Darth Vader Costume...

Good post, Huzz.

I came across some links regarding elevator shoes. I've not yet found a boot source.

Now there are "Spice Girl" or "KISS" style boots where the soles are several inches. I've seen some costumers wear those. With all due respect to those who are height challenged, and much appreciation for their efforts in bringing Vader to the public, I feel that seeing someone with KISS-style boots inadvertently causes distraction to observant onlookers -- especially if the stormtroopers are taller or as tall as Vader himself. The sense of menace is lost because the height-gain from 3+ inch soles is too obvious.

There had to be a solution out there. I recall ads about elevator shoes. And this is what Huzz was talking about. There are certain shoes that are engineered with a higher bridge and a heightened internal heel so that on the outside it looks totally like a normal shoe or boot. Now if you can gain at least 1.5 - 2 inches (some makers claim 3.5 inches but that need to be verified) and if a subtle 0.5-1 inch sole is fabricated, then the height gain could be up to a theoretical 3 inches without being noticable.

Another idea is that you'd have to wear the helmet higher (and this is one of the reasons I designed the VaderBrace). If I'm not mistaken, the ideal height for Vader is around 6 foot 7 because the helmet size would be proportionate to the body. If the helmet could be worn higher and padding be placed under the chest plate, you could gain an inch or two right there.

This means that your eyes will be able to peek over the bottom of Vader's eye openings which means you'd have to tilt the head downwards a little in order to see more and not step on little kids (or dogs... or turtles). It also helps to be able to see out the chin vent if you haven't obscured this part.

Now all this seems like a hassle, but if you think about it, a person who is, say, 5 foot 7 to 5 foot 9 getting a boost on 3 inch soles alone would not necessarily look height-width proportionate. However, a little enhancing here and there means that the height gain dependency isn't sole on the footwear.

 

I can see Chris Tucker with only a Vader dome on his head going, "Which one yo'll kicked me?"

 

CSMClaren - Ha!!

I believe there will soon be a third installment in those Jackie Chan - Chris Tucker films for fans of those, of which I am one.

And "sole on the footwear". No pun intended, I'm sure!

Returning to seriousness, if memory serves me, when Hayden as Vader steps off the medical table in ROTS, isn't it clear for a moment that he is wearing a KISS style boot? I recall thinking that it looked almost like a Frankenstein boot. I'll have to pop the DVD in the player and take a look to satisfy my curiousity.

As for my boots, they were just an inexpensive pair that I bought at the local Wal Mart for less than $30. They are ankle height with a side zipper.

Cheers,
Huzz

 

I'll have to check screen captures on that. Interesting observation, Buzz.

By the way, this is for you, Buzz!

[image=http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b138/csmaclaren/Vader/Darth-Tucker.jpg]

 

yes when Vader steps down you can see about a 3" heel . the toe area looks normal. The back has the lift

 

x100!!!

 

I admitting right now that my boots are a tad big for "Costume Accuracy". I stand 6'0 tall with no shoes on. With my boots and helmet I'm topping out at 6'5 and a hair. I admit my boots are on the Thick Side...but my cape tends to cover a lot of the displacement. It's not perfect, and perhaps I should have the front part of the sole filed down, but for the moment, I'm just going to go with what I have.
Trufais'

 

[image=http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b138/csmaclaren/Vader/waytowearvader.jpg]

I need the assistance of the resident experts.

So my chestplates and bells arrived from SithPlanet and they're nice. Despite people's complaints about fiberglass, I don't find the chestplate to be too heavy; the SithPlanet Episode IV Vader helmet doesn't outweigh the Rubie's Vader helmet by too much.

I am 6 foot and of slender build. Initially when I put the chestplate on without any padding, I found the neck line very low, but then I realized I might have it wrong -- David Prowse had a massive chest in his prime and the angle at which the chestplate lay would have been different.

I may need a lot of padding to get the angle right, so the above photo shows my guess at the hilt of the chestplate. So, resident experts, did I get it right?

The problem I have with this is that I feel the neck could be longer, and that in order to close the gap between the neckline and the helmet's neck, I have to tilt the chestplate up and over my shoulders more towards the back. If I tilt it too much, the chestplate's neckline will dig into my throat. I'm a size 40-42 so we're talking a lot of padding. But before I create a padded vest to properly support this I wanted to make sure the angle looked right.

Thanks!

 

in the films the Neck did not touch the armor. there was a gap. look at all the 501st OT vaders. They all have a small gap and some of them are 6'7 flat footed no mask on. The only Vader where armor and neck meet is the ROTS vader and his neck line was made longer to fit under the armor. you should be fine with a bit of padding

 

Nice helmet, is it a JB ANH?

 

i agree, a lil padding and you should be good. im lucky, my boots are normal allcostume bought boots with only a 5/8 full insole lifts in them. with the NG fg lid on and my natural 6' 2" inch height, im at the 6' 7" - 6' 8" tall mark.

 

Thanks,

Yeah, it kind of looks like a JB, doesn't it? No, it's a Sithplanet ANH. I compared it with the JB and other lauded makers on StarWarsHelmets.com and I'm still shrugging, saying to myself that I don't see what the fuss was over my acquisition; it looks so much like the competition. So if I can't tell the difference then most of my friends won't, and so now I can focus on how to use studio lighting to achieve a realistic movie effect when filming. I also found a reference on Star Wars Helmets that a screen used helmet was used as the basis of some touring costumes that Don Post was to create. So if the complaint of the authenticity of my SithPlanet ANH Vader is that it's based on a touring costume, there is high liklihood that was based directly or indirectly off a screen used mold or helmet because StarWarsHelmets.com points out that the touring costumes were based on the original molds. If there is the feeling that the touring costumes weren't very qualitative, then here's some news. I found a High Definition screen capture of Vader in ANH where he goes, "I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you." The closeup shows a poor paint finish where you can see the brush strokes on the fiberglass! However, it is always possible that after you cast something you have to do some degree of cleaning and tweaking, and sometimes when fans see tweaking it may signal for them a false-positive and throw off their discernment. For example, I can spot a Stormtrooper stunt helmet because of certain telltale signs, but if someone knows those signs and refines them, my detection could be thrown off, and I could incorrectly say the helmet was an original sculpt and not based on a screen used helmet when in fact it was.

Anyways, I've examined some of the old Episode IV photos and see that Vader was painted a bit brighter than what I have, but the effect is that under darker lighting that brighter paint scheme is perfect. My Vader's darker scheme looks great in plain daylight but I've yet to determine if it will meet my needs when my roommate and director of photography and lighting guy can recreate the same effect as is the movie, otherwise I may need to brighten up things just a little, but I won't repaint the whole thing; I'll just had subtle highlights and create a hybrid paint scheme that's based on gradients and not solid zones of color.

The red comes across as too reddish but again nobody films a movie using flash photography. Randy thoughtfully put a wire mesh behind the lenses to make my eyes more concealed, but I'm not really a costumer. The wire mesh brightens the lenses from behind as it picks up the light from the flash thereby illuminating the lense with this grid effect. My study of the old photos show that Vader did have red lenses, but most notably in studio photography his face was so dark that you just barely saw the red. And in that famous TIE fighter scene when he's taking aim, you see red lenses but they're not so saturated so on film they almost looked brown.

I'm also noticing that the dome's gloss black eats the light from the camera flash so it has this pitch black feel. As the paint scheme is patterned after the duller finish of Episode IV, it's not going to reflect everything in the room, and this may not only be an advantage in of itself, but I may have to rely on lighting from above to accent the helmet when filming, then use secondary and possibly a third lighting source to highlight the cheek facets.

Concerning lenses, I'm going to see if automotive window tint film can do the trick to make them more dark and to subdue the reds.

 

I think the padding on the front and back will create the right tilt, to bring the neckline of the chestplate closer to the neck of the facemask. I was worried that this would create too much of a footballer's shrugging effect, but when I studied the old photos and measured the distance between the end of the dome and the top of the breastplate, it didn't seem much. I'm going to have to do some screen tests and have my photography guy stand back and zoom in and see if I got the proportions right. For my silly movie project, this has to not only look like Vader but be lit like Vader and his profile has to be unmistakably Vader or darn close.

Now I've seen some other costumers and they've added padding but they don't have Dave Prowse's chest size, so the breathing box is sunken such that the chest plate is a canopy. Ugh, now I have to figure out chest padding too and not overheat in the process, haha!

Do you feel that padding might give you too much of a shrugging effect?

On another note, with padding and all, I just noticed that there's so much room beneath the chestplate that I can actually mount some speakers. I already do a decent Vader voice (just misbehaving in my mask while playing pranks on roommates, they all ask if I'm using a voice changer). But what I need is bass and a slight flange effect, and that would complete the dark side of the voice.

 

I'll try the padding. Any material you suggest? In the past, I've used carpet foam which is blue, but it may be concealed from public view.

Also with boots, do you feel full knee length boots are necessary, or will ones that merely go past your angles work? The reason is that I've found some boots that have been engineered to have the lift on the inside, making the boot on the outside look like a normal boot, and the design looks reasonably Vaderish. If these boots could work, then I wouldn't have to get them modified to make the boots knee height and save some money.

 

the boots i have are from allcostume off ebay. they zip up the inside sides of the legs. theyre not all the way to knees, but just about calf high.

lil over ankle ones will work, alot of folk go that way. you see the shins cover all that up anyways, and thats just extra pant leg stuffed in the boots makin ya hotter.

so you could go with calf high or just over ankle boots, whichever is better for you.

and you can still use a full insole lifts inside either way you choose.

the padding i always have used is seat cushion foam bought from the store in a bag. its sheets, around 4 i think, 1 inch thick. i also use material, something slick like a satin, and sew a covering over them. this satin slicker covering aids me in the area on the bells back when i tried that method, and let the shoulders of the suit slide nicely across the foam blocks. i had them velcroed in place.

since then i redone the hinge area with a stiffer plastic that actually holds the bells aligned pretty well on their own, and stays that way when the cape in on too. it does pull them down a lil but not like before.

 

Thanks!

Is there any risk of people seeing the height of the boot when you're walking? I've seen people walk and "Hey, look! KISS-style boots!" and it kind of takes away from the magic when you see the smoke and mirrors that create the illusion (please, no offense to those who have to wear them; you do what you have to do, right?)

How wrap-around are the shin guards?

On another note, for the shoulder bells, have you ever considered shoulder pads? They're generally almond or teardrop shaped, and already have something satin-like and you can use a bunch of them and stack them and sow them together. They also come in black. Such shoulder pads were used in Star Trek: TNG the series to give the Enterprise crew's uniforms a more athletic look. Hey, it worked.

I guess the challenge is that I'm not very broad shouldered so I may have to rely on the padding to angle the bells out a little. But I do notice that on SW and ESB the bells were under the chestplate, while on ROTS the shoulder bells were bonded to the ends of the chestplate. In this regard, I wonder how they pulled his off and yet kept this proportionate to Hayden's body. Hayden's no David Prowse so I wonder if they made the chestplate proportionate to the size of his chest. After all, Hayden's facemask looks narrower than the ESB facemask when you examine the Master Replicas $899-range product.

 

ok, heres the thing i heard, on hayden everything was scaled down to fit HIM.

and the BELLS, were NOT solid mounted to the armor, they did hinge them. they just done a better job of it.


so the supreme suit is not prowse sized in the first place. the only part that is close is the ESB style of lid they give you tryin to pass thatoff as a ROTS lid.

thats one of the reasons why the rubies XL armor is just a tad small on me.

im lookin to get portys new rots armor, which is larger than the rubies supreme armor.

andf you can go with padding under the bells if you wish, nothing wrong with that, i originally had some on mine too. but the new way i done them, utilizes a thicker stiffer piece of plastic on top of those hinges, with longer screws i got at the hardware store.

so, im not hackin anything up on the original hinges or mounts.

and mine hang pretty good on their own now, pretty well straight by themselves instead of coming in past the main armor. and i can still add a foam block in there if i need to with a spot of velcro.

 

Do you have any reference photos of Portumac's ROTS?

[image=http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b138/csmaclaren/Vader/with_window_tint.jpg]

On another note, I went and found some metalized window tint by Axius which is available at Walmart. I may have selected one that is too dark, but as I pasted these over my red lenses it definitely took the red away, and I very barely see the original metal grid mesh of the lenses. There is no danger here of seeing the wearer's eyes, and it has a really nice Master Replicas ROTS effect to them.

Unfortunately I'm doomed to only photograph these when it's late and there's no outdoor light any longer. So these following shots are all indoor, using the -- GASP! -- flash.

I'm going to experiment with some lighter shades. The idea is to reduce the red of the lenses so that it's subtle and barely picked up by the camera, not to eradicate the red completely.

The following shot was taken in color with a MAG flashlight helping light the face. For a substandard camera, crappy camera flash and improvised lighting, this shot isn't too bad; it gives me a sense of what it takes to light Vader.

[image=http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b138/csmaclaren/Vader/my_vader_goldlight.jpg]

 

I don't know how many of you have really big feet. I'm size 9-1/2 but it just occured to me that with Vader's head being so big, and his armor so wide, if you go too wide, isn't there a danger of your own feet looking very TINY compared with his head and shoulders? Has anyone ever thought of compensating for this?

 

that would be funny, a 6 foot 7 vader with a size 5 foot. lol

im 6 foot 2 and wear a size 11 to a 12, depending on the maker.

on the rots question, you mean the lid, or the armor?

the lid, i got from his ex partner ramon fernandez. the armor, im still waitin for the new molds first production run, and porty is supposed to send me pics and i asked for measures too, dont know if i'll get that one, but hes supposed to let me know when the first ones ready, send pics, and then i can buy it.

and i got pics of the NG lid, with the real metal vents, that i made into functioning vents.

 

And here's a black and white version of the aforementioned shot with the MAG flashlight on the face.

[image=http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b138/csmaclaren/Vader/my_vader_bw.jpg]

 

I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the jargon. What do you mean by the "lid"?

 

the whole helmet itself.

helmet= LID or BUCKET

 

Hey CSMcClaren - I'm 6'1, 175 lbs and size 10 feet. The standard Rubies costume fits me just nicely, which makes sense since I'm about the same size as Hayden C.

The Rubies shins have a pleather piece on the back so they encircle your entire lower leg. I have ordered a new set from SithArmor that straps on, so they only cover the front half of the leg I expect.

Cheers!
Huzz

 

i have a set of FG shins from smallblock, and they cover the front around to the sides. i have a set of straps and buckles i put on them.

but i was lookin at the SA shins as well. but i could take my rubies shins and rip off the backing part and fill the divot in front, sandem good, and prime and paint them, and put straps on them, after a good paint job theyd be good too.

but being plastic, im thinkin the krylon fusion would be better on those, but dont know if they would match the black duplicolor i used on the rubies armor and chestbox.