ROTS Vader Mask Interior-2

[fettpride]

Sorry the pics are later than I wanted them to be. I finally just had to set aside everything else I was working on. I don't want this thread to die.

So I slapped what pieces I had laying around for this project into a casting to show that I'm dead bone serious about this thing. I wish I could have painted the pieces but just too short on time. Keep in mind that everything is just thrown in there in a rush. It's just to illustrate some of what I have done on this. There are quite a few more pieces, but they weren't presentable for the purpose of showing off. Maybe the primers will accentuate what's going on in there. Speaking of, I didn't pop in the right eye assembly so you can see what's up underneath.

As you might be able to see, I'm going for a true "replica", not a reasonable facsimile. But of course, it's not perfect. There is only one that is, and that's the original. So we can only do our best with what we have. And it's certainly NOT 3 dimensional reference unfortunately. I've never even seen this thing in person. I missed it when it was at a "Where Science Meets Imagination" close to me, and I kick myself for that every time I look at this thing.

There are some pieces that have since been modified a bit since Mr. Bies shared his pics with us. Oh, and the contacts were already re-worked as I wasn't happy with the first versions you see here.

They say that "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". My little homage to you, Mr. Bies .. please be kind :lol


Best,

Chris

 

[blipper]

Can't see anything FP, ya tease.

 

[fettpride]

:lol oops, sorry. I had not slept yet and got tags all messed up. I just fixed it, and added a few more. I made them on the smaller side to get more to fit. If anyone wants larger versions for some reason, let me know.

A couple of important notes that I didn't touch on earlier.

Everything is scaled as well as humanly possible to the few "found" parts that we have. It's nice because there was one small "found" tid bit in every section that allowed the scaling. Will it be dead on accurate? Absolutely not. There is no way it could be. WIth pictures as our only reference, I'm sure you know that it's a judgement call in the end because perspectives get whacked out of proportion due to focal length, ect, ect.

Everything is a little rough in appearance - this is because on most pieces I have not done the finish work as of yet. Ya know, making them "beautiful" as Ivo likes to say :lol So pay no attention to the scratch marks here and there (especially in the mouth cage), or the pinholes. It will indeed be "beautiful" when complete.

I must reiterate what I said in my picture post - some of the parts you see, are not the recent final versions that I've made. Some of these parts are in their 4th generation already. And I've only been at this for 7 weeks :lol The "nose" for instance - I wanted the nose to be cast-able. So the version in the pics is designed without the undercut between the inner and outer "tubes". the most recent version, has the undercut to look more authentic. It will be a grip to cast, but oh well. But it couldn't make it to picture day as some of the other cool parts that are already done. Same for the mouth "comb" shaped piece. The one pictures is lop sided. The "real" one is sitting in silicone.

There are a few "bit" missing here and there from practically every section. For instance, in the mouth area - the "disc" in the center still needs a couple of "pips" added to the center. Little things like that. If you don't see it, don't worry. Well, not yet anyway :lol

Last, but not least - there are no milled, machined, or laser cut parts shown. Everything you see was hand cut (oh, you can tell I'm sure :lol ). But it will even out in the wash when the finish work is done.

That's about all I can think of for the moment :thumbsup

Best,

Chris

 

[artoo77]

Fantastic work--well done!

:thumbsup

Now make sure you glue things in crooked like I did.

--Don

 

[Darthmiller]

incredible work FP !!!

i always amazed at your work

 

[Trap Joe]

Sorry the pics are later than I wanted them to be. I finally just had to set aside everything else I was working on. I don't want this thread to die.

So I slapped what pieces I had laying around for this project into a casting to show that I'm dead bone serious about this thing. I wish I could have painted the pieces but just too short on time. Keep in mind that everything is just thrown in there in a rush. It's just to illustrate some of what I have done on this. There are quite a few more pieces, but they weren't presentable for the purpose of showing off. Maybe the primers will accentuate what's going on in there. Speaking of, I didn't pop in the right eye assembly so you can see what's up underneath.

As you might be able to see, I'm going for a true "replica", not a reasonable facsimile. But of course, it's not perfect. There is only one that is, and that's the original. So we can only do our best with what we have. And it's certainly NOT 3 dimensional reference unfortunately. I've never even seen this thing in person. I missed it when it was at a "Where Science Meets Imagination" close to me, and I kick myself for that every time I look at this thing.

There are some pieces that have since been modified a bit since Mr. Bies shared his pics with us. Oh, and the contacts were already re-worked as I wasn't happy with the first versions you see here.

They say that "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". My little homage to you, Mr. Bies .. please be kind :lol


Best,

Chris

Wow Chris, that´s amazing!!!!

If you are going to offer a set of interiour, I´m in!

 

[Stilgar]

Wowy! :eek

Indeed you ARE 'dead bone serious about this'...

Simply awesome!!!:thumbsup

 

[tk2647]

Chris, you´re the man ! :eek

And Don, thanks a lot for that big lot of information ! :thumbsup

Can´t wait to see more... :angel

 

[blipper]

*right click/save* *right click/save* *right click/save* *right click/save*
*right click/save* *right click/save*

Really great work, I think you nailed it. Did you get the eye frames laser cut or did you sit patiently for 20 years in a Buddhist retreat with nothing but a sheet of styrene and a scalpel? It's incredible attention to detail, and makes me feel more than a little "Captain Half-Arsed" about my own

Love seeing things at the primer stage too. Excellent excellent work. FP, regarding the hard drive read/writer on the nose bridge, did you remove the 3 other "behind" arms or are they inserted into the black ribbed nose tube? Maybe its all intact, just one of the things I've been trying to figure out are the depth arrangement of some of things (another being the mouth/flakvierling parts)

PM'ed you for more pictures, I'm up for those!

 

[fettpride]

Now make sure you glue things in crooked like I did.

--Don

:lol l That's awesome


Thanks Don, I'm relieved you approve :love without that, project scrapped :lol Quick question?

The eye frames - I've only done 2 layers and there appears to be 3 or 4 detailed layers total, and what appears to be some backing layers. My question is - the backing layers, do you happen to remember how many? Better yet, do the backing layers go all the way down to the mask to allow the upper visible layers to sit flat across the eye, or do the upper layers just sit in the mask following the natural concave? I hope I'm articulating that well enough :confused It's really hard to tell from any reference. I'm just going for reproducing the depth of this mask as much as possible :thumbsup


Thanks to everyone else as well :thumbsup


Blipper - you just about summed it up brother. Sheet styrene, scalpel, a hundred or so blades as the tips break every 5 minutes or less :lol Everything you see in there is hand cut, with the exception of the few little model kit pieces and of course the tiny little torx head screws (which came from hard drives too).

The forehead "spoon" was the most difficult. They're not round holes. And there is depth to that piece on the original. There is no human way to make this piece with that kind of depth by hand unless you get creative. The original appears to be upwards of 1/4 inch thick. So to do this by hand, I designed one side, in one layer, and then reproduced that single half layer 10 times. With those 10 layers, half of them flipped to produce the other side. When all layers were applied, you have a piece that looks nearly laser cut because the depth of each hole is true all the way through, and of course symmetrical hole positions on the opposite side. I have yet to add the little greeblie to cover up the seam. I suspect that Don's was done in "halves" because of the placement of the greeblies down the middle. I'm sure Don can confirm or deny, but it's just a hunch :lol

The first rule of thumb on this project was to design pieces in a particular order. If you don't make the right piece first, everything else is "off". So I had to really think about a systematic approach. The mouth cage had to be first obviously. But not work up from there. The forehead had to be next, then filling in the middle to match everything up.

The hard drive reader you see in the pics is "sterilized" for casting purposes. From the side, you can see two of the arms, the recess between them is filled but an undercut was left to simulate separate arms. The third arm was omitted because you really just can't see it anyway. The idea was a cheaper alternative to hunting down a WD 1020ba. But I plan to use an original for my own of course. You might as well use it if you got it :love

Sent you the pics you requested :thumbsup

Best,

Chris

 

[foxbatkllr]

You are insane Chris! That looks sick! I could never cut so many intricate pieces like that. Seeing stuff like that humbles me and my so called prop making skills.

 

[fettpride]

Thanks Donny. Appreciate that brother But you're right. I suppose it's been common knowledge for years that I'm not playing with a full deck :lol

A couple of people have already asked about what kind of "shell" this is going into. I made an accurate 3 piece reveal helmet years ago but some may not remember it. A couple of MR helmets cut to pieces, and as it turns out that's how Don did it (real castings obviously) :lol As I already said, there has just never been enough interest in this piece, but I should have already posted a pic of it for those that have no clue what's going on - on the outside. So Here is what the interior contents fit into :

Best,

Chris

 

[artoo77]

The eye frames - I've only done 2 layers and there appears to be 3 or 4 detailed layers total, and what appears to be some backing layers. My question is - the backing layers, do you happen to remember how many? Better yet, do the backing layers go all the way down to the mask to allow the upper visible layers to sit flat across the eye, or do the upper layers just sit in the mask following the natural concave? I hope I'm articulating that well enough :confused It's really hard to tell from any reference. I'm just going for reproducing the depth of this mask as much as possible :thumbsup

To be honest, I can't remember. I'd have to look at it...but since it's in Australia, I don't think that will happen soon. I looked around for my lasercut files to check if I have them still; no luck yet, but I have a couple of other places to look.

I will be off the board for the next two weeks, only perhaps checking sporadically, so don't think I'm ignoring you if it takes a while to respond.

--Don

 

[fettpride]

To be honest, I can't remember. I'd have to look at it...but since it's in Australia, I don't think that will happen soon. I looked around for my lasercut files to check if I have them still; no luck yet, but I have a couple of other places to look.

I will be off the board for the next two weeks, only perhaps checking sporadically, so don't think I'm ignoring you if it takes a while to respond.

--Don

Laser cut files? :love

Are you suggesting that you might be able to share these with us? Or are you wanting to refer to them to help answer questions? Either way, it would be phenomenal ! I really didn't see that one coming :confused

Should I stall progress on this until you've had time to see if these still exist?

I have a source for having them cut Can't blame a guy for asking, right?


Thanks again Don,

Chris




.

 

[CTF]

Honestly, I've never been a fan of that helmet (don't hurt me, Don), but that is just awesome! :love

 

[fettpride]

Honestly, I've never been a fan of that helmet (don't hurt me, Don), but that is just awesome! :love

Uhm? No anti fans of this helmet allowed here :angry

I am of course, KIDDING :lol The whole point here is to attract the attention and appreciation to this marvelous piece. Thank you VERY much :love

Chris

 

[Trap Joe]

Thanks Donny. Appreciate that brother But you're right. I suppose it's been common knowledge for years that I'm not playing with a full deck :lol

A couple of people have already asked about what kind of "shell" this is going into. I made an accurate 3 piece reveal helmet years ago but some may not remember it. A couple of MR helmets cut to pieces, and as it turns out that's how Don did it (real castings obviously) :lol As I already said, there has just never been enough interest in this piece, but I should have already posted a pic of it for those that have no clue what's going on - on the outside. So Here is what the interior contents fit into :

Best,

Chris

wonderful! excellent! I want!!!

LOVE IT:thumbsup

 

[kurtyboy]

Oh wow! Great updates guys!

Another project that one day might be comlpeted

wonderful! excellent! I want!!!

LOVE IT:thumbsup

 

[fettpride]

Oh wow! Great updates guys!

Another project that one day might be comlpeted

It's going pretty fast now - one day soon :lol

Chris

 

[cking]

Chris,

That is truly incredible work. I'm not a ROTS Vader fan but there's no denying the absolute quality of what you've produced here. Great work!

Chris