Darth Vader One Month Build (2018 Revision)

Re: Darth Vader One Month Build

The differences between suits I think are minor enough that I'm not worrying about them. The 3D parts were modeled by another user on Treatstocks and I modified the dimensions and size since they were a bit off.
 
Re: Darth Vader One Month Build

Okay big day today. All the peps are officially done. The shoulder piece was the most difficult by far, but I think it turned out great. The neck hole is a bit small but I've seen some people cut away part of the back and it works out fine since the cloak covers it. The leather under suit is about 40% done. I had a test fitting of the top today and it looks great so far, just need to make small alterations to it. Should be done in about a week. Next stage is resin the outside. I'll be working on that all this week as much as possible, exams are coming up so I'm working quickly and diligently.

I couldn't resist taping the pep together. The front of the chest is just taped for now so it may look a bit off


htX1DuC.jpgtga8lrt.jpg
 
Re: Darth Vader One Month Build

First coat of resin went on today. Not much to take photos of so I'll save everyone a little bandwidth. I went with polyester resin, the stuff from Home Depot. I know there's some debate whether epoxy or polyester is the best, but I had some polyester on hand so I went with that - plus who could not love that smell. Few years back I was working on an Iron Man suit and I would usually resin the entire outside and have it warp on me, so this time I'm doing partial resin on the pieces and doing multiple coats on different areas at a time. Things should progress rather quickly, the pepping takes the longest it seems.
 
Re: Darth Vader One Month Build

Helmet and shoulder spaulders (if that’s right?) are done with the first coat of resin and ready for fiberglass. My goal today is to apply fiberglass to these parts, and tomorrow resin them one last time. The rest of the pieces should be finished by the end of the week and next week is body detailer.

After I’m satisfied with the body filler, I’ll use some primer to prep. Paint wise, I prefer the look of ESB or ROTJ - anyone have any recommendations for paint? Alternatively I thought about going to a body shop where they have air sprayers and getting a quote if it’s a hassle to do it myself.
 
Re: Darth Vader One Month Build

Small idea I just thought about. For the grille parts in both triangular parts of the helmet I was toying with what material to use. The little Amazon speaker I bought (above) has the look I'm going for but I didn't see any similar products sold. I did however find bug screens, like the type on a sliding door. It has a very similar look and is incredibly cheap at Home Depot.
 
Re: Darth Vader One Month Build

GoldenAvenger said:
Small idea I just thought about. For the grille parts in both triangular parts of the helmet I was toying with what material to use. The little Amazon speaker I bought (above) has the look I'm going for but I didn't see any similar products sold. I did however find bug screens, like the type on a sliding door. It has a very similar look and is incredibly cheap at Home Depot.
Click to expand...
You could possibly try using plastic gutter guard mesh for the bottom chin grill, I think it looks the part. I would definitely use a screen like material for the mouth grill for sure, hope this helps :)

Sent from my ALCATEL A564C using Tapatalk
 
Re: Darth Vader One Month Build

skull splitt3r said:
You could possibly try using plastic gutter guard mesh for the bottom chin grill, I think it looks the part. I would definitely use a screen like material for the mouth grill for sure, hope this helps :)

Sent from my ALCATEL A564C using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

That is an excellent idea, I'm definitely going with that. It looks like my local Lowe's has it in stock. Awesome idea
 
Re: Darth Vader One Month Build

Quick update, everything is on track and progressing well. The helmet and shoulder parts have been fiberglassed and resined and are currently curing. The rest of the pieces have just resin on them and I'll be fiberglass and resining tomorrow to completely finish the fiberglass stage. Next week will be body filler and getting the detail right.
 
Re: Darth Vader One Month Build

GoldenAvenger said:
Small update:

Another obstacle I'm having are lenses. My idea is to inflate a small balloon and press it up against the eye slot from the inside. The tutorial video showed using Play-Doh to protect the outer edges of the mask and use a product called "plastine". It appears to be a clay of sorts that hardens. After it hardens you remove the Play-Doh, and place a different type of baking clay against the "plastine" from inside the helmet. Bake it to harden, and then use an acrylic sheet to mold a lens from the mold. Finally, spray it with spray-tint I found at my local AutoZone. These are the theoretical instructions so I'll post my methodology when I do it.
!
Click to expand...
This is how I did my lenses so I can say it works very well. However instead of using plastine I used some silicon 2 part mold mix. Its like silly putty until it hardens so its conforms really easy to the balloon shape. Then I used some "heat" setting clay to make the hard mold. I got these at our local Michaels. I just bought the plexi smoked from an online vendor so I didn't need to do anything with it. Came out great.
 
Re: Darth Vader One Month Build

Okay, fiberglass and resin is finished and currently curing. I'll let the parts air out over the weekend and see if the odor dies down a bit. If it doesn't I may use some odor killing primer on the inside of the helmet parts and add a little padding to the inside.

I had been toying around with what to use for the black neck chain part that connects each side of the cape. I swear I had seen something that looked just like it until it dawned on me. I had a tree planted in my backyard a few years ago and the wooden stakes and tree were linked with a plastic black chain that looked nearly identical to the part I need. At this point I'd say things are about halfway done and progressing really well. I think I'll have it all wrapped up in about 2 weeks or so.
 
Re: Darth Vader One Month Build

I finished cleaning up each part as best I could. I think next time I make any pepakura I'll probably use rondo instead. Here's a photo of the helmet cleaned up and ready for bondo. The helmet seems a bit unsymmetrical in the photo and proportioned oddly but it looks pretty even in person.

tjyAzXv.jpg
 

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Re: Darth Vader One Month Build

Okay small update. Bondo is getting applied to the parts, I attached some photos of how the helmet and shoulder caps are coming along. I don't have much experience with bondo so I'm taking it slow. Shoutout to Home Depot for helping me get an orbital sander for 30% off, it's been a huge help along with the dremel.

GnTlIoK.jpgbZDf3vo.jpg
 

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Re: Darth Vader One Month Build

Big update!

I managed to get it all done and pulled it off. The bondo took a long time to sand and detail to a point I was satisfied with it. I wasn't going for perfection, but it turned out really really good.

IMG_2622.jpgIMG_2616.jpg

I have way more photos to upload tomorrow, but that's the final turnout. The last week has been a lot of late nights and work to get it done, but for doing this in one month I'm happy with it.
 

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Re: Darth Vader One Month Build

Nicely done, GoldenAvenger. For being on a budget and under a time crunch, I'd say you did a pretty good job. And the finish on the helmet looks pretty good, too. Good job. :)
 
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