potential silly Q?... starting a Vader costume with...

[n0regret5]

i'm very interested in aquiring a darth vader costume. even though i'm not terribly tall (terrible average, in fact: 5'9") its a look i've grown to love and seriously wanna lay my hands on one, especially since getting one of those kids (pfft...like they were ever really made for KIDS..) voice changer helmets just recently, i've made up my mind on wanting the rest of the kit (kinda looks silly being vader masked without the rest of the gear).

so heres the question: what is the easiest way of aquiring one?.... told you it was silly, i should probably be bugging the crew at the 501st... :lol

i've been looking at the costume places online, and theres this version (meh) going for around $120AU

Deluxe Darth Vader Mens Star Wars Costume at Wholesale Prices

and then the 'collectors' edition, usually around $1145AU

Collector's Darth Vader Star Wars Costume at Wholesale Prices

is the collectors' a good way of getting into it? or is collecting parts from members on here or the 501st a better way?.... any advice would be great, thanks!

 

[Russ257]

Re: potential silly Q?.....

how much do you want to spend and what level of accuracy are you trying to achieve? Do you want to join the 501st or do you just want something to wear out for haloween?

 

[n0regret5]

Re: potential silly Q?.....

I want something for halloween primarily but I'd love a display unit, I'm a bit of a stickler for things like details..a screen accurate one would be my biggest goal.

 

[Cosmic Ash]

Re: potential silly Q?.....

step one win the lottery.

vader is easily the suit most likely to get looked down upon unless its perfectly screen accurate

so its all about budget but nothing says you cant start out with a cheapy not so screen accurate look than build on it and upgrade over time

 

[NWagstaff]

Re: potential silly Q?.....

I want something for halloween primarily but I'd love a display unit, I'm a bit of a stickler for things like details..a screen accurate one would be my biggest goal.

Well the best place to start with Vader would be the helmet, because it is easily the most iconic piece of the entire suit. With the helmet there are big differences depending on which movie you would like to have, after that it turns into a searching game and figuring out how much you are willing to spend on the piece.

 

[n0regret5]

Re: potential silly Q?.....

yikes. really?....well i was considering modifying the one i have somewhat. i guess its just the rest that i'd need to hunt down/make. hmmm....maybe it'd be easier to stick with a dark knight costume

 

[Psammead]

Nah stick with Vader, uber-accurate can't really be done on a budget but as others have said you can upgrade parts over time. The best example of this is to look at what Gino started with and what he has now.

I wouldn't consider making stuff with the exception of the cloth parts as it's usually cheaper just to buy it. You can get some good deals on secondhand stuff and slightly damaged parts though that you can fix up on the cheap.

 

[Qui-Gonzalez]

Re: potential silly Q?.....

yikes. really?....well i was considering modifying the one i have somewhat. i guess its just the rest that i'd need to hunt down/make. hmmm....maybe it'd be easier to stick with a dark knight costume

If you are after screen accuracy, that helmet would only be good to slap a screen sized helmet over.

For me, it is collecting pieces at a time. It makes it far less overwhelming, fiscally speaking. I've gotten rid of some parts in waiting for others. For an OT Vader, some parts are interchangeable, such as the chest armor and shins. All three chest boxes are different, though the ESB and RotJ are only marginally so. The ESB belt is closer to ANH. Things I am not sure about are the undersuit and robes. (I haven't reached that stage yet with mine.)

It's a loooooong journey, man. Good luck on it.

 

[Prodigal Jedi]

As others have said the first thing you should do is really stop and think about what your budget is going to be. Vader is probably one of the most expensive costumes to replicate. Personally I've invested just north of $3000 in mine and I'm sure there will be some purists who will say it isn't completely screen accurate. If you're willing, and financially capable, of going that far also be sure to put a cap on what you're willing to spend. Vader is also one of those costumes that people constantly upgrade; it's almost never a finished project.

 

[n0regret5]

$3000 huh..

hell. thats not a bad idea then. i've got time before halloween to construct a basic costume and then i can start working on hunting down the more screen-accurate parts.

appreciate the help guys!!

 

[faroshuffle]

Vader can be VERY expensive! I recommend piecing it together over time. It took me 3 years.

 

[OldKen]

Re: potential silly Q?.....

I'm a bit of a stickler for things like details..a screen accurate one would be my biggest goal.

Check out this picture.

One is a voice changer. The other is my 20thC casting...

If you can't tell the difference or why that helmet isn't even a remotely good start on a screen accurate Vader display...

Just search Ebay for a rubies supreme. That helmet is still WAY better than the voice changer.

OR if you really want to go for accurate. Start with something like a DarthStone helmet. They are very fairly priced. And you have many options. They even have a new "trooping" version that is made of lighter weight materials, has built in fans and an improved strapping system. http://www.stonestudiocreations.com/

 

[Shiney]

Heya bud, I'm guessing that since you quoted Au, you're an ozzie, so you could shoot over to the local 501st Garrison and say hi to us there if you like. I'm Shiney over there too

I think the basics of Vader have been covered, and really, Vader is a BIG project, that requires tons of research [months] if you want to bring it up to screen accurate. I took it on myself to get my ESB Vader to pretty close to the same proportions as the guy who was inside of it, Prowse. I did that with 4" lifts in the feet [Im naturally 6'2"], shoulder and arm 'muscles' made of foam to match his proportions [found em online!] and the chest & back were proportioned with a cold pack, which obviously kept me cool too. To my eye it 'does' make a difference, the extra width make the shoulders and arms to head proportions look right and add much to his 'intimidating' presence.

I spent months waiting for the right helmet to show up and whilst I got it cheaply and I painted it up just like the movie, you can eassssily spend $800 for a really decent helmet as they're pretty hard to find in both accurate and low in price.

Obviously it all depends on what ya want to go for, you could go for the ROTS Vader and get a Rubies Extreme, they're not too bad I guess, a little inaccurate but certainly fine for a costume party etc, you will still hold people in awe, but if you wanted to go the 501st route, you would need to make fairly extensive modifications, paint etc. If you really wanted to, the guy playing him was 6'2" I believe, and a noticable difference in body size and type.

I hate to say it, but the height makes a difference in this character, Im guessing here but if you were dead set on going the 501st, you would be best doing the ROTS with some lifts to bump your height a bit, or doing one in proportion to your height to make it look right. Ie. make everything at 88% of the size of the original

 

[n0regret5]

88% the size of the original hahaha. no, no..i wanna do the whole intimidating big guy thing. its kinda important to me to make him big and scary, i can nearly get the right James Earl Jones timbre to my voice (especially when i have a cold haha)

i guess my best option is to start hunting for the right parts and get some lifts etc. i'll go with something else for halloween this year (did batman last year, will post pics at the bottom, was a real rush job so forgive the quality), i'll set this up as my long-term project. bamf. righto