The London man who made the original Stormtrooper helmets and armour for Star Wars has warned that student debt is damaging British manufacturing.
Andrew Ainsworth, 78, produced more than 200 helmets and costumers for the first Star Wars movie in 1976.
Fifty years later, he still manufactures and sells the Stormtrooper helmets and armour straight from the original moulds from his workshop in Twickenham.
As he prepares for an auction of his work on 27 October, he said he was concerned about impact that student debt will have on young people’s motivation to experiment, invent or start making things – qualities he feels are vital for the future of manufacturing.
Ainsworth said: “It is the biggest problem we have. If you go too many generations of them being loaded with debt out of society, they’re going to lose it.
“We’ve probably only got one generation to go before you kill all the enthusiasm. You’ve got to stop this debt. It’s stupid.”
The Stormtrooper manufacturer said he believes worries about debt stop people taking the risks that can be vital to success as a manufacturer.
He said: “It prevents you from taking a risk.
“As soon as you start to make money, the government takes it off you for the repayment of your debt.”
Despite industry fears about the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI), Ainsworth is optimistic about the future role of technology in the industry.
He sees AI as a tool that will support people’s creativity when making things, rather than replace it.
He said: “You can’t go backwards. You can’t stop it. You have to grasp the nettle, adopt it, and control it.”
After a long legal fight over copyright with Lucasfilm that reached the UK Supreme Court, Ainsworth won the right in 2011 to continue producing Stormtrooper helmets from his original moulds.
Some of his original pieces, including rare 1976 protype Stormtrooper helmets and a full-scale R2-D2 will go under the hammer at The Auction Room London in Twickenham on 27 October.
Featured image credit: Bertie Bramham
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