I'm actually ok with this. I feel like it really does retain the elements and overall shape of the OT but the details have been tweaked to make sense and appear to have some sort of functionality. Obviously it will never be as good as the helmets we grew up with but its a great addition to the trooper helmet family if you ask me.

Is this an actual production used/made helmet for the movie?

In a perfect world in 1976, part believes this is what Lucas would have wanted for his Stormtroopers. My preference and heart still reside with the original organic nature of the bumpy asymmetrical ANH and ESB helmets, but I do like this for what it is. A modern version of the classic. I like the new dimensionality of the black voice coder. They look like tubes added to the helmet.

This is almost the perfect Hero/Stunt hybrid - so technically, they're all hero helmets.

They look like 3 piece injection molded helmets. The teeth look like they were added after the assembly of the helmet pieces - much like the vocoder tubes.

I wonder if that's a strip of blue plastic taped under the side tube cutouts.

I agree with Juan - looks like a nice addition to the SW helmet family.

It's a production R1 stormtrooper helmet before any weathering was applied. It was part of the SW Celebration ILM Archaeological panel discussion here, starting at 10:50. And the person talking in the video describing the rationale for the changes probably got into a heated discussion with some of the hardcore OT Stormtrooper fans afterwards. You'll know what I'm referring to when you watch the video! https://youtu.be/JUafi3EWBY8

Doug Chiang is my hero.

I'm glad to see that I'm not alone in appreciating the changes that have been made by the new productions. Some I like some not as much but at least the alterations that were done just feel closer in spirit to the versions that we grew up with than what was done when they altered things for the prequels.

I just don't get the pages and pages of hate being spewed about differences that are, let's be real, largely imperceptible in the movie without minute examination. I was thrilled to see that they had replicated Han's ANH Hero blaster for The Force Awakens. And what you see on screen in TFA looks essentially identical to what you see on screen in ANH (you don't get a really good look at the gun in either movie). I had to abandon reading the Blaster thread over at the RPF when it turned into a hate fest because the prop shop, who had really gone out of their way to make what they had work, had the gall to get the prop only 92% accurate. There are numerous, legitimate, reasons that the production crew made the choices they did many of which were addressed by members with actual experience working in movies all of whom were ignored in favor of the thrill of screaming about "how dare they not use an authentic, vintage, Mauser pistol" etc.

Now, I don't live and breathe Stormtroopers so obviously any design alterations aren't cutting into my soul so we'll see just how calm and reasonable I can be when they start screwing with Darth Vader lol.

Dave

Rogue One Darth Vader? Gino seems to have the answer to that one.

Yeah, well, that and $8 will give me $8. The rest of us sub-humans will have to wait until real information trickles down to the underworld.

There was no chance they would use the old wonky helmets for RO, they wouldn't fit well in the super HD cinematics standards of today. So it was a good choice to update the helmets. That doesn't change my dedicated love for the OT classic Stormtrooper one bit.

+1.




According Gino and his "inside sources", the RO Vader helmet looks like a modified Rubies Deluxe...

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t= ... ost3987953

Looks like a ugly toy ala' Rubies.

I've seen that thread and it's still basically meaningless. We don't know what Gino has seen -- he may have seen a rough cut of the film or a single poorly made blurry screen cap or anything in between. Additionally, and I appreciate you're just trying to add spice to the conversation here, I do not care what Gino's opinion is. What he likes in the Vader costume may be entirely different from my tastes.

I'm interested in the facts so I can form my own opinion -- and I may end up agreeing with his appraisal -- but until I see it I got nothin'. All we've seen is promotional artwork which may have nothing to do with the actual costume and, grumpy old man that I am becoming, I have no patience for speculation. So, until then, I'll wait :-)

Fer sher my tongue is firmly planted in my cheek regarding Gino's comment/prediction. I found it rather humorous.

The only thing I'll believe is what will be revealed from Rogue One - whenever that'll be.

And yes, I joined the esteemed COF (crabby old fart) status a few years ago. :D ...though I tend to reserve those crabby moments for people speeding up and down our neighborhood streets when the kids are playing outside.

OOOOOH, I HATE those people! Usually teenagers in their stupid zoom-zoom cars.

By the way, what an interestingly wild detail! - the black "monkey paw" we used to call it bottom center is made of cables that exit and re-enter instead of being one single piece. Cool, huh?!