Star wars costume designers.

[Imperial nut]

I was talking to my mate about star wars stuff and he was "oh really"

then he being a kayaker like me said do you know mark ainsworth and i said well yeah the guy that makes the paddles!

He said he was one of the costume manufacturers for star wars as he was a plastic moulding expert and esecially polyethylene.
And he also mentioned that he still has bits and origional mouldings for the stromtrooper armour and other costumes??
dunno if this was the beer or what but i know the guy for many years and it seemed straight up.

hmmm? i dunno if this is true , does anyone (especially burnsey) known if any one called Ainsworth work on the origional stuff

Anyone know more??

 

[burnsy]

Just found this...

http://www.inhouselawyer.co.uk/index.php/media-entertainment-a-sport/7941-star-wars-stormtrooper-battle-is-a-warning-on-copyright-protection

 

[Imperial nut]

ahhh i knew it its marks dad,

Well you will be happy to know that my mate knows him well and as i would love a suit i am going to make enquiries :mrgreen:

hey burnsy does the company that ainsworth set up still exist or does any of his armour??
i will keep folks posted.

hmmmm interesting

 

[burnsy]

Mate, if he has any items still they would be worth a bloody mint.
Most of the original armour is in the Lucas Archives.

A set of armour that was believed to have been used in the original films showed up last year
and there was an amazing buzz around it. It would have been worth tens of thousands.

 

[Imperial nut]

:shock: oh.

well i just want a set for me, if it was origional i wouldnt wear it, plus 10's of thousands,,, er thats nuts.

As far as i know he still has the moulds and as he still makes kayak paddles and helmets he could possibly make something from the moulds.
but i will keep you in mind man if its a runner

Any way i am gonna get his mail/phone from my mate and chance a call. ya never know

 

[iDrew]

Andrew Ainsworth doesn't seem to be trading as SDS Props anymore, they are now http://www.originalstormtrooper.com/

A stormtrooper armour kit retails for £599
http://www.originalstormtrooper.com/shop-online/stormtrooper/armour-kit.html


My favourite thing they sell is this :mrgreen: :mrgreen: : http://www.originalstormtrooper.com/shop-online/accessories/jelly-mould.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=52&category_id=7

 

[Imperial nut]

well that knocks that on the head then . Ah well I would think he was nuts if he didn't try to make something of it.

Is there ant way of getting a cheAper set? Not for trooping or 501st stuff ,just kinky weekends with her self ???

 

[TWOFOOT]

After reading the copyright story I now know why all eBay auctions of star wars props have 'not connected to Lucas arts' (or something similar) written on them. Bet George Lucas is MIGHTY PISSED at the outcome of the British courts!! :lol: :lol:

 

[Imperial nut]

When i got a bit more back story from the coursts thing, i ask my mate about it again and his version of the events as he remembered went like this,

" way back in the day Ainsworth tuned the design for the stormtrooper and other wearable props and got paid. Which was fine.
But his design turned a weird scuba diver looking design from Ralph Mcquarrie into the Iconic helmet and armour it is now.

And in short his artistic creation has been milked for millions for decades. His point is , if he had made exactly what Lucas had asked him to make, fair enough he was only a subcontractor, like a set painter.
However his changes to the costumes added to the artistic impact of the films.
so he basically wanted a little more credit for it and to be fair a slice of the stormtrooper action.?"

i am not sure if this is as it happened but he seemed to have had some vindication through the courts , but will never get a sniff of the moola that really should have been his or part of?

Anyway i still want a cheap set of armour. Hmmmmmm

 

[TWOFOOT]

I sold a set on a mannequin a few years ago and it made a LOTof money.
The price of it has come down loads in the last couple of years but you still get what you pay for. If you buy a really cheap set of armour you will forever be wishing you had bought a better set.