Very good observations. When creating Vader, some go too wide and some go too narrow, and thus, going by how "accurate" an armor source is, or that the armor has "lineage" to the original falls short, because just about everything that has entered the fandom from Lucasfilm has some degree of warpage and inconsistency with the original. Copies of copies result in even further warpage, so that when you combine a helmet from one branch of the lineage tree with armor from another branch, they almost always never quite go together 100%. So as much as I have been a fan and student of "prop accuracy", I had throw all that out of the window.
The focus of my work with Quasimodo is to create a bust that evokes the presence and emotion of the character as believably as possible. I chose this route because after having owned very prop accurate castings, eventually the romance of the idea of such ownership wears off. Yet what remains is a personal fondness for the character. My work seeks to rebuild that bridge to childhood fascination. For me, rather than slap silicone and make a recast, shoot automotive paint and call it a day, I chose a more difficult way.
There is a huge level of calibration to get the proportions and posture of Vader recreated realistically, and hopefully I've done it. A meticulous amount of original sculpting is reflected here. As much as I try to make things accurate, this is essentially my emotional homage to the character. But realism is highly important to me. So instead of looking at it as "are the bells accurate" think of the larger picture: if you're a costumer looking to portray the Dark Lord, or if you're a collector who wants to set up a life-sized mannequin, the silhouette of the shoulder is essential to recreating the menace and intimidation of the character. So when the costumer or mannequin setup has the robe and cape on, the silhouette and side-view of the posture has to be believable.
As a standalone prop, the Anovos armor is pleasant to look at. I understand what you pointed out, that the Anovos' shoulder guards ("bells") create a narrow shouldered look.
The armor I've made, which I call Structurally Matching Armor (which has the best symbiosis with my Quasimodo helmet, hence namesake) is adapted more to achieve an idealized wearing based on the different "modes" that appeared in the different movies.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b...n-and-bookface-vader-armor-02_zpsnzffewh6.jpg
So the sculpt being as it is, in ROTJ mode, with the shoulder guards on the end flush with the armor, the look is powerful and yet not super wide. The same sculpt allows ANH and ESB where the edge of the armor overlaps the shoulder guards, which is a slightly narrower look, but unmistakably ANH and ESB.
And even though tweaked for such purposes, it doesn't look bad compared to an original. There's always room for improvement, admittedly, but still....
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b...in-History-NJ-Farmers-vs-Quasimodo-V2-ESB.jpg
Hope this helps. Enjoy!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b...simodo-v2-rotj-anh-esb-busts-facing-front.jpg
