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Original Screen-Used TIE Pilot
Helmet Review |
| These photo's below are what has been now
verified as an original
TIE Pilot helmet from the Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. It was fabricated
by Andrew's Shepperton Design Studio's in Feb/March 1976 and one of only
14 made (of which 12 were deliver to the studio). This is a major find given such a small number were
made (some of which could easily have been trashed), and a number were
re-used for ESB and RotJ (in the case of ESB two were sprayed
grey and became AT-AT Driver Helmets. For Return of the Jedi, existing ANH Helmets were
simply re-used. This helmet is in an unaltered state and is
therefore very rare indeed, what is also special is that it is in stunning
condition.
Made of vacu-formed Black ABS
(confirmed), the helmet is in excellent condition,
especially when you consider its age and it still has its brilliant glossy
black finish. The silver and black vinyl decals and grey tinted eye lenses are also in very good condition and has all its
original parts as nothing has been altered or modified. It's a Seven
Piece design; Face, 2 Hemispheres, Mohawk, Triangular Mohawk Laminate,
and 2 Ears. 'Interestingly a pair of Eye-lenses have been moulded into a
SINGLE piece of tinted acrylic which was then glued into place. Additionally a piece
of black ABS bolted through the forehead both locks the lens into place
and completes the Mohawk detail. This fantastic prop was presented to its owner during the filming of
Lucasfilm's "Willow" at Elstree Studio's in 1985/86 and has been
in his possession until it was sold in 2005.
Click
Here for the New Video Review of this helmet
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The construction of the helmet was as follows:
1)The left and right head hemisphere's have been vac-formed separately
and then glued to the Mohawk strip
2) the Mohawk forehead detailing/arrow part has then been glued to the
Mohawk strip to both strengthen and characterise it.
3) The face has then been bolted to the completed head section
4) The two ear-pieces have then been bolted on.
5) The single (double) eye lens piece then fitted (glued) and
secured with another black strip of Styrene (above the eyes on the inside).
6) The two silver and black vinyl decals were added (single slice vertically from centre to accommodate
flat decal on rounded surface) and the small box added on the back of the
helmet.
7) Finally the sponge protection and chin-strap are affixed
The rear "pill-box" is rectangular black plastic with a white plastic lid
measuring 56mm x 37mm x 10mm. It is Glued into place by the white
lid (so that effectively the box now becomes the lid) transversally
approximately 16mm from the rear end of the Mohawk. The box locks by a
flexible white snap-catch incorporated into the moulding. It's not spring
loaded. The black half is cracked but not broken therefore the lid still
locks properly.
The images are below, we also did a quick 3D-Picture
here (about half a meg in size), apologies that it jumps a bit |
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| Above and below are a couple of new shots of
the helmet with the "missing" right bolt cover back in place! It
appears that it had fallen behind the back of the brow bridge (in the gap
between the bridge itself and the top of the face), and while AA was
poking around with it, it fell out! |
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| All these new shots were taken on top of my car
bonnet as the lighting was excellent |
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| Below an interesting shot showing the top of
the helmet. The finger print embossed in the plastic is believed to
be Andrew Ainsworth's own finger print from 1976, caused when the glue used to weld
the sections together in just a matter of seconds also partially attached
his finger! Small details like this wouldn't have been seen by the movie
Cameras and would have gone unnoticed (until now!). |
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| The finish is excellent, the edges razor sharp. The chin
strap was attached to a bolt on the right hand side but was not connected
on the left hence it hangs down. |
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| The helmet did not come with hoses, which would have been
connected to the chest-box. |
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As detailed above its a seven piece design
fabricated in Black ABS. |
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Interestingly the eye lenses are a single piece of
tinted Perspex/Acrylic, glued in place with a piece of black Styrene locking it in
place. The lenses on the "Hero" Stormtrooper's (referred to as
"close-up" helmets) also had the same one-piece (double-bubble)
eye lens design. Obvious I suppose as he just used the trooper face on the
TIE at the last minute. The helmet has a stick-on "W5" mark on the inside of the
helmet which we believe stands for "Wardrobe 5" |
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| The lenses are original and are a smoky coloured
grey. |
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| Both the silver and black vinyl Imperial logo decals have a vertical cut from the
centre out to the top which was done when first made to allow the flat decal to
adhere correctly to the curved dome surface. There is also a dried
bead of glue running down the upper brow. |
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| the original padding is still present and although yellowed
is still in excellent condition. |
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| The edge trim is a soft rubber, glued in a number of places
and again is original. Its quite soft now but then give its age thats not
surprising. We're pretty sure that the trim is actually Stormtrooper brow
trim and NOT the same base trim as used on the Stormtroopers. |
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| A close-up of the right hand side showing the
screw that holds the face to the head, and the condition of the printed
vinyl silver and black decals which are clearly very good. Note that this would have been
considered a "Stunt" helmet since the main "Hero's" seen in ANH had
a graphite/silver
detailing on them (and is the only difference). As with the Vader helmet in
ANH these were only highlighted when the lighting tests revealed
the lack of definition under the studio lights. However, to confuse things
some TIE's were seen in ANH and RotJ in internal Death Star scenes
without highlights - so its entirely possible this helmet could have
been seen on-screen (e.g. the scenes where TIE Pilots are running down
corridors in ANH, and the unused ANH footage in RotJ). |
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| To illustrate the "Hero /Stunt" differences
(i.e. the silver painted detailing), here's a screen-grab of one of the Hero
helmets. |
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| Another close-up of the brow area, notice how
sharp the cheek and teeth edges are. |
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| Shot of left "ear" showing face (on left)
connecting to top/back and separate ear section |
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| inside shot of (helmets) left ear showing bolt and chin
strap |
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| Rear view showing Mohawk strip and small box on
rear. |
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| ...a shot showing the black elastic chin strap, which
is only connected on the left side as the bolt holding it on the right is
missing. |
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| Above an unusual top-down view showing the
helmets overall shape |
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| Above left, detail of rear box. It
opens and looks like a pill-box . To the right a close-up of the existing
forehead "bolt" (the second of which was later found and added) |
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| Above a shot with the rear box open (the
lettering on the inside is the name of the owners son, obscured when the
lid is closed) and to the right showing the missing "bolt" which
has been placed temporarily in roughly the right position. It had
been hiding under the forehead structure all along!
Below a comparison of the rear box on the Christies 2002 TIE helmet
which featured a vac-formed detail as opposed to the Pill Box found on
Don's helmet above.
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| Above a shot of the 2-part Mohawk strip, with
the helmet front to the right of the picture. |
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| Above and below an indication of the size of
the helmet and its dimensions. |
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| Below a size comparison against a Standard Don
Post TIE Helmet. Look at the size of that thing! |
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| ...and finally below we (VERY carefully)
allowed a couple of little helpers to model it! |
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| This is a wonderful piece of Star Wars history
and I'm sure its a shame for its owner to see it go.
Don't forget to check out.....
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