Some Vader Tips/Pointers needed

[WarPig]

Lat night marked the debut of my (mostly stock) Vader costume.

Ok, I know I need better lenses (already have, I need to install them) to see better (also need to get rid of the excess "blockage" in the eye sockets). I need cooling fans in the mask (again, have 'em, didn't have time to put 'em in).

I'm aware of the many upgrades I can do for accuracy. What I *haven't* read is some of the basic stuff: how to you walk around and be reasonably sure you're not knocking into people or things? How do you *hear*?! Twice last night I needed an "interpreter" to tell me what people were saying (a family wanted their picture taken with me! What a rush!).

I imagine if I put the suit on and walk around a bit I'll get the feel for how to control the cape, etc., and once I can get fans and lenses in I'll be less blind; but how do I overcome "helmet deafness"? Wear earphones and one of those hearing amplifiers?

Oh - another thing - how do you guys get in character? I had a really hard time standing around looking menacing; I wanted to start dancing to the music we had playing (actually, I did do a couple of dance steps between Trick-or-Treaters :lol)

 

[jcoffman99]

I can't hear anything in mine either. Add to it a loud bar on Halloween and it's next to impossible. As far as walking, I have the Mrs. walk in front of me and I just follow her. Those darn helmets have suck limited vision it's really hard not to bumb into people. As far as getting into character I just hum the Imperial March to myself. Once I hooked up my ipod with the breathing loop it really helped too.

 

[WarPig]

Maybe the fact that I had the Imperial March dance remix playing didn't help my cause

Might be fun to get a room full of Vaders and watch them bumble around and bounce off each other.

 

[Scoundrel68]

I just picked up a used Rubies for cheap off of craigslist last Friday. I tried it on that night and the lenses fogged up instantly so I couldn't see a thing and was sweating like a pig after only a few minutes.

On Sunday afternoon, I wired up a fan in the lower vent that blew up towards my face and hooked up an iPod/speakers with a loop of breathing.

That night, I wore it while I took my daughter to a small town's downtown event where they close off several city blocks and everyone Trick or Treats to the businesses. There were a lot of people there and it was a challenge to navigate through the crowd. I pretty much stayed in the street while my wife took my daughter up to the businesses on the sidewalk.

I got more used to it as time went on, but I was always afraid of stepping on some
little kid beneath my field of vision.

As it started getting darker, my vision got worse. The lenses started fogging up a little and once that starts there's no stopping it, so I called it a night.

I'll wear it again but I'll probably make some modifications to the fan set up. Would I have better luck if the fan blew out the hot air rather than drawing in cool air?

 

[hc8719]

I have the Supreme helmet as well, and I agree with you warpig, the lenses fogging up wouldn't be half as bad if you could actually see through them.

You can buy replacement lenses specifically for the Supreme Vader helmet on ebay, unfortunately they are like $16 plus shipping. You will have to consult with others as how to take the lenses out (I don't know if its possible without losing a bit of the padding).

I believe most people use little computer fans to cool their helmets, and I can't say warm air would help. I have the Supreme body suit and gloves, I know how hot it gets in there, and I don't think warm air would help, perhaps I'm wrong. If you find a good place to buy those little computer fans that connect to a 9v battery, please pass it on.

Also, look into buying (or making) a cooling vest with ice packs attached to it, it can make a huge difference