Stones McQuarrie Vader WIP

[Darth Stone]

Have been looking for some time to do this project. Many problems have come up with the design of it that I have been working on one by one.

I do plan on making a full costume using a few parts from another costume. Things like boots, body suite, etc..

As far as I know this will be the first McQuarrie concept Vader costume ever. So I am faced with having to sculpt and make every item from scratch.

I started on the shoulder armor first. And I have made other Vader armor before so I thought I would just start there.

Here is the one and only photo of the version that I am after.

And one of the collectible statue.

I just started off by layering up a bunch of card board using white Elmer's glue. Then used a disk grinder to shape it. And what a mess it made, I'm still finding little brown cardboard dust bunnies!

I then sat a set of armor that I made awhile back on it to get an idea of size. I traced the outside edges to the card board with a sharpie.

Then just added clay to the shape and started to build it up.

 

[darthvaderv]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

As I said on the SLD, great work and an interesting project, this with JRX's concept Vader helmet would look fantastic once complete. :thumbsup

 

[Darth Stone]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

As I said on the SLD, great work and an interesting project, this with JRX's concept Vader helmet would look fantastic once complete. :thumbsup

Thanks again DV.
I bartered with a buddy of mine to make him a concept Vader helmet in exchange for what looked like a recasted rubies helmet. I thought after reading JRX's thread on what he used to make his it would be pretty easy. :confused I don't have any photos of it yet as it is right now a real mess. I filled the whole mouth / neck area up with bondo, put on a respirator and glasses and just went to town on it with a grinder. I really wished that I had looked at the McQuarrie painting as I was grinding.:cry I will post pics of it when it hits that all elusive primmer stage. :thumbsup

 

[bubba fett]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

Wow, I have wanted to do one of these for years. This is looking great so far. Can't wait to see how it progresses! :thumbsup

 

[yodasan]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

We are in McQuarrie nirvana these days -

 

[Hedjii72]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

This looks very promising. You're off to a great start, and I can't wait to see more!

 

[Egon Spengler]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

Sculpting I can do, getting it to look that smooth... I have no clue how to. How do you do that? This looks amazing!

 

[Darth Stone]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

Sculpting I can do, getting it to look that smooth... I have no clue how to. How do you do that? This looks amazing!

I use what I call a rake. I have a small collection of what are just basically bondo spreaders. They are homemade and I just drag them across the clay in much the same way you would concrete to level it out.

 

[vaderdarth]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

Lookin Extremely nice!!!!!

 

[freakengine]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

You've probably seen this, but just in case:

 

[phase pistol]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

Sweet. :thumbsup

Don't miss my review thread here on the Kokobukiya statue if you want more reference pix.

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=31041&highlight=McQuarrie

- k

 

[Darth Stone]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

Sweet. :thumbsup

Don't miss my review thread here on the Kokobukiya statue if you want more reference pix.


- k

For some reason I'm not allowed to view this thread.:cry

 

[phase pistol]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

Huh? That's weird.

It's in Off Topic called

Review: Koto/MR McQuarrie Concept Vader vs Luke

Just search for McQuarrie and you'll find it.

- k

 

[Darth Stone]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

Huh? That's weird.

It's in Off Topic called

Review: Koto/MR McQuarrie Concept Vader vs Luke

Just search for McQuarrie and you'll find it.

- k

Nope, not allowed. Perhaps it is because I am a fairly new member?

 

[yakcam]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

Nope, not allowed. Perhaps it is because I am a fairly new member?

Although this is an old post I think the rules still apply...

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=6

I think OT's restricted until you've reached these requirements.

Anyway, you're talent is kick @ss man, I can see this thread becoming one of my all time favourites, keep up the good work Darth Stone :thumbsup

Cheers,

Kraig

 

[Darth Stone]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

So, I just will have to check it out in about a month then huh!? Hey no sweat:lol

Thanks for all of your kind words on my little,eek) project:thumbsup

 

[Darth Stone]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

You've probably seen this, but just in case:

Yup, I sure have. There was another photo floating arround with a guy wearing this horid striped shirt and just the helmet. I could not see in the pic but I'll bet he had on plaid pants as well:eek

As I understood it, this costume was whipped up after the release of Star Wars, and before 1980. But who knows right?:wacko

 

[Darth Stone]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

OK, another fun wait to upload pics is over! Have made a mold of the sculpt. I first did this in plaster that ended up in the trash can, vacuum cleaner bag, and debris inbedded into the clay. What can I say but that I got into a hurry and it cost me about 6 hours to fix. :angry

So I decided that the best way to do this without spending money on silicone twice for one part was to do the old standby. Just a gallon of autobody filler and 2 coats of fiberglass to keep it together.

So with the mold now off the clay I sanded the whole thing smooth removing lumps, waves, and a billion pinholes. Next this will go down to the shop for a few coats of primmer and polyurathane paint. Depending on how many, I may nib out the dust lumps and even buff it.

This mold should be good for at least 5 pieces. I'll take one and make it my prototype for a silicone / fiberglass jacketed production mold.

 

[bubba fett]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

Man, this is looking great. Go DS , go!

 

[phase pistol]

Re: Darth Stones McQuarrie Vader Project

*&#^$*&# rules.... :angry

Well here you go... my Kotobukiya review in full, for those poor souls not "good enough" to get into the top secret decoder ring "boyz only" Off Topic Forum. :lol

Wow! I picked this up from Fancave.com (thanks Blufive!)... the newest of Kotobukiya's vinyl statues in 1/7 scale.

This represents the Ralph McQuarrie concept painting, one of the earliest done for Star Wars. An early draft of the script referred to these characters as General Vader and Deak Starkiller, so I'll call them by their proper names.

At this point in the story, Vader and his troops have crossed open space between starships, and have cut their way into the Rebel cruiser, so the corridor here is depressurized (hence the oxygen masks).

The sculpts are excellent on these figures. General Vader is the awesome prototype design, a leaner, meaner figure, very agile. Deak Starkiller's costume harks back to the age of Buck Rogers, and features detailed breathing apparatus and goggles. Both figures carry the same type of laser sword and each has a holstered blaster weapon. Deak wears the same chest-box as Vader. Since we don't see the front of Deak's outfit in McQuarrie's painting, obviously many details were probably based on other design sketches.

My only beef is with the painting, which is very dark. Vader has splotches of BLUE all over, which are of course intended to make him look more like McQuarrie's picture, but the effect is heavy handed and doesn't look that great in bright light.

Another annoyance is that some of Vader's limbs were coated with a thin oily liquid. This cleaned off easily, but I hope it was just residue from manufacturing, and not a sign of some sort of reaction between the plastic and the paint (as happened with the Unobtainium Enterprise...)

The packaging is over-elaborate and collector-unfriendly. The box is ENORMOUS, far larger than necessary even if the statue came completely assembled (as it is, the figures are disarticulated, and could probably have fit in a box one quarter of this size). The only advantage is that the large box features a big image of McQuarrie's painting, which is nice.

The graphics on the box are nice too. The very clean white-outlined STAR WARS logo is set against pure black, just like was used in the film's promotional material. One side of the box features McQuarrie's painting, with photographs of the statues on the other sides.

Although pricey (retail is $200 for this set, tho it can be found cheaper), I have to recommend this vinyl statue diorama to fans who, like me, have always treasured McQuarrie's original concept designs for Star Wars.