Darth Vader: Belt Box + Buckle, Chest Box

Hi all!

I started this build about a month ago in preparation for a costume party coming up. I've always wanted a Darth Vader costume since I was a kid, so I'm kind of thrilled to be part way there!

I started by purchasing a Rubies plastic helmet, and a 'full' costume (to take care of the cape and the rest) from here.
I used a lot of guides/reference material from the Sith Training Temple [STT].

I decided I would make the belt boxes and chest box with full lights to make it look more authentic (and a whole lot more awesome) -- as well as being a means of 'starting' on my way of creating a full costume.
NB:
This is most likely not going to be 'screen accurate'. I have a lot of respect and admiration for those who spend the time (and, where applicable, the money) to create detailed and accurate recreations of the Darth Vader costume. I just want a costume that will look good, and be recognised as being 'good enough'

Part 1: Chest Box [CB].
A lot of the guides / tutes I saw had chest boxes being moulded, or made from fibreglass. I've got more experience with wood, so I decided to make the CB from wood. Originally, I was going to do like darienvader did with his own chest box (http://www.therpf.com/f9/darth-vader-anh-chest-box-31710/#post436188) however, I decided I would avoid the hassle of routing out the back of the box.

Instead, I got two pieces of 18mm thick MDF, and laminated them together.



Before I laminated them together, I cut out the area where I will be putting the electronics, batteries, etc to light the box.


Once cut out, I glued the edge, clamped, and left to dry for 24 hours


While that was drying, I set to work on the rocker "switches".

I used the guide from the STT to get the right height, angle, etc.
I ripped down a piece of MDF to be the same width as the switches are high.


Then, marked on the end the angle (taking the highest point and the lowest, and then just drawing a line between). Please excuse blurry photo :\


I used the table saw, and adjusted the height of the blade, and moved the fence, so as to incrementally 'cut away' the wood. The only other way you could do this is with a router, and a custom jig - which I didn't really feel like stuffing around with



This left quite an uneven surface on both sides (due to the saw grooves). So, I just had to run some sandpaper over each side.


The following day I removed the chest box base from the clamps, sanded the edges, and then routed the top part with a bevel router bit.




I then cut out a number of rocker switches based on the width of the template.


At this point I realised that they were probably a bit 'high' (ie. thicker than they should be). So, I used a band saw to cut them in half -- there was no way I was going to get my fingers the required distance to a rotating table saw. Once cut down they looked better proportioned with the chest box base.


Part 2: Belt Buckle [BB]
Whilst I was in the workshop, I decided to work on the belt buckle.

Using the template from the STT again, I cut out the main pieces from plywood

The back plate was simple: cut to size of template.
The middle 'curved' back was cut rectangular (as per template), marked a curve using a compass (you can use anything that's round and about the same height as the rectangle) and then I used a bandsaw to cut the curve out. You could also cut it out using a jigsaw.
The 'circle' I created by using a hole-saw to cut out (that big blue thing in the background of the picture - in case someone uses some other terminology )

In order to get the 'grooves' into the middle, I first marked out where I they would need to go. Given that it's basically a triangular shape, I marked a triangle (this would provide the 'height' of each corresponding) and then the intervals at which they would occur.


I first thought I would use a 3mm drill bit (which I think is 1/8th for those playing in Imperial land) to create a series of conjoining holes, that could then be sanded / filed out. But, this didn't go quite as planned.



So I returned to my trusty router; having recreated the whole curved section of the buckle, I used a 3mm straight bit and created a little jig to help guide each interval based on its distance from the flat end.
This resulted in a much cleaner and consistant cut in comparison.


Final belt buckle

Belt Boxes

I had to wait for the coin slots and the aluminum rods to arrive via eBay, so I got to work on the belt boxes.
I used a couple hobby 'jiffy' boxes, and used some of the lights that I had purchased to try scale everything based on the reference photos.

I marked out all the holes to drill, and cuts using a square and a scribe/marking tool.





The 6 'screws' that are on the rear side of the box are computer thumb screws. I found these on ebay, after being inspired by a spare thumbscrew on my desk - but it had grooves on the face for a screwdriver. I then found some that were slightly larger which had a smooth face.

The LED in chrome bezel was just from JayCar here (probably be able to find similar on eBay or Radio Shack in the US). The green 'pilot light' cover was from ebay - and where the closest I could find to being anything appropriate to the original. I found an American supplier that had others - but they don't ship to Australia.

I drilled holes where the covers would go to put a 10mm LED under them in order to light them up.



The 'grill' was from an Ikea magazine file which I cut out and bashed straight, and then glued to the inside of the box, after cutting out the gap for it.



I used araldite to glue the pilot light covers to the box. The syringe was used to put a small line along the thin edge of the covers.

Electronics

Flashing lights and sounds were always on the agenda to try make this as 'awesome' as possible.

I'd seen some layouts where people put speakers into the CB, along with the electronics for the flashing, and stationary, lights. I wasn't sure I'd be able to fit all that in, so I thought about the possibility of putting speakers behind the grills of the belt box.

Unfortunatly, I can't find photos of this process, so I'll try explain as best as I can.
I started with a 'portable speaker' thing from OfficeWorks.

The description says '5 watts' but it's only 4, each speaker being rated at 2watts each.
I took it apart, and started planning the electronics.
In the Left Belt Box would be:

• Amplifier / volume control board
• Batteries (for the portable speakers)
• 3.5mm female socket, leading to the sudio in on the amplifier board (to plug in iPod, playing a loop of Darth Vader breathing audio clip)
• Left channel speaker

From the left belt box would be a wire running behind the belt itself to the right belt box, which would terminate at a right-angle 3.5mm male jack.
The right belt box would have a 3.5mm female socket that leads directly to the speaker, glued near the grill.


Along with all these audio components, there will be a 9volt battery and all the pretty LEDs connected to a switch.




In an early test, I tried to avoid having two lots of battery in the Left (photo right) belt box. So, I wired the LEDs up to the 'power on LED' connectors of the amplifier - but the contrast in LED brightness was too much, so I now have two separate power sources for the amplifier module AND the LEDs. It's cramped in there!


Left Belt Box prior to adding separate 9volt supply for the LEDs.

I painted the buckle, and attached it to a 'clip'; I then ran 38mm belt strapping between the box and its backing plate (fit perfectly between the upper and lower screw mounts) to achieve its final result.

Awesome work here and great photos.

Chest Box Electronics

My first post here was about the electronics for the Chest Box. The STT have a template - but it was a little 'out dated', shall we say?
The transistors used in their diagrams can be replaced with a single chip (as Mordor Brass's schematic shows)

Once I got all the parts, I tested out the wiring using a breadboard (just to make sure I was reading and interpreting the schematic properly).



At about this time the coin slots finall showed up, so I wired up the 'LED bars' I had purchased to place behind them, and tested how they would look.



I then worked on getting it onto a vero board. This process took about 6 hours - including the cutting of wires, triple checking connections, and taking breaks to save my neck


Next I had to work on cutting the CB to accomodate the coin slots and the two stationary lights.

First, I marked out the location for each component (allowing space on the sides for the aluminum rods -- when they eventually show up)


I first started by using chisels to clearly 'define' the outline of the coin slot location. I then used the router with the 3mm straight bit to cut out the slots. Due to the small space, I couldn't setup a 'fence'/guide for the router, so I had to free-hand it. Turned out OK, but it's not entirely straight.


I also used the router to cut out the 'inside' of the coin slots - where the lights will sit. This created a small 'ledge' that would hold the LEDs in place (meaning no need for glue - w00t!).


I first primed the CB, rocker switches and buckle with a white primer - which was designed for wood. The reason being that I had a grey spray on primer - but I wasn't sure how it would adhere to the wood (since it didn't mention wood on the back of it ).


The only experience I've had with primers is when I worked for a short time in a cabinet making factory - so everything was 2pac. Much learning was done during this process. The white had too much brush strokes shown (even when I tried sanding them out - they remained). So I eventually just sanded the primer right off, and sprayed everything with the grey 'spray on' primer. That ended up working fine.

I then sprayed everything semi-appropriate colours.


For the CB body I sprayed a thick coat of matte black - waited about 5-10 minutes to dry a bit, and then did a gloss on the top


I then had to fit everything into the back



I used some motherboard mount screws to 'mount' the vero board and the batter pack to the inside of the CB body


Before soldering all the resistors the the many legs of the bar LEDs


Final layout of inside CB base


For the strapping, I used a sharp scribing/marking tool to point through a hole, and then used a soldering iron to 'melt' the surrounding nylon/plastic, so as to avoid too much fraying. I used a small screw and washer to ensure a firm grip was made.

The final chestbox (with the rods - that arrived just in time!)


Final thoughts
For the purposes of the two costume parties, I think these will work quite well. I'm about 90% happy - only because I'm a perfectionist, and I'm not entirely happy with a few things (such as the coin slots not fitting in their desired 'grooves/slots' because of the paint / primer. I tried to clear it, but was too paranoid of slipping and damaging the CB body paint.
And the pilot light covers aren't quite the right size, and I don't like how the lights aren't 'diffused' enough.

For a first build - I'm very happy. But somewhere (down the line) I think I would like to revisit this and rebuild it (including painting the rocker switches more accurate colours -- yes, I know I'm not after screen-accurate, but this is something that can be done without much work).

Still, as time goes on, and I do more - I'm sure I'll get better and learn more along the way

great work bro, i've been thinking of a way to do those lights myself for my budget vader build..but...the cheapest and easiest way possible. your build has given me great ideas. thanks for posting

Powerhouse70 said:

Awesome work here and great photos.

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Thank you I tried to make the photos clear so that people have good references if they want them.

omel said:

great work bro, i've been thinking of a way to do those lights myself for my budget vader build..but...the cheapest and easiest way possible. your build has given me great ideas. thanks for posting

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Most welcome The lights are the hardest by far - both in style and scale.
The ones I settled on were from this ebay seller - they have square and rectangular varieties, and sell them in packs of 5.

They come apart pretty easily too:


I found a link (I can't remember who posted it to give them credit) to an American supplier who seems to do cheap components -

West Florida Components.
They only ship in the US though, so if you're outside the US -- no dice. I sent an enquiry to them (because their current international shipping status is 'currently suspended' - whatever that means!) but I never got a reply.

Like you - I had a limited budget (which I think I blew a few times :\ ).

For v2 I think I'll scrounge around a bit more. I was able to find some very awesome looking pilot lights / illuminated switches on eBay - but they were older, and for some reason cost $50US each; can't understand why :confused.

This is looking really good! Great job on the buckle- I would never have thought wood would turn out so nice!

poholio said:

This is looking really good! Great job on the buckle- I would never have thought wood would turn out so nice!

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Just make sure you spend a bit more time sanding it smoother than I did

wow Oldschool thats really great to see your style, I thought you were going to use them as templates and vac form the boxes. love it....

Yeaaahhh!!!. thumbsup:thumbsup

Amazing work!

did you consider using plastic electrical junction boxes for the beltbox? the dimension are very near the size indicated over at the STT ( thats what i used)
http://www.therpf.com/f24/vader-budget-scratch-build-wip-pic-heavy-133728/

lionback said:

wow Oldschool thats really great to see your style, I thought you were going to use them as templates and vac form the boxes. love it....

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Thanks
If I had time and researched it more, I might have considered doing as one of the tutorials on the STT showed - where someone did similar but did a resin cast. I may still do it - if only for the 'additional space' in the back. But that'll definitely be a later down-the-line thing
I half expected someone to comment 'you should make a mould...' as I saw on another thread.

Mordor Brass said:

Yeaaahhh!!!. thumbsup:thumbsup

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Devious1978 said:

Amazing work!

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Thanks guys. It's encouraging getting positive feedback!

omel said:

did you consider using plastic electrical junction boxes for the beltbox? the dimension are very near the size indicated over at the STT ( thats what i used)
http://www.therpf.com/f24/vader-budget-scratch-build-wip-pic-heavy-133728/

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Omel: You took it to a whole new level, and I loved your use of everyday products to make yours!

RE: Junction boxes - I hadn't considered them, simply because when I was getting my electrical components, I saw this in the store and they were only AU $3 each. I'm fairly certain junction boxes from electrical wholesalers are more expensive than that (from memory - my dad's a sparky so I've been present in the past when picking up supplies from wholesalers).

So, given the price point, I didn't even bother trying to find an alternative

Oh ..here where i'm at...(Philippines) those junctions boxes , if my memory serves me right,are under a dollar($) retail. at ACE hardware...thanks..that budget build of mine is a test build before i make a more accurate one that will be up to 501st standards (Hopefully)

Now, I´ve searched for several hours but no one seems to have blueprints.....could you please tell the the size of the beltboxes so I can order them, thank you.

https://www.elfa.se/elfa3~se_sv/elfa/init.do?toc=20865&name=Plastlådor

Well done!