Author Topic: Accurate stormtrooper helmet for Vintage Stormtrooper - UPDATED 12/14  (Read 22494 times)

Offline Dressel Rebel

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I was just perusing some of Sithfire30's work, and stumbled upon his stormtrooper helmet for 1:18





WOW!!  He really hit a homerun with those.

Hasbro has never, in all of it's many chances gotten even close to this.  They did great with the Gamorrean and Ackbar and others, but their stormtroopers all SUCK.  Just look at the garbage we got compared to what Sithfire30 was able to accomplish.





You guys see the difference right?  I feel like this is the most overlooked, under-discussed issue.  The iconic stormtrooper helmet has always been a bust.

God as my witness I am going to sculpt and cast 100 of these and fit them onto all of my stormtroopers.  The newer bodies have been good, just the helmets have been awful.  It's going to take a while, it's going to be hard, but this has to happen.
« Last Edit: December 14, 2011, 07:46 PM by Dressel Rebel »
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Most desperately needed figure of all time: Accurate stormtrooper
« Reply #1 on: November 20, 2011, 12:39 PM »
I think, for some, the Spacetrooper was nice enough...  I think for many actually the inaccuracies in the stormtrooper sculpts have been overlooked because people look at them as smaller issues.  It's like Boba Fett...  People have picked his figures apart too. 

Actually you can pick the Gammie guard apart too I think.

Not saying I disagree exactly though DR, just maybe it's less important to me so there's more important things IMO.  I dig my Stormtrooper legions I guess.  I even still have a massive Commtech Stormie army.

But I'm not opposed to an improvement either.
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Offline Mister Skeezler

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Re: Most desperately needed figure of all time: Accurate stormtrooper
« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2011, 04:08 PM »
I'd certainly love an improvement, or even just a wider distribution of the corrected helmet Stormies from this year. However, I would really want a Stormie without a removable helmet. We could get a much cleaner sculpt out of a solid head, and I'm sick of the helmet falling off or twirling around every time I pick those guys up.
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Offline Dressel Rebel

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Re: Most desperately needed figure of all time: Accurate stormtrooper
« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2011, 06:33 PM »
I'd certainly love an improvement, or even just a wider distribution of the corrected helmet Stormies from this year. However, I would really want a Stormie without a removable helmet. We could get a much cleaner sculpt out of a solid head, and I'm sick of the helmet falling off or twirling around every time I pick those guys up.

I was thinking of making my helmet out of a removable one, and completely resculpting the outside visible part of it.

I suppose I could do a solid sculpt and dremmel out the ones I want to be removable.

Maybe I'll try it both ways.

Itching to get started on this over the weekend.
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Offline Dressel Rebel

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Re: Most desperately needed figure of all time: Accurate stormtrooper
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2011, 07:14 PM »
This is my sculpting goal:

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Offline Scockery

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Re: Most desperately needed figure of all time: Accurate stormtrooper
« Reply #5 on: November 20, 2011, 07:16 PM »
All I know is for $9 or more the current vintage one is lame. I never see corrected ones, only unibrow ones.

Time for ball jointed wrists, too.


Offline Dressel Rebel

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Re: Most desperately needed figure of all time: Accurate stormtrooper
« Reply #6 on: December 1, 2011, 08:38 PM »
Here's just a WIP update on my quest.  I grabbed a chunk of resin and started sculpting.  I've identified a few small proportion issues with the helmet, need to correct those then start to add fine details.  I'd say I am 30-40% done.   I can see why Hasbro has had such a rough time with this since, well, forever.  There are a lot of lines and curves and proportion considerations to be sure.  I hope to have a finished product mid-December-ish.  If it ends up being as good as I think it can be, I'm gonna send it off to a friend and have like 100 cast.

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Offline Phrubruh

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Re: Most desperately needed figure of all time: Accurate stormtrooper
« Reply #7 on: December 1, 2011, 10:48 PM »
It's definately coming along. Its way better than anything I could do.
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Offline CHEWIE

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Re: Most desperately needed figure of all time: Accurate stormtrooper
« Reply #8 on: December 2, 2011, 11:17 AM »
Better than anything I could do either, but I actually think Hasbro has done a good job on "some" of the Stormtrooper helmets.  The Spacetrooper removable helmet being a great one for removable purposes, and the Stormtrooper in the Target 3-pk looked fantastic from head to toe... (I don't compare that to the TVC Sandtrooper or the one that came with the Dewback, who often had yellowing armor and very poorly sculpted belts).

Did you ever see the helmets that Evergray made?


Offline Dressel Rebel

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Re: Most desperately needed figure of all time: Accurate stormtrooper
« Reply #9 on: December 2, 2011, 07:35 PM »
I made a good amount of progress today.  I think I am at about 50-60% completion.  It is still very rough and not even close to finished though.

What Hasbro has never gotten right is that the stormtroopers actually have a really oversized helmet.  It is a big bucket.  See the first picture, the trooper on the right.  Another big problem with all of the Hasbro helmets are the eyes.  And thirdly, the rebreather is always way too small and not pronounced enough.







Let me know what you think of my current rough sculpt.  I want criticism.  I do want to get this perfect and make the ultimate helmet, then cast the hell out of it and put it on all of my figures.

Have at it!

CHEWIE, who is Evergray?  The helmet on the right is really good IMO.
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Offline CHEWIE

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Here's a little newsfeed on Evergray

You could also look at the Gentle Giant Bust-Up helmets too?  Just an idea.  But your progress is looking very good.

Offline Phrubruh

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Well to me the left side isn't portional to the right side. His left eye seems to droop more and the rebreather is larger than the right. The right side needs to be built up a little more. The top of the head needs to be built up more and flatenned. Its kind of pointy right now. Can we get a closer up picture?
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Offline Dressel Rebel

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Got some more work done on this today.  Thanks Phruby I got most of that done I think.  I see an eye that needs work now.  I'd say I'm about 60-70% completed now.  Note the progress.  Particularly the rebreather and the top of the helmet:






Here is my developing version with some of Hasbro's renditions:



Hasbro's versions are always too underscaled!

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Offline Phrubruh

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That is a lot better. The left eye is still droopy but your working on it. Looking at the line up of real stormtroopers, it seems every helmet is completely different from the next. I wonder how that happened if they made one cast.
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Offline Dressel Rebel

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Big progress today.  I am approaching completion in the next day or so, and then will begin the process of outfitting all of my stormtrooper figures with this new helmet.  I am currently at 85% completion roughly.


Here he is from the side angle, side, and front:







Here he is next to the Hasbro version.  I like to think I have officially produced a better helmet than they have, but I understand I am kind of biased  ;)



And here he is with the best examples Hasbro has produced of the Snowtrooper, and Scout Trooper (Nik Sant version)





Very excited to start fitting these onto my stormtroopers and get them painted!!!  This helmet has been my most wanted item since Hasbro started reissuing figures in 1995.
« Last Edit: December 4, 2011, 07:32 PM by Dressel Rebel »
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