Darth Vader Supreme Costume

Sorry, my reply posted more than once.

 

Well, you are RIGHT about "spending more time and money"! Had to have some alternations done on jumpsuit and cape shortened. Not cheap, but at least this Rubies Supreme was on sale.
Also had to put foam inside the helmet to fit me. To keep cape from falling off my shoulders, had to put a spot of Velcro on cape and chest armor. Of course my wife loves the way it looks on me, but it does get awfully hot inside the jumpsuit. Trying to figure out what to do about that. Did buy a Cooling Vest, but it's made more for outside work in summer. When in the jumpsuit, I do have a pair of cargo shorts on and last year put two ice packs in the front pockets. Wore a t-shirt that got fairly wet from sweat. Just don't know how to control the heat this jumpsuit creates.

I'm now 68 years old, and am starting to wonder if I'm too old to be "costuming" anymore. Unfortunately, I'm also just 6' tall and appears this jumpsuit is made from someone taller than me.

Also, btw, I wear the chest box outside the jumpsuit and had the holes in the jumpsuit sewed up. Looks much better to me.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

 

Reply posted more than once. Please look at previous post/reply​

 

Well, FINALLY made this costume worth buying along with the cost of the jumpsuit alternations.

Due to me fighting a sinus cold, we couldn't attend any party. So, after discussing it with my wife, we decided that I'd put the entire costume on, stand outside and greet Trick or Treaters as they came to our apartment door. I even walked up and down the sidewalk, by our apartment, and waved at cars coming in and leaving the complex. My wife didn't put on her Female Stormtrooper outfit, but instead, helped me dress, handed out candy and took photos. It was fantastic and I was a HUGE HIT!! I really didn't know that Vader was still a celebrity. I absolutely loved the attention by the kids. Shaking their hand and getting photos with them. Their parents really thought I was cool looking. This lasted for about an hour and half and it was still somewhat daylight.

I wore cargo shorts under the jumpsuit and put an ice pack in each pocket. Even with how active I was, I hardly done any sweating.

What a time wife and I had and we are sure looking forward to next year. Hopefully will attend a party as well.

 

Not sure if this thread is ready to be brought back from the dead yet....

buuuuuuuut....after scouring this thread for weeks and weeks, I made a Rubies Supreme Vader purchase and managed to address a lot of the issues through very simple means....was wondering if it's worth posting my findings at all.

Either way, thank you to all the contributors of this thread who helped me with my own doings and findings.

MTFBWF

 

Yes, please post. I just bought the Rubies Supreme and it will arrive tomorrow. I'd really like to see how to fix the lights on the chest box. It bothers me to no end that the green is on the bottom instead of on the top. Any mods you can share would be appreciated.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

Ok, I successfully swapped the lights. Very easy to do. there are posts that hold the light in place, and it appears the factory melted them down so they look like the heads of a nail. You have to carefully cut the "nail tops" off and then gently pry the lights up. They didn't seem to be glued down on mine, though I had to pry up some hot glue that was holding the assembly in place. Once it popped off, I just turned it around.

While in there, I also added 2 red LEDs to the rocker switch and connected it to the existing red LED circuit. Simple solder job. Now my rocker switch is lit and it looks good.

So, here's what I'm doing, or have done:
--Swapped the Red and Green lights on the chest box,
--Added 2 Red LEDs to the rocker switch in the chest box,
--Adding satin lining to the cape,
--Using a Black Series helmet, since it's loosely based on ROTS vs the ROTJ helmet the Rubies came with,
--Used velcro to keep the chest armor in place,
--Used velcro to keep the chest box in place,
--Replaced the belt with a real leather belt,
--Added 2 fans in the forehead and 2 blowers in the cheeks,
--Added microphone and HyTechToyz Vader Pro Series Voice Changer,
--Added 3 foam helmet and cheek pads inside the face mask,
--Added a large, self contained MP3 speaker/player with micro SD card as a breathing unit, velcroed under the left pectoral armor,
--Added a second large, self contained MP3 speaker/player w/micro SD card as a music player, velcroed under the right pec armor,
--Getting the bodysuit tailored so my legs don't swim in it, and replacing the back of the suit with mesh,
--Added plasti-card "lifts" to hold the shoulder pauldrons in place, and velcroed them in,
--Bought a wicking under-armor type of undersuit to keep moister away from the inner suit lining,
--Planning to thicken the bottom-front of the chest armor to be more screen accurate (it's too thin),
--Planning to repaint the chest armor,
--Planning to replace the green LEDs and possibly the Red LEDs in the belt boxes,
--Planning to replace the chain with an accurate one

Things I might do:
--Might repaint the shins,
--Might repaint the helmet,
--Might repaint the buckle and boxes
--Might repaint the chest box

For the 501st, basically only a ROTS version can be made from a Rubies, and you have to replace most everything under the current Costume Resource Libraries (CRLs). That's why I "might" do some repainting...it's remotely possible that if I repaint everything, and then replace almost everything else, I "might" have a suit that is at the lowest approvable state...EXCEPT for the helmet.

The Black Series Vader helmet is NOT acceptable to the 501st. It is considered an inaccurate toy, and the Rubies Supreme is a ROTJ helmet, so you can't mod that either. You have to buy a helmet that is $700 - $4000 USD for ROTS.

As for the CAPE and ROBE, 501st is really looking for WOOL or something that mimics wool. The Rubies is really not acceptable, though in the distant past it seems they approved both pieces if you added lining.

Also, what the 501st also told me yesterday is that the gloves are wrong for any version of Vader and must be replaced. You also have to replace the plastic chest box RODS and the belt box KNOBS with METAL, though I've seen some older posts that said you could repaint them to look more like metal. You also have to replace the neck chain and modify how the cape attaches to the chest armor.

Really, a Rubies Supreme will probably not be approved even if you replace the helmet and make the changes.

Personally, I love my Rubies Supreme. It's a great outfit and "normal people" will never notice that it's not the same as a 501st. That being said, there is a HUGE difference between a Rubies and an approved 501st when you stand them side by side or compare photos.

One day I may shell out the $4000 necessary to have a full blown, approved 501st Vader. Until then, I will find other groups to go troop with for kids charities and hospitals.

 

Wow it’s been a while since I’ve been on this forum. I’d love to see the pictures of your revisions gomcse !!