Darth Vader Costume...

Since the shins are not next to any other part the krylon paint should match ok, any color difference would not be noticed. If the parts were side by side then it would stand out like a snickers bar in a punch bowl.

 

Could anyone post an image of the inside of the chest armor -- be it Rubie's or otherwise. I'd like to see the shape of the padding. Thanks!

 

what padding?

you talkin bout the blocks of foam we were talkin bout earlier?

right now, i have no foam under mine.

do-clo, thanks bud, i think your right, that far away from the armor and lid, shouldnt be noticed if it is a lil off shade. as long as i shinem up real good. and the imperial glaze really does a great job on that. so it should shine up the krylon black on shins real nice.

 

people put thier own padding in thier armor. No one sells armor w/ padding.

 

what they do is put a lining on them tho. but thats a usual thin felt or something like that.

DG is dead on, you put your own padding in there if needed.

 

Sounds like a good deal to me, CSMcLaren!

 

pothole again, BuMp!!!

 

Guys, thanks for the support. My situation may actually be resolved, but for your edification I'd like to share this following picture -- also just in case anybody else runs into the same problem. This is my first time ever doing something like this, so I know something's bound to go wrong, haha.

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

The photo is self explanatory. My armor provider pointed out to me that the leftmost picture represents the proper way to wear this, and my study of period publicity photos coincide with this. However, for whatever the reason, I'm left with an unsightly 3+ inch gap between the helmet and the chestplate's neckline. Ack. Padding would have just given me a greater shrugging effect and would not have made for a good head and shoulder profile.

The second image shows a theoretical tilting to reduce the neck gap but doing so would widen the chest massively, so while the front profile would have been sort of okay, the side profile would have looked rediculous.

The third image is a Rubies which shows that once over the shoulders there is plenty of material on the back.

Fortunately my dealer has something more form fitting and has offered to trade. I may be saved soon.

On another note, I did yet another experiment with the automotive metallic reflective film on the eyes of my Vader.

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

Originally I inserted them into the gap between the helmet and the red lenses. There is an adhesive and applying it to the front is tricky, so I applied it to the inside of the lenses, being careful to squeeze out air bubbles and such. To my delight, it mutes the red lenses and makes the eyes utterly invisible to people looking in from the outside.

My Vader is highlighted with a medium to dark metallic gray accents. I may need to brighten them up so I'm asking my dealer if I can use Duplicolor and acheive the effect I want. I don't know if his painter used Duplicolor on the face or not, and if so, if my touchup would be compatable. Again, all this is new to me.

 

You know, I see that the Vader "reveal" neckbrace is popular -- i.e. in ESB and ROTJ where in his rejuvenation chamber (read: toilet and powder room egg) before Vader's helmet is completely lowered onto his head, you see the back of his head and this funky neck brace with bolts.

I see costumers add this but it somewhat bothers me because you never really see Vader in full costume walking around with the bolts of the neck brace in sight, but it's very obvious with some costumers.

I feel that it creates a kind of "Frankenstein" look that doesn't look true to the screen.

What do you think?

 

well if you want lighten the highlights of your mask, and your doing an ANH Vader... I'm just throwin this out there, but the ANH Vader hightlights were actually brushed on. You can actually tell if you look at photos and know what you're looking for.

 

It makes sense to duplicate the highlights but not to duplicate a bad paint job. The paint job is even more obvious in HD. Let me see what my options are; I'll try spray if possible because I'm not necessarily going to do entire facets or areas. The idea is to do some very subtle accents round the cheek lines and eyebrow lines.

But I'll hold off for now. The issue may be entirely solvable with studio lighting.

 

i have the porty neckbrace on my ROTS lid.
the MR rots would probably look better with it tho.

 

oh... well if you're not trying to recreate the bad paint job, you might want to avoid painting all together. A quick fix probably won't look great as the mask has probably already been clear coated. You'd have to do a bit more work to make it look good.

 

anyone got the current RPF link?

i know it changed and i run across it at work, but i cant remember where i see the new link to it.

 

If I were Sargent Schultz, I'd have to say:

"I know nooooooooooooooothink!"

But in this case, I do know the address! Its

WWW.Therpf.com .

Huzz

 

Does clear coat mean it will be glossy or have a deeper or thicker look?

Mine's more matte as it follows the ANH look a little more closely.

 

Clear coat does add some gloss depending on how it's done. It's mostly a protective coat that goes over the paint. It's possible that you don't have one on there, but seems unlikely b/c everyone does it now a days no matter how good the results. Best bet is to write the person that sold it to you and ask (I'd also ask what kind of paint it is, to check the compatablity w/ other paints). If not then you need to look at the mask and make sure it's not too smooth to paint on. If it's too smooth the paint won't have anything to stick to. If everything's good to go, have at it.

 

thanks Huzz, unfortunately, i cant register right now, theyre not takin anymore in at the moment. i can still read there tho.

 

I'm a bit confused as to what the face mask painting scheme is done for any way? Isn't it just the light hitting the mask? Or is there a real color scheme to the mask itself???

DarthVaderNut7

 

in the OT films it was done for asthetics, and for the cameras.

they thought the patchwork paintjob would show better details done up that way, with the lighting conditions used.

light shining at diff angles and such catching areas of the face, the silvery areas showed up where if they were black, you wouldnt see the detail, that spot would be real dark with no light on it, kinda like black hole spots.

i know, i cant think of a better way to describe it right off.

 

[image=http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c291/LAN-ED-TUL/Lan-Ed-Tul-SL-6208-pic-2--x.jpg]

 

Very nice and the same to you, Merry Christmas!!!!!

DarthVaderNut7

 

Hey gang. It's been awhile since ive checked out this board. Ive actually done a few improvements to my suit. Such include new voice changer mic (with a pop foam filter so no unnecessary breathing gets through) and a two-tone color scheme on my helmet (as ive mentioned awhile back). Ive also replaced the shoulder bells with larger more properly shaped ones, and a plexiglass backing to my placemat chest armor, so its alot stiffer and does not look wobbly. Heres the new me:

[image=http://vaderman.sytes.net:8080/img/newvader.jpg]

Cheers!

 

HEy! Where is every one????????

DarthVaderNut7

 

i know, been kinda dead lately, hasnt it?