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

[TaliBane]

Yep. I brushed it on. Just have some reference images from the film on hand so you can see what direction the brush strokes should go in each area.

Also the edge on the "eyelids" are gunmetal. I painted them first, then painted the black on the underside to give the gunmetal a nice edge on the underside of the eyelid. It's almost impossible to see, it's one of those little details, but you'll know... [emoji6]


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Got it. I do think the black around the eyes really helps. The thing I always notice on the unmodded HT helmet is the eyes seeming too small - when it's really just that the surrounds aren't black.

Did you remove the lenses? Jeez they were hard to get out on mine. But I'd spent time hacking the whole helmet apart so just kept plowing along.

 

[Matt S]

Some of you take 'attention to detail' to the next next level!

 

[Waste Time Continuum]

Got it. I do think the black around the eyes really helps. The thing I always notice on the unmodded HT helmet is the eyes seeming too small - when it's really just that the surrounds aren't black.

Did you remove the lenses? Jeez they were hard to get out on mine. But I'd spent time hacking the whole helmet apart so just kept plowing along.

Yep. To paint the black over the eyes you have to remove the lens.

My lenses popped right out without any effort. I paid my dues getting that nose plug out though. That thing took a considerable effort to remove. LOL!


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[TaliBane]

Yep. To paint the black over the eyes you have to remove the lens.

My lenses popped right out without any effort. I paid my dues getting that nose plug out though. That thing took a considerable effort to remove. LOL!


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Didn't you trim the neck line as well. It seems like the angle is kind of sharp. I think you sanded it down?

 

[Waste Time Continuum]

Yeah, I sanded down the excessive dip in the neckline of the mask.


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[Waste Time Continuum]

So I found some time tonight to try out Matrix's nose mod.

I used DAS air drying modeling clay, and Matrix's technique of smoothing it out and shaping it with the end of a small paint brush.

It's currently drying but you can tell that it looks a million times better. I'll probably do another very thin layer paying special attention to the edges, before painting it up, but even unpainted you can see Vader's likeness getting better and better.

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[Waste Time Continuum]

Has anyone come up with a solution for the belt buckle?

It's supposed to have a sort of machined circular pattern that creates a cool little light effect similar to a DVD

But instead we have this smooth darker metal color.

I've been racking my brain trying to come up with something, but I keep hitting dead ends.


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[Aprilshack]

Has anyone come up with a solution for the belt buckle?

It's supposed to have a sort of machined circular pattern that creates a cool little light effect similar to a DVD

But instead we have this smooth darker metal color.

I've been racking my brain trying to come up with something, but I keep hitting dead ends.


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Is it the size of a watch winder?

 

[Waste Time Continuum]

It's bigger than a watch winder.


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[Aprilshack]

It's bigger than a watch winder.


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Ok.Just a thought.

 

[Waste Time Continuum]

Thanks!

Your head's in the right place. [emoji4]


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[Aprilshack]

Thanks!

Your head's in the right place. [emoji4]


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Is it as big as a press stud or is that too big? I Don't have Darth to see the size.Yet.
What about womens earings with the post taken off? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-2Pair-...315735&hash=item43efd1cb2a:g:Rn0AAOSw9eVXW77e

 

[jkno]

Hot Toys 1:6 Darth Vader, modified and upgraded by the talented JazzInc. Here are the mods he did on my Vader:

- repaint and weathering on the helmet
- slight buffing of the satin, just like the movie
- removed the dome
- put metal tape on the inside of the eyes to get a bit more red
- removed ribs on dome and sanded down the top of the 'head'
- reglued the dome slightly asymmetrically
- weathered and repainted the armor
- wired up the belt boxes and voice system to 4,5 dc adapter
- redressed him with cod as high as it could go
- chest box attached with double sided tape right underneath the armor
- weathered the belt, boxes and buckle
- removed the wire from the robe and added a heavier one along the bottom of the robe
- weathered and polished the shin armor
- painted all the hands flat black
- used double sided tape to really attach the glove to the hand seamlessly
- weathered and repainted the chest box
- did a lot of futzing and water treatment to get it to fall naturally
- removed all excess fabric from the inside seams of the tunic and vest
- cut some of the rubber from the side of the chest so the arms can go straight down
- repainted the upper eyelids black

No cathode saber for me, I display Vader in a static museum pose.

 

[Waste Time Continuum]

Worked on Vader's nose again tonight. It still needs a very light black wash, but I think it's pretty much done.

Thanks for the tip Matrix!

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[TaliBane]

Nicely done. That's just that DAS stuff sculpted with the end of a paint brush?

 

[Waste Time Continuum]

Nicely done. That's just that DAS stuff sculpted with the end of a paint brush?

Basically. I did modify the existing nose originally by sanding it down so it sat deeper into the face. I used that as a foundation for the modeling clay, and used Matrix's method of sculpting and shaping it with the end of a brush. It worked like a charm.


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[matrix69]

Great work on the nose mod WTC

 

[Waste Time Continuum]

Great work on the nose mod WTC

Thanks man!


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[Waste Time Continuum]

Oh man, I think I finally found a solution for the crappy belt buckle.

It's a plastic rotary dimmer knob for lamp. I found a black one which is appropriate since the sculpt for the belt buckle is molded in black, painting silver on top of it will match the look of the stock belt more closely I think.

I know that there are not miniature concentric circular ridges on the round part of the actual belt buckle used in the movie, but I'm more interested in the way the light reflects off the surface. At a normal viewing distance inside of my display case it will be nearly impossible to see the miniature ridges, but the way the light reflects off of it will be clearly visible. The ridges will likely be a little more deemphasized once I am finished than they appear in the pictures below, because I'm going to put a few coats of paint on which will fill in the space between the ridges a little more making them appear a little flatter.

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[Waste Time Continuum]

Here's a picture of a reproduction belt. You can see the light pattern that I'm referring to it's kind of like the hands on a clock, and when you move the belt the "hands" move around the "face."

Here's some pictures of the circular part painted up. You can see that the tiny ridges are effectively replicating the light pattern.

Here's a picture that I took from a distance and then cropped. It illustrates what I was talking about in the post above that you will only be able to see the light pattern from a standard viewing distance and not the tiny ridges.

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