survived ANH. |
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| ..and below as seen on the Battle of Endor..... |
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| Below one of the prototype Imperial
Fleet helmets from SDS back in 1976, these were referred to as the "Cheese Graters" by Andrew
Ainsworth and John Mollo since the holes in the front and back are
reminiscent of one. We think its a prototype since the plastic used on the
cap area has a
rough, textured finish - rather than the glossy sheen seen so far from
screen-caps. In addition the ear detailing looks
different to the ones we can identify on-screen. |
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| Its not known whether this design
made it to the screen or not, since quality screen or on-set photos of this
helmet have not emerged yet. So whether it was used in production is not
clear at this point. Below a blue-screen shot with Joe Johnston taken in
California after principle photography ended in the UK in 1976 |
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| Below a recent shot of an Imperial
Fleet Trooper Helmet. These helmets are also known as Death Star Guard
helmets, after they were given that name by the original Kenner toys back in
1977. The DS Guard being one of the original 12-backs. |
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| ..and below another shot. Note that
its possible that this helmet (and the one at the top of the section) were
made for RotJ - since only a dozen were made for ANH and its therefore
highly likely that they would have needed more by the time RotJ was made. |
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| Jason for the Original Prop Blog sent us these
excellent shot of the same helmet seen at a recent LFL exhibition |
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| Its not the best helmet to photograph, especially
when behind glass but Jason's done a great job and we are very thankful of
him sharing them here. |
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| The photo above appears to show a lighter
coloured paint showing through - however this is actually just the light
reflecting on the glass case. It still appears to be a black ABS helmet, not
painted. .and below a shot from Patrick H who took a photo of the same
helmet when the "In Concert" show toured Tulsa. |
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| Below, another shot of this helmet, this time by
Zenwalker - and you can really see the detail. |
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Imperial Royal Guard Helmet
(RotJ & RotS)
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Above, again thanks to Franz Bollo for this great
exhibition shot and below a great set photo of the IRG seen in Phantom
Menace |
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Above, Emperor's Royal Guard from Lucas Archive's
and on display at the SF MOM and below a close-up from the LFL Archives. |
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Back to Real/Original Helmets menu here |
