Bengrim's Darth Vader reveal project

Just done a test cut on the crown cog it has 43 teeth as the original
can anybody confirm some measurements I've got it at 12mm across with a 3mm hole

This is just a sample cut but I should be getting it cut with other bits to make it look as it should tomorrow but I would like to confirm it's size if anybody would like to chip in it would be appreciated


10 hours later !!! Nobody !!!

Looks good. Mine are also 12mm and the hole in the middle is 3mm.

Kroenen77 said:

Looks good. Mine are also 12mm and the hole in the middle is 3mm.

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Thanks Marcus tried to look at yours but no clear photo

I´m Mark...haha...but ok...

I think my "wheels" are not 100% accurate with the design..but the dimensions are good.

Kroenen77 said:

I´m Mark...haha...but ok...

I think my "wheels" are not 100% accurate with the design..but the dimensions are good.

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Sorry Mark there's that many marks and Markus's( !! ) I talk to it hard to keep track,

WIP on my cog wheels just stuck on plastic at the moment until I can machine some stems and drill them for the lever, still need refining but I think I'm getting there.



Lots of work to do to get these looking like I want to

Wow..that looks very nice!

Kroenen77 said:

Wow..that looks very nice!

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Thanks MARK (name correct) I think they are going to turn out ok

Looking Uber professional

Mickxc said:

Looking Uber professional

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i wouldn't say professional !! but I would say a lot of care and attention is the First Order inc help from RPF'ers sharing there knowledge and I wouldn't have gone this far without everybody's support I would have probably built something simpler
thanks Mickxc for your support

Ben

Been back to YUKU more light reading ( again ) For those of you who need more information on building a Darth Vader reveal you MUST read all this

http://darthvaderrevealed.yuku.com/...et/The-Darth-Vader-Reveal-Helmet#.WIRnNMvfWhD

This is what got my juices flowing over 2 years ago, the work that these guys did was and still do is amazing and you will still see some of there names in the RPF, would I go as far as saying there names are legendary in the prop building forums ?....... (Most DEFINITELY) but don't tell anybody is said that.

any how back to my tax submissions (pain in the arse)

Tax returns done, tax man payed ( blah ) now I'm back on it,
bought some 3mm ally tube for the cogs, marked them up for the lathe

Just put these test pieces to gether to see how they look going to give them a quick coat of primer
still on the lookout for a lathe as the stems are a real pain in ally tube I would get a better finish in solid ally bar and cut on a lathe
not a bad effort for a first attempt but better results will follow

Gave the wheels/cogs a quick primer and they look better than I thought




Ive also had a quick bend of the lip/nose guard just to see what I need to do to get the desired look, it's a good job I had a few made for test bending this is going to be a tough cookie but I think it's very achievable

Great...:thumbsup

loving the progress photos cant weight to see the build

UKscout said:

loving the progress photos cant weight to see the build

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Can't wait to start the build myself I either start it with the helmet I've got but it's not all that great it needs tearing apart and resculpting OR my second option is to wait for sskunky's CFO ROTJ helmet that he is working on at the moment and I'm going with option 2 as its going to be a beautiful mask and I want to do his and my hard work justice my first mask I will probably do as well and auction off for my local cancer charity as one of my cousins is not doing to well with the big C and they are helping her out big time but that's a little further down the road

Just thought I would draw up some brow linkage cover pieces for photo etching

Had a busy day today going back over old pieces and decided to re-draw some, why I hear you ask ? Well let me explain my mistakes.
I started to draw some brow linkage cover pieces ( see previous post ) and decided my brow linkage (3rd ) attempt just wasn't right, so I placed it next to my copper dynodes and it just wasn't sitting right with the reference pics I have, so after a long hard look and digital calliper in hand I realised that the first drawing and second drawing I had done ( with some finer measurements from Kurtyboy ) ( thanks Marcus always a pleasure) my drawings hadn't been followed, that included the other brow linkage without the holes and the top crown linkage

old linkage with dynode


New drawing with dynode

These changes are due to the cover piece not fitting correctly on the linkage

dynode linkage and cover piece over linkage a much better fit


Now to to my second re-draw or mistake, if you notice my cover piece, it's should be the same part as the vocoder part I recently drew and had photoetched cut up and placed over the brow linkage.
Well it got me looking back at my vocoder part and to my surprise I got it wrong ( ish )
from the top rail to the expanded part of the stem the distance is to long


So i got busy altering the vocoder part that can now be chopped up and also used as the brow linkage covers


Now i I need important feedback
i made some lower jaw teeth a while back and when I was asking for advise on the thickness of material I needed to use I was torn between 1.5mm or 2mm and I received a comment from Blipper ( much appreciated) and was told that he had some from another prop builder he's was 2mm but couldn't confirm if this was the correct thickness but said they looked ok, I went with 2mm and I agree they look ok, but now in question is, after being in touch with another builder he had a suspicion after looking closely at more reference photos 1.5mm might be better ( could be )
what im asking is, There are many seasoned Vader reveal builders out there but not enough advise, hints or tips from different members (more the merrier in my book) would be better to come to a final conclusion or do I just keep drawing cutting failing drawing cutting failing drawing cuttin WINNING.

So if it's possible
1.5mm or 2mm


thanks for looking. Reading. Following
Ben

Hi Ben

Your vocoder 'harp' piece (as I call it) is looking great, as is the similar little bit for the forehead linkage!


..I know I'm gonna feel stupid for asking this but what part are you referring to regarding the 'lower jaw teeth?' We all call these bits different things lol, but I'm having a hard job picturing the long thin bits in your last pic! Are you talking about the 'zippers' that line the upper inside edges of the jaw section? (left side one missing on the prop these days), if so I make their thickness 1mm!

Some of the measurements you might have got from Marcus may have come from me, as I've helped him with dimensions and details in emails back and forth over the years. One difficulty with giving precise dimensions is that because we're all working with different Vader casts that can vary in size and shape, a particular set of sizes that work on one prop won't necessarily fit on another without parts either overlapping each other, or being too far apart - I know this from my own experience with my now second and final build attempt as opposed to my first. Anyway, once I've finished my build and I know everything's as good as I can get it I'll be in a better postion to post details here, but I'm finding a lot of this is trial and error, and that I sometimes need to go back and redo things I thought I'd finished. Even a full standardised set of dimensions might need adjusting by individual builders to fit them all onto different masks. If everyone was using the same base cast it would be a lot easier.

I've also had a lot to do in the 'real world' for a while so prop-work and the Reveal has had to take a back seat for a bit, and I don't always get to check here as often as I used to.

Jeremy

Thanks for the reply Jeremy, I am talking about the zippers and I will have some cut in 1mm and 1.5 just so I can post pics for a comparison, I understand regarding the sizes of my parts and other people's helmets with different mounds, I'm trying to get as close as possible to the original size as I'm waiting for Sskunky CFO Vader helmet but now I'm second guessing all the time as my helmet is probably no where near the correct size, I want to hold back until the helmet is available but I'm to impatient but I think I must
thanks for your input always appreciated
Ben