1980-ish Boba and Vader Tour Suit Pics

[freakengine]

I was flipping through an old photo album last night and found some pics I took when I was a little kid. I'm not sure what year it was, but I believe it was right before ESB. Boba Fett and Darth Vader came to our local mall and signed autographs. I got an autograph from Boba, and I took the following pics. (Check out the big goofy name plates behind them)

 

[robstyle]

Notice the gun Boba Fett has

 

[darthgoat]

That Boba may be the real Prepro Boba.

 

[rmschneider104]

Great photos! Thanks for sharing. The Fett looks great. Just curious... where was the mall located?

 

[Darth Detroit]

Vader has an ANH chestbox!

 

[micdavis]

Vader has an ANH chestbox!

Well he's wearing the surcoat ANH style (under shoulder armor). Probably just grabbed what was sitting there and stuck it in a box for the tour.

 

[SmilingOtter]

They were at the mall in Macon Ga. during the tour. My parents took me - I was about 9 or 10 at the time, but by the time we got there the line was already excessive. We stood there for a while, and one of my father's friends, who managed one of the department stores there, came by and they walked off to chat.

After a couple of minutes my father comes back and says that he's tired of waiting around, and we were leaving. (That didn't sound at all like him, as he enjoyed ANH almost as much as I did.) So we got out of line, and entered the department store that his friend ran.

Said friend was there waiting for us, and led us into one of the back rooms, where his kids were getting their pictures taken with Vader and Boba, who had used his store to get set up. So we got our own audience with them. I had a great time...

 

[Ghost Host]

Great pics. Thank you for posting.

 

[freakengine]

Great photos! Thanks for sharing. The Fett looks great. Just curious... where was the mall located?

Yep, like Otter said it was in Macon, Georgia. I was just a kid at the time, but my brother and I were HUGE SW fans. We made my mom drive us down to the mall that day just to see these guys. AFAIK it was just the mall itself sponsoring the appearance.

 

[Darth Niob]

Great pics. Thanks for sharing:thumbsup

 

[Victorious-Jay]

First of all these are great pics and thanks for sharing them.

Secondly, If I would have been there I probably would have shat myself myself when I saw Vader. The suitl looks dead on and at that age I didn't know that he wasn't real. He he he.

-Jason M

 

[DaddyfromNaboo]

Well he's wearing the surcoat ANH style (under shoulder armor). Probably just grabbed what was sitting there and stuck it in a box for the tour.

And ANH gloves.

Was this well after ESB ? I guess so, since no one would have known Boba Fett except for the Holiday Special ?

Thanks so much for sharing !!! Any chance to get the pics at a higher res, and to include them in the newly compiled Vader reference DVD ?

And its about time to compile a list of Vader promo appearances.

Thanks,
Michael

 

[HAL9000]

Wow, firstly...thanks for sharing :thumbsup

and what great quality shots you have for a kid from 1980!

I'm sure there must be many of these kind of pictures lurking in homes.

 

[yakcam]

WOW, great pics, thanks for sharing :thumbsup

Funny thing is I was with an early 80's LFL Vader helmet last weekend, that was a thrill. However, it was a shame to see the state he was in.

Cheers,

Kraig

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Lovely pictures. Thanks for showing those! :thumbsup

 

[SingleSeat]

Again, very grateful for sharing. Thanks so much!! Sure brings you back.

 

[Darth Kahnt]

Great pics! Thanks so much for putting them up for all to see.

 

[freakengine]

And ANH gloves.

Was this well after ESB ? I guess so, since no one would have known Boba Fett except for the Holiday Special ?

Thanks so much for sharing !!! Any chance to get the pics at a higher res, and to include them in the newly compiled Vader reference DVD ?

This was actually before ESB, but Boba was already getting pimped by Hasbro and LFL so most fans knew who he was. I sure did!

You're welcome to use the pics however you'd like. I basically posted them to give something back.

I already rescanned these at a higher dpi to send them to GH, so I'd be happy to share the larger versions. Just PM me with your email address and I'll send them to you.

 

[freakengine]

Wow, firstly...thanks for sharing :thumbsup

and what great quality shots you have for a kid from 1980!

LOL! It's funny to me because I was actually taking the pics so I'd have decent shots of the costumes. Back in the day you were limited to the shots magazines printed and most of those were in B&W. I wanted to make a Boba costume back then, so I was trying to get good front and back shots, but I wasn't allowed to take too many. I probably would have used a whole roll of film if I were allowed to.

I eventually made my first Boba costume when I was 14. It looked like crap - completely homemade - but I was proud of it at the time.

 

[SmilingOtter]

Yep, like Otter said it was in Macon, Georgia.

Egad! Small world! Congratulations on escaping, btw. I'm still stuck here...:lol