X wing helmet ear pads

[Mara Jade's Father]

Hi everyone, I've dedicated myself to an older project. In the past there have been discussions in various forums about the padding of the ANH Hero X-Wing helmets. Most people are of the opinion that APH-6 earcups were used here. I always had big doubts about this because the contours of these pads didn't fit at all in many pictures. At some point I found a nice b/w picture of Gold Leader and I think that you can see that it's not an APH-6 earpads. I thought about it and thought, well, the film was made in the UK and military equipment from all sorts of countries was used. Back then there were military shops on every corner where you could buy old equipment at reasonable prices. And now look at what I came across... I'm 100% sure that RAF Type F/G doughnuts were used for the ANH Hero X-Wing helmets. They were available in various shades of color and were used until the 80s. For the ESB and ROTJ where used in some Helmets custom made paddings.View attachment 1762159View attachment 1762160View attachment 1762161

Yes, quite convincing. Thank you.

 

[ywingfighter]

Prototyp sold on a Profiles in History and the full Helmet by Propstore some years ago.

 

[ggriffaw]

Another photo of the Propstore helmet. Notice how the mohawk front is totally different than the normal x-wing helmets. If it is a cap, it is much lower profile and the front details protrude instead of being recessed. There appears to be a crack repair or paint run on the left cheek square.

 

[ywingfighter]

2 more pictures of the RAF pads. Here you can see the detail, definitely ANH Hero X-Wing Helmet used

 

[Davy Jones]

I've been collecting these for about 3 years.
I knew there would be bidding wars once others discovered them, so I wanted to get what I wanted before then.

 

[teecrooz]

Hmm, there might be different insides. Here is the inside of the one Gus owns.

 

[ywingfighter]

I've been collecting these for about 3 years.
I knew there would be bidding wars once others discovered them, so I wanted to get what I wanted before then.

Nowadays they have become very expensive and rare. I was able to get a complete helmet for an acceptable price

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

Here are my thoughts.

Below is a great shot but I am skeptical about those found padded are used in many of the other helmets. It is possible without more information that Gold Leader is the only time they are used. They are pretty thick and when looking at A New Hope variants, you do not see padding that thick sticking out in front views.

Hi everyone, I've dedicated myself to an older project. In the past there have been discussions in various forums about the padding of the ANH Hero X-Wing helmets. Most people are of the opinion that APH-6 earcups were used here. I always had big doubts about this because the contours of these pads didn't fit at all in many pictures. At some point I found a nice b/w picture of Gold Leader and I think that you can see that it's not an APH-6 earpads. I thought about it and thought, well, the film was made in the UK and military equipment from all sorts of countries was used. Back then there were military shops on every corner where you could buy old equipment at reasonable prices. And now look at what I came across... I'm 100% sure that RAF Type F/G doughnuts were used for the ANH Hero X-Wing helmets. They were available in various shades of color and were used until the 80s. For the ESB and ROTJ where used in some Helmets custom made paddings.

When viewing these helmets below, the interior liner is what I tend to notice in other A New Hope images where something is sticking out. I believe the intention is for these to serve as liners not so much padding for fit. This is why when you look at pilots in ANH you don't see anything against their ears or face. Whatever they used was not a perfect fit and at times or over time, the liner has come unglued and curled out. This is the case with the near side of the helmet below with the blue decal. That is not thick padding, it is a thin liner that has become unglued and now sticking out.

Hmm, there might be different insides. Here is the inside of the one Gus owns.

Below appears to be some sort of custom made foam liner may for production (I assume for Return of the Jedi) and looks similar to the liner on Luke's helmet in Return of the Jedi. When you see Luke leaving Tatooine, he has a new liner not seen on his helmet prior that is thick and hugging his face. It looks black but it actually some sort of painted or weather blacken over tan/brown material like the blue decal one below.

Prototyp sold on a Profiles in History and the full Helmet by Propstore some years ago.