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

[TaliBane]

Let's hope NHM will make his 1/6 Vader helmet available some day. And he might even resculpt it a tad. That will be the ultimate ANH Vader helmet, because it is worked by a true Vader expert.

Eh, we'll all be in the old folks home by then. I seem to recall he was talking about handing the project on to someone else to complete it, but yeah - that would be the ultimate 1/6 Vader helmet. Which of course means we'll never get it.

 

[Sturtrup]

Living under a rock dude? Yes, there are true Vader experts out there. Check out Prop Den or RPF for example.

Chapeau! Even if I think that a true expert is someone that tell you what you want to hear...

 

[jkno]

Chapeau! Even if I think that a true expert is someone that tell you what you whant to hear...

You don't say... LOL

 

[Waste Time Continuum]

I have noticed that all the most knowledgeable Vader experts disagree with each other considerably, and the helmets that they produce (while amazing) are idealized, and all of them are missing details that are obvious to my eye.


The thing that bothers me the most about the Hot Toys ANH Vader is actually the horribly inaccurate grill. Not only is it inaccurate, but there's no way I've found to remove it, so you're just stuck with it.



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[Waste Time Continuum]

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Wow, amazing work Matrix!


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[Waste Time Continuum]

So I ultimately was unsatisfied with the plastic belt buckle circle mod I was working on. The ridges where to pronounced, and just made it look differently inaccurate.

So I decided to crowd source the solution to the issue with a group of the best customizers and fabricators I know, and whadda-ya-know, they gave me the perfect answer, that was of course obvious after hearing it.

The answer was to get a small circle of aluminum that's the proper diameter, glue it to a wooden dowel, and put it in a power drill, and push the metal disk into some sandpaper, and let her rip.

The result is a perfect circle for my Vader belt buckle.

Here's the picture of it as it looks now. Perfect pattern, and perfect reflection. The next step is to glue it to the buckle, and hen repaint. Finished pictures coming soon.

Special thank you to Robbie Jones, and Fergo Black.

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[Waste Time Continuum]

Double post

 

[Wor-Gar]

I love your OCD.

 

[Waste Time Continuum]

I love your OCD.

[emoji23] It serves me well.


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[Waste Time Continuum]

Some quick comparisons:

Hot Toys stock Vader buckle. The circle is a different color, smooth, and featureless.

Here's a reproduction image from the 501st legion website. Notice the circular "grain" and the reflection pattern.

Here's my mod. I still need to repainted the silver "D" shape from where I sanded off some paint, but it looks a million times more accurate now.

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[TaliBane]

Very nice. You are the road map to a better Vader.

 

[jkno]

I have noticed that all the most knowledgeable Vader experts disagree with each other considerably, and the helmets that they produce (while amazing) are idealized, and all of them are missing details that are obvious to my eye.


The thing that bothers me the most about the Hot Toys ANH Vader is actually the horribly inaccurate grill. Not only is it inaccurate, but there's no way I've found to remove it, so you're just stuck with it.



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When I say Vader experts I'm not talking about people who are making 1/6 Vaders...

 

[Waste Time Continuum]

Me either. I'm talking about folks that make 1:1 scale helmets.


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[TaliBane]

Me either. I'm talking about folks that make 1:1 scale helmets.


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Yeah, I've trawled the prop forums and there are certainly some amazing insights (people who ID the parts that were used always amaze me,) but certainly also some wrong information. I guess it's a bit like the 1/6 world.

I noticed the variation in sandtrooper hand armor in ref pics the other day (several sandies have totally different hand armor to "normal" sandie hand armor) and had fun digging into the RPF to research it. Love those forums.

 

[jkno]

Me either. I'm talking about folks that make 1:1 scale helmets.


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Sorry but then you missed the real experts who make the elite Vader lids, and only found various guys who make helmets.

 

[Waste Time Continuum]

Sorry but then you missed the real experts who make the elite Vader lids, and only found various guys who make helmets.

No need to be sorry.

I'm talking about the very expensive, 1:1 scale replica helmets, and the unlicensed replicas often made by the guys on the RPF.

They all do breathtaking work, but none of them are completely accurate, and many are idealized.

One example of what I'm talking about is the small backwards "7" scratch on Vader's neck, I haven't seen one replica that has that mark, not one, and it's in literally every scene in the film. Another example are the little black freckles down the edge of his silver cheek, none of the replicas licensed or unlicensed have that either. The rest of the details are a mixed bag, some reproductions have them, and some don't. Some give him red lenses, which is inaccurate, they are amber with a touch of red. I could go on and on, but I think you see where I'm coming from.

The main issue is that the Vader helmet in it's original on screen form no longer exists, and there isn't a lot of photo reference of the helmet from production, the best reference we have is the film itself, but that is subject to film quality, focus, lighting, color timing etc.

I'm not an "expert" but I've been studying Star Wars props and costumes, and every frame of film since I saw ANH in the theater when it first came out, so I know a thing or two myself. [emoji6]



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[pjdrake]

Amazing belt buckle circle mod WTC! How did you make a perfect circle? Did you cut it from a very thin aluminium sheet? I really want to do this mod.

 

[Waste Time Continuum]

Amazing belt buckle circle mod WTC! How did you make a perfect circle? Did you cut it from a very thin aluminium sheet? I really want to do this mod.

Thanks!

I measured the original circle, then cut out a plastic piece the exact size, traced it on a piece of aluminum I bought, that was roughly the same thickness as the stock circle I filed off.

I then used some metal sheers to cut as close as I could without bending the metal disc.

After that I just use a file and filed around the edge, over and over until it was the proper size. I doubt it's a perfect circle, but it looks perfect to my eye, and that's all that matters. [emoji1]


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[Waste Time Continuum]

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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[jkno]

No need to be sorry.

I'm talking about the very expensive, 1:1 scale replica helmets, and the unlicensed replicas often made by the guys on the RPF.

They all do breathtaking work, but none of them are completely accurate, and many are idealized.

One example of what I'm talking about is the small backwards "7" scratch on Vader's neck, I haven't seen one replica that has that mark, not one, and it's in literally every scene in the film. Another example are the little black freckles down the edge of his silver cheek, none of the replicas licensed or unlicensed have that either. The rest of the details are a mixed bag, some reproductions have them, and some don't. Some give him red lenses, which is inaccurate, they are amber with a touch of red. I could go on and on, but I think you see where I'm coming from.

The main issue is that the Vader helmet in it's original on screen form no longer exists, and there isn't a lot of photo reference of the helmet from production, the best reference we have is the film itself, but that is subject to film quality, focus, lighting, color timing etc.

I'm not an "expert" but I've been studying Star Wars props and costumes, and every frame of film since I saw ANH in the theater when it first came out, so I know a thing or two myself. [emoji6]



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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.