Hot Toys Darth Vader : tips , tricks and any other mods

[Waste Time Continuum]

You know a thing or two yourself, and there are others who know much more, there are experts who handled screen used helmets, who even own screen used helmets or molds from screen used, but in the end every prop replica made will be different from the screen used. Even if made directly from that screen used, we can only make them "as accurate as possible", and not 100%. There are even quite many people who want idealized props, not liking the warts of the originals. We can discuss this for years.

The thing is you still missing the point of the few VERY accurate helmets. Try SL or TM. They are the grails of the Vader helmets (and maybe another one from ROTJ is appearing soon) because they keep most of the original tells of screen used helmets. Are they 100% accurate? No. Are they the best replicas in existence? Yes, without the slightest doubt. Heck, even the screen used ANH Vader face mask recently found has been modified and repainted, so if we mold it it will be a tad different from the original on screen.

Okay, I agree with the majority of what your saying here.

And yes, I'm fully aware of the SL and TM, ANH helmets and their histories.

so what's your point?

Look, I don't recall insulting you in any way, so why have you been patronizing and condescending toward me over the last several posts?

I feel like this little tennis match you've started with me is derailing the topic of the forum.

I'm just here for the love of customizing, and sharing the mod's I make so that I might offer something that could help someone with a Vader they are working on. I've gotten a lot from this forum, and I want to give back in any way I can.

 

[jkno]

Okay, I agree with the majority of what your saying here.

And yes, I'm fully aware of the SL and TM, ANH helmets and their histories.

so what's your point?

Look, I don't recall insulting you in any way, so why have you been patronizing and condescending toward me over the last several posts?

I feel like this little tennis match you've started with me is derailing the topic of the forum.

I'm just here for the love of customizing, and sharing the mod's I make so that I might offer something that could help someone with a Vader they are working on. I've gotten a lot from this forum, and I want to give back in any way I can.

Since you know about SL and TM, then you might know about the newly found ROTJ Vader helmet as well don't you? And TM ANH is not the most accurate. There is another one that is slightly more accurate. Since were were discussing about accuracy... My initial message was to another member, you simply joined on your own will. And if you feel I'm condescending, I could say I feel the same about you, read your own messages, and see what I mean.

 

[Sturtrup]

I fell the power of the dark side in this thread!

 

[Sturtrup]

Repainted the "D" and got the buckle back on the belt.

The paint could use some touch up, and I need to weather it and the boxes, but I think it looks so much better.

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Perfect! Great work on this belt!

 

[paulcarson]

Let's keep this thread civil please.

 

[Darth Snoopy]

Play nice and keep things civil, Freaks, I don't want to bust out the Freaks Be Good Stick.

Thread cleaned.

 

[matrix69]

Repainted the "D" and got the buckle back on the belt.

The paint could use some touch up, and I need to weather it and the boxes, but I think it looks so much better.

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Fantastic work

 

[matrix69]

For those interested here's a comparison of the new gloves along with the stock..View attachment 298004

 

[Waste Time Continuum]

Looks great. Very creative.


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[Wor-Gar]

WTC: insane work you're doing. I eagerly await you redesigning every piece of the HT Vader. I love your new dial, but now the metal on the belt plate doesn't match. I think you need to address that.


Matrix: great work! But where the heck do you find that material in the first place? You said "body warmer" but I've never seen that before.

For those interested here's a comparison of the new gloves along with the stock..View attachment 298004

 

[matrix69]

WTC: insane work you're doing. I eagerly await you redesigning every piece of the HT Vader. I love your new dial, but now the metal on the belt plate doesn't match. I think you need to address that.


Matrix: great work! But where the heck do you find that material in the first place? You said "body warmer" but I've never seen that before.

It's the outer jacket or 'reverse body warmer'

 

[Wor-Gar]

It's the outer jacket or 'reverse body warmer'

Oh, you mean its the actual HT Vader suit you cut up? No wonder.

 

[Chakaman]

Some great work here. Good stuff Matrix, WTC.

 

[Waste Time Continuum]

WTC: insane work you're doing. I eagerly await you redesigning every piece of the HT Vader. I love your new dial, but now the metal on the belt plate doesn't match. I think you need to address that.

Haha, yeah. I'm going to touch up the paint. the "D" has a slightly different finish in the film, but not as different as my initial pics shared here. If I can't get it to look right with paint I'm planning on making the "D" out of real metal as well. The thing that I think will be a major challenge is accurately replicating those super tiny slots. There's a way to do it though, I just need to figure out how.

 

[Waste Time Continuum]

I could have sworn I posted my scratch built, Vader, codpiece here. Copying it over from the Rogue One Vader thread, it's more appropriate here.



I started by using a plastic container, and cut out a cod piece shape, heated it up and bent it in the right places.

I wrapped a thin layer of real leather for padding, then added some thin pleather over that.

For the oval part, believe it or not, I cut up an old iPhone bumper case, and used the hard plastic gap that gives access to the connection port.

Pics of the process below.

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[matrix69]

A few more pics of the 'outer jacket' from which i cut pieces to make new gloves..View attachment 298527View attachment 298528View attachment 298529

 

[matrix69]

With custom Iforigno cape and tunic which for me drape better than HT...although i prefer the deeper black color of HT to the more 'charcoal black' of the custom rayon material..
View attachment 298532View attachment 298533View attachment 298534View attachment 298535View attachment 298531View attachment 298530

 

[agonistes86]

Great find on those gloves, matrix69. They come from the 007/Secret agent figure, right? Would love to get some of those, but can't find any loose ones.
Love seeing shots of your Vader as always.

WTC, that codpiece looks great. You're starting to enter hurricane territory with all these scratch made items!

 

[matrix69]

Thanks agonistes86 and yeah the gloves are from the secret agent bond figure set. I picked up a couple of pairs from a HK seller for around 8euro and they even threw in the wee pistol and silencer 'FREE' which was pretty cool of them. Keep your eyes peeled as they should pop up again on ebay..or mayde TA or MD might stock them..

 

[TaliBane]

That HT Vader upper vest part is about $30 plus shipping on TA though. It's really hard not to let these custom Vaders effortlessly break through the $500 mark and continue up into realms unknown with all the great bits and pieces that appear.

There's a part of you that just wants to wait until a 1/6 company "nails" Vader, yet no-one ever seems able to do it.