RETURN OF THE JEDI RUINED STORMTROOPER HELMETS, History of the Original Trilogy Stormtrooper Helmets
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- čas přidán 4. 05. 2024
- In this video, I go over the behind the scenes history of the Stormtrooper helmet in the original trilogy. Be on the lookout for my next video on this topic where I will go over the changes with the stormtrooper helmet in the newer Disney star wars movies and shows!
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Part 2!
ROGUE ONE RUINED / FIXED STORMTROOPER HELMETS, How Disney Changed The Stormtrooper Helmet Forever
• ROGUE ONE RUINED / FIX...
Articles and image references
Star Wars The Black Series Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Imperial Stormtrooper Helmet
www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Blac...
Star Wars Helmets Stormtrooper Article
www.starwarshelmets.com/origin...
Original Stormtrooper behind the scenes article -
www.originalstormtrooper.com/...
Fine art Prints Ralph McQuarrie blog post -
art.sideshow.com/blog/stormtr...
Another blog detailing Ralph McQuarries artwork
alextoons.com/blog/tag/movie+art
RS Prop Masters
www.rspropmasters.com/store/s...
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00:00 Intro
00:58 Changes in the Stormtrooper Helmet
01:19 How the original stormtrooper helmet was made
02:27 A New Hope Stormtrooper Helmet
02:55 Stunt Stormtrooper Helmet
04:30 Hero Stormtrooper Helmet
05:20 Empire Strike Back Stormtrooper Helmet
06:41 Return of The Jedi Stormtrooper Helmet
07:45 Special Edition Stormtrooper
08:47 Stormtrooper Helmet Comparison
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These variations can be explained in real world production terms. Military equipment production is often farmed out to independant contractors. As long as the official pattern is followed in the critical areas, variations can be tolerated in other areas. Quantity over quality. As long as the piece performed as required physical appearance wasn't as important. And the Empire was certainly in need of LARGE quantities of gear. A good example of this is production of the German P-38 pistol during WW2. There was only 3 manufacturers of these weapons and the physical finish varied widely even though all the parts were interchangable.
This is a perfect in universe explanation, and probably the one that makes the most sense!
Exactly what I was thinking. The empire needs an insane amount of this stuff, the producers probably don’t care to make sure every little detail is perfect. So obviously in-universe we see stormtrooper helmets can vary from having a tiny mouthpiece, a large mouthpiece, some “teeth” detail, just a plain mouth, and some shape differences.
@@weirdpigeonproductions A theory I had about some Stormtroopers having bad aim is that they had defective helmets.
@@stitchfan_8290 It's possible, but in A New Hope (on the Death Star at least), they were supposed to let the MCs get away, so they had to at least avoid hitting Leia and probably anyone else who could pilot.
In terms of theories that I think would make sense, but are not canon as far as I know, I think it would be reasonable for force sensitives to have a sort of low-level passive accuracy disruption ability. It would at least explain plot armor.
Good point! 👍
In WW2 helmets changed as the war progressed, especially the German helmets as materials became scarce. So the stormtrooper helmets changing doesn't bother me at all, and has historical precedence.
I like that theory!
Similar reason for the uniforms as they became more simplified throughout the war.
As I was younger and realized the frown-differences in the "a new hope", I assumed, that it would mark some kind of rank in universe. And since the one (apparently) hero-helmet Stormtrooper gave some orders at the beginning of the movie, I thought, that Stormtroopers with smaller frown would be higher in rank. That didn't make much sense to me because: When you are higher than other people, why would it be represented with a smaller detail? Higher, better, smaller?
Yeah... Kids can have strange views...
This is kinda how I feel as well! In my head canon I like to think that these deference’s have some kinda meaning like rank, or maybe the helmets improved as the war went on? It’s fun to think about!
@@weirdpigeonproductions My understanding was the pauldron's color indicated rank and those without any pauldrons were the lowest rank.
My theory was that the Empire was upgrading the helmets throughout the entire event.
Because even the New Order had changes.
Things change in the real world, throughout a conflict between two nations in war. Which includes the personal equipment, and the military equipment.
Which explains why there were always new weapons during each movie.
This guy is a narcissist nerd, who takes it too seriously. It's not real, no matter how much you want it to be.
@@weirdpigeonproductions this would 100% make sense and also fit with the OPs headcannon. In the military, most issued gear gets some minor upgrades over time. So, maybe the manufacturer did enlarge the frown because soldiers demanded for more airflow and for the guy woth small frown giving orders, well it makes sense, that the guy with the old helmet model gives the orders since he is presumably serving for quite some time and has experience while the others are fresh blood who got already issued the new model.
@@shawntilton9170 In addition, just because there's a new version of a given piece of personal kit doesn't mean that everyone in even the same unit will have the updated version. If the older piece is still serviceable, it will probably continue to see service even after a newer version has been made.
Sometimes in the original Star Wars I don't know if people have noticed but sometimes you can see actual duct tape holding together the storm troop is armor usually on the shoulder when they bring Leia to confront Darth Vader for the first time at the very beginning you can see white duct tape on the shoulders and when Luke gets pulled over by the stormtrooper the lead stormtrooper and a couple shots has silver duct tape and another shots he doesn't have any at all
I have never noticed this! I’ll have to do some research, and maybe make a video on this detail!
That white you see is actually not duct tape but part of the elastic strapping system attached to the inside of the shoulder bells, chest, and back pieces of the armor used to secure them to the actor’s body, and in some cases, to other sections of the armor pieces (like the front and back armor pieces that were attached)
@@hitchville1 I can back this up as an owner of replica a new hope stormtrooper armour. The kit has a strapping pack to prevent the pieces from slipping out of place and to give the armour a more stable look. Elastic colour variation would differ and in most cases would have a mix of both white and black elastic
I was in the US Army, and duct tape was our best friend for our personal equipment. That and zip ties.
The military doesn't care what you use to fix your shite, as long as it's functional during battle.
And in some cases, using tape or ties is better, when you want to reduce any extra weight from your equipment.
Tape or tie on lights to our rifles during night shite, and it makes it easy to remove for day shite.
Could knock the changes off to the helmets changing, like the clone helmets did. Considering the tech they had and what they did, it looks amazing even today it hard to notice the little flaws.
46 year old life-long SW fan here and I *never* noticed these differences. I guess that's what the costume teams were hoping for, that audiences wouldn't pay much attention to individual stormtroopers in a given shot, that they'd all blur together as you watch a scene. Well done, OT costumers! Of course now I'll never unsee it, so there's another layer of detail to be add to my overall SW experience. I love that I can still have such things pointed out even after decades of enjoying this saga.
Glad I could add a little something extra to your Star Wars fandom!
Great video, IMO I dont think return of the Jedi ruined stormtrooper helmets, i watched it 100's of times and I never noticed until now, what return of the jedi did do was make stormtroopers too incompetent compared to the other movies where they were actually good soldiers.
Yeah, the difference is so subtle it really doesn’t matter too much. What is weird is the fact that a legion of the best stormtroopers in the galaxy were defeated by a bunch of teddy bears armed with sticks, but stuff like that isn’t enough to ruin my suspension of disbelief. Thanks for the comment!
Don't forget how incredibly bad stormtroopers were when shooting at the main heroes in ANH and ESB. We didn't actually see them do much that made them appear to be competent in the OT, but yes being beaten by teddy bears seemed unrealistic.
@@ggriffaw Vader told the Stormtroopers not to hit the Heroes in ANH because he wanted to find the rebel base, and they can't do it when they are dead and we know the heroes have plot armor, the side characters who get blasted away in 5 minutes by stormtroopers are proof of their proficiency.
@@ggriffaw they weren’t trying to kill people in ANH, and in ESB the stormtroopers annihilate Hoth base but failed at Bespin - so going 2/3 in those movies isn’t bad
@@cheeseburger7788 In ESB it was mostly the AT-ATs that did the damage on Hoth. The snowtroopers probably did something off screen, but I can't recall any scene in the OT where the imperial troopers are shown doing anything impressive. We are told about them taking out a sandcrawler and killing a farming family. Neither is very impressive from a military standpoint. One guy chases a group of stormtroopers through their own battle station. I'm not saying the imperial troopers are not capable, but we never saw them being capable. The TIE pilots do well. I understand from a story standpoint there were secondary characters that could be killed off in the space battles. Actually one of the few times we saw a good guy get killed on the ground was one of the ewoks.
Honestly I prefer the ANH/ESB helmets over the Rogue One and Beyond helmets, they just got a nice Aesthetic to them
Gotta agree with ANH, but looking at those ESB ones, especially the plain black mouths and the more wonky black stripes, leaves a little sour taste in my mouth.
When I looked at the view count and subscribers, I was like "wtf? I thought I was watching a widely known CZcamsr". This is criminally underrated.
Also, this just proves that when people that say the OT has no flaws, that's wrong, because it has its own issues just like they claim the PT has. 😂😂
Yeah! I love the original trilogy, but when you take off the nostalgia goggles you really start to see some of the flaws. You also start to appreciate the newer Disney stuff a little more, at least for the quality and craftsmanship of the films and shows, but I’ll go more into that in my next stormtrooper helmet video! Thanks for the comment!
@@weirdpigeonproductions I personally love both trilogies each in their own way. With Disney SW, there's still some things to appreciate too, definitely.
For canon purposes it could be a logistical issue for the empire trying to over expand leaving Storm Troopers with old helmets.
I don't want to just repeat what everyone else said about how during war and such equipment can vary but i do wanna say that i actually like it. Makes it seem realistic. Even the paint chipping off the helmets and such makes the troopers look like they have seen battle. I wouldn't be surprised if someone made up a whole story just for that trooper you zoomed in on for ESB.
I personally feel as if there's slight alterations and slight variations of Stormtrooper helmet design, and were being field tested in battle. Sorta how our modern military forces today test equipment sometimes in live situations (given circumstance).
I think of the frown types being different versions of voice modulation, or being able to slightly fit some minor extras for breathing apparatuses (the downward faced "tusks" we can see that are actually meant for oxygen tubes) and whatnot. Then with ROTJ having the mostly the same in appearance, the Empire mastered the helmet design and such and was most preferred by troops. Personal headcanon.
I like it!
Lol, you’re not even trying. This is what happens when casual fans with a little bit of money start chiming in. The ROTJ helmet is worse in every way from the other variants. Militaries also rarely listen to soldiers regarding preference of gear. That happens at lower unit levels. Otherwise we’d still be using gear from 90’s because it was preferred.
@@Commander23c Maybe ROTJ was the Marine branch while the others are more akin to the Army? Lol.
@@Commander23c Bruh. its just a design at the end of the day. Let people have some small headcanon or something instead of squishing it with bunk.
and 90's gear? outdatted. Our modern military equipment is much better than the past. Only thing i prefer from the 90's is Woodland ERDL.
So please Internet Navy Seal, please stay away.
It's just amazing how back in the day everything had to be hand made and it looked great
Nice video. I think that some of the chips/defects could tell stories as to what those individual stormtroopers/helmets have seen. Maybe some of the more warped ones went through some type of fire or high-heat situation.
If your helmet is slightly melted it shows you did a tour on Mustafar.
As a kid I did notice the brow band shifted position on some Stormies. I was just sucked into this incredible universe. Never really noticed the other differences till I watched this vid.
I think in Return of the Jedi the Stormtroopers have an actual armour plate on the back of the hand. Originally I seem to recall it was more of a rubbery pad.
I think Vader's helmet wasn't fixed and made symmetrical till Revenge of the Sith.
Thanks for the interesting vid.👍
Before making this video I did notice how the frowns were a bit different from movie to movie, but I didn’t know how many differences and inconsistencies there were in the helmets till I started researching it. I’m thinking about doing a video on the Vader helmet sometime in the near future!
I've always noticed these Stormtrooper helmet differences but I never knew the real life reasons for it, pretty good video! It made sense in universe that multiple corporations making the armour would result in slight variations depending on the corporation so I liked that detail.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
@@weirdpigeonproductions I've watched some more of your videos and I'm hyped to see what you'll make next! Also, I've done an analysis on The Phantom Menace and if you're interested, it's on my channel (the video on my channel has a link to my Letterboxd). I analysed the film and I debunked a lot of criticisms held against it. But don't worry, I'm not asking you to promote it, I just hope you'd be interested in reading it.
Yeah! I’ll definitely check it out when I get a chance!
@@weirdpigeonproductions Thanks! I hope you enjoy it!
I remember noticing the chipped paint! I always assumed that was an artistic decision to indicate veteran troops or something. IRL military equipment is made by the lowest bidder after all
Not all the time. Just because someone underbids others, they still have to prove they can meet deadlines and specifications. If they're a well-established company that has performance records to indicate they can produce similar products at the same or similar then they stand a better chance of winning the contract. But if the company is new and has little or no performance records then they'll have a much harder time getting the contract.
Great informative video! Never would’ve thought the movie helmets materials were similar to the Halloween costume helmets LOL
the movies were portrayed so well with the stormtroopers and the camera angles that I rarely noticed. I love how they found a way for it to work creating the helmets. Nowa days, the costumes are on point but the story is lacking. Good work and great job covering the subject.
Thank you!
A New Hope helmets are still the best in my opinion, although I do like the subtle or not-so-subtle changes for Rogue One. As a kid I always thought the thinner frowns looked better than the larger ones, I like seeing the teeth as well.
BIt of History.
Liz Moore sculptor, created the mould for the ANH helmet based on design from RM.
Brian Muir sculptor, created the mould for the Armour again based on RM's designs.
He also went on to create Vaders helmet.
The moulds were then passed to a local business owner to vac form.
Original Stormtrooper didn't as they are now did the vac form process but didn't create the original sculptors.
I can never unsee this.
I saw - A New Hope - back in 77, and it's stormtrooper helmet has always been my favorite design from all the movies.
I moved from London to Glasgow about five years ago, but had to travel back down for a wedding on the weekend. On the morning of the ceremony my girlfriend and I went out for a breakfast sandwich at one of the many overpriced cafes that Twickenham has to offer. On the way home, with my £6 bacon sandwich in hand, I noticed a shopfront with a stormtrooper standing in the window. I ran over to look inside, thinking from a distance that it was a fancy dress shop, or seasonal Halloween place selling horrible cheap Star Wars knockoffs, but instead I was greeted with loads of immaculate Episode IV blaster and uniform replicas. They were all amazing and incredibly expensive. I thought it was rather odd that such a niche place would still exist, but there's a market for just about everything these days.
Imagine my surprise today, when I'm watching this random CZcams video from a channel I've never heard of, and some guy is talking about stormtrooper helmets, and it reminds me of those cool helmets I saw on Sunday. Then it features a photo of that very same 'shop' I was glaring into just a few days earlier, Sheperton Design Studios, the place that made the helmets from the movie that made my childhood so magical. I was staring into a bit of history and I didn't even realise.
Your video made my day. Thanks.
This is why I love making these videos! Glad I could make your day a little brighter. Thank you so much for your comment. You have also just made my day!
That was really interesting, I've been a fan of Star Wars for 45 years and never noticed the differences.
Thanks for making one, maybe do a one minute one on why Disney changed the TFA stormtrooper mouth pieces, unless it's just inconsistence as always.
I’ll have to look into this!
Yeah Disney ..gave storm troopers a Donald duck mouth ...its .his beak that Disney gave the poor storm troopers
That's JJ Abrams and his 25% different approach so he could make money off the same characters George created.
Honestly, I'm surprised that Disney didn't make the troopers helmets rainbow, with all the SJW bullshite that got put in the franchise.
If anything ruined Star Wars, it was Disney and the SJW movement.
@@shawntilton9170 I was thinking the same thing and the closest they got to that so far was with Sabine vandalizing a TIE-fighter with graffiti in all kinds of wild colors in Rebels.
Dude I cannot believe that you don't have over a million subs. The quality of this content is top notch. As an owner of a original replica "A New Hope"suit, I love seeing the changes between films. I definitely prefer the look of the stunt helmet over the hero. Can't wait to see your next vid talking about the newer Disney titles. Would sub again if i I could 💪💪💪
Thanks so much! That Disney helmet video will be going up soon!
I completely agree with the pinned comment, but i also find it fascinating how much it changed throughout the movies despite a lot of audience members not particularly noticing the difference.
This kind of discussion is why I love star wars, getting into the fine details that no one would even notice is what crafts the most entertaining theory analysis. Excellent video and i am eager to learn more.
Thank you! I remember thinking something about the helmets in ROTJ looked off but never could place what it was.
Original trilogy helmets ESPECIALLY anh stunt were the best. They were perfectly imperfect. No idealised/redesigned trooper helmet would make its way into my collection.
Have you ever seen videos on how contemporary military helmets changed during WW1 and WW2? Reenactors pay immense attention to fabrics used, rivets, metal seams, etc. This just makes the SW movies even more realistic, not "crazy"!
DEFINITELY LOOKING FORWARD TO WATCHING MORE OF YOUR VIDEOS AND ESPECIALLY MORE LIKE THIS ONE. GLAD I DISCOVERED YOUR CHANNEL.
I think it’s awesome how in alot of the new disney+ shows and disney movies they actually use 501st members for stormtroopers.
I love every version of a trooper helmets. And think all of them are beautiful
Great study video. Looking forward to the next rogue1/mando one. If I were to add something, since the body armor is even more significantly different between the ep4 and ep6 versions, including that in the comparison would have elevated the quality despite this being a helmet comparison video. Cheers!
Honestly, this is the first time I saw the difference between the helmets from movie to movie. I was fifteen years old when A New Hope was launched.
The stunt helmets in ANH and ESB, have 3 screws in each ear. As I understand it, the front and back of the helmets were riveted together by four rivets. Then the ears went over these rivets, and were attached with two screws through the circular part, and one at the bottom. The placement of the lower screws varied. Some were so low that they were hidden by the rubber trim, while others were almost halfway up the ear. The ANH hero helmets did use only two screws to hold an ear on. One at the top, and another at the bottom.
Great video, eve i knew most of it. the comparsions are very well done.
For the in universe reasons for these differences, I would say that a galactic empire would have several factories across various planets that would produce Stormtrooper helmets in slightly different environments that look slightly different from each other. George Lucas described all Imperial equipment as "right off the assembly line" which would imply quantity was the focus at the expense of quality. It reminds me of a news story a few years ago where a US prison that used inmate labor to produce Army helmets, had to recall thousands of the helmets due to quality issues. For an Empire that uses slave labor, these Stormtrooper helmet differences are great. I love the differences and i feel it keeps consistency in the vast Universe of Star Wars.
If we learned anything from the prequels, it's that the helmets evolved from the original clone army all the way through to the post-imperial world of the sequels. So I think it's both unsurprising and not at all out of place to see some variation in the helmets between the OT films. That said, the ROTJ helms have always bothered me a bit and it surprises me that (awash with money following the massive success of ANH and ESB) Lucas would not have invested in the production of new helmets for ROTJ once it waz determined that the molds were no longer true to the original design.
Great video! Looking forward to an analysis of the Disney storm trooper helmets
Great, things you can't un-notice once you notice. I'll be seeing those defects in the movies till the day I die.
I actually like rotj design.
New hope was sharp and amazing, but there is something special about rotj dudes, this design later was used in many eu projects, like promotion videos and videogames.
Mass producing cheap helmets actually sounds like something the Empire would do since Palpatine seemed more focused on quantity over quality.
For sure
Fascinating video, I was in seventh grade when the first Star Wars came out, so glad to see later generations into it still.
I look forward to seeing your video on the Rogue One stormtrooper helmets.
I'm excited to see your reaction to Season Two, now. There's some really fantastic stuff coming up that's going to blow your mind.
I’ve been a fan for a quarter century and I had no freaking clue about the changes to the armor from film to film. The closeup of the unpainted respirator in ANH really blew my mind. Will never unsee. There’s always one dorky helmet in the dugout nobody uses and he grabbed it
Hahaha glad you liked it!
I've been a fan for decades, and never knew these things. You've earned my sub, sir.
I appreciate it!
Really interesting and well-researched video!
man. i never noticed that before now i can't unsee it xD
A question for you all about the frowns:
when you look at a stormtrooper do any of you (or all of you) read the frown as a 'mouth' in the visual design? I always saw it as a nose slit with the tusks being the mouth.
I always saw them as mustaches like The Family Guy's Star Wars editions.
I've never recognised it as a mouth either, despite the popular belief that it is design wise. It's just a vent across the nose of the helmet. If they have a mouth at all, then surely it would be the area below, where the mic tips are.
I like that the brow is curved on the Star Wars helmets - especially in the scene where Obi-Wan uses the mind trick, because it makes the troopers look dumber. Especially compared to the hero helmet which has a meaner expression. I even wondered if maybe it had been done on purpose - kind of like the way Harrison Ford pushes back the brow of his hat in comedy scenes for Indiana Jones.
Fascinating!! I hadn’t noticed the difference in helmets, but seems reasonable there be some evolution over time. I think I will wear my Stormtrooper socks today!
I love that you have stormtrooper socks!
@@weirdpigeonproductions Thanks! And fittingly, it’s actually just stormtrooper helmets. But I can’t tell if they’re original or Return of the Jedi helmets. 😆
I'm really looking forward to your follow-up video covering the Disney helmets!
Hoping to release this very soon!
FOR ME, THE BEST LOOKING IMPERIAL STORMTROOPER AND DARTH VADER HELMETS WERE FROM EPISODE 4 "A NEW HOPE" THEY ARE THE MOST ICONIC AND THEY WERE THE ORIGINALS. YOUR VIDEO WAS FANTASTIC AND VERY INFORMATIVE. GREAT JOB!!!!!!!!❤️🙏
Thank you!
Great video! My favorite Stormtrooper "oops" moment was the Stormtroopers in the Carbon Freeze Chamber scene. As they're walking down the steps, the trooper on the right has his whole shoulder bell on his left side hanging off! He just cruises down the steps and goes into formation like we can't see it.
No way! I never noticed that!
Excellent job 👍 you got my sub.
As many people have said, pieces of personal kit change over time, and just because there's a newer version of a given armour component or weapon doesn't mean that the older version is going to suddenly stop being used. Even in the same unit, one should expect to see different versions of the same item
I am surprised that you did not mention the helmets with the "stye" eye. Which can be seen in ANH when Luke and Ben are stopped by stormtroopers and Ben uses his Jedi powers. The trooper who says "move along" has it. A friend of mine was able to take a mold off of one. I have a copy from him of that helmet.
Really informative I never knew that good presentation
Thank you
I have always preferred the original version from A New Hope. 👍🏼 I still to this day remember, as a six year old, seeing early publicity photos in magazines of the time and noticing the grin on the helmets. For some reason I was fixated on it and sketched it everywhere I could. Great design!
This video was amazing! You are going to grow so fast! Just subscribed
Thanks so much!
Great Job! I can't believe I never noticed the difference, but now that I see it, I have to say I like the Star Wars version better.
Well done man.
Can't wait for the next video on this
Will be out soon!
All these things I’ll never be able to Unsee. Thanks lol
I love your videos bro. You deserve way more attention for your channel.
Thank you!
I was genuinely shocked when I saw your subscriber count. You deserve WAAAAY more subs my man!
Lol, thanks man!
Great video!!!!
The simple explanation is there were several different Manufacturers of Stormtrooper helmets
My absolute favorite stormtrooper helmet of all time is the stunt helmet from ANH. They are just the most aesthetically pleasing. I don't understand why they changed the frown color in TESB, because it made the helmets look slightly worse. The only improvement was that they reduced the amount of "air slits" on the turqoise parts. Furthermore, I don't understand why it's so hard for Disney to make their helmets look exactly as they did in ANH. They have so much money to spend, but their helmets look completely different. Heck, they even cared enough to re-introduce the old movie error that TIE windows are differently arranged from the outside than from the inside. Although the look of the stormtrooper helmets did improve as time went on. Rogue One helmets looked much worse than those in Mandalorian and the ones in Kenobi looked even better. HOWEVER, I recently watched a documentary on the special edition and in it they mentioned that they had to digitally remove the light that could be seen in the frown of a stormtrooper, because his head didn't cover the light that was cast from behind him. This is something that happened in Episode 3 of the Obi-Wan series and it was extremely obvious. It made the helmet look like a cheap plastic prop.*
Edit: 4:30 HOLY SHIT, I never noticed that this helmet didn't have the stripes!!! It's unbelievable! I've watched these movies a million times and I notice something new every time! How is that even possible???
*Although I have to admit that I'm probably one of the very few people who analyse stormtrooper helmets to the smallest detail, lol. I bet the vast majority of people who watched this series didn't even notice that.
Edit 2: One thing you forgot to mention is that there was at least one newly cast helmet in TESB. It can be seen in the scene where Han Solo is frozen in carbonite. It looks very different compared to the original stunt helmets and some people believe it's the first ROTJ style helmet, before the mold was deformed.
Thanks so much for the comment! I’ll have to look into the obi wan Kenobi stormtrooper getting lit from behind and through the helmet. That’s a really interesting detail, might have to make a video on it in the future. Also, I had heard that there might have been a ROTJ helmet in ESB, and that it was, like you said, kinda a prototype before the mold collapsed. I didn’t know where in the film it could be spotted though! Really neat catch!
@@weirdpigeonproductions It's in the scene where Obi-Wan and Leia are sitting on the truck together with the squad of stormtroopers.
Btw, I'm going to subscribe to your channel now. I always forget to subscribe when I find a good CZcamsr, but this time I will do it. ;)
Edit: Btw, I noticed something that might be interesting to you. When comparing ROTJ and ANH stunt helmets, I found that the ROTJ helmet wouldn't look thaaaaat different if they hadn't done two changes: Many of the ROTJ helmets have "bubble" lenses like the hero helmets in ANH and, most importantly, not only the "teeth" are painted black but they also added a black rim around the frown. If they had only painted the teeth black, the helmets would look much closer to TESB's helmets. Of course they're still deformed, but I think you can still see the "stunt-ness" of the helmet. It's not such a fundamental difference like between the hero and stunt helmets. You know what I mean?
Edit 2: Sorry, that's going to be the last edit, I swear! Did you know that they did a similar thing in the sequel trilogy? The helmets in Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker are different from the ones in Force Awakens. They made them more pointy and added teeth to the frown. Personally, I find the ones from Force Awakens look much better. I seriously wonder if they only changed the design to keep the tradition and make a few nerds like us notice it, lol.
Neatness was an absolute priority for the Empire and the Stormtrooper's helmet, whilst not even able to even withstand a punch, nevertheless kept their hair from getting mussed.
Agreed. Being a 50 year old and always wanting a stormtrooper helmet since I was a kid, I soon realized all the ones available just looked off. Had to do some research and yes. The mass produced ones are just not right in my eyes. Was able get a screen accurate helmet from RS and TM. Up close and in the mirror they look quite wonky but from a distance, they capture the true look of the stormtrooper we know and love.
Got to see a ROTJ compete suit during the Magic of Myth tour several years ago. And you can definitely tell the shape and material difference. They look softer. Currently saving for an RS props ANH stunt as my aging FX (from my 501st days) stays on the mannequin 😎 Nice vid- you did your homework. I’ll suggest to all out there to follow RS Props on here as well as check out their interview with the helmet encyclopedia himself Jez Hill.
Great video!! You had some interesting behind the scenes information. Don't quote me on this but If I remember correctly Laserdisc had something to do with some of the changes in prop quality. Star wars after a new hope had changed film across the board. When it comes to an In universe explanation you could say the difference in helmets was due to the different contractors that made stormtrooper armor.
I never really thought about it being different contractors making the armor! That makes perfect sense!
@@weirdpigeonproductions yes or corruption in the company. The people where not getting better with the imperial order. Like the Italians.
I still love them whichever depiction they are in
this man needs more subs
Fantastic video!!!
Thank you!
AWESOME HISTORY ON THE STORMTROOPER HELMETS. LOVE THIS. EARNED MY SUBSCRIBE. STAR WARS FAN FOREVER ❤ MTFBWY...ALWAYS.
I don’t think they ruin anything, really. Because of how relatively minor these things are and knowing about the limitations, both in time and resources, it’s something that I don’t think should change anything in how the stormtrooper should be seen in whole.
Every product is tweaked for better performance, etc. I would just assume that the Empire did testing and made adjustments to helmets as years went by. That's why Hope and Return helmets are different. Reading the books they always were taking helmets to update them (hud, etc)(Allegiance)
In-story could mirror real-life. In a huge galaxy with many different contractors and manufacturers, the Empire would probably have many different bidding contracts on the cheap. As long as the helmets were within spec, they were accepted.
I have a hdpe stormtrooper helmet with all of the imperfections and it is so damn beautiful. I was 6 when I saw Star Wars in 78 and have always loved the original stormtroopers/sandtroopers. I prefer the imperfections to the now cleaner versions.
I have one of the Shepperton stormtroopers. The helmet is indeed warped. It looks the business and it's not noticeable until you look directly from above and then it's way out of shape.
After the Stormtroopers in Rogue One and Mando thing you are going to make, you should do a Star Destroyer comparison video with the ISD Class 1 and 2
That’s a good idea!
And for some smaller details you could add the lesser known Tector-Class which is a Star Destroyer with no hangerbays
I personally never noticed the diffference between the helmets in the 3 original films
I thought it added realism to the universe. Helmets looking defective is a result of mass production and they even cheap on their Star fighter force by producing as many TIE fighters.
ROTJ's are my favorite. They looks more brutal and similar imo
One of the cool things about this is that is if you were to notice the chips or the screws in the helmet while watching the movie. You’d probably just right it off for being jimmy rigged after being in combat.
Thanks Grey!
It was my understanding that the ROTJ stormtroopers were brand new sculpts. The ANH moulds were too damaged to use so they remade them. Hence the slight difference. The armour is also different as it has larger shoulder pauldrons and also the chest and back plates have rolled edging all the way around.
Great video! Never understood why Luke's helmet looked so much better than the rest of the helmets.
Great video and research. Most normies think all Stormtrooper helmets are the same but, no. Just one tiny little itsy bitsy nitpick. ANH buckets used flat-head screws instead of phillips head screws. Hero helmets had one on each side and Stunt helmets had two on each side. Cheers!
I prefer the red lenses over the black ones. I think it gives him much more character and makes him look much more intimidating.
Honestly, I never really noticed the differences, at least not on a conscious level. I never saw the grill as a "frown" either.
The Empire was cheap & didn't but the best equipment...this explains it all in universe
I think its interesting some of the changes that took place but I think largely it goes unnoticed. The change in the helmets I am sure for many of us is last on the list in comparison to many other things that have been done to Star Wars over the last few years.
The original new hope helmets are by far my favourite.
Mine too!
Great video! I subbed for more 🙏
Thanks so much! I’ve got plenty more on the way!
I've made a full size few resin cast stormtrooper helmets, and I prefer the blue/grey touches rather than the black. Also, if you notice the mass produced for sale stuff never looks right because the originals were really asymmetrical. On my first helmet, I left it as is, for the second one, I tried to compensate for the wonkiness of the original mold with resculptimg with apoxie sculpt. On the originals, one side of the face is pushed in, one side tube is noticeably thicker than the other, I even lowered the brow for an Empire Strikes Back look. I can confirm that the bubble "hero" lenses are pretty hard to see through. They look cool, but are really hard to see through. I added bubble lenses to the second helmet.
Awesome! Someday I really want to make my own set of screen accurate armor. Glad you enjoyed the vid!