Was the Vader ANH chestbox painted or gelcoat?

[ob1al]

Given the evidence of wear on the Kermit photo's, I'm guessing that the ANH chestbox was painted (fiberglass?).

Any other thoughts about this?

 

[GINO]

Definitely painted.
Whether it was resin or fiberglass is unknown.
Definitely not made out of wood just in case someone asks.

 

[ob1al]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GINO @ Nov 28 2006, 11:34 PM) [snapback]1367250[/snapback]</div>

Definitely painted.
Whether it was resin or fiberglass is unknown.
Definitely not made out of wood just in case someone asks.
[/b]

Thanks for that Gino.

 

[vaderdarth]

definitely painted.

 

[Darth Kahnt]

What Dave and Gino said.

 

[Betamin]

It was painted by Midichlorians.

 

[Boba Frett]

What Betamin said

 

[Admiral Vaughn]

Is it made out of Wood??

~Russ

 

[HAL9000]

So...

Is this thought to be a 'found item' like a junction box or are
we saying that this was made for the film.

In any case, looking at the beveling i would
suggest that it was cast from a wooden original in that case.

Any ideas?

Also - dare I ask - does anyone know the dimensions of the ANH chest box?
That would be a good way of investigating.

I have access to some late 70's UK electrical component catalogs.

 

[ob1al]

Maybe it was vac-formed from a wooden master?

 

[HAL9000]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ob1al @ Nov 29 2006, 08:49 PM) [snapback]1367962[/snapback]</div>

Maybe it was vac-formed from a wooden master?
[/b]

Hmmm...that's a pretty good suggestion. They did do truckloads of vacforming at Elstree.
(rubs chin)

 

[GINO]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ob1al @ Nov 29 2006, 04:49 PM) [snapback]1367962[/snapback]</div>

Maybe it was vac-formed from a wooden master?
[/b]

Definitely positively not.

 

[ob1al]

The reason I think vac-formed rether than cast is because of the black paint and the white/cream colour showing through where the paint has chipped off.

If it was a cast part, it would have made more sense to cast it in black gelcoat to avoid having to paint it.

Could still be a found part - but from the looks of it, the original colour would be white or cream.

::rubs chin too::

 

[gonk27]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(HAL9000 @ Nov 29 2006, 08:53 PM) [snapback]1367966[/snapback]</div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ob1al @ Nov 29 2006, 08:49 PM) [snapback]1367962[/snapback]

Maybe it was vac-formed from a wooden master?
[/b]

Hmmm...that's a pretty good suggestion. They did do truckloads of vacforming at Elstree.
(rubs chin)
[/b][/quote]



Also in Twickenham...
(also rubs chin)

 

[ob1al]

GINO - if it was resin or fiberglass, do you think it was cast from a custom sculpt or a found part?

 

[Cenobyte]

Actually a few years ago as I was building my Vader suit, a friend noticed that Vader's chestbox appears to be 2 colors.

The face a dark silverish-grey and the edges black.

We painted mine up that way and it looks great.

 

[gonk27]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cenobyte @ Nov 29 2006, 09:44 PM) [snapback]1368013[/snapback]</div>

Actually a few years ago as I was building my Vader suit, a friend noticed that Vader's chestbox appears to be 2 colors.

The face a dark silverish-grey and the edges black.

We painted mine up that way and it looks great.
[/b]

I know exactly what you mean, but pretty sure it's just lighting quirk. You can see that colour effect in a couple of Vader photos from ESB and ROTJ. Have a look at the ROTJ shot of Vader in the DS hangar, looking and pointing warningly at the camera.

I did the exact same thing with my first scratch-built chest box when I was a kid.


Jeremy

 

[vaderdarth]

Actually, the surface of the chestbox front appears to have been handled while the paint was still tacky...........that or just touched up with a brush so many times that it appears duller than other parts of the box. It's like parts of the facemask, it's got fingerprints all over it.

 

[HAL9000]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GINO @ Nov 29 2006, 08:58 PM) [snapback]1367973[/snapback]</div>

Definitely positively not.
[/b]

Gino, the definitive tone of your response suggests you know otherwise.
What is your argument or evidence for the contrary sir?

 

[ob1al]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(vaderdarth @ Nov 29 2006, 10:09 PM) [snapback]1368038[/snapback]</div>

Actually, the surface of the chestbox front appears to have been handled while the paint was still tacky...........that or just touched up with a brush so many times that it appears duller than other parts of the box. It's like parts of the facemask, it's got fingerprints all over it.
[/b]

Yeah, I've noticed in some reference pics that the front of the box is covered in scratches and quite beaten-up - very imperfect.

Do we think there was more than one box made for ANH?