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The MR Stormtrooper Helmet should be
Just like the original 83%  83%  [ 20 ]
More symmetrical 8%  8%  [ 2 ]
Symmetrical 8%  8%  [ 2 ]
Total votes : 24
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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:12 am 
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What really makes me mad is that they said they digitally "SCANNED" a Hero
Helmet that was in the Archives ... WHAT THE **#*##* ... why didn't they
just take the damn scanning data, have a 3D printer make the Prototype
from that Data and make the molds from that ???!!! ... But no, again some
BS overworked, oversmoothed, oversymetric, overdone crap has to go into
production ... man how that sucks ...

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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2007 9:47 am 
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JRX wrote:
What really makes me mad is that they said they digitally "SCANNED" a Hero
Helmet that was in the Archives ... WHAT THE **#*##* ... why didn't they
just take the damn scanning data, have a 3D printer make the Prototype
from that Data and make the molds from that ???!!! ... But no, again some
BS overworked, oversmoothed, oversymetric, overdone crap has to go into
production ... man how that sucks ...

Agreed. If TE could make a scanned helmet, then surely MR could too.

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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2007 5:25 pm 
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two words:

MISSED OPPORTUNITY!!!

and for $400!!?? ooooh what a shame.

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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2007 6:07 pm 
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I really think MR had to go all the way on this one, whether going for a symmetrical sanitized version or the accurate screen look. Instead they split it down the middle and got a kind hybrid looking weird helmet. I think if you look at it logically the way to go would have been a 100% screen accurate helmet. That way you please the anal retentive Stormtrooper Helmet fanatics like us and the regular collector wouldn't really care or know the difference anyway.


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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2007 8:15 pm 
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While you and I would appreciate 100% accuracy, imagine how many people would cry foul after getting a quickly assembled, questionably painted, bumpy, warty replica of the ANH helmets. They'd have an unfathomable rate of unsatisfied people returning their problems.

So I think it's alright to expect some liberties in the production of a quality built replica from a licensed company.

In other words, I think fiberglass is actually a good choice given who MR wants to appeal and sell to. I was fine with that, and actually looking forward to it as a nice contrast to fan made and SDS helmets.

But I agree with zenwalker that they should not aim for the lowest common denominator. They should have replicated "the look" properly. Then us hard cores would be happy, and Joe Q. Customer woud be happy as well.

I think what everyone needs to keep in mind is that the final product has yet to be seen. I still hold a candle of hope that it will still be a nice piece worth picking up.

As a side note, they really need to hire a new photographer. I think the unflattering LOW ANGLE from which the shots were taken do nothing to show that this is indeed a Hero helmet. The signature low brow can look tremendously different when photographed from slightly above eye level.


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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2007 9:18 pm 
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hedjii72 wrote:
While you and I would appreciate 100% accuracy, imagine how many people would cry foul after getting a quickly assembled, questionably painted, bumpy, warty replica of the ANH helmets. They'd have an unfathomable rate of unsatisfied people returning their problems.


I agree, your average Star Wars fan would be horrified to see all the bumps and blame MR for shoddy workmanship. I just wish they would have used plastic instead of fiberglass. They could have offered more accurate product at a cheaper price. MR really blew it. I don't think they'll sell well at all.


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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2007 9:24 pm 
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DarthTater wrote:
hedjii72 wrote:
While you and I would appreciate 100% accuracy, imagine how many people would cry foul after getting a quickly assembled, questionably painted, bumpy, warty replica of the ANH helmets. They'd have an unfathomable rate of unsatisfied people returning their problems.


I agree, your average Star Wars fan would be horrified to see all the bumps and blame MR for shoddy workmanship. I just wish they would have used plastic instead of fiberglass. They could have offered more accurate product at a cheaper price. MR really blew it. I don't think they'll sell well at all.

Totally agree.

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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2007 10:34 pm 
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I have an idea for MR...

What if they came out with a painfully accurate warts and all line of helmets called Master Replicas Select, which would be a super duper accurate version, low edition number, higher price tag? Would that work, or would everyone just say, well shoot, shouldn't they ALL be accurate?


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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2007 10:35 pm 
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Quote:
While you and I would appreciate 100% accuracy, imagine how many people would cry foul after getting a quickly assembled, questionably painted, bumpy, warty replica of the ANH helmets. They'd have an unfathomable rate of unsatisfied people returning their problems.


Fair point but why bandy about terms in their sales pitch such as authentic when its plainly not both in materials and looks.
Looking at the speil used in the sales pitch and price you would assume that the targeted market is for collectors of high end authentic movie replicas sadly the product does not match the description.
I also find it questionable that they use photos to sell their products which aren't the actual product while most of us that frequent prop boards and alike know they do this the average joe schmo wouldn't know as its never made clear that the photos arent the actual product.
I'm sure they will sell though to those that either know no difference and those hardcore collectors that purchase stuff just to have one even if they dont really like it.

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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2007 10:50 pm 
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I guess when I say accurate I mena that within a certain degree of accuracy. I didn't mean accurate to the point of it having all the bumps on it etc. I meant that in terms of proportion it should 'look' accurate with a quality material such as fiberglass being used I have no problem with that. Of course customers want a quality helmet with a decent paint job and not flimsy thin HDPE material. My point is that the overall proportions of the piece should be accurate. I like my SDS 'Hero' Helmet in terms of it's build quality, with thick 2.5mm styrene it feels like a pretty robust helmet, unlike the 1.5mm SDS 'Stunt' which is a bit flimsy, but closer to the thickness of the originals. Of cousre, I know the SDS helmets are not 100% accurate either but I am fairly happy with them nonetheless.


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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2007 10:54 pm 
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Zenwalker,

I hear you. Back in the old days, props were sloppy jobs, mostly because celluloid film didn't pick up an insane amount of detail, and that most of the time the actors were constantly moving around, so the film basically picked up "motion blur" -- which is why when you sometimes see actual props, they are a let down; they looked so much better on the silver screen than in person.

Personally, I like asymetry, but I don't really need every imperfection reproduced. There is a difference between "prop accuracy" and "screen accuracy". Most of the time the audience did not see every little bump and deformation. Reproducing asymmetry would be "screen accurate". Reproducing each little bump is not necessarily screen-accurate even though exhibited by the original prop.

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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2007 11:23 pm 
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You guys are awesome.


Zen... I agree with you 100%. I was just playing devil's advocate a bit. I too think the proportions could've been maintained even if the materials weren't.

Mac .. I'm going to make that last paragraph into a poster and frame it.

Well said, both of you. It's nice to be able to discuss these ideas with people who share the same philosophy as me.


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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2007 11:36 pm 
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Consider the fact that Stormtroopers are essentially soldiers, and when they're all in formation to greet the Emperor, they had better look all nice and tidy. I really don't think the Emperor would have been pleased with ugly unsightly bumps, dings, cracks and unsightly paint lines.

If you want to go uber-anal and go uber-screen accurate, then some TK's had velcro straps sticking out; one TK had some white rectangular patches on his armor, and one TK had his handguards worn upside-down. So all you uber-analites out t here: these flaws were all visible in the ANH DVD, therefore they're "screen-accurate", and unless you reproduce all those mistakes, your "screen-accurate" armor is in fact inaccurate! :blah

Rather, a movie production follows a hectic schedule. Back in the old days it was okay to cut corners because a lot would not be picked up on camera. When the Star Wars special edition came out, and then the HD versions came out, we can see the results of digital resolution enhancement. In other words, we are watching Star Wars at higher resolutions than what was possible back in the days of celluoid film - even on a large projection screen! Why do you think the ROTS helmet was made to such a pristine level? It had to survive closeup shots moreso than the "Hero" helmets of 30 years ago. Personally, I think even Vader's ANH paint job was just a very bad paint job. But anal fans have decried, "It's battle damage / wear and tear" and seek to reproduce bad paint jobs.

Okay, go for it; more power to you. But how can Vader have experienced any battle damage when all the stormtrooper boarding party killed the rebel soldiers PRIOR to Vader boarding the Rebel Blocade Runner?! :toothy

One fan argued, "Well, obviously Vader got that battle damage earlier on before the Tantive IV sceen." EXCUSE ME?! We're talking about the Dark Lord of Sith here who, in ESB, could block frickin' lasers with the palm of his hand. You're going to tell me that lasers or physical objects are going even get a chance to come close to Vader to even scratch or ding his helmet and facemask? :blah

Truth be told, the bad paint job does add to the distinctive aesthetic of Vader's facemask, hence at some point I do want to reproduce it myself. We are, after all, in general trying to reproduce how the prop looked on the silver screen -- not how the prop looks like in real life.

I've also seen many tutorials of people modifying their Rubie's helmets, only to find that after touting their mods as "screen-accurate" the results failed to address the fact that the helmet still looked ugly and misshapen. But I guess that's why they bury it under a boatload of gloss black paint and add "Reveal" neckbraces so that people get distracted by the bling.

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PostPosted: Wed May 02, 2007 1:29 am 
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Regardless of arguements about screen accuracy lumps and bumps etc the MR trooper helmet ignoring the detail stuff is way off in overall shape and look and it distinctly says on the sales page " authentic stormtrooper helmet ".
To me if you are going to market something as authentic then that is what it should be if it isn't then it shouldn't be marketed as such.

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PostPosted: Wed May 02, 2007 1:47 am 
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Defstartrooper wrote:
Regardless of arguements about screen accuracy lumps and bumps etc the MR trooper helmet ignoring the detail stuff is way off in overall shape and look and it distinctly says on the sales page " authentic stormtrooper helmet ".
To me if you are going to market something as authentic then that is what it should be if it isn't then it shouldn't be marketed as such.


Total agreement there.

I would NEVER want them to "sterilize" Vader by making him symmetrical. The only exception is the ROTS helmet which JRX happens to dislike very much! :blah

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