Darth Vader Costume...

yep, most all of us use the aglok chain, mainly since it wont scratch up the paint.

 

excuse my ignorance...but whatis an "agloc" chain?

 

Aglok is used by eskimos to make igloos.

 

That's funny.

 

Oh Gee!!

I meant to drop back right after my silly remark with the real answer. Sorry abouy that!!

Aglok chain is stuff that is apparently intended for use in gardening applications. Its a flexible black plastic strip with square box sections. It looks identical to the chain that Vader wore on the three Original Trilogy movies. You can miodify it to look very much like Vader's chain in Episode III. Like this:

http://www.darthlarsen.com/sithlords/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2001&sid=61f0666e614a98791f1580558dfbfb08

You can get lengths of aglok on eBay from Sitharmor for under $5 per length. He makes great ROTS gloves and buckles too.

Huzz

 

I can't seem to find the page here where Lan has his post about
how he attched his Porty shoulders. Does anyone have the number?

 

I don't have that info. I'm sure though that Lan will see this soon and post the information you are looking for.

Cheers,
Huzz

 

I found it. Thanks.

I do have to ask though.... why "basewood"? Also, where can I find some?

 

Any idea how long the length of Aglok should be for Porty armor?
SithArmor sells lenths of 20", but I am not sure if thatis gonna be long enough considering the
droop the chain makes on the armor.

 

Any idea how long the length of Aglok should be for Porty armor?
SithArmor sells lenths of 20", but I am not sure if thatis gonna be long enough considering the
droop the chain makes on the armor.

 

some of us guys go for 13 to 15 links long on the chain. i would start with 15, place it in place and see where the chain hangs in front. if too low, then take out a link, and try again. 1 link at a time till you get it to sit in front like you want.



now for the basswood question, well, goin back to my radio controlled airplane building days, basswood was a wood thats used ALOT in structures on the fuseloge. its a hearty lil strong wood. and the epoxy i and most builders used, penetrates well into the wood. and also its used alot in conjunction with FG materials in planes. so i knew that if i used basswood, on the fg armor and bells with the right 15 minute epoxy, i will get a super strong bond. and also borrowing again from plane building, i used blind nuts, as theyre used ALOT for firwalls in planes to mount the motor mounts to.

so you see, my old plane building techniques, paid off in this build for armor bell mounting.

if you need the tutorial again. lemme know, i have it.

 

BH - if you are doing a ROTS Vader, the chain should not dip below the two black strips on the front of the armor. Here's mine:

http://www.darthlarsen.com/sithlords/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2001&sid=14038b8951a598192d22d455542b4eb8

It has 12 links. The chain should not be too droopy either. Also, I'd suggest an even number of links. If the Porty armor is a little bigger than the Rubies armor, then 14 links ought to do nicely, especially if you make a ROTS chain using my litle method.

Why not order 2 or 3 lenths of aglok from Sitharmor so you can experiment? That way if you spoil one, you'll have lots left.

Huzz

 

its not so much that its bigger Huzz, its more that porty places the hooks a lil more up on the armor. closer to where they really should be. thus the chain needs to be a tad longer than 12 links. i will have to recount mine on the porty armor or look back at a pic of me in suit.

 

I bought the basewood, but it is 3/8" thick. It may be too thick.
Should I go thinner?

 

the thickness you want is just about the same as the T-nuts.

if you look in the tut pics, youll see once driven in the holes you drill, theyre almost flush on the opposite side.

 

Hey Lan - some pics I've seen of the ROTS Vader show either 12 or 14 links. If the placement of the hooks on the Porty armor necessitates a longer chain, I'd suggest trying 14 links to see how that looks. If the chain hangs right, then you'll also have a chain where the number of links will be screen acurate.

Huzz

 

i remember gettin into a heated arguement with someone someplace on a thread over the link count before.

i wont go into that can of worms, but 13, 14, or 15 links IMO is ok. thats why i said start with 15, and see where it hangs, then if too long rip off a link.

i cant remember right off hand how many links i got on mine. i may have ended up with 14, im not sure.

 

Heated argument - Lan, you must've been wearing a Rubies suit!!

I like even numbers myself which is why I said 12 or 14 links. But hey - whatever floats yer boat!!

I wanted to use 14 links on mine but with the Rubies armor and its placement of the cape hooks, that would have made it sag too low. So I had to go with 12 links. So, use the number of links that looks correct to your eye.

Cheers,
Huzz

 

lol nah Huzz, nuttin to do with the rubies suit. it was just a few guys that couldnt make up their minds as to the link count, and i was inputing my thoughts, and the whole thing got kinda outta hand.


i wasnt arguing or nuttin with ya on it, just trying to give a good start point to go from on link count IMO.


what would float my boat, would be to win the lottery, and retire from work, buy a house, and a machine shop, and make my own milled sabers, and a dirt bike to kick round on, and a place in the house where i could display everything i collected, and such.

lol, thats what would float my boat.

 

Now that's a great idea!

Just make sure you have a big room with a big TV so we can all drop by on Friday nights for a cold one!

Huzz

 

Bro, if i ever did win the big lottery, you betcha i would pay to fly all you guys out here, for a week long party.

bring along the costumes, and we would march down main street, and have a blast. sabers, we could have a duel off contest type thing.

guess im just gonna have to win that thing, huh?

lol

 

Well, I have my Porty armor and I have pretty much followed Lan's excellent tutorial of how to attach the bells.
The one problem is that that when the bels are raised, they come down crooked and slide underthe armor...
[image=http://photos.imageevent.com/bobdes/projectvader/large/DSC00373.jpg]
[image=http://photos.imageevent.com/bobdes/projectvader/large/DSC00374.jpg]
[image=http://photos.imageevent.com/bobdes/projectvader/large/DSC00375.jpg]
[image=http://photos.imageevent.com/bobdes/projectvader/large/DSC00377.jpg]

Is there soemthing to do to solve this problem? When they are down, they fit PERFECT!!!

 

looks like you used something other than leather straps for the hinges.

you have to use a leather strap, it along with a slight adjustabilty factor byt loosening the mount bolts, and slightly twisting the strap in the side direction needed, will help align the bells.

if you see that strap in my tutorial one end is slotted, that allows me to bring the bells in or out from the armor.

and some tweisting tweaking to aid in alignment. also remember to add 2 short scrap pieces under the main strap, on the bells ends when you bolt it up on bells.

that makes like a fulcrum point that makes the bells lift up. and outward, slightly.

i think if you swap out the straps for good stiff leather 2 inch wide straps, you will see a huge difference.

 

How does everyone attach their chains and capes?
The Porty armor has the hoos way far back and the movie pics show it different.

I wasjust looking through the "Chronicles" on the prequels and the pic of the vader armor shows the cape hooks maybe a good 2 inches lower than the Porty armor. This would bring the cape way too far back, wouldn't it?

 

the rubies hooks are around 1 inch to low so i showed Porty where they needed to be, and when he made my armor he placed the hooks pretty close to the right spots, so mines in pretty good shape, i have seen ones he had done before that were way off.

if your in doubt, post a good pic of it here, and i can tell you if theyre in the close spota where they should be. to attach the aglok chain, i cut a slice in one side of the last link, i also made 2 seperate individual links and sliced them on one side.

i placed the single links on first, then the chain ends, a spot of hotglue on the single link, and pressed the main chain end links down on them. making sure the slices were on opposite sides of each other. that way it wont come off.

make sure you arch the chain first to get it close to what it will be when attached.

if you dont prearch the chain, it wont lay right.