A Theory on the Construcion of Boba Fett's Helmet.

[Glitch]

This has been bugging me for a VERY long time, so I just tought I would throw it out there.

Here it goes...

It may be vacuum-formed and NOT fiberglass.

OK, I feel better now.

I have several reasons to believe this, and after looking through Brak's pics, I am now even more convinced of this. Here are just a few of the reasons why I think it could be vacuum-formed.

1. With the exception of Vader, NONE of the helmets, armor, etc... from the original trilogy were constructed of fiberglass. Vacuum-forming was just the way they did it back then. Vader was the only exception probably because of the size (wall thickness) of the helmet and the complexity of the facal details. The helmet also needed to convey weight and presence. Vader was also a lead character - Fett was far from this.

2. All of Fett's armor was vacuum formed, why would the helmet be any different?

3. A friend of mine that worked on ROTJ has a vacuum-formed pull off of what he says is the origial mold - not an original helmet. It is untrimmed and even still has the buck flashing. It didn't really occur to me at the time, but there are several odd things about his pull. First, there is no dent in the helmet. Second, it has no "vents" on the back of the helmet. It is just flat - not even a recessed area. Third, it was made in two pieces - front and back. Finally, it has NON of the small details (arrows, cheek disk, etc...).

4. The design of the helmet makes PERFECT sense for vacuum-forming. Much like the Stormtrooper, it would be made in two halves - front and back. The two halves are attached, the top of the dome is patched and filled, and the two "earpieces" are then used to cover the seams on the sides of the helmet - much like the earpieces on the Stormtrooper. After this, a rectangle is cut from the back of the helmet and a seperate piece with the vents is glued into place from the inside. Also, the helmet has ZERO undercuts. Why would they choose to make it out of fibergalss? They were looking for the fastest, cheapest, and easiest way to do things back then. I can't think of A SINGLE reason why it would be made of fiberglass.

5. Wall thickness. EVERY pic I have EVER seen of this helmet has shown that it has remarkably thin and consistant wall thickness along the edges of the helmet. Even the most advanced fiberglass worker (which the people at ILM were far from back then) would be hard pressed to get a wall that thin and consistant. Also, the visor would be MUCH easier to install with a thin, consistant vacuum-formed wall.

6. A thin, vacuum-formed wall thickness would also explain a number of details on the helmet. I have already mentioned the vents on the back of the helmet and the visor, but it would also explain the two small arrows above the visor and the small rectangular notch on the inside of the helmet's left cheek. These would be VERY easy to do if it were vacuum-formed: simply cut out the shapes and back them with another piece of thin plastic from the inside.

I can think of about a half a dozen other reasons why I think it was vacuum-formed, but I don't want to go on forever.

Anyway, I had to get this out there. If this has already been brought up on one of the many Fett details thread, I would not know. As I said, it has been on my mind quite a bit lately. I have a feeling that just about everyone here believes that this helmet IS made of fiberglass, but it may be the time to challenge this.

After all, most of us were all comfortable with the thought that the ANH Obi-Wan saber was made of a sink drain and a rubber motorcycle grip until someone challenged that one.

Like I said, this is just a theory.

P.S. Chris King, please don't kill me.

[Braks Buddy]

Very cool points. Please duplicate this post at the AYW board. I can't argue for or against it, but now that you have brought it up are there any particular pics I might could take that could prove/disproved your theory? Either way I will have to say that I still want a fiberglass helmet for the durability but it would still be interesting to know what the original was...

BTW, I tenatively plan to return to Motm Nov 11 (a Sunday). If there are any particular Fett related pics that anyone wants, please let me know. I am hoping to take somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 pics of Fett and get EVERY angle possible of EVERY piece so we can put to bed a few more parts...

[Dustin Crops Boy]

Hey BB - don't we have a pic of part of fett's helmet that has a crack in it... that part may reveal what material was used.

also - isn't there a pic in the chronicles of whats-his-toes sanding the early helmet... i think that would show the material too.

[Glitch]

Hi BB,

First off, you have FANTASTIC pics!! The one that cought my attention is (I think) pic number 26 on your Photopoint page. You can see that the helmet was made of a white material (could be styrene). There is some discoloring, but this could simply be primer, paint, fingerprints, or even glue from the visor instalation.

The main thing that cought my eye was the consistancy in wall thickness and the sharpness of the inside of the left cheek - a true sign of vacuum-forming.

[cking]

Glitch,

I am going to kill you but I would imagine that Motorfish will be first in line because he's still painting my fibreglass version and now I want a vac-formed one!!! :) (Just kidding Motorfish).

We'd spoken about this before and I think Glitch makes some very strong points. To be honest, it makes more sense to do it vac-formed but like Braks, I'm going to live with my fibreglass version for durability. (Until someone releases a vac-formed helmet constructed in the same way as the original if it can be proved!

Definitely good food for thought!

Chris.

[Braks Buddy]

DCB, here are the pics you are referring to but I don't know how much they will tell us. Of course since I don't know much about plastic or fiberglass I WOULDN'T know...

The ESB helmet has a large crack at the edge of the visor that runs up the dome on Fett's left side. Many of cking's helmet shots clearly show this. See the pic below for details.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13207013&p=54237819

The pic below is the other pics DCB referred to; Joe J sanding the 3rd version of the preproduction helmet. I cropped the pic a little...

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1325744&a=13207013&p=54237830

[Slave1]

I just emailed one of the actors for details. We'll see if he knows or remembers.

This is actually not a new theory.

BTW, Joe Johnston might be sponging on detail rather than sanding--it's a possibility.

[Slave1]

Mark Austin, the fellow who did Fett briefly in the SE Hanging Bay 94 scene, just emailed me back to say that the helmet was definitely fiberglass :)

[ytt1300]

the Chronicles pic clearly shows it as fiberglass (in Joe Johnston's hands) however there could have been many vac formed stunt versions made for the films as well (jm$.02)

[Glitch]

Shelby,

Thanks for the info! I have found actor's and craftman's recollections and memory to be a bit fuzzy at times, but I will take your word on this.

That Joe Johnston pic has never really proven much to me one way or another.

Perhaps they needed a stunt helmet when Fett went screaming like a little girl into that giant vagina in the sand.

[PHArchivist]

Was the helmet in 97 SW SE the ESB or the ROTJ? ROTJ at MoM does look like Fibreglass. ESB...? Ive never seen it in person.

[Slave1]

"I have found actor's and craftman's recollections and memory to be a bit fuzzy at times ..."

Unfortunately, that's exactly true. Have you ever asked Jeremy Bulloch why they switched color schemes between ESB and ROTJ? He told me a great story, but I somehow felt it was speculation and that he felt obligated to have an answer for me, even if it was the wrong one.

Bulloch and Austin both say the same thing about the helmet though. Fiberglass. I would not be surprised to learn that the stunt and/or more than one backup copy was vac-formed.

"That Joe Johnston pic has never really proven much to me one way or another."

YTT, in all fairness, Glitch's statement is very true. I don't think you can tell anything conclusive from that pic.

It "looks" like fiberglass to me in that pic, but I would never say "beyond a shadow of a doubt". I'm only going by what I think, what I've read, and what I've heard, and I've based my opinion on that. I'm going to go with what Bulloch and Austin have said because it's in keeping with what I thought originally.

[Helmschmied]

you are ALL WRONG...its was aluminum

heh heh heh
Helm

[Glitch]

Hi Shelby,

You are one of the only people that I feel knows this particular helmet well enough to convince me. I just thought I would throw this theory out there so that I can stop thinking about it.

As with a number of people here, I just want to have the most accurate pieces possible. I have never really been into Fett all that much, but I do want the helmet and I want it to be made EXACTLY as the real helmet was - durable or not.

I am going to follow up on that helmet that Pete has next time I see him. Now my curiosity has peaked. He usually HATES to talk Star Wars fan boy stuff, but he wants a set of earpieces for this vacuumed helmet so this will at least give me the chance to take a closer look at it. The absence of the aforementioned details is what really has me curious. Everything he has is screen used or came from the actual molds back when he was fabricating the pieces. He even has a screen used ESB Stormtrooper helmet - lucky bastard!

I'm actually glad to hear that you think it's fiberglass. After all, I didn't hold on to my Deluxe Post helmet for nothing!

One thing I can tell you for sure is that the Jango helmet IS fiberglass. We can all relax on that one.

[Hammerhead]

As a fellow Fett follower, I can offer no suppliementary evidence to either confirm or refute Glitch's theory. However, I will say this...

I've been thinking about Glitch's #4 item for LONG time. In the same way the GT was making white sunblock helmets, I think someone could be making Fett helmets. A front piece, a back piece, a top dome, and two "ear" pieces to cover up the seams down the sides. They could be made very cheaply and even sturdily, if done right--thick gauge styrene or ABS would do the job nicely. And details like the back "vents" could be added. Could be a whole kit, with the above parts plus a visor and rangefinder, and whatever other greeblies are needed.

Who knows? Through experimentation, maybe we could even get the dimensions right, and all of us could have low-cost, accurate, sturdy Fett helmets. I wish I had the vacuum forming resources and know-how to develop something like this, but I don't.

[Saberlicious]

From what I remember, and it's been many, many years... there where a dozen or so suits worked on for the SnowTrooopers, (which is what the Boba Fett design was originally going to be) and they decided to make that design into a Bounty Hunter, so the spare suits were never used. That being the case, the argument for Vac formed helmets in that quantity makes perfect sense.

Just my 2 cents.

Barry

[gino1]

Glitch,

I have some fett helmet details that I would like to discuss with you. Give me a call.

P.S. Maybe we can work something out with your friend in regards to some aluminum fett ears.

I could see the possibility of the fett helmet being vac formed. It would make more sense to have made a front, back, and top that would assemble instead of just a front and back only. Getting those lines to match up would suck not to mention trying to cover up the blaring seam on the top dome. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they used both versions.

Although, you said that the vac formed piece that you saw did not have a dent. I don't believe that they could have replicated the details of the dent exactly on every helmet if the dent was not present in the vac form buck.

Go bug Pete now! And while you are at it, take a santa's list of other things to ask him while you have his ear.

[Helmschmied]

Gino and All,

I think your on to something worth while. The first thing is to get ahold of a DP deluxe and make the necessary changes/repairs in length, mug-shot width/slanted angle, and possibly an inset lip for the visor-although it appears the original faceplate attached behind the opening anyway...BB has pix.

As far as the details on the helmet, my personal opinion is that that in order to preserve the 'crispness' of the parts, it would be ideal to have the following made in metal: scope arm, and U-shaped side details, and perhaps the inset
'razor'- blade-cartridge in back, although it could be resin too. I am not against using separate vac'd pieces if they can preserve the crisp nature of the helmet. NOTE, the DP DELUXE has REAL METAL parts (the scope arm and sides).

I would also think the vac'd helmet could be PLATED IN CHROME!! or shot with a GALVANIZING PAINT....Which would allow us to scuff the shine of the chrome down a bit with a steel wool pad, giving any exposed areas (after painting) the look of 'mandy' metal..which kinda looks like aluminum heh heh ;)

This project suddenly took on a whole new reality!!!!

helm