What were the movie costumes genuinely made of?

[thaynes]

So first and foremost, Id like to introduce myself. My name is Trever and this is my first post and profile on this, or any forum site. Hello! As many fans, I was obsessed with stormtroopers and how they came to be, what it would be like to wear a suit, and eventually after learning of a whole community of people (501st and here), wanted to one day own one. Sadly, my day has not come yet. It will though! Haha. 

 

Anyways, during many hours of research on everything Stormtrooper, I came to think of what material did the fabricators of the Stormtrooper Armor use on set? I've done some looking into it and cannot find reliable info on it. I must admit, the original question came up while I was looking into Boba Fett armor, and 'everything Boba Fett', but it also made me wonder about Stormtrooper armor. 

 

Ive looked at interviews with Mr. Bulloch, and other Fett related stuff, but have not been able to find anything on what materials the costume designers used - for Fett or the Stormtroopers. I know ABS and fiberglass are commonly used to make fan trooper armors, and sintra, plastic, foam for Fett fans, but would that be what they used on the original films? 

 

Thanks in advance to any interest in these questions and I apologize if its been asked somewhere else I have yet to see. 

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

For a new hope they used ABS for the armour and HDPE for most/all the helmets (not 100% on that one).  ESB used ANH armour repainted plus a few fresh helmets that are closer to ROTJ in look.  ROTJ was all new armour, I believe they used ABS but @troopermaster or @sskunky would know for sure.

 

Most decent Stormtrooper kits will be made of ABS.  Some will be available in either PVC or HIPS to reduce cost, and the age yellowing ABS suffers.  Most members will be using ABS kits though.  Occasionally an HDPE helmet run will happen but not often and these tend to be bought for collections rather than trooping.

[sskunky]

As far as I know the ESB mkii suits were made in a pinseal/Hair cell and and rotj in smooth ABS.


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[CableGuy[TK]]

Welcome Trever. :-)

 

It is believed that the six ANH “hero” helmets were made with white ABS. As above, the original 50 “stunt” helmets were made from Khaki coloured HDPE, then painted white.

 

[Locitus[Admin]]

Or if you trust RS then the best source to match their original stunt helmet is a PP plastic. 

[troopermaster]

I would agree with RS that the ANH stunt helmets were made from PP rather than what was commonly thought as HDPE. I have formed both materials as RS has and PP has the best results.

 

Having handled the original RS ANH armour it felt very much like Styrene to me. It was very rigid and brittle which is not surprising due to it's age, so it's possible it could have been made from ABS but deteriorated over time. Another possibility which I strongly believe in is that the armour was made from at least two types of plastic, since some were made in-house at Elstree and the majority made by Ainsworth, so it's highly possible that the studio used one plastic and Ainsworth used another. As long as it was white plastic was good enough...right? 

 

ESB used reconditioned ANH armour. Completely new costumes were being made for ESB but never came to fruition in time with only one making an appearance on scree. These were  made from haircell ABS with the texture on the inside. These costume were ultimately used for promotional purposes after ESB was released and formed the base for new costumes for ROTJ. These were slightly refined versions and made from smooth ABS.

[thaynes]

Great information guys! Thanks so much. 

 

How did all of you come into this information if you don't mind me asking? Interviews, behind the scenes videos, personally talking with workers on the movie, etc? 

That stuff interests me so much - Ive been on a major kick lately watching all the behind the scenes stuff on all the movies and looking at interviews.

 

Is there any information on what material was used on Fett's 'set' used armors or the promo suits used before ESB was released like the infamous white Fett? 

I realize with this being a Stormtrooper forum, my question about Fett would probably best be posted on The Dented Helmet or other Mando/Fett forums, but I thought some people on here might have insight on it as well. 

[thaynes]

By the way, did I post this in the right section? I didnt realize it was in the 'Getting Started..' topic. I thought I posted it as a new topic.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

There are probably a few on here that also have BF costumes, but you might want to ask over at the Bounty Hunter's Guild as well.  http://thebhg.net/

[thaynes]

I think I might, I just didn't necessarily want to have a bunch of accounts on a bunch of different forums haha. My original plan was to just work on obtaining and building a Stormtrooper suit, but I slowly decided I would like a Bounty Hunter or Mandolorian suit as well, so I suppose I should just make an account on those forums as well. 

[Pretzel]

11 hours ago, thaynes said:

I think I might, I just didn't necessarily want to have a bunch of accounts on a bunch of different forums haha. My original plan was to just work on obtaining and building a Stormtrooper suit, but I slowly decided I would like a Bounty Hunter or Mandolorian suit as well, so I suppose I should just make an account on those forums as well. 

Hey Trever. 

 

I would love to build a Mando one day as well. haha. I see you reside in the great state of Pennsylvania. What part? 

 

If you have any questions on obtaining a kit from a vetted maker, a complete list can be found here: 

 

 

(But I am sure you already saw this) lol

[sskunky]

As far as I’m aware the Sds ANH suits were made of an abs from a company called Union tyres. Essentially a tyre company but started making sheet abs in the 70’s. They were based in Acton.


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[starsaber25[Admin]]

Hi Trever and welcome to the FISD. These are the topics that make this forum so awesome.  We all love it When Paul and Mark can come on and share their info. 

[thaynes]

13 hours ago, Pretzel said:

Hey Trever. 

 

I would love to build a Mando one day as well. haha. I see you reside in the great state of Pennsylvania. What part? 

 

If you have any questions on obtaining a kit from a vetted maker, a complete list can be found here: 

 

 

(But I am sure you already saw this) lol

I did indeed see this haha. Ive been on this forum for the past couple weeks, without an account, gathering all this information and reading about other peoples builds and what not, until I decided to finally make an account so I could participate in the discussion and post about my build (whenever the time finally comes). Sadly, I think it may still be awhile till I begin on one... :/ 

 

I live over near York/Lancaster, PA for the time being. I also lived in Somerset County, PA. It sure is a beautiful state! haha. I expect to be moving to Oregon in a few months though. 

 

As I'm still particularly new, I don't know anyones backgrounds - but I'd like to get to know some of the people here who remain actively posting over the years! Has anyone on the forum worked, in any form, on any of the movies or with the companies George Lucas started? Or worked for someone who worked on them? lol. Im going to do some more rummaging through the threads, but is there any threads, other than the new member introduction thread, that gives an introduction to the "higher ups" and veteran members? 

[CableGuy[TK]]

. As I'm still particularly new, I don't know anyones backgrounds - but I'd like to get to know some of the people here who remain actively posting over the years! Has anyone on the forum worked, in any form, on any of the movies or with the companies George Lucas started? Or worked for someone who worked on them? lol. Im going to do some more rummaging through the threads, but is there any threads, other than the new member introduction thread, that gives an introduction to the "higher ups" and veteran members? 

Hi Trever,

I’m not sure about members that worked on the movies/with LFL etc., however, if you’re viewing on a browser you’ll see members’ credentials on the lefthand side, under their name. To make sense of all the logos and badges, see here;
https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/43879-fisd-user-ranks-awards/

There are lots of incredibly talented members active on this forum, and you’ve already had at least two of them comment on your thread.
Troopermaster (Paul) is renowned for his detailed knowledge of the original trilogy armour (mainly ANH if I’m correct) and has highlighted many areas of that armour over the year that have benefited the community. He also makes TM (Troopermaster) armour, one of the best looking armour kits on the market.
Skunky (Mark) is the man behind CFO (cast from original) and is one of (if not the only) maker of ROTJ armour. Again, a lot of knowledge there.
You’d also do well to follow the work of UKSwrath, JustJospeh, Sly11 to name but a few.

The more time you spend on this forum, the more you will see input from influential members. Keep with it bud and you’ll have the lay of the land in no time. :-)

[thaynes]

Thats really great! Thanks a lot! 

 

[TheSwede[TK]]

On ‎9‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 9:32 AM, CableGuy said:

(if not the only) maker of ROTJ armour.

Paul also makes ROTJ

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

I don’t know about behind the camera work but a number of 501st members have been cast as extras or in at least one case voice actors in some of the new films. Watch the speech scene in TFA and you’ll see 501st members, not sure what other scenes.

Also Jeremy Bullock aka Boba Fett is/was a cleared 501st member with a Boba Fett. As far as I am aware he’s the only properly cleared actor from the films.

[Alay[TK]]

On 9/12/2018 at 5:53 PM, themaninthesuitcase said:

Also Jeremy Bullock aka Boba Fett is/was a cleared 501st member with a Boba Fett. As far as I am aware he’s the only properly cleared actor from the films.

Worth noting, his 501st costume is not a set used one   Rather a bunch of TDH folks helped put it together... here's a breakdown

[thaynes]

That's so awesome!

[Rat[TK]]

On 9/8/2018 at 2:00 PM, thaynes said:

I did indeed see this haha. Ive been on this forum for the past couple weeks, without an account, gathering all this information and reading about other peoples builds and what not, until I decided to finally make an account so I could participate in the discussion and post about my build (whenever the time finally comes). Sadly, I think it may still be awhile till I begin on one... :/ 

 

I live over near York/Lancaster, PA for the time being. I also lived in Somerset County, PA. It sure is a beautiful state! haha. I expect to be moving to Oregon in a few months though. 

 

As I'm still particularly new, I don't know anyones backgrounds - but I'd like to get to know some of the people here who remain actively posting over the years! Has anyone on the forum worked, in any form, on any of the movies or with the companies George Lucas started? Or worked for someone who worked on them? lol. Im going to do some more rummaging through the threads, but is there any threads, other than the new member introduction thread, that gives an introduction to the "higher ups" and veteran members? 

Hey Trever welcome to a much larger Galaxy. What part of Oregon will you be moving to? I'm just north of Portland in Vancouver. We here at the Cloud City Garrison would be honored if you would join us. Also you can never have too many troopers. We also have a few Mandolorians in the Garrison.

[thaynes]

Nice to meet you Rat! 

 

We haven't quite decided where in Oregon we're moving, but I'm thinking Eugene area. Probably near Harrisburg.

 

It would be my honor to join the garrison! Ive been looking at the Cloud City Garrison forum in the meantime. I wasn't sure if I should make an account on there, or if the site guidelines would require me to have an approved armor set. Figured I would wait till I get a set. I also plan on getting a Mando set at some point. I'm aware that this is a very expensive hobby lol, so I might get the Mando set first. 

[Rat[TK]]

Oh by all means join the forums over there. I was on the forums there and here for a couple of years prior being approved.

Nice to meet you Rat! 
 
We haven't quite decided where in Oregon we're moving, but I'm thinking Eugene area. Probably near Harrisburg.
 
It would be my honor to join the garrison! Ive been looking at the Cloud City Garrison forum in the meantime. I wasn't sure if I should make an account on there, or if the site guidelines would require me to have an approved armor set. Figured I would wait till I get a set. I also plan on getting a Mando set at some point. I'm aware that this is a very expensive hobby lol, so I might get the Mando set first. 

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