ANH/ESB Stormtrooper - Discussion Thread

You can still tear hdpe especially in thinner areas.
Once a cut/tear gets started, it will continue.
I would consider myself a plastics expert and will all the plastics I've formed, and considering all factors seen on the originals, I feel confident in my determinations.

I have yet to see any material other than hdpe that when formed create the very distinctive properties and characteristics found on the original helmets.

For those who would disagree with me, I would encourage them to do their own physical research/experimentation with forming and see what conclusions they draw.


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I think we can all hypothesize about the plastic but without cutting a piece of the original helmet and getting it analyzed I doubt we will ever know for sure.
The piece I have feels much like the plastic used here for milk bottles which is HDPE but clear. I have just ordered some beige PP to try on my new mould so when it arrives I can see how it compares to the small sample I have of the supposed original stuff....
 
As far as I know you can get Polyester primers that stick to plastics like HDPE and PP and there have been lots of advancements in plastic binding paints. I have a friend that uses certain paints on conservatories and plastic widow frames that actually bond on a molecular level with the plastic.
 
Hi Guys,

not sure if i understand this thread properly but i guess people want to make the helmet grren first then white, is that what it is? if this is the case here is what i did on mine ...my kit was white HDPE...

i bought some Krylon olive camo paint then i used krylon gloss white to put over... after some research, this was the best alternative and closest i could get to easily use on the helmet...


the rest of the colors on the helmet i have gotten from this site:

TK-4510 ::HUBROL PAINTS::


right off the bat, i can tell you that the camo sticked like glue to my HDPE helmet, it formed a nice tight coat over the white and looked nice...

the krylon went on and also formed a nice tight paint over the green paint which will make it hard to have the paint flake off like some helmets we have seen, unless you know painting tricks... you can sand down until you hit the green but you dont have much play cause you can also hit the white beneath the green easily if you sand too much... it know, it happened to me...

you can easily create green chips all over the helmet with masking fluid but that is about it...


Gino. I have seen one of your helmet over at the FISD and you claimed it was HDPE and it was green colored like the originals, i wonder where you got that plastic....
 
budspencer said:
Gino. I have seen one of your helmet over at the FISD and you claimed it was HDPE and it was green colored like the originals, i wonder where you got that plastic....
Click to expand...

He bought a custom run of coloured plastic PANTONE matched.

About the thread, we're discussing here (right now) two things, which Humbrol colours match the production made colours for the greens (both) and also what kind of plastic did AA used really.
 
Art Andrews said:
Just a note; I am not necessarily arguing against HDPE. While AA may be a bit of a nutcase, I would assume he knows something about different plastics since that is his business. My only points were 1) from the HDPE, ABS and styrene I have handled, the HDPE is VERY different in flexibility and feel than the other two and 2) from the HDPE, ABS and styrene I have handled, the crack we see on helmets like the Move Along don't seem to be in line with the properties HDPE exhibits. Please understand that I am not making definitive statements here, only sharing my limited experiences with these materials.
Click to expand...


there is another tear behind one of the ears of the move along helmet...i think the tears on that helmet is more about struggling with the asembly of the helmet and making bobos more than anything else. that is why i hyposize that it was the first helmet made for the movie even though the chronology of things might suggest otherwise... because of those features that do not appear or are extremely minimal on other helmets...
 
KaanE said:
He bought a custom run of coloured plastic PANTONE matched.

About the thread, we're discussing here (right now) two things, which Humbrol colours match the production made colours for the greens (both) and also what kind of plastic did AA used really.
Click to expand...


anyone ever tried to get a straight answer out of Andrew out of this?

i know he is special but he 'could' enlighten people on this....
 
budspencer said:
anyone ever tried to get a straight answer out of Andrew out of this?

i know he is special but he 'could' enlighten people on this....
Click to expand...

He said it was HDPE. It could be or it could not... He also said he did 50 Hero ABS helmets and 6 HDPE Stunts... You get the idea, don't you? :wacko
 
yes i know his story, it changed and changes more and more everyday....but what about the workers over there...surely there must be someone who worked there that knew a few things or two about what went on...Andrew did not build all of the suits by himself, unless he was the wizard of oz or somethin....
 
The Siman helmet is a very sharply pulled lid in comparison to other original Stormtrooper helmets, maybe it is a different plastic. AA could have used various different thermoplastics in their fabrication if the idea he used "whatever was lying around the shop" is true.
Apart from the similar colour ,has the Siman lid got the obvious tel tell signs of HDPE ? I can fully understand why a fishpond would be manufactured in this shade, this makes sense and I think AA would know the type of plastic he mainly used to make the ponds out of, the Siman lid could be an offcut of something else.
 
wolf said:
I think AA would know the type of plastic he mainly used to make the ponds out of
Click to expand...

IMO that is the most credible part thus far, any 'info' AA has in regards to the one off project AKA the trooper armor is certainly questionable... But in regards to his primary business at the time I would suspect he knew well what type of plastic he was using...

Now could he have had other plastics laying around, sure...
 
GINO said:
It is extremely common in manufacturing situations that the plastics used are not stock plastics.
In most cases the plastics used are custom ordered with specific colors and thickness specified for whatever particular job/product they are needed for.

Most plastic companies require a minimum of 1000 lbs (some require more) when running custom material.
While this is a VERY costly and gross excess from a hobbyist standpoint, it is quite common (and actually a pretty small order) in manufacturing situations.

I have no doubt that the original plastic used was hdpe which was originally custom run for some other type of product (i.e. for a fishpond business).

Also, the original helmets exhibit specific characteristics that you can only get when forming hdpe.
Characteristics such as the way it cools/wrinkles when formed, the way it sucks into the creases and then bulges back out, and also that paint does not stick to it.
All of these characteristics can be found on the original helmets.
Some to an extreme degree while others is subtle but still present.



.
Click to expand...


Are you kidding me! People..... The time I spent working in the prop world out in L.A. I have never seen anyone or shop order special plastics! They run what they can there dirty little hands!!!!

thermal:lol
 
Thermalized Plastics said:
Are you kidding me! People..... The time I spent working in the prop world out in L.A. I have never seen anyone or shop order special plastics! They run what they can there dirty little hands!!!!

thermal:lol
Click to expand...

Yes but AA wasnt a prop maker he was a plastic former and the things he made varied from canoos to fish ponds it isnt to far fetched to think he had specificl orders for certin products
 
Any way back to thew Humbrol colours this could be easily sorted if Rob or SiMan
did a quick colour match or even SSkunky seeing he has a piece of the original material in hand , so what do you think Sskunky ?
 
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