Stormtrooper Replica Helmet - A Man Cave Must Have!

If like me you're a child of the 70's, (oh god that make's me sound bloody ancient) and somewhere in the vast depths of space in a galaxy far far away you were transported to a realm which completely transformed your life then you'll no doubt sympathize with the same fuzzy feeling I get every time the word Star Wars is mentioned.

My latest purchase has been a lifelong one since I was seven years old, I've always wanted to own a 1.1 scale replica of an Imperial Storm Trooper helmet. Online searches put the price for an official Andrew Ainsworth replica at well over $450 for a standard helmet and $760 for a hero version, (Ainsworth if you remember won the court case against Lucasfilm to retain the right to reproduce the helmets from original molds he and his team had created). The big no, no for me is paying a stupid amount of money for a plastic helmet that I can buy elsewhere for a much reduced cost. My other internet searches didn't fare much better and the current 6 month wait for the brand new (and impressive) officially licensed ONOVOS ANH (A New Hope) design helmet was just too long a wait for me. Frequent visits to the RPF (Replica Prop Forum) where some extremely passionate and talented fans,cosplayers and prop builders build their own also seeded some additional doubt, namely my temptation to buy one on Ebay (don't buy one on Ebay!).

Needless to say there are some very critical opinions and suggestions supported by shouts to avoid anything but proper 501st Legion approved helm makers, all making the decision even harder. Apparently it's an unwritten law of etiquette that you don't sell 'recasts' of other peoples work be it an Iron Man helmet or a Cyberman helmet or a Barberella cod piece. However, as much as there is a 'rule' by 501st cosplayers that they can't actively promote or sell Stormtrooper armor a PM to one of the guys active on the RPF will probably set you straight but alas I'm merely speculating. All of this is further compounded by the fact that although the offer is there you don't actually know who still makes them or not and the 'approved' list you'll find has a lengthy turnaround time, not to mention shipping, insurance and customs to factor in if you're an overseas buyer residing in Europe.

There's a whole new conversation to be had about which helmet you buy too, Hero Helmets are different to stunt helmets ANH helmets are different to ESB and ROJ helmets, the grey and black nasal frowns have a different number of teeth, the grey tear panels are different and the very slight bump on the right hand eye lower eyelid tells you which mold and which variant (ANH) you have. OMG it could drive you absolutely geek crazy.

For me I'm not overly interested in passing some convoluted checklist to the extent I want to join the 501st as a cosplayer - I just want a decent enough helmet as a display piece. what strikes me as kind of weird is that in order to join as a stormtrooper cosplayer you have abide by uniform rules for an organisation that isn't actually licensed or official in the first place. I have absolutely nothing against cosplayers, the 501st or the guys that scratch build their armor, far from it, these guys have more passion and dedication than I could possibly imagine. For me its a personal thing, I want to own something that resonates with people my age, that underlines my interest and passion in a trilogy of films that coloured my life.

I think for the most part its also about ownership of a design that I've loved for 40 years, my absolute favorite from any aspect of the films is the Stormtrooper, the ice white armor clad soldiers of the galactic Empire.

So here it is in all its glory a replica Imperial Stormtrooper  'Stunt Version' helmet as created and sold by New Image 58 props at a much more comfortable cost of $257. I opted for the fibre glass version because its primarily for display and the wait was just over two weeks. The box was sent tracked and insured and the helmet was very well packed with plenty of bubblewrap.

Was it worth it? - for the satisfaction of owning it as a display piece, yes, absolutely and I couldn't be happier, is it a perfect replica?, no absolutely not, there are aspects of the helmet that probably need a bit more love, namely the painted frown, the mouth area and the green lenses are pretty flimsy and internally the hot glue application was a bit 'mashed on' - the helmet also needs to be turned to the side in order to put it over your head because the diameter is too small and the neck seal could probably be improved but these are relatively small niggles.

The Imperial Stormtrooper Helmet, (stunt version)