Right - I have an update which may help........
CSMacLaren wrote:
The goal of this thread is to determine which helmet is screen-accurate in proportions.
It's becoming, "Helmet B is narrower than Helmet A and therefore Helmet A wins". I feel this would be an erroneous conclusion because we never substantiated why Helmet A should even be a valid and accurate baseline of comparison in the first place!
Thats cos we're only part the way through! Ive now got hold of the pics I wanted to show so these should help.
These pics were taken in 2004 when I had access to the original TIE and a Laws/Anon/whateveryouwanttocallit helmet AT THE SAME TIME so are side by side.
I didnt take any more as I only took these as a bit of fun. tbh the replica helmet felt like a toy next to the original as it didnt have any of the gravitas present on the original.
When I look at this the Laws looks like a nice replicas but quite a bit smaller than the original - and importantly thinner. In addition the fact its painted rather than Black ABS gives it a totally different look (not sure if he now makes black abs helmets)
NOW WHAT WE DONT HAVE is an SDS sitting next to an original, but hopefully one day we will. However IMO the fact that the LAWS seems small and thin next to the original, yet the SDS seems big and fat next to the LAWS, suggest that the SDS could be right. If we believe (and some dont) that the SDS is from the original moulds then that also backs up its case.
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1. The statement was made that the IH was the most accurate, so I'd like to see this substantiated. Accurate in what sense?
I agree - the IH is IMO more accurate than the LAWS. Whether its more accurate that the SDS we dont know
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2. If we are trying to compare the Laws helmet against a screen-used helmet to determine accuracy, it simply does not make sense to compare it against an SDS because it's already established the SDS TIE Pilot as a whole was not used on the screen but was reconstructed and even Bingo has issue with the mohawk.
See above for first part. I disagree the second part that the SDS is reconstructed. 3rd part - mohawk - agreed.
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3. It is argued that the SDS faceplate is accurate. I'd like to see that substantiated, and so far no-one has stepped forward to address my request (the third time now) concerning mold deterioration and deformation. In plain English: are helmets cast from the molds today absolutely identical to the 1977 helmets? If the molds have become deformed over the last 30 years, then the answer is NO, and then it is impropr to use an SDS Tie Pilot's face as a baseline.
I've tried to answer this. The reality is WE DO NOT KNOW what state the moulds were in when filming ended in 1976,compared with when production started in 2004. Like Anson said I DOUBT the mouds have deformed, but could have been damanged (at some time), or even modified - but we just dont know.
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3.a. Even if it were determined that the mold suffered no deterioration or deformation over the last 30 years, simply because the Laws' face is narrower, it still doesn't mean the SDS is the holy grail of TIE Pilot helmets because the mohawk has been reconstructed. In other words, Mr. Ainsworth does not have a "TIE Pilot mold" and has had to scratch-build a TIE Pilot with what he currently has and there for the TIE Pilot he offers is not fully historical.
Sorry but IMO we should discount the Laws and concentrate on the SDS and IH - IMO the pics above suggest to me that the proportions of the laws are wrong.
2nd part, imo AA DOES have "TIE Moulds" as these are the same as they were in 1976 - i.e. a stormtrooper faceplate (with hole blocked in), andf the XWing hemispheres. there were never any "TIE Moulds" as such - its just a mixture of other helmet formed parts, done in a different colour.
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3.b. Bingo point out accuracy problems with the SDS mohawk. So if one part is accurate and another part is not, then the helmet wholistically is inaccurate. This would be true of Vader if someone took an ANH facemask and scratch-built a ROTJ dome. You can argue all you want the facemask is accurate, but the entire helmet is collectively the facemask plus the dome, so using the entire helmet of the SDS TIE Pilot as a baseline is not the right thing to do.
This is about personal preferences. IMO I would rather have a Vader cast from the original moulds WITH a fault like the widows peak - than a 2nd or 3rd gen helmet with less overall "connection" to the original. But we all have our own preferences and opinions on this one so there's no right or wrong.
IMO THe Ideal solution would be to get Ansons mate to send SDS a batch of mohawks
Cheers
Jez