1/6 Hot Toys - MMS 279 - Star Wars Episode IV: 1/6th scale Darth Vader

[Matt S]

agreed. it's an amazing fig out of the box. stupid voice function not withstanding. some of us have a special obsession with Vader. this to me, is SO fun!! love it!!

Same here....and agreed. It is not perfect, but damn close......so close...

 

[GodParticle]

Ok, tried a picture outside. Maybe this one looks better

Painting things as they are in person can often be different to how they appear on screen. Sure. The Boba Fett helmet color is a good example - looks more bluish green in the movie, but more pale green in real life. Same can be said with the gunmetal color used for Vader. The tricky thing with the ANH Vader is that the gunmetal isn't covering fully, but allowing the gloss black under coat to shine through, which is why there has been so much back and forth bickering regarding finding the accurate gunmetal color used. We now know what gloss black was used and that was Rolls Royce black - also known as Mason's Black.

The under coat needs to be gloss black in order to get the gunmetal color to really pop. Maybe that's what I'm seeing that makes it appear to not have that metallic sheen in the photos!?

Yeah, ANH vader seems super tough to nail down. Well, at least for me it is. I'm going to go with what I have and not fuss over it any more. Will drive myself nuts, otherwise haha

 

[Wor-Gar]

That looks great!

 

[rhboyd]

thought I was all done, but once assembled, my helmet was too high in the back. think all the inner ribs need to come out. not a big deal... so no pics yet!

 

[GodParticle]

That looks great!

Thanks. Finally, I can call him done...until I change my mind again

thought I was all done, but once assembled, my helmet was too high in the back. think all the inner ribs need to come out. not a big deal... so no pics yet!

What I did was just sand everything off and put some wall mounting putty stuff in. That way, I can move it around freely if I decide to change it

 

[maru81]

Ok, tried a picture outside. Maybe this one looks better [emoji14]ray:




Yeah, ANH vader seems super tough to nail down. Well, at least for me it is. I'm going to go with what I have and not fuss over it any more. Will drive myself nuts, otherwise haha

Nice I like the subtle weatheing

 

[sithgorilla]

Ok, tried a picture outside. Maybe this one looks better
View attachment 242257



Yeah, ANH vader seems super tough to nail down. Well, at least for me it is. I'm going to go with what I have and not fuss over it any more. Will drive myself nuts, otherwise haha

Looks great. Weathering looks good. And the chest plate looks great as well. Can you share the process and paints you used to achieve it?


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[Matt S]

Ok, tried a picture outside. Maybe this one looks better
View attachment 242257



Yeah, ANH vader seems super tough to nail down. Well, at least for me it is. I'm going to go with what I have and not fuss over it any more. Will drive myself nuts, otherwise haha

Whoa, that looks awesome. Ok, now you got my attention. Receipe on the chest armor color, please?

 

[GodParticle]

Looks great. Weathering looks good. And the chest plate looks great as well. Can you share the process and paints you used to achieve it?

Thanks. These are the steps I took. It was mostly experimentation, so might be overkill

-Base coat of testor's acrylic gloss black
-Mixed some testor's acrylic gunmetal(there are 2 different kinds - mine was bronze industrial, I think) and folk art brand acrylic gunmetal metallic
-I put the mix on thick, then quickly wiped a powder brush(?) back and forth to thin it back. Did that a few times until the consistency I liked(thanks to Wor-Gar for that tip)
-Painted the black areas with a folk art matte black
-Used a 0000 grade steel wool to dull the metallic flakes back a bit(also used on the black parts to give some wear)
-Brushed on some of testor's createfx black acrylic wash I found and steel wooled again a bit here and there
-Sprayed on some testor's dullcoat

I found the easiest way to do it is paint it all black, then paint the silver outside parts up to the black and not worry about getting on the black bits. After that, I took some tamiya small masking tape and covered up the silver and painted over the black again where I got silver on it. Did the same process for the center silver section

 

[TonTon]

Very cool, GP! Looks like Vader is outside going on a hike. "After killing a subordinate officer, I like to clear my thoughts in nature."

 

[Matt S]

Thanks. These are the steps I took. It was mostly experimentation, so might be overkill

Base coat of testor's acrylic gloss black
Mixed some testor's acrylic gunmetal(there are 2 different kinds - mine was bronze industrial, I think) and folk art brand acrylic gunmetal metallic
I put the mix on thick, then quickly wiped a powder brush(?) back and forth to thin it back. Did that a few times until the consistency I liked(thanks to Wor-Gar for that tip)
Used a 0000 grade steel wool to dull the metallic flakes back a bit(also used on the black parts to give some wear)
Brushed on some of testor's createfx black acrylic wash I found and steel wooled again a bit here and there
Sprayed on some testor's dullcoat

I found the easiest way to do it is paint it all black, then paint the silver outside parts up to the black and not worry about getting on the black bits. After that, I took some tamiya small masking tape and covered up the silver and painted over the black again where I got silver on it. Did the same process for the center silver section

Nice, thanks for that....

 

[GodParticle]

Thanks for all the nice comments. It was a lot of trial and error and still not perfect, but at least I got it closer to how I want. One thing I learned is that OCD and painting do NOT mix(pun?) rofl

 

[SilverStar17]

Ok, tried a picture outside. Maybe this one looks better
View attachment 242257

I don't recall him being on the Forest Moon of Endor in ANH?

Nice pic!

 

[Matt S]

I don't recall him being on the Forest Moon of Endor in ANH?

Nice pic!

That was a deleted scene....

 

[generalgrevious]

is that where he went after the first death star blew up. took a vacation

 

[GodParticle]

Vader used to hunt ewoks on his days off. I thought that was common knowledge

 

[Matt S]

is that where he went after the first death star blew up. took a vacation

I would love to see the scene in some future movie showing what happens once the Death Star is destroyed, and Vader is the sole survivor: 'So, Lord Vader, let me understand: you got Tarkin killed, you got the Death Star blowed up, and you went on a vacation first?!?!?!?!?!?!'

 

[generalgrevious]

yes master I need a break. but I killed obi-wan

 

[Matner77]

Managed to nab a Vader from my local Forbidden Planet today. Impressive piece when displayed against Luke & Han.
Spent a while sorting out the batteries, I thought I give all the lights & sounds a go. I had heard how fiddly this could be, but damn those little boxes were a pain. The screws were unbelievably tight, very difficult to apply pressure too such a small item. Removing the clothing wasn't to bad just took a while. I like the sound quality, but even though the remote has its own off/on switch; why on earth did HT put in a off feature for the figure itself when it takes so damn long to get to the switch?
Needlessly over complicated for a high end collectible especially when much cheaper childrens toys have easily accessible functions. I hope HT make some improvements if they make another Vader.

 

[r3dPyramid]

Here is my contribution. I really dig this figure.