I have a theory. Each helmet is keyed to its owner when issued to the trooper. Vision is not an issue for the trooper because the helmet is "working" giving the trooper a heads-up display to assist in vision and tactical input from the command. Just a thought.
On this topic, I would highly recommend Star Wars Allegiance by Tymothy Zahn. The story opens up with what happens when storm troopers communicate with each other.
I know we're all aware, but I have to point this out. "I can't see a thing in this helmet." That wasn't Luke, it was Mark Hamill. He was unaware that the cameras were rolling
I always saw it like this: Stormtrooper armor was made for a specific body type. Many needed to fit strict regulations (height, weight etc.). Nevertheless, they very likely still needed to have some small variations within the army because it just wouldn't make sense for everyone to have the same shoe size. Numbers of the soldiers would dwindle. So they probably would have 3-4 different sizes. Same with the helmets. Different head sizes required 3-4 variations or perhaps a slightly adjustable helmet. This explains when Rex or Luke say "I can't see a thing in this", because the helmets weren't adjusted for them. Rex has for example a very big head. It very well fitted the Stormtroopers they took it from perfectly, just not Luke or Rex who happened to have a different head size than them. Which then again doesn't contradict their accuracy Obi Wan talks about. That's at least my head canon.
They can’t see because the helmet augmented vision and devices only works when it’s owner trooper is using it, it was canon and since nothing contradicts it and changing the funcionalities of og devices is lame I still think is canon
In older lore, before the memes took precedence, the helmets had a digital heads up display & the eye pieces were cameras, that double functioned as eye holes in emergencies when say they were broken in the process of incapacitating the storm trooper & stealing his armor
It makes more sense that a futuristic army spanning across hundreds of star systems wouldn't be relying on 2 slits of glass for their soldiers to see in combat.
Rex's problem with the helmet is that it was not HIS helmet. My theory is each helm is keyed to each trooper when assigned. When the helm is working as designed on the owner's head my guess is a holo heads-up display is visible to the trooper along with tactical data from command. Just a theory.
@@spazzmalone That and he modded the late clone helmet to keep the enhanced vistion of the Early clone helmet... So yeah he was never going to like it.
I've heard that stormtroopers helmets basicly give them a "lasersight", a beam/line from their weapon so they can see exactly where the blaster bolt would go, but only they could see it, so there wouldn't be "red dots" or "lines" everywhere.
@@SomeRandomVergilFanboy we see them suck at aiming once. In the Death Star, where it was a trap and they were ordered to let them go. Any other time it was beyond the effective range of the e-11 which is 100 meters(very close in combat) and a maximum of 300.
In one of the Star Wars visual dictionaries it explained that the armor being white was also a psychological tactic that told their enemies that they are so confident in their military prowess that they don’t even bother with camouflage. They are so confident that they will win that they don’t care about stealth.
@@dragonfell5078 Outnumbered Guardsmen infantry on the offense would beat numerically superior Clone Troopers in a fortress with artillery and walkers! Need Yuuzhan Vong and Force Users to beat Guardsmen! The Mechanicus Skitarii are overkill
I still say that one of the most compelling StarWars stories we have yet to see on the big screen, is from the perspective of a Storm Trooper or especially a First Order Trooper. Cause while they MILDLY touched on the idea with Finn, they immediately kind of forgot about it and never addressed it again except to randomly justify having a cavalry charge atop a spaceship (which sounds dumb even just saying it aloud). Like they pulled a "Sure he was a Trooper, but as a 'good guy' he can easily quit the moment he sees a ally die...and then starts shooting his former comrades without hesitation because they're all baddies...despite the death of an ally being what triggered his moral confliction with killing...". So they completely missed the chance to give us the realistic perspective of (as they established within the film itself) a guy who was kidnapped as a child and turned into a soldier (alongside all the others). That kind of thing is both dystopian AF, and makes for such a great way to tell a story about how hard it would be just to break yourself of that lifelong conditioning and then even have that inner struggle of fighting against other Troopers who you realize don't know any better. Like the First Order was essentially just an army of kidnapped child soldiers. That should be a HORRIFYING realization for the Resistance to learn (and be incredibly demoralizing), and in a setting that is always trying to tell stories of hope/redemption, would have paved the way for a epic narrative of someone like Finn trying to free all the others from that servitude.
Eh, don't bother waiting for something deep from the rat. It'll never get past committee. Granted it doesn't have the budget, but Soldier w Kurt Russell was almost that exact premise. And that's what honks me off about the clone commando books getting dropped. It was probably the best example of getting you inside that mindset. Though i guess the difference in a comparison between the two movies it's notable that Finn "breaks out" of his robotic conditioning and just kinda becomes a regular soldier w better aim than most of his peers, but no problem w wasting them. Todd in soldier gets literally thrown away, and is forced to find a new group, but his mindset never really changes. He just executes his job against his former replacements with the same robotic determination.
@@ramblinnernd5905 from all other indicators that should have been trained out of him to even be a stormtrooper. It's even shown in "classic" troopers that to get through the training that kind of empathy would have to be stomped out. I guess it's given in a hand wavey kind of way that he's the one in a million one, but it just doesn't jive with the whole premise. Hell, andor fits the bill better in a lot of ways. Ruthless, dedicated, not afraid of doing ugly jobs. Finn could have been brought around, after doing really nasty stuff in his former job, he finally breaks. Plus the potential for the added drama of the distrust a formerly effective/notorious trooper trying to defect and earn the trust of those he had previously tormented. ....... Damn. That's what they should have done w phasma lol 😆
No matter how much the Stormtroopers were given moments to show how badass and scary they are meant to be, the Star Wars fandom will always remember them as a bunch of Mooks who sucks at shooting and dying in droves.
No, I'll always remember them for taking out a squad of rebels in a small hallway, taking minimal casualties. I always hated star wars messing them up.
Honestly that reputation can be easily changed if they wanted to change it. Instead we get the mandalorian and obi wan and the rise of skywalker that has them die in droves. If Star Wars media really tried to make stormtroopers great again, you’d see that reputation quickly change
I disagree. If hypothetically from this very moment onwards all Star Wars production suddenly begins to portray stormtroopers as very accurate shooters, incorporating proper squad fire and maneuver elements, using their N-20 Baradium-core thermal detonators to flush out enemies behind cover or when entering rooms/bunkers, having basic hand-to-hand combat skills, continue fighting after being shot or hit with a blunt object in the armor, always wound or severely wound main characters when encountered, in approximately 3 to 4 years people will forget about the "incompetent" stormtroopers that had infested the Star Wars Universe. Then to make the narrative for the main characters believable, have them regularly encounter Imperial Navy Troopers or Imperial Army Troopers that would be easier to defeat, since they would not be so fanatical, have less armor and don't have many drills after completing their basic training.
Honestly the end episode of Andor the Stormtroopers were pretty damn effective except the guy who got told to solo storm the tower. But I blame the commander for that. He was dead the moment that order was given. No back up on a target that is probably prepared to be attacked.
As a kid, I assumed that the Stormtroopers used some sort of HUD to "see" inside their helmet and that Luke didn't know how to turn it on or use it. An easy canon explanation would be that the helmets are activated by a Stormtrooper saying their serial number, or a retina scan. Failing the security lock, Luke wouldn't be able to use the HUD. This also explains Rex not being able to use a Stormtrooper helmet.
I generally agree with you, but the Stormtrooper armor and helmet technology is based on the Clone Trooper armor technology, which in turn is based on the Mandalorian armor technology. *Rex* knew the technology of the clone trooper armor and should therefore know how the stormtrooper helmet systems work. He probably also knew that he was not recognized by the system as an unauthorized user and was therefore blocked and did not have the means to overcome the blockage and/or deceive the system. I'd say *Dave Filoni* didn't know or didn't care about *Karen Traviss'* RC stories and wanted to make that old Stormtrooper joke.
@@patrickrada2923 Rex might have known that the helmet wouldn't work for him, but that doesn't mean that he knew how difficult it would be to see without the system. He would have never experienced this before. Also, his helmets were designed specifically for him and his clone brothers. The Stormtrooper helmets were of a generic "one size fits all" design. So Rex might have thought that it wouldn't be as difficult as it turned out to be. On the other hand, maybe the design and HUD were so different than what he was used to that this is the reason he had trouble with it. Idk, just a thought.
I'd like to point out that since these helmets were the equivalent of NSA bluetooth headphones, that any time a rebel put one on they probably disabled it. In episode 4 we see this when Luke and Han acquired some storm trooper gear; their CO couldn't reach them over coms. I'm willing to bet disabling the spy features on the cams also disable the rest of the gear in the helmet, including optics. This is why Rex, Luke and the rest of them couldn't see anything in the helmets.
Episode 4?...Ah you mean "Star Wars"...yeah...that, "CO couldnt reach them" thing was a ruse to get them into the control centre. They could hear just fine.
@@projektkobra2247 And don't claim to know with absolute certainty things that doesn't have an absolute answer. Was it a ruse? Yea. But could the comms still be broken as well? Yeah, who knows? So you could use your head as well.
@@asserkortteenniemi4878 -You're an idiot. If the "comms were broken", that would be shown in the film...Nothing in a film is there without a reason. Anal-retentive, pedantic nitwits like you give all us geeks a bad name.
I always figured that the rebels had agents that worked for Empire who would slowly sabotage Imperial gear design. Inject a slight design flaw in the storm troopers eye pieces or make their blasters more powerful but less accurate which wouldn’t matter as long as there were shooting by the dozens.
He was talking about the stormtrooper armor. Which is inherently based upon clone trooper designs, NOT Mandalorian designs, even though the clone trooper design was inspired upon by the Mandalorians.
8:45 Headcanon: Battel droid "optics" also perceive everything on the ultra-violett spectrum, so clone trooper armor -whilst appearing white to us - may be actually coated in an uv-camouflage-paint, therefore beeing effective against the clone's main foes.
A footnote on Andrew Ainsworth and his copyright infringing helmets: he was found to have infringed Lucasfilm’s copyright in California and the UK, but a technicality based on whether it was an artistic sculpture or an industrial prop in the UK has allowed him to continue making replicas and other merchandise based on the original mould he still had in his possession.
There is a lot of debate over who owns what in this case. What I don't like about this is Lucas was clearly the far more powerful party and threw his weight around. Did he even try to resolve this before escalating to litigation?
@@berniethekiwidragon4382 I don't know what Lucas did prior to taking the Ainsworth to court, and before I knew the details, I was pissed at Lucas for going after someone who was making something Lucas was not even trying (at that time) to sell. I have a full set of armor from Ainsworth (and a couple helmets) that I bought before the lawsuit. But then I found out more about Ainsworth and what a complete dick he is. Ainsworth wasn't just making the armor and selling it, he was claiming HE did all the design an mold making. He's also done with with other movies where ALL he did was cast parts from molds he was loaned. When I bought my armor from him, he only claimed that he still had the helmet molds and some foam covers for the rest of the armor that Lucas hadn't retreived after he was done vacuum forming the armor. I don't know what exactly make Lucas go after Ainsworth, but there were several other people making and selling helmets and suits that Lucas did not go after.
@berniethekiwidragon4382 well George wasn't being greedy its just he owned star wars and wasn't going to allow someone to do something with star wars that he didn't want
10:15 Could also be why the 501st is so strong. People who were bullied in the past are bound together with the armor, and gives them an identity. And they gain the confidence to do what they think is right. Which in this case is a lot of good stuff, like visiting children's hospitals and things.
The blaster sights are connected to the "eyes" of the helmet via a Bluetooth-type connection, so the trooper always has a perfect view of the precise point of aim. The body armor also includes a short range scanner, and via the same eyepiece connection the trooper can "see" all around him, like VR goggles today. It has to be reconnected each time the helmet is put back on, otherwise you can only straight out the eye ports. That's my theory anyway. It takes into account significant tactical advantages for the stormtrooper, their legendary aim, AND why Luke and Han couldn't see anything.
Old comment but it would be somewhat confirmed in the mandalorian. Dinn's helmet has those features and when he+mayfeld posed in the imperial outfits, mayfeld couldn't see out of his. Dinn has his creed so he couldn't complain, and it's honestly probably used to it, but mayfeld used to be a sharpshooter so he would've had the experience in the helmets if they didn't have a link like you mentioned. The fact he couldn't wear it implies you're correct.
I feel like the jokes about Stormtroopers' armor, helmets and their skills have pretty much gone full circle and become canon now. Obi-Wan statement was the right one initially but with all the years, jokes and clichés (and maybe taking too seriously a scene that wasn't shot with a serious realistic intent in mind, for example, in an action movie, soldiers jumping to the side after a motorcycle barely brushed them) people can't see stormtroopers any other way, which is sad.
Actually, the British used red because it was the cheapest colour at the time. The same reason many French regiments wore "off-white": unbleached wool, because it too was very cheap.
The helmets have a facial recognition that detects known stormtroopers to let them be able to see through their helmets. Anyone else who wears them, the helmet will automatically shut off. You have to be authorized to wear them in order for them to work
I remember reading somewhere that the armor, helmet including is custom fitted to the wearer. That means someone smaller or larger than regs would have issues with the helmet due to their eyes not lining up. As far as "shutting off" I'm pretty sure that's just advanced functions like the HUD
Which is also a dumb functionality Enzo since any damage to any of the components means the helmet hud no longer works. But then your probably dead or knocked out cold as well
@@sinisterisrandom8537 more then likely a way for them to deter people stealing them sense you can't see shit unless you recode said helmet but then you got people just wearing them in canon like it don't mean nothing
My personal headcanon for "Only imperial Stormtroopers are so precise" is that Obi-wan was thinking of their accuracy being nearly as good as clones because even with his few run ins with stormtroopers he probably has a preconception that they would be accurate. His experiences fighting them probably didn't change his mind due to the fact he dealt with them nearly as easily, if not with more difficulty, as he did the 501st in the temple.
Hmmm. I was hoping we'd get "Stormtrooper Vision", so WE may judge how clear or unclear their sight really is. It only seems logical that vision and fit would be of a high order therefore producing a more accurate and deadly Trooper. In the movies, though, they were portrayed as kind of a "bunglish" group (starting at the point where that poor bugger bounces his melon off the blast door)
Alan, minor point of order. The selection of Red (scarlet) for British line infantry was ... COST! they could get the vermillion dye dirt cheap and in large quantifies from India and other colonial sources.
It's really fascinating to know that the Stormtroopers are being recorded; it explains their lack of talkativeness which in turn makes them seem more intimidating. Concerning the white color of the Stormtroopers, I found it really refreshing when they showed the tan Tropical trooper design in Andor when he is being arrested/ conscripted for labor. I would like to see more of those specific variants and chalk up the predominance of white to an overproduction of those highly Clone Trooper influenced designs.
My head canon for when Obi Wan told Luke that the accurate shots being from stormtroopers was just his way of telling Luke to not underestimate the empire. Even if most of em are goobers, that one trooper could get lucky and you're dead.
There's also alot of security built into these helmets, the biometrics might have registered different and thus refused to work as intended and the reason they had trouble seeing is because they had to see through the eye ports instead of seeing with the enhancements and addons that a fully unlocked helmet would provide
Huge clarification, Obi-Wan isn't referring to the individual precision, but rather the overall groupings of blaster hits. Tusken would fight in very loose if any formation, Stormtrooper on the other hand would shoot in groups. Also Luke and Rex having trouble seeing trough helmets not fitted for them is just a problem any visored helmet has.
Cosplayer here; I think it's a bit goofy Rex of all people criticizes Stormtrooper visibility, since in my experience Stormtrooper visibility is decent with flaws (you can't see down and in front of you) but T-visors are much worse. It's also interesting how Halo helmets have a focus on visibility despite them not having to be worn by real people unlike in Star Wars. Edit: I'd also like to mention that the idea that the armor gives the troopers extra confidence is absolutely true. I'm almost a completely different person in Stormtrooper armor; it has enough mobility to slouch, yet I stand perfectly straight because of the confidence it gives me.
I always thought the armor was white so it absorbed less heat and could reflect some of the blaster bolts, but then the Death Troopers came along with full black armor that completely changed my theory
A funny gag in a scene with a guy who doesn't know how to work his equipment really ruined what was meant to be a viable and rather severe threat. (Luke in 'A New Hope') They tried to backtrack it in non-theatrical media, but Warfing and plot armor makes it impossible for today's audience to accept it. The joke has seeped into subsequent media and taken what is meant to be disciplined and capable shocktroops into inept, mindless, and faceless fodder. Grinds my gears.
I can only think of 2 reasons why Ben Kenobi would say that, one he was going senial, 2 maybe he'd just got to the Empire was still using Clone Troopers and their armor.
The Trooper helmets could record bio-metrics and show superiors if a Trooper was suffering 'anxiety or distress' whilst following brutal orders - allowing them to send said Trooper for a 'refresher course'' in indoctrination. And the nerve of Lukas suing that guy for trying to pay for his kids college. If he was a 'decent businessman' he would have sent the guy a 'Cease & Desist' order - then paid for the kids college himself (at least). Instead of suing a guy who did him a big favour in the past and obviously *doesn't have any money* to be sued for - which was why he was making the damn helmets! Dick.
The reason folks like Lucas have to resort to the lawyers for copyright infringement I have been told is if they don’t act - it opens the door with precedence to worse infringements - so the lawyers advise clients to immediately seek a cease and desist action.
Ainsworth was also claiming he sculpted the original helmets, which he did not do. He’s also been called out by other designers/artists for claiming he designed suits and armor in other movies, when in fact all he did was cast/form them.
"Every stormtrooper helmet recorded data not unlike body cams worn by police officers, but unlike police body cams..." ...stormtroopers likely can't just turn them off and on whenever it suits them, something cops have often done. Or just not released body cam footage even when it would be integral to do so.
The stormtrooper helmet was sculpted by Liz Moore based on McQarrie's concept sketches. Andrew Ainsworth only vav formed them using her sculpts, he didn't design anything. No matter where you sit on the controversy around Ainsworth selling them, not mentioning this incredibly talented artist who died too soon yet created this modern icon is a terrible oversight in this episode.
What's funny is that my dad has an old D6 Starwars ttrpg rulebook, and the Stormtrooper helmets did give a bonus to the wearer's accuracy, HOWEVER that bonus only applied to moving targets. Which if we look at eps 4, 5, and 6, most of the gunfights in those movies are very static, with the combatants mainly taking cover and holding their positions. So functionally speaking looking at the portrayal of the helmets, it both makes sense on how stormtroopers could be considered "accurate" when shooting at (presumably) fleeing jawas, yet in a static fight like the opening invasion of the Tantive IV (Leia's ship) how most of the stormtroopers could blatantly miss targets that are essentially standing still.
I say we go back to Clone Armor, I refuse to see these unsightly designs every time I go out into town. If I have to get harassed I’d rather it look cool
The ancient Persians had Immortals. Infantry with complete headcovers so they all look the same. This made it more intimidating to their enemy as when one was killed, another who looked exactly like him would then be in your face- like then can't be killed.
I had always figured the material and color are to help absorb some of the energy from incoming plasma fire, thus protecting the wearer- and while it's canon is a bit iffy these days, the armor design was old, going all the way back to Revan days.
When the helmet is taken off all the helmet 's sensors are turned off, which makes it harder for thieves to properly use them or sell them on the black market. Also sometimes stormtroopers are ordered to miss, so they can follow their enemies back to their base. Another thing that should be noted is stormtroopers are not as experienced as clone troopers. Clone trooper training was more rigorous then stormtrooper training. Clones were being prepared to go to war since the moment they were born. Stormtroopers were more like police than actual soldiers, since they weren't at war until the formation of the Rebellion. Also when the actual war finally started, the experience stormtroopers had gotten sloppy and lazy due to the lack of actual combat. So to make up for this they continue to recruit and train new soldiers to make up for this. But since they wanted to rely more on their numbers, the training was just passable so that most would pass and still be of some use. If the training was too brutal, most of them would probably quit. They needed enough men to police and control the galaxy, which led to them cutting corners. If it was one planet, then they could have devoted more time to properly train their soldiers. In truth what made the Empire so powerful was not the soldiers, but the deadly technology they used. For example their starfighters, Star Destroyers, and the Death Star. Technology was the true power of the Empire, they just needed enough men to use the technology. But as we know this ultimately backfired on them. They did have more advanced versions of the stormtroopers like the death troopers, but they definitely didn't have enough of them. Honestly they should have gave all their soldiers cybernetic enhancements and drugs to enhance them further. Finally if ever soldier had armor and weapons like the clone commandos, then the stormtroopers would have been more powerful. Another thing is this Palpatine should have used a combination of clones and non-clones to make his army. The non-clones would have filled in the stormtrooper ranks, while the clones would have filled in for the more advanced soldiers (super soldiers).
slightly off topic from this, but i remember an interesting tidbit about Stormtrooper armor. and it's actually really good when you look at it in action. through all the media, when you see the usual blaster shootout going on, all the stray shots that land result in an explosion upon impact. whether it's hitting rocks, trees, vehicles, etc. but look at any scene of a Stormtrooper getting shot. the blaster shot doesn't explode. it seems to just nullify on impact, sometimes leaving a small burn mark. the trooper is likely still dead, as the force still knocks them on their back. but the external visible damage is extremely mitigated thanks to the armor
I always assumed the white armour was because the primary function was ship boarding and kind of "policing" actions where camouflage was irrelevant. The rebellion wasn't really considered a threat until quite late, and even when it was, it was more on the level of star ship level fights, not really infantry combat. Its not really until Endor that white armour becomes obviously a very stupid idea, and even then, Palpatine thought that the rebels were walking into a trap and hopelessly outnumbered. White armour, like black armour is intimidating. I never really thought the storm troopers were meant to fight a protracted war, they're just meant to drop in, murder everyone, then leave.
In legends, stormtrooper helmets had a HUD that was biolinked to the trooper it was assigned to. It gave them great tactical readouts but if anyone else tried to wear it, the helmet would lock them out so they weren’t able to see very well
I'm pretty sure that we are suffering from over-analysing of the fictional functions of a sci-fi prop. In the films and TV shows, the Stormtrooper's helmets perform whatever function is required to push the story forwards. I don't think we're supposed to look *that* closely.
Fun fact, "I can't see a thing in this helmet" wasn't scripted, it was a genuine complaint by Mark Hamil who didn't think they were rolling yet. Though I haven't seen official confirmation, I'm pretty sure that Rex's complaint before he throws the helmet was a callback to it.
British Red Coats had red uniforms, because colour red was the cheapest colour British government could buy at time of designing their uniforms. In other words Red Coats could have been Blue Coats or Pink Coats, if those colours were the cheapest ones on market.
They did actually choose other colours because of cost and more importantly availability, some loyalist regiments during the American war of independence wore green, and while they were mostly light infantry and cavalry, the real reason why those uniforms were chosen is because that's the dye the manufacturers had in large quantities. You see other armies like the Russian army during the great northern war wear mainly green, but also red and blue. The French famously were a mess, while they had their white uniforms before the revolution, there were also regiments wearing red green and blue. Red dye and paint is very common historically for a very long time, and while the myth of the entirely red Roman Legions has been busted, as they had no actual uniform, they did still heavily utilize red as a common dye. Also, fun fact: the British did in fact wear pink, sometimes. Offcers had a lot more say in the exact shade of red they used for their custom tailored uniforms, and in some paintings particularly from the late 1700's you can see British officers wearing a dizzying variety of shades of red, from very deep and dark reds, to bright reds, to almost orange and even very faded, pretty much pink colours. The uniform of the average infantryman however was typically a more muted red, while a common feature of officers uniforms is their much more vibrant and bright red colour.
@@TheThingInMySink Something else to consider, besides that fact that some uniforms might have been dyed a lighter or darker shade, is also that all uniforms simply fade in use. Then, as now, a given soldier might have had a spare uniform or not, and a bright new uniform would certainly fade with use. Some decades ago when I was a new recruit (US Army) we started basic training with dark uniforms, and we noticed the soldiers farther along in training no longer had that same dark green uniform we had. Then, when I went to a follow-on training school, we again noticed that some of the most seasoned instructors had very faded uniforms, and we probably subconsciously considered that this only added to their credibility. So one weekend, while off base at a local surplus store, a buddy noticed that they carried nicely used and faded uniforms among the gear sold off by departing soldiers. So he bought a few pairs, had his name and patches sewn on... and boom!... he instantly looked a experienced trooper instead of a new recruit. Now, in the very back of my closet, I still have a few faded sets of BDUs, alongside a still bright set, that I only wore a few times for a spare or inspection.
Both Luke's "I can't see" and Ben kanobi's "Their marksmen" can work as the storm troops just need to take time to aim ethheir with Abrams Tank like aim asset or you know the sight/walk it in/great shots just not when flustered.
Stormtrooper helmets contain a HUD and vision enhancing modes with targeting assist. When Luke claimed he couldn't see anything he was more than likely talking about the fact he was not used to the HUD and the fact the helmet was not his size and had never worn one before. Han doesn't seem to have the same issues as he would have been familiar with the pilot helmets he was training with before he was run into the Army.
I’m pretty sure there was only 1 size, of armor and helmet, I recently watched a video on storm troopers, and it talked about that storm troopers were pretty elite soldiers, and they had to “fit” the armor, thus they had to be a certain shape, and size to actually become a stormtrooper
@@GamingWithThenixTurk Except that you CAN'T practically do that. regular people are NOT clones. there're only so many people who'd fit every single piece of the equipment in the exact same sizes. dish out strictly 1 size for everything, & the Stormtrooper corps would've been much, much, MUCH smaller than what we've seen so far. the more realistic situation would be that while there're strict size & height requirements to fill in order to become a Stormtrooper, the equipment would still come in several sizes with very small variations in between them.
I used to think that the scopes on the guns were sighting cameras transmitting to a HUD crosshair in a helmet eye piece. I still think some clone troopers had this, but imperial stormtroopers didn't. Which partially explains the difference in marksmanship.
I always thought Rex saying he couldn't see out of the helmet, was because he always had the T shaped visor for his helmet. So he wasn't used to the more stormtrooper like visor of the phase II helmet.
You have to turn the helmet on to get your HUD. If you just put it on, it's dark. Think of it like a VR set that can have pass through on in 8k vision. An actual working VR/AR military helmet.
There's a fanfic out there where Luke works for the empire and finds out how poorly the helmets snd armor were made, and goes out of his way to make major upgrades to them. Darth Vader was very proud.
I had always thought the helmets had some kind of 'Heads Up Display' inside to compensate for the otherwise lack of visibility. (which of course makes them useless without any power).
Perhaps the white armour and the black body suits complement each other when it comes to energy dispersion? So a laser blaster hit is dissipated by the white outer layer and the heat absorbed by the black body suit??? They also created a laminate effect against melee combat.
I assumed the helmets were mass produced, meaning they might not always be made correctly for every stormtrooper that was given a standard issue outfit. Even with the whole standardization thing and the bureau, it’s a BIG galaxy. Not every factory that produces the stormtrooper armor is going to be a winner.
"A hundred thousand units are ready, with a million more well on the way" - Kaminoan cloner I never thought a million clones would be enough for a galaxy-spanning war against mass-produced, factory-built battle droids. Heck, we vastly exceeded those numbers in WWII on just a single planet. Those "hundred thousand units" could only refer to combat units, probably battalion-sized or larger, as well as crews for starships, fighters, and ground vehicles.
Maybe they weren't Stormtroopers that shot it up maybe it was a carefully coordinated strategy set with Obi-Wan and some rebel friends to make Luke join the resistance, lol
When Luke said he couldn't see in the helmet Han should have said "you haven't got it switched on". The lack of apparent skill of the stormtrooper has less to do with them not being able to see and more to do with the good guys plot armor and the tendency of writers just to offer them up as blaster fodder.
My theory on the color choice is that white, at least in real life, deflects more light without heating up. Obviously every laser still pierced because rebel lasers had plot-armor-piercing but still, it works in theory. The white would simply glow brightly when hit by a laser and it would take a much more powerful beam to melt or scald. Of course, "lasers" in Star Wars are more like arrows than actual light, but it still could be true. Plus, the armor would work very well in urban places for patrolling, and the clean emptiness of the armor and its colors give an imposing feel to them.
The only way Trooper helmets make sense is if they have quality cameras and VR goggles in there, so that they have a full field of view. Maybe non-Troopers who put them on don't know how to activate the more advanced visuals, so they're left with the "powered off" emergency viewport.
I know that Disney did away with the EU, but the design of the Clone armor was actually based off Mandolorian armor and then evolved over time to become the TK design we saw in episode 4 (example being many comments made in the Republic Commando series..read those books, they're SO good). The color of the armor was on point though.
Back about 1978 or so, the school book fair thing was still a thing... where you could order all sorts of books. I can remember ordering a portfolio of Ralph McQuarrie's Star Wars Artwork, a technical manual and a script of the entire movie. Eleven y/o me was in hog heaven. I came back to earth with prequels and was laid to rest with the sequels.
Glad you mention peripheral vision. The T visor always gives more peripheral than a pair of glasses like goggles. Mostly with the T visor the peripherals can crisscross past the nose.
Obi Wans' comments about how accurate those shots are is ironic... Look at all the pointless blaster hits.... Tuskan raiders can hit moving pod racers....
I didn't realise this was going to be an in universe explanation I wanted 'here's the story of the prop maker and concept artist and how they changed cinema forever'
Actually... what's the canon these days on Obi-Wan leaving Tattooine outside of his brief show-excursion? Could his idea of "accurate storm troopers" be a mistake because he thinks the Empire is still using clone troopers, just renamed?
I doubt Obi-Wan was completely cut off from the outside world- he would’ve atleast known that they were humans by reading the news. I doubt Tattooine didn’t at the very least have an Imperial recruiting station.
My dad got a 501st movie accurate stormtrooper suit and he needs someone to walk around with him so he knows where to go as the helmet is almost impossible to see through
Legends canon says otherwise. Stormtrooper armor is quite decent, it's just that it's hard to get for non-Imperials. Hell, in the Force Unleashed 2 comic, Stormtrooper helmets have tons of vision modes, and fetch a hefty price on the black market.
1:00 Luke didn't contradict Obi-Wan. Luke couldn't see because he was "a little short for a stormtrooper" as Leia stated. The helmet didn't fit him. The later instances of stormtroopers not being able to see in their helmets is a result of fandom confusing infecting the content itself. People failed to realize that most of the instances of the stormtroopers missing their targets in the Original Trilogy (especially the first two films) were the result of them having orders to not hit the main character (such as when the heroes were allowed to escape the Death Star so the Empire could follow them to the Rebel Base) and main character plot armor.
I always thought that the "helmet-sight" problem was due to actual stormtroopers being very used to getting around the problems regarding sight. The stormtroopers that boarded the Tantive IV had exceptional accuracy, while many of the ones on the Death Star were more inaccurate due to probably dipping into vast numbers of required personnel.
@metalmadness5851 - keep in mind the ones on the Death Star were likely deliberately missing the heroes; remember Tarkin and Vader let them escape so they could track them to the Rebel base, so it’s likely the troopers on the Death Star had orders to put on a show so that it wouldn’t be obvious that the heroes were being allowed to escape.
@@lordofuzkulak8308 That plan probably came around after they broke out of the prison, since it makes most sense to have occurred after they'd broken Leia out.
Regarding the Scarlet tunics of the British they were phased out between 1797 with the rifles adopting a green tunic and trousers and uniform for concealment and the Battle of Gennis 30/12/1885. By the mid 19th century other units were adopting drab coloured camouflage uniforms for use in the field and after the Battle of Gennis the red tunic was home service only and ceased to be genuine issue in 1914.
just a slight historical nitpick, 18th-century uniforms (England's Redcoats) were bright so you could tell friend from foe on the battlefield from all the smoke from muskets that was also known as the Fog of War as the smoke can linger up so much on the battlefield that visibility was very limited.
"It adopted a whole new purpose in the empire which didn't wage war against separatist and droid armes, now the empire waged war against it's own people." So Actually nothing has changed. The Separatist were it's own people, they just wanted to leave and form their own government.
1:00 Personal head cannon; Obi-Wan says this line about the accuracy ironically/ as a diss against the stormtroopers lack of aim (Yes I know the stormtrooper corp were the elites & highly trained. Just more funny to think that old Obi-Wan still spits sicc disses against the bad guys just as young Obi-Wan does)
Here's another thing about Storm Troopers. A brother of a friend of mine was a Storm Trooper on the original New Hope.. he said the helmets were bloody awful, he also said that there were only about 12 of them.. when he told me this I said that I didn't belive him because obviously the Death Star had legions of fecking Storm Troopers running around... 12! Pah! 😁
Right, so an obligatory "akchyually" comment about that mention of the redcoats: Back in the day, when firearms had the nasty habit of creating clouds of smoke whenever discharged en masse (coincidentally, the best way of utilising them effectively) every army, not just the British, was much keener on knowing precisely whether that company over there is friend or foe than having them blend in with the environment. What good would that do anyway, good luck concealing some five thousand men in close rank, whose weapons, to add insult to injury, produce an excess of sparks and smoke when the first salvo is fired. So in summary, it had everything to do with standing out, nothing to do with intimidating the enemy. You were half right, I suppose
From a technical standpoint one reason why Stormtrooper armor is white and polished is because of what they're designed to protect against; blasters. A.K.A. lasers, A.K.A. concentrated light. Lasers cause damage to things by imparting so much light energy into an object that it heats up to the point of vaporization, causing a small explosion. However, the more light the target reflects the less energy is absorbed, and thus the less it heats up.
Scariff. Hoth. Endor. The Rebel scum got pwned. The ONLY reason they missed in Ep 4 (apart from plot armour), was BECAUSE THEY WERE ORDERED TO BY TARKIN. LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!
As far as I can remember, back before didney bought Star Wars, each Stormtrooper had their helmet optics adjusted to them by a droid after getting inducted to the Corps..
About Andrew Ainsworth, he made all the Storm Trooper armour, the pilot helmets, and the crew helmets of both Rebels and Imperials. Plus he's still making and selling them exporting them worldwide except for the US. This is because LucasFilm lost it's original case against him and Pemberton in the UK, so sued again in LA and won by default as Ainsworth and Pemberton couldn't afford to mount a defence there so didn't contest it.
Fun fact that I just made up: the stormtrooper helmet had a comprehensive tactical HUD that allowed for precise firing. It’s just that Luke and Rex didn’t know to turn it on. 😂
Ive got an original 1977 Don Post studios Darth Vader movie prop helmet still in the original box. The helmet itself was a little rough when I got it, but, the box is autographed by Don Post and Dave Prowse (aka, the real Darth Vader. ;) so thats ok, it can be polished back up lol.
The first 1,000 people to use the link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/generationtech12221
I have a theory. Each helmet is keyed to its owner when issued to the trooper. Vision is not an issue for the trooper because the helmet is "working" giving the trooper a heads-up display to assist in vision and tactical input from the command. Just a thought.
Yeah...nah!
Obi wan's comment was a dig at the stormtroopers
@@justinhobbs8646 I buy that. I always thought I sensed sarcasm and after watching that scene again, I agree with you.
On this topic, I would highly recommend Star Wars Allegiance by Tymothy Zahn. The story opens up with what happens when storm troopers communicate with each other.
I know we're all aware, but I have to point this out. "I can't see a thing in this helmet." That wasn't Luke, it was Mark Hamill. He was unaware that the cameras were rolling
Yep a gag ruined what was meant to be a looking threat
Here's a cut in
Luke: I can't see a thing in this hemet.
Han: Turn on your monitor kid.
Luke: Oh
Yeah but if it makes into the final cut, then it's Luke saying it.
gotta love mark
Also, aren't you a little short to be a Stormtrooper?
I always saw it like this:
Stormtrooper armor was made for a specific body type. Many needed to fit strict regulations (height, weight etc.). Nevertheless, they very likely still needed to have some small variations within the army because it just wouldn't make sense for everyone to have the same shoe size. Numbers of the soldiers would dwindle. So they probably would have 3-4 different sizes. Same with the helmets. Different head sizes required 3-4 variations or perhaps a slightly adjustable helmet.
This explains when Rex or Luke say "I can't see a thing in this", because the helmets weren't adjusted for them. Rex has for example a very big head. It very well fitted the Stormtroopers they took it from perfectly, just not Luke or Rex who happened to have a different head size than them. Which then again doesn't contradict their accuracy Obi Wan talks about. That's at least my head canon.
This was my theory too. When you’re “borrowing” uniforms, you’re probably not gonna get a size made for you.
They can’t see because the helmet augmented vision and devices only works when it’s owner trooper is using it, it was canon and since nothing contradicts it and changing the funcionalities of og devices is lame I still think is canon
"Head" canon
My thoughts as well. Not his size or wasn't adjusted for him
Sounds like truth, from a certain point of view.
In older lore, before the memes took precedence, the helmets had a digital heads up display & the eye pieces were cameras, that double functioned as eye holes in emergencies when say they were broken in the process of incapacitating the storm trooper & stealing his armor
It makes more sense that a futuristic army spanning across hundreds of star systems wouldn't be relying on 2 slits of glass for their soldiers to see in combat.
Kanan: "Wow, you really do shoot like a Stormtrooper."
Rex: "It's the helmet! I can't see!" *yeets it at the schmuck Stormtrooper's face*
Banter by two characters with plot armor lol kids show moment.
Rex's problem with the helmet is that it was not HIS helmet. My theory is each helm is keyed to each trooper when assigned. When the helm is working as designed on the owner's head my guess is a holo heads-up display is visible to the trooper along with tactical data from command.
Just a theory.
@@spazzmalone That and he modded the late clone helmet to keep the enhanced vistion of the Early clone helmet... So yeah he was never going to like it.
Luke: I can't see a thing in this hemet.
Han: Turn on your monitor kid.
Luke: Oh
@@imperialodst7335 Yeah because the original movies had no moments of "plot armor"
I've heard that stormtroopers helmets basicly give them a "lasersight", a beam/line from their weapon so they can see exactly where the blaster bolt would go, but only they could see it, so there wouldn't be "red dots" or "lines" everywhere.
basically halo hud, yes.
The clones apparently had that too
@@leonrussell9607 yes, that's why it was added to trooper armor in the first place.
Then why do they still suck at aiming
@@SomeRandomVergilFanboy we see them suck at aiming once. In the Death Star, where it was a trap and they were ordered to let them go.
Any other time it was beyond the effective range of the e-11 which is 100 meters(very close in combat) and a maximum of 300.
In one of the Star Wars visual dictionaries it explained that the armor being white was also a psychological tactic that told their enemies that they are so confident in their military prowess that they don’t even bother with camouflage. They are so confident that they will win that they don’t care about stealth.
I would still bet a BILLION Euros on Guardsmen over Clone Troopers/Stormtroopers any time of the day
@@christiandauz3742 To be fair Imperial Guard is incredibly based
That’s why they’re easy to snipe. Wearing a blinding white outfit in jungle combat tends to do that
@@dragonfell5078
Outnumbered Guardsmen infantry on the offense would beat numerically superior Clone Troopers in a fortress with artillery and walkers!
Need Yuuzhan Vong and Force Users to beat Guardsmen!
The Mechanicus Skitarii are overkill
Goddamit to end the Empire just throw in SLY MARBO AHHHHHHHHHHHH
I still say that one of the most compelling StarWars stories we have yet to see on the big screen, is from the perspective of a Storm Trooper or especially a First Order Trooper.
Cause while they MILDLY touched on the idea with Finn, they immediately kind of forgot about it and never addressed it again except to randomly justify having a cavalry charge atop a spaceship (which sounds dumb even just saying it aloud). Like they pulled a "Sure he was a Trooper, but as a 'good guy' he can easily quit the moment he sees a ally die...and then starts shooting his former comrades without hesitation because they're all baddies...despite the death of an ally being what triggered his moral confliction with killing...".
So they completely missed the chance to give us the realistic perspective of (as they established within the film itself) a guy who was kidnapped as a child and turned into a soldier (alongside all the others). That kind of thing is both dystopian AF, and makes for such a great way to tell a story about how hard it would be just to break yourself of that lifelong conditioning and then even have that inner struggle of fighting against other Troopers who you realize don't know any better. Like the First Order was essentially just an army of kidnapped child soldiers. That should be a HORRIFYING realization for the Resistance to learn (and be incredibly demoralizing), and in a setting that is always trying to tell stories of hope/redemption, would have paved the way for a epic narrative of someone like Finn trying to free all the others from that servitude.
Well Finn did see a bunch of terrified civilians get wasted by his former comrades.
I guess unlike his unit he at least had a shred of empathy?
Isn’t Agent Kallis a small example too?
Eh, don't bother waiting for something deep from the rat. It'll never get past committee.
Granted it doesn't have the budget, but Soldier w Kurt Russell was almost that exact premise.
And that's what honks me off about the clone commando books getting dropped. It was probably the best example of getting you inside that mindset.
Though i guess the difference in a comparison between the two movies it's notable that Finn "breaks out" of his robotic conditioning and just kinda becomes a regular soldier w better aim than most of his peers, but no problem w wasting them.
Todd in soldier gets literally thrown away, and is forced to find a new group, but his mindset never really changes. He just executes his job against his former replacements with the same robotic determination.
@@ramblinnernd5905 from all other indicators that should have been trained out of him to even be a stormtrooper. It's even shown in "classic" troopers that to get through the training that kind of empathy would have to be stomped out.
I guess it's given in a hand wavey kind of way that he's the one in a million one, but it just doesn't jive with the whole premise.
Hell, andor fits the bill better in a lot of ways. Ruthless, dedicated, not afraid of doing ugly jobs. Finn could have been brought around, after doing really nasty stuff in his former job, he finally breaks. Plus the potential for the added drama of the distrust a formerly effective/notorious trooper trying to defect and earn the trust of those he had previously tormented.
.......
Damn. That's what they should have done w phasma lol 😆
No one with self respect cate about the First Order
No matter how much the Stormtroopers were given moments to show how badass and scary they are meant to be, the Star Wars fandom will always remember them as a bunch of Mooks who sucks at shooting and dying in droves.
No, I'll always remember them for taking out a squad of rebels in a small hallway, taking minimal casualties. I always hated star wars messing them up.
Honestly that reputation can be easily changed if they wanted to change it. Instead we get the mandalorian and obi wan and the rise of skywalker that has them die in droves. If Star Wars media really tried to make stormtroopers great again, you’d see that reputation quickly change
Well, if the people they fought didn't have plot armor, we'd get to see what they're actually capable of.
I disagree. If hypothetically from this very moment onwards all Star Wars production suddenly begins to portray stormtroopers as very accurate shooters, incorporating proper squad fire and maneuver elements, using their N-20 Baradium-core thermal detonators to flush out enemies behind cover or when entering rooms/bunkers, having basic hand-to-hand combat skills, continue fighting after being shot or hit with a blunt object in the armor, always wound or severely wound main characters when encountered, in approximately 3 to 4 years people will forget about the "incompetent" stormtroopers that had infested the Star Wars Universe.
Then to make the narrative for the main characters believable, have them regularly encounter Imperial Navy Troopers or Imperial Army Troopers that would be easier to defeat, since they would not be so fanatical, have less armor and don't have many drills after completing their basic training.
Honestly the end episode of Andor the Stormtroopers were pretty damn effective except the guy who got told to solo storm the tower. But I blame the commander for that. He was dead the moment that order was given. No back up on a target that is probably prepared to be attacked.
As a kid, I assumed that the Stormtroopers used some sort of HUD to "see" inside their helmet and that Luke didn't know how to turn it on or use it. An easy canon explanation would be that the helmets are activated by a Stormtrooper saying their serial number, or a retina scan. Failing the security lock, Luke wouldn't be able to use the HUD. This also explains Rex not being able to use a Stormtrooper helmet.
I generally agree with you, but the Stormtrooper armor and helmet technology is based on the Clone Trooper armor technology, which in turn is based on the Mandalorian armor technology.
*Rex* knew the technology of the clone trooper armor and should therefore know how the stormtrooper helmet systems work.
He probably also knew that he was not recognized by the system as an unauthorized user and was therefore blocked and did not have the means to overcome the blockage and/or deceive the system.
I'd say *Dave Filoni* didn't know or didn't care about *Karen Traviss'* RC stories and wanted to make that old Stormtrooper joke.
@@patrickrada2923 Rex might have known that the helmet wouldn't work for him, but that doesn't mean that he knew how difficult it would be to see without the system. He would have never experienced this before. Also, his helmets were designed specifically for him and his clone brothers. The Stormtrooper helmets were of a generic "one size fits all" design. So Rex might have thought that it wouldn't be as difficult as it turned out to be. On the other hand, maybe the design and HUD were so different than what he was used to that this is the reason he had trouble with it. Idk, just a thought.
This was actually true in the legends, I think as it is to the canon
You are the one sane person in the comments😂
@@patrickrada2923ok but you are referencing much later media. There is no reason to think advanced military tech would be bad or ineffective.
I'd like to point out that since these helmets were the equivalent of NSA bluetooth headphones, that any time a rebel put one on they probably disabled it.
In episode 4 we see this when Luke and Han acquired some storm trooper gear; their CO couldn't reach them over coms.
I'm willing to bet disabling the spy features on the cams also disable the rest of the gear in the helmet, including optics. This is why Rex, Luke and the rest of them couldn't see anything in the helmets.
Episode 4?...Ah you mean "Star Wars"...yeah...that, "CO couldnt reach them" thing was a ruse to get them into the control centre.
They could hear just fine.
@@projektkobra2247 source: trust me bro
@@asserkortteenniemi4878 -Source, use your head, bro. Dont read so much into it like some people I could mention.
@@projektkobra2247 And don't claim to know with absolute certainty things that doesn't have an absolute answer. Was it a ruse? Yea. But could the comms still be broken as well? Yeah, who knows?
So you could use your head as well.
@@asserkortteenniemi4878 -You're an idiot. If the "comms were broken", that would be shown in the film...Nothing in a film is there without a reason.
Anal-retentive, pedantic nitwits like you give all us geeks a bad name.
I frigging love Rex when he gets ticked and tosses the helm at the trooper 😂👍 easy top star wars moment right there
I always figured that the rebels had agents that worked for Empire who would slowly sabotage Imperial gear design.
Inject a slight design flaw in the storm troopers eye pieces or make their blasters more powerful but less accurate which wouldn’t matter as long as there were shooting by the dozens.
that shit was stupid
@@pope2552 lol
In universe, clone trooper armor was inspired by Mandalorian armor worn by Jango Fett, so Kaminoans didn't design it from scratch.
He was talking about the stormtrooper armor. Which is inherently based upon clone trooper designs, NOT Mandalorian designs, even though the clone trooper design was inspired upon by the Mandalorians.
@@TheBrownCoyote And I dare saying Clone Trooper armor suits battle better than their Stormtrooper counterpart. ;)
@@mikaelwojciechowski7281 Who doesn't I mean its really hard to see in them because of how small the visors were.
8:45 Headcanon: Battel droid "optics" also perceive everything on the ultra-violett spectrum, so clone trooper armor -whilst appearing white to us - may be actually coated in an uv-camouflage-paint, therefore beeing effective against the clone's main foes.
Then why not just make them completely transparent to uv light?
@@paulaccuardi9071 Don't think it works like that.
@@paulaccuardi9071 Then they would see naked clone troopers, I don't think you can beat robots by causing mass confusion.
@@jasperzanovich2504 I bet hadvar could do it
@@paulaccuardi9071 "You're finally awake!"
A footnote on Andrew Ainsworth and his copyright infringing helmets: he was found to have infringed Lucasfilm’s copyright in California and the UK, but a technicality based on whether it was an artistic sculpture or an industrial prop in the UK has allowed him to continue making replicas and other merchandise based on the original mould he still had in his possession.
It was more than that, he claims he was the one who did the original sculpture. He’s done the same for other movies he’s worked on.
There is a lot of debate over who owns what in this case. What I don't like about this is Lucas was clearly the far more powerful party and threw his weight around. Did he even try to resolve this before escalating to litigation?
@@berniethekiwidragon4382 I don't know what Lucas did prior to taking the Ainsworth to court, and before I knew the details, I was pissed at Lucas for going after someone who was making something Lucas was not even trying (at that time) to sell. I have a full set of armor from Ainsworth (and a couple helmets) that I bought before the lawsuit.
But then I found out more about Ainsworth and what a complete dick he is. Ainsworth wasn't just making the armor and selling it, he was claiming HE did all the design an mold making. He's also done with with other movies where ALL he did was cast parts from molds he was loaned.
When I bought my armor from him, he only claimed that he still had the helmet molds and some foam covers for the rest of the armor that Lucas hadn't retreived after he was done vacuum forming the armor.
I don't know what exactly make Lucas go after Ainsworth, but there were several other people making and selling helmets and suits that Lucas did not go after.
@@gospyro From what you are saying, it sounds like there are no saints in this.
@berniethekiwidragon4382 well George wasn't being greedy its just he owned star wars and wasn't going to allow someone to do something with star wars that he didn't want
10:15 Could also be why the 501st is so strong. People who were bullied in the past are bound together with the armor, and gives them an identity. And they gain the confidence to do what they think is right. Which in this case is a lot of good stuff, like visiting children's hospitals and things.
10:14 Palpatine: "They are the legions of my best troops in the Empire!"
Ewoks: "Meat's back on the menu, everyone!"
Clearly stormtrooper recruitment standards dropped from the days of the Death Star
Well they don't have reinforcement on endor now do they?
The blaster sights are connected to the "eyes" of the helmet via a Bluetooth-type connection, so the trooper always has a perfect view of the precise point of aim. The body armor also includes a short range scanner, and via the same eyepiece connection the trooper can "see" all around him, like VR goggles today. It has to be reconnected each time the helmet is put back on, otherwise you can only straight out the eye ports.
That's my theory anyway. It takes into account significant tactical advantages for the stormtrooper, their legendary aim, AND why Luke and Han couldn't see anything.
Old comment but it would be somewhat confirmed in the mandalorian. Dinn's helmet has those features and when he+mayfeld posed in the imperial outfits, mayfeld couldn't see out of his. Dinn has his creed so he couldn't complain, and it's honestly probably used to it, but mayfeld used to be a sharpshooter so he would've had the experience in the helmets if they didn't have a link like you mentioned. The fact he couldn't wear it implies you're correct.
I feel like the jokes about Stormtroopers' armor, helmets and their skills have pretty much gone full circle and become canon now. Obi-Wan statement was the right one initially but with all the years, jokes and clichés (and maybe taking too seriously a scene that wasn't shot with a serious realistic intent in mind, for example, in an action movie, soldiers jumping to the side after a motorcycle barely brushed them) people can't see stormtroopers any other way, which is sad.
Stormtroopers are probably 1000 times more accurate than modern soldiers
Actually, the British used red because it was the cheapest colour at the time. The same reason many French regiments wore "off-white": unbleached wool, because it too was very cheap.
The helmets have a facial recognition that detects known stormtroopers to let them be able to see through their helmets. Anyone else who wears them, the helmet will automatically shut off. You have to be authorized to wear them in order for them to work
Really ? But how luke and Han steal and use them then ?
I remember reading somewhere that the armor, helmet including is custom fitted to the wearer.
That means someone smaller or larger than regs would have issues with the helmet due to their eyes not lining up.
As far as "shutting off" I'm pretty sure that's just advanced functions like the HUD
Which is also a dumb functionality Enzo since any damage to any of the components means the helmet hud no longer works. But then your probably dead or knocked out cold as well
@@redkhan3788 nothing stops a person from using the armor. It's just you can't see thing except what you see from inside the helmet. No hud though.
@@sinisterisrandom8537 more then likely a way for them to deter people stealing them sense you can't see shit unless you recode said helmet but then you got people just wearing them in canon like it don't mean nothing
My personal headcanon for "Only imperial Stormtroopers are so precise" is that Obi-wan was thinking of their accuracy being nearly as good as clones because even with his few run ins with stormtroopers he probably has a preconception that they would be accurate.
His experiences fighting them probably didn't change his mind due to the fact he dealt with them nearly as easily, if not with more difficulty, as he did the 501st in the temple.
Except that his assessment was correct. It was Stormtroopers that attacked the ship in question, meaning they were the ones who were so precise.
Alan, I love how you bring human meaning into even the simplest subject, like helmets.
Hmmm. I was hoping we'd get "Stormtrooper Vision", so WE may judge how clear or unclear their sight really is. It only seems logical that vision and fit would be of a high order therefore producing a more accurate and deadly Trooper. In the movies, though, they were portrayed as kind of a "bunglish" group (starting at the point where that poor bugger bounces his melon off the blast door)
Alan, minor point of order. The selection of Red (scarlet) for British line infantry was ... COST! they could get the vermillion dye dirt cheap and in large quantifies from India and other colonial sources.
It's really fascinating to know that the Stormtroopers are being recorded; it explains their lack of talkativeness which in turn makes them seem more intimidating. Concerning the white color of the Stormtroopers, I found it really refreshing when they showed the tan Tropical trooper design in Andor when he is being arrested/ conscripted for labor. I would like to see more of those specific variants and chalk up the predominance of white to an overproduction of those highly Clone Trooper influenced designs.
My head canon for when Obi Wan told Luke that the accurate shots being from stormtroopers was just his way of telling Luke to not underestimate the empire. Even if most of em are goobers, that one trooper could get lucky and you're dead.
There's also alot of security built into these helmets, the biometrics might have registered different and thus refused to work as intended and the reason they had trouble seeing is because they had to see through the eye ports instead of seeing with the enhancements and addons that a fully unlocked helmet would provide
Huge clarification, Obi-Wan isn't referring to the individual precision, but rather the overall groupings of blaster hits. Tusken would fight in very loose if any formation, Stormtrooper on the other hand would shoot in groups. Also Luke and Rex having trouble seeing trough helmets not fitted for them is just a problem any visored helmet has.
Cosplayer here; I think it's a bit goofy Rex of all people criticizes Stormtrooper visibility, since in my experience Stormtrooper visibility is decent with flaws (you can't see down and in front of you) but T-visors are much worse. It's also interesting how Halo helmets have a focus on visibility despite them not having to be worn by real people unlike in Star Wars.
Edit: I'd also like to mention that the idea that the armor gives the troopers extra confidence is absolutely true. I'm almost a completely different person in Stormtrooper armor; it has enough mobility to slouch, yet I stand perfectly straight because of the confidence it gives me.
I always thought the armor was white so it absorbed less heat and could reflect some of the blaster bolts, but then the Death Troopers came along with full black armor that completely changed my theory
A funny gag in a scene with a guy who doesn't know how to work his equipment really ruined what was meant to be a viable and rather severe threat. (Luke in 'A New Hope')
They tried to backtrack it in non-theatrical media, but Warfing and plot armor makes it impossible for today's audience to accept it. The joke has seeped into subsequent media and taken what is meant to be disciplined and capable shocktroops into inept, mindless, and faceless fodder. Grinds my gears.
Me too. I'd prefer our heros beating a formidable and dangerous threat than just being smarter than imbeciles
@@chasedavidson2855 The Borg, in that other franchise.
I can only think of 2 reasons why Ben Kenobi would say that, one he was going senial, 2 maybe he'd just got to the Empire was still using Clone Troopers and their armor.
The Stormtrooper helmet was indeed derived from the Clone troopers, however those were derived from the Mandalorian helmet design.
The Trooper helmets could record bio-metrics and show superiors if a Trooper was suffering 'anxiety or distress' whilst following brutal orders - allowing them to send said Trooper for a 'refresher course'' in indoctrination.
And the nerve of Lukas suing that guy for trying to pay for his kids college. If he was a 'decent businessman' he would have sent the guy a 'Cease & Desist' order - then paid for the kids college himself (at least). Instead of suing a guy who did him a big favour in the past and obviously *doesn't have any money* to be sued for - which was why he was making the damn helmets! Dick.
They could just have the eye holes for aesthetics and have the troopers see a 3D VR style image projected inside the helmet.
I always imagined that was the case, some 90s videogame might have introduced me to that idea !
Given the tech that Star wars has shown in expanded universe, it's not out of the realm of possibility!
The reason folks like Lucas have to resort to the lawyers for copyright infringement I have been told is if they don’t act - it opens the door with precedence to worse infringements - so the lawyers advise clients to immediately seek a cease and desist action.
Ainsworth was also claiming he sculpted the original helmets, which he did not do. He’s also been called out by other designers/artists for claiming he designed suits and armor in other movies, when in fact all he did was cast/form them.
"Every stormtrooper helmet recorded data not unlike body cams worn by police officers, but unlike police body cams..." ...stormtroopers likely can't just turn them off and on whenever it suits them, something cops have often done. Or just not released body cam footage even when it would be integral to do so.
Bro chill out
The stormtrooper helmet was sculpted by Liz Moore based on McQarrie's concept sketches. Andrew Ainsworth only vav formed them using her sculpts, he didn't design anything. No matter where you sit on the controversy around Ainsworth selling them, not mentioning this incredibly talented artist who died too soon yet created this modern icon is a terrible oversight in this episode.
What's funny is that my dad has an old D6 Starwars ttrpg rulebook, and the Stormtrooper helmets did give a bonus to the wearer's accuracy, HOWEVER that bonus only applied to moving targets. Which if we look at eps 4, 5, and 6, most of the gunfights in those movies are very static, with the combatants mainly taking cover and holding their positions.
So functionally speaking looking at the portrayal of the helmets, it both makes sense on how stormtroopers could be considered "accurate" when shooting at (presumably) fleeing jawas, yet in a static fight like the opening invasion of the Tantive IV (Leia's ship) how most of the stormtroopers could blatantly miss targets that are essentially standing still.
I say we go back to Clone Armor, I refuse to see these unsightly designs every time I go out into town. If I have to get harassed I’d rather it look cool
The ancient Persians had Immortals. Infantry with complete headcovers so they all look the same. This made it more intimidating to their enemy as when one was killed, another who looked exactly like him would then be in your face- like then can't be killed.
The Helmet could have a HUD display in the Helmet itself, and Luke is not a authorized user; so the HUD didn't work for Luke.
I had always figured the material and color are to help absorb some of the energy from incoming plasma fire, thus protecting the wearer- and while it's canon is a bit iffy these days, the armor design was old, going all the way back to Revan days.
Design wise yes it has been very old from the Old republic days, like what we see Imperial and Republic forces wear during that long millennia of war.
When the helmet is taken off all the helmet 's sensors are turned off, which makes it harder for thieves to properly use them or sell them on the black market. Also sometimes stormtroopers are ordered to miss, so they can follow their enemies back to their base. Another thing that should be noted is stormtroopers are not as experienced as clone troopers.
Clone trooper training was more rigorous then stormtrooper training. Clones were being prepared to go to war since the moment they were born. Stormtroopers were more like police than actual soldiers, since they weren't at war until the formation of the Rebellion. Also when the actual war finally started, the experience stormtroopers had gotten sloppy and lazy due to the lack of actual combat. So to make up for this they continue to recruit and train new soldiers to make up for this. But since they wanted to rely more on their numbers, the training was just passable so that most would pass and still be of some use. If the training was too brutal, most of them would probably quit. They needed enough men to police and control the galaxy, which led to them cutting corners. If it was one planet, then they could have devoted more time to properly train their soldiers. In truth what made the Empire so powerful was not the soldiers, but the deadly technology they used. For example their starfighters, Star Destroyers, and the Death Star. Technology was the true power of the Empire, they just needed enough men to use the technology. But as we know this ultimately backfired on them.
They did have more advanced versions of the stormtroopers like the death troopers, but they definitely didn't have enough of them. Honestly they should have gave all their soldiers cybernetic enhancements and drugs to enhance them further. Finally if ever soldier had armor and weapons like the clone commandos, then the stormtroopers would have been more powerful. Another thing is this Palpatine should have used a combination of clones and non-clones to make his army. The non-clones would have filled in the stormtrooper ranks, while the clones would have filled in for the more advanced soldiers (super soldiers).
slightly off topic from this, but i remember an interesting tidbit about Stormtrooper armor. and it's actually really good when you look at it in action. through all the media, when you see the usual blaster shootout going on, all the stray shots that land result in an explosion upon impact. whether it's hitting rocks, trees, vehicles, etc. but look at any scene of a Stormtrooper getting shot. the blaster shot doesn't explode. it seems to just nullify on impact, sometimes leaving a small burn mark. the trooper is likely still dead, as the force still knocks them on their back. but the external visible damage is extremely mitigated thanks to the armor
I always assumed the white armour was because the primary function was ship boarding and kind of "policing" actions where camouflage was irrelevant. The rebellion wasn't really considered a threat until quite late, and even when it was, it was more on the level of star ship level fights, not really infantry combat. Its not really until Endor that white armour becomes obviously a very stupid idea, and even then, Palpatine thought that the rebels were walking into a trap and hopelessly outnumbered. White armour, like black armour is intimidating. I never really thought the storm troopers were meant to fight a protracted war, they're just meant to drop in, murder everyone, then leave.
The 41e elite corps wears camo armor suit when deployed
The helmet really do have a lot of flaws lol, but they look cool.
So the thing with Luke is that the prop holes weren't cut properly and the rex line was a reference to the line from mark Hammill that was left in
In legends, stormtrooper helmets had a HUD that was biolinked to the trooper it was assigned to. It gave them great tactical readouts but if anyone else tried to wear it, the helmet would lock them out so they weren’t able to see very well
Stormtrooper helmets were locked to the specific user, almost entirely shutting down if a different person used them.
I'm pretty sure that we are suffering from over-analysing of the fictional functions of a sci-fi prop.
In the films and TV shows, the Stormtrooper's helmets perform whatever function is required to push the story forwards.
I don't think we're supposed to look *that* closely.
Fun fact, "I can't see a thing in this helmet" wasn't scripted, it was a genuine complaint by Mark Hamil who didn't think they were rolling yet. Though I haven't seen official confirmation, I'm pretty sure that Rex's complaint before he throws the helmet was a callback to it.
British Red Coats had red uniforms, because colour red was the cheapest colour British government could buy at time of designing their uniforms. In other words Red Coats could have been Blue Coats or Pink Coats, if those colours were the cheapest ones on market.
They did actually choose other colours because of cost and more importantly availability, some loyalist regiments during the American war of independence wore green, and while they were mostly light infantry and cavalry, the real reason why those uniforms were chosen is because that's the dye the manufacturers had in large quantities. You see other armies like the Russian army during the great northern war wear mainly green, but also red and blue. The French famously were a mess, while they had their white uniforms before the revolution, there were also regiments wearing red green and blue. Red dye and paint is very common historically for a very long time, and while the myth of the entirely red Roman Legions has been busted, as they had no actual uniform, they did still heavily utilize red as a common dye.
Also, fun fact: the British did in fact wear pink, sometimes. Offcers had a lot more say in the exact shade of red they used for their custom tailored uniforms, and in some paintings particularly from the late 1700's you can see British officers wearing a dizzying variety of shades of red, from very deep and dark reds, to bright reds, to almost orange and even very faded, pretty much pink colours. The uniform of the average infantryman however was typically a more muted red, while a common feature of officers uniforms is their much more vibrant and bright red colour.
@@TheThingInMySink Something else to consider, besides that fact that some uniforms might have been dyed a lighter or darker shade, is also that all uniforms simply fade in use. Then, as now, a given soldier might have had a spare uniform or not, and a bright new uniform would certainly fade with use.
Some decades ago when I was a new recruit (US Army) we started basic training with dark uniforms, and we noticed the soldiers farther along in training no longer had that same dark green uniform we had.
Then, when I went to a follow-on training school, we again noticed that some of the most seasoned instructors had very faded uniforms, and we probably subconsciously considered that this only added to their credibility. So one weekend, while off base at a local surplus store, a buddy noticed that they carried nicely used and faded uniforms among the gear sold off by departing soldiers. So he bought a few pairs, had his name and patches sewn on... and boom!... he instantly looked a experienced trooper instead of a new recruit. Now, in the very back of my closet, I still have a few faded sets of BDUs, alongside a still bright set, that I only wore a few times for a spare or inspection.
Both Luke's "I can't see" and Ben kanobi's "Their marksmen" can work as the storm troops just need to take time to aim ethheir with Abrams Tank like aim asset or you know the sight/walk it in/great shots just not when flustered.
Or Luke is simply too short and the helmet fell over his eyes.
Stormtrooper helmets contain a HUD and vision enhancing modes with targeting assist. When Luke claimed he couldn't see anything he was more than likely talking about the fact he was not used to the HUD and the fact the helmet was not his size and had never worn one before. Han doesn't seem to have the same issues as he would have been familiar with the pilot helmets he was training with before he was run into the Army.
I’m pretty sure there was only 1 size, of armor and helmet, I recently watched a video on storm troopers, and it talked about that storm troopers were pretty elite soldiers, and they had to “fit” the armor, thus they had to be a certain shape, and size to actually become a stormtrooper
@@GamingWithThenixTurk Except that you CAN'T practically do that. regular people are NOT clones. there're only so many people who'd fit every single piece of the equipment in the exact same sizes. dish out strictly 1 size for everything, & the Stormtrooper corps would've been much, much, MUCH smaller than what we've seen so far. the more realistic situation would be that while there're strict size & height requirements to fill in order to become a Stormtrooper, the equipment would still come in several sizes with very small variations in between them.
@@FalconWindblader well, it is star wars.
I used to think that the scopes on the guns were sighting cameras transmitting to a HUD crosshair in a helmet eye piece. I still think some clone troopers had this, but imperial stormtroopers didn't. Which partially explains the difference in marksmanship.
I always thought Rex saying he couldn't see out of the helmet, was because he always had the T shaped visor for his helmet. So he wasn't used to the more stormtrooper like visor of the phase II helmet.
Wasn't phase 3 armor for stormtroopers since the clones r using phase 2 armor?
@@estebannunez6902 ya
@@jmhallman380 ah okidokey just wanna confirm 👍
Imagine a time before Star Wars:
You're a random post Vietnam war airport security agent and you find a guy hauling 50 of these helmets
You have to turn the helmet on to get your HUD. If you just put it on, it's dark. Think of it like a VR set that can have pass through on in 8k vision. An actual working VR/AR military helmet.
Dark Side? For protecting his IP? Ridiculous.
There's a fanfic out there where Luke works for the empire and finds out how poorly the helmets snd armor were made, and goes out of his way to make major upgrades to them. Darth Vader was very proud.
I had always thought the helmets had some kind of 'Heads Up Display' inside to compensate for the otherwise lack of visibility. (which of course makes them useless without any power).
Perhaps the white armour and the black body suits complement each other when it comes to energy dispersion? So a laser blaster hit is dissipated by the white outer layer and the heat absorbed by the black body suit??? They also created a laminate effect against melee combat.
I assumed the helmets were mass produced, meaning they might not always be made correctly for every stormtrooper that was given a standard issue outfit.
Even with the whole standardization thing and the bureau, it’s a BIG galaxy. Not every factory that produces the stormtrooper armor is going to be a winner.
Mass produced but they know that every human is different.
"A hundred thousand units are ready, with a million more well on the way" - Kaminoan cloner
I never thought a million clones would be enough for a galaxy-spanning war against mass-produced, factory-built battle droids. Heck, we vastly exceeded those numbers in WWII on just a single planet. Those "hundred thousand units" could only refer to combat units, probably battalion-sized or larger, as well as crews for starships, fighters, and ground vehicles.
Maybe they weren't Stormtroopers that shot it up maybe it was a carefully coordinated strategy set with Obi-Wan and some rebel friends to make Luke join the resistance, lol
Lars homestead was an inside job
@@chasedavidson2855 indeed lol
Find out it was boba Fett and black crescenta that did it
Shockmaster in WCW wrestling had a storm trooper helmet. He tripped making his debut.
When Luke said he couldn't see in the helmet Han should have said "you haven't got it switched on".
The lack of apparent skill of the stormtrooper has less to do with them not being able to see and more to do with the good guys plot armor and the tendency of writers just to offer them up as blaster fodder.
My theory on the color choice is that white, at least in real life, deflects more light without heating up. Obviously every laser still pierced because rebel lasers had plot-armor-piercing but still, it works in theory. The white would simply glow brightly when hit by a laser and it would take a much more powerful beam to melt or scald. Of course, "lasers" in Star Wars are more like arrows than actual light, but it still could be true. Plus, the armor would work very well in urban places for patrolling, and the clean emptiness of the armor and its colors give an imposing feel to them.
The only way Trooper helmets make sense is if they have quality cameras and VR goggles in there, so that they have a full field of view. Maybe non-Troopers who put them on don't know how to activate the more advanced visuals, so they're left with the "powered off" emergency viewport.
I know that Disney did away with the EU, but the design of the Clone armor was actually based off Mandolorian armor and then evolved over time to become the TK design we saw in episode 4 (example being many comments made in the Republic Commando series..read those books, they're SO good). The color of the armor was on point though.
Back about 1978 or so, the school book fair thing was still a thing... where you could order all sorts of books. I can remember ordering a portfolio of Ralph McQuarrie's Star Wars Artwork, a technical manual and a script of the entire movie. Eleven y/o me was in hog heaven. I came back to earth with prequels and was laid to rest with the sequels.
Glad you mention peripheral vision. The T visor always gives more peripheral than a pair of glasses like goggles. Mostly with the T visor the peripherals can crisscross past the nose.
So to paraphrase, the entire Stormtrooper corps needs therapy and an upgrade, gotcha
Obi Wans' comments about how accurate those shots are is ironic... Look at all the pointless blaster hits.... Tuskan raiders can hit moving pod racers....
I didn't realise this was going to be an in universe explanation
I wanted 'here's the story of the prop maker and concept artist and how they changed cinema forever'
Actually... what's the canon these days on Obi-Wan leaving Tattooine outside of his brief show-excursion? Could his idea of "accurate storm troopers" be a mistake because he thinks the Empire is still using clone troopers, just renamed?
I doubt Obi-Wan was completely cut off from the outside world- he would’ve atleast known that they were humans by reading the news. I doubt Tattooine didn’t at the very least have an Imperial recruiting station.
@@Padgriffin They Did have a recruiting base. Luke explicitly says in episode 4 he wanted to submit his application to the academy this harvest.
The Lego Tie Fighter is looking pretty good today. Also, great video as always.
My dad got a 501st movie accurate stormtrooper suit and he needs someone to walk around with him so he knows where to go as the helmet is almost impossible to see through
Legends canon says otherwise. Stormtrooper armor is quite decent, it's just that it's hard to get for non-Imperials. Hell, in the Force Unleashed 2 comic, Stormtrooper helmets have tons of vision modes, and fetch a hefty price on the black market.
1:00
Luke didn't contradict Obi-Wan. Luke couldn't see because he was "a little short for a stormtrooper" as Leia stated. The helmet didn't fit him. The later instances of stormtroopers not being able to see in their helmets is a result of fandom confusing infecting the content itself. People failed to realize that most of the instances of the stormtroopers missing their targets in the Original Trilogy (especially the first two films) were the result of them having orders to not hit the main character (such as when the heroes were allowed to escape the Death Star so the Empire could follow them to the Rebel Base) and main character plot armor.
I feel like Obi-Wan's comment about Stormtroopers being more precise than Tusken has more to do with their blasters than their helmets.
getting clone armor = Graduation HighSchool
becoming an ARC trooper = mastering a trade/getting a Degree
I always thought that the "helmet-sight" problem was due to actual stormtroopers being very used to getting around the problems regarding sight. The stormtroopers that boarded the Tantive IV had exceptional accuracy, while many of the ones on the Death Star were more inaccurate due to probably dipping into vast numbers of required personnel.
@metalmadness5851 - keep in mind the ones on the Death Star were likely deliberately missing the heroes; remember Tarkin and Vader let them escape so they could track them to the Rebel base, so it’s likely the troopers on the Death Star had orders to put on a show so that it wouldn’t be obvious that the heroes were being allowed to escape.
@@lordofuzkulak8308 That plan probably came around after they broke out of the prison, since it makes most sense to have occurred after they'd broken Leia out.
Regarding the Scarlet tunics of the British they were phased out between 1797 with the rifles adopting a green tunic and trousers and uniform for concealment and the Battle of Gennis 30/12/1885.
By the mid 19th century other units were adopting drab coloured camouflage uniforms for use in the field and after the Battle of Gennis the red tunic was home service only and ceased to be genuine issue in 1914.
just a slight historical nitpick, 18th-century uniforms (England's Redcoats) were bright so you could tell friend from foe on the battlefield from all the smoke from muskets that was also known as the Fog of War as the smoke can linger up so much on the battlefield that visibility was very limited.
"It adopted a whole new purpose in the empire which didn't wage war against separatist and droid armes, now the empire waged war against it's own people."
So Actually nothing has changed. The Separatist were it's own people, they just wanted to leave and form their own government.
1:00 Personal head cannon; Obi-Wan says this line about the accuracy ironically/ as a diss against the stormtroopers lack of aim
(Yes I know the stormtrooper corp were the elites & highly trained. Just more funny to think that old Obi-Wan still spits sicc disses against the bad guys just as young Obi-Wan does)
Here's another thing about Storm Troopers. A brother of a friend of mine was a Storm Trooper on the original New Hope.. he said the helmets were bloody awful, he also said that there were only about 12 of them.. when he told me this I said that I didn't belive him because obviously the Death Star had legions of fecking Storm Troopers running around... 12! Pah! 😁
Right, so an obligatory "akchyually" comment about that mention of the redcoats:
Back in the day, when firearms had the nasty habit of creating clouds of smoke whenever discharged en masse (coincidentally, the best way of utilising them effectively) every army, not just the British, was much keener on knowing precisely whether that company over there is friend or foe than having them blend in with the environment. What good would that do anyway, good luck concealing some five thousand men in close rank, whose weapons, to add insult to injury, produce an excess of sparks and smoke when the first salvo is fired.
So in summary, it had everything to do with standing out, nothing to do with intimidating the enemy. You were half right, I suppose
0:35 Did you include the infamous Storm Trooper head bonk on purpose or on accident when talking about how they were form-over-function?
From a technical standpoint one reason why Stormtrooper armor is white and polished is because of what they're designed to protect against; blasters. A.K.A. lasers, A.K.A. concentrated light. Lasers cause damage to things by imparting so much light energy into an object that it heats up to the point of vaporization, causing a small explosion. However, the more light the target reflects the less energy is absorbed, and thus the less it heats up.
Scariff. Hoth. Endor. The Rebel scum got pwned.
The ONLY reason they missed in Ep 4 (apart from plot armour), was BECAUSE THEY WERE ORDERED TO BY TARKIN.
LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!
As far as I can remember, back before didney bought Star Wars, each Stormtrooper had their helmet optics adjusted to them by a droid after getting inducted to the Corps..
About Andrew Ainsworth, he made all the Storm Trooper armour, the pilot helmets, and the crew helmets of both Rebels and Imperials.
Plus he's still making and selling them exporting them worldwide except for the US.
This is because LucasFilm lost it's original case against him and Pemberton in the UK, so sued again in LA and won by default as Ainsworth and Pemberton couldn't afford to mount a defence there so didn't contest it.
Fun fact that I just made up: the stormtrooper helmet had a comprehensive tactical HUD that allowed for precise firing. It’s just that Luke and Rex didn’t know to turn it on. 😂
Head cannon I have is that the helmets have a genetic lock that would actually make it harder for those not registered to the helmet to see.
In one awesome fanfic, luke skywalker calls the storm trooper helmet a bucket of travesty and tears
Ive got an original 1977 Don Post studios Darth Vader movie prop helmet still in the original box. The helmet itself was a little rough when I got it, but, the box is autographed by Don Post and Dave Prowse (aka, the real Darth Vader. ;) so thats ok, it can be polished back up lol.