1/6 SSC ESB/ROTJ Darth Vader Modification Thread

[mrshurricane]

This is GREAT news Steph!

Painted ESB for me please and also, painted ANH if these are going to be offered again.

The angle of the sides on the Hasbro dome is a perfect match to the angle on my full size, cast from original dome so I'm wondering if there's any chance the angle can be left the same or is it too late for that request?

If you're using a "20th Century" ROTJ casting as the source of your measurements, that dome suffered from excessive flared sides due to rushed casting of the helmet and more specifically, it also had the length trimmed so it has a "hair cut" appearance. They only used that 20th Century helmet on the tour to promote the release of the Special Edition Trilogy in 1997.

Check the eFX ANH dome to get a good idea of what the flare and length should be.

ESB / ROTJ is the same sculpt as the ANH, they just cut the widows peak off to square it off a bit more but all other proportions / details were the same.

Thanks!
Chris

Angles of the side are/ were unaltered , dome are polyurethane resin, so as said can be heated and reshaped
So I'm told
Steph x

 

[Pixelpiper]

Interested to see how this turns out. The whole upper Chest shoulder area of this body is very odd (to me).

I've already compressed the shoulder armor a little bit front to back to make it fit tighter. Once this part is done and I can take a look at how everything fits together I may take some progress images before continuing and get some feedback about what to adjust next.

 

[Pixelpiper]

Adding new domes to the ESB Vader very much constitutes a mod and is on topic.

Posting for sale content without a premium membership and outside the for sale section is very much against the rules of the board. Just trying to save some people some headaches down the line. But, don't let me stop you from discussing whatever you want, including sales.

 

[Rorywan]

 

[zeiss]

Pixelpiper, I would understand the issue if Mrs. H came in here soliciting sales. However, the topic came up only after I mentioned the previous run and the differences between the Hasbro dome and Hurricane's modified version. Mrs. H. only posted a couple times about offering the domes with most posts being from members (like myself) hoping to acquire one. The mods may feel differently, but I appreciate it when I am made aware of a nice custom piece as long as the thread doesn't become an interest thread. I have found out about some of my nicest customs via mention in other threads.

 

[shockwave]

looks great !!

Indeed great shot and mod custom MarfMaster.

 

[shockwave]

Painted ESB/ROTJ for me, please.

Ditto regarding the ESB/ROTJ please.

 

[Pixelpiper]

I have found out about some of my nicest customs via mention in other threads.

Like I said, I was only making a suggestion so that no one gets in trouble. There have already been posts made here that are most definitely interest-oriented, so starting a new thread when "more information is available" is the safer thing to do. You can already see a ton of "me too" and order-based follow-ups here. But again, interest threads by non-premium account holders is also not really in line with the forum's new rules. You can read about them in the announcements and other board business forums. It's ok to ask looking for something, but offering for sale then needs to be done via private message according to the board's rules.

 

[TheFiend]

Interested to see how this turns out. The whole upper Chest shoulder area of this body is very odd (to me).

Same here.

And yeah, this new Vader body is funky.

I will post when a run of domes is completed , please don't pm .
Steph x

What exactly would these cost anyway?

 

[Pixelpiper]

Proof of concept successful, using 5/16" nut and thick rubber band. I'll probably keep the nut and replace the band with garment-quality woven rubber chord/flat for longevity. The next step is to cut away the beveled walls to allow the abdomen piece to rise further into the upper chest.

 

[Rorywan]

Why not simply use one of the smaller SS abdomens? Like a trooper one? That's what everyone (including me) did with ANH Vader? If you move that up you will lose articulation, you might as well just chop and glue it solid.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Better yet, piper, buy a whole new body. That's a whole lot of work on body that really serves no specific/unique purpose just so you can lower the height by a 1/4 or 1/2 inch.

 

[MarfMaster]

Some pics of my Vader with his LIT saber in his RIGHT hand.





And two more with it back in his left...because damn it all, I like the way it looks.

 

[Pixelpiper]

Better yet, piper, buy a whole new body. That's a whole lot of work on body that really serves no specific/unique purpose just so you can lower the height by a 1/4 or 1/2 inch.

1. It's EASY to do.
2. See my goal of using primarily parts from this set, trying to avoid as much as possible bashing this figure versus modifying it.

I could have gone to a TTM20, but in addition to my #2, I also plan on spending $0 in excess of my time or as close to it on this line of mods.

Why not simply use one of the smaller SS abdomens? Like a trooper one? That's what everyone (including me) did with ANH Vader? If you move that up you will lose articulation, you might as well just chop and glue it solid.

Clothes fitment won't be the same with a narrower abdomen. Articulation with the stock abdomen was almost already non-existent in stock form due to the support wall connected to the center boss that holds the pivot rod. My first mod "for the hell of it" was to cut out this wall and that increased the articulation dramatically - he could actually do an ab crunch.

The most significant impact of the rubber band method is that without some friction material on the plastic parts, it's impossible to hold the articulated pose. I can solve this, and there will be decent articulation even when the abdomen is tucked up by 1/8 or so, but I don't know if I'll bother.

The way to keep the same stock articulation/movement while also reducing the height would have been to cut the abdomen below the pivot point and then remove 1/8" of material all around it, then put it back together with glue. That was what I was first going to do, but in the end I decided to avoid excessive use of glue and also to stick with some easier cutting/trimming.

 

[Wor-Gar]

1. It's EASY to do.
2. See my goal of using primarily parts from this set, trying to avoid as much as possible bashing this figure versus modifying it.

I did see your goal. If its an OCD thing, that I totally get. If you enjoy this process, that I totally get. But your process is not easy, nor is it somehow "maintaining the integrity" of the original parts. By the time you are done, you'll have very little left of that body -- shortening the torso will make the legs and arms look long so you will have to chop those down too. Before you say it, I know you know that being who you are. Just seems like you could find a wholly better proportioned body out there at the height you want or slightly shorter since it's easier to add height than it is to take it away.

Anyway, none of my business. Curious to see what you get out of this.

 

[Pixelpiper]

Sorry, I should have said "easy for me" But yes, not as easy as just swapping to a TTM20, which is what appears to be the best body so far for this guy.

This is by far the easiest thing I've got on my schedule at the moment, including the leg chopping. The goal of using only the parts of the stock figure itself aren't a source integrity thing (no on e would know once its dressed) as much as just wanting to do it via only hacking for whatever challenge comes. Nothing compulsive about it though, it's just how I decided to tackle this one specific figure. Others are complete bashes and some complete customs. I have too many things on the go right now.

 

[McHaleyArt]

Anytime we post our WIP pics, it opens us up to critiques early in the game. I see these as constructive and it provides other avenues to think about. When we have our own way of wanting to do things, in the end, the proof is in the pudding. It seems very rare that anyone listens to the other about how to customize something until it's all finished...and if it looks great, then it's "How did you do that?"
For me...I have the most fun during the process rather than when it's actually finished.

 

[Pixelpiper]

Well said. I had already thought about easier ways of accomplishing the end results for height adjustment. The easiest being an entire body swap, but that's just too expensive on top of the full figure. For suit fitment/appearance, I could also just pad the arms and stretch the suit over it without altering the fabric, but I'd like to give that a shot too. To get to where I am now with the body it took removing all of 5 screws and the plugs that cover them (which I tossed). Two more if you want to take the arms off their pivots - which isn't a necessary step to mod the torso.

 

[shockwave]

Proof of concept successful, using 5/16" nut and thick rubber band. I'll probably keep the nut and replace the band with garment-quality woven rubber chord/flat for longevity. The next step is to cut away the beveled walls to allow the abdomen piece to rise further into the upper chest.

Thanks so much for the info Pixelpiper.

 

[Pixelpiper]

The cutting/reforming is also great practice for something else that I'm not talking about right now. Put it this way though, I've ordered a new band saw blade specifically to work on this stuff.