My Lifesize ROTJ Darth Vader Statue - Final Update

surf

Active Member
Dear fellow RfP Members,

finally my ROTJ Vader Statue is complete now (though some upgrades planned for the future) and I want to share with you my looooong way getting there ...

*Edit* Final Upgrade to a new Capeset and a new and more accurate Chestbox. This is it !

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My passion for Star Wars started in 1985 with the release of the VHS Video Cassettes. Especially Darth Vader was always my favorite character and I loved his look in ROTJ the most. As a 7 year old kid, without having Internet at this time, I tried everything to build myself a Darth Vader Statue, but failed in the end due to the lack of my craftman skills. It took another 11 years, when I got access to the Internet for the first time and openend the door to a complete new world with all it's opportunities ...


This is were I found an offer for an "Ultimate Darth Vader" Costume on eBay. As I was doing a apprenticeship at this time, my funds were very limited. I started begging my father to lend me the money and as he was always a great supporter of my passion he agreed on giving me the money finally to pull the trigger.

It took about four month to receive the Soft- and Hardparts finally.

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As I learned later on essentially the "Ulitmate Darth Vader" offering on eBay consisted of the parts of various vendors that are still in the business. The Softparts (Leather, Cape+Robe, Cod and Gloves) were done by Fenixprops and the Hardpards by Portumac (Helmet, Belt, Armor and Shins).

Having the ROTJ the Reveal Helmet, I wanted to have the possibility to show Vaders pale and scared head, when taking off the dome. Meant for me that I needed to sculpt the scars on the mannequins head. Point was the head of the standard mannequinn was simply too small for the helmet so I used foam and some tape to make it bigger.

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For the sculpting I used some window putty that I've bought at my local property market

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Finally it all got painted as best as possible to match the on screen appereance of Vaders head in ESB/ROTJ.

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Next thing, which I didn't had on my Screen, was that the mannequin simply doesnt had the body proportions of a Dave Prowse. It was simply too skinny to look anywhere near Darth Vader should look like. This meant that I needed to get some foam and make also the shoulders wider. For the shoulders I ended up by pulling two iron rods through the torso, hanging the arms on them.

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Finally I was able to put my Vader together having him standing in my Star Wars Room.


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However, I was never completely sold by the result. Guess you can imagine why... His Cape and Robe were too short, the Gloves and Cod Piece were too big, the Chestbox broke after some while ... etc.

Over the years it really started bugging me more and more that the Vader that I always wanted hasn't become what I was aiming for. Years went by and last year I jumped the fence by starting customizing my vader more and more. All started on the day I was jumping off the sofa starting to cut off his legs, cause they were simply too short. After I did this, I had no clue how to extend or connect them back again. So I was checking my local Home Depot and ended up with some plumping pipes which were exactly what I needed.


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Seeing that my Vader finally got more and more the proportions that were needed was some of an oasis for my soul after all these years, but I wasn't still there where I wanted to be. This was the time when I registered for the 501stsithlords Forum starting inverstigating about the best Vader parts that money can buy.

At the end of my little project I replaced the batteries and hooked everything up to a power socket. All can be remotely controlled (Chest Box, Belt, Saber and a Bluetooth Speaker that sits under the helmet)

Finally I'm completely happy now about my Vader and beside of some minor updated and tweaks, after more than 15 years 17 years I'm really proud having him standing in my living room. I want to thank all the guys that of the 501th Forum that were contributing and helping me to investigate on the best Vader parts on the market !!!



Thanks !
Sebastian
 

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It took me some good time. Tweaked the body step by step, till I got the correct shape.
Bassicaly I made the shoulders wider and used foam to built up some muscles, giving him a more impressive look.
After realizing that the legs are too short and his upper Body is too small, I bought some legs of antother mannequin cheap on eBay and made his upper Body bigger, by placing a bucket above the hips.
 
My God, that's gorgeous.

This isn't even my favorite version of Vader, but man I love what you've done with him!

Great job!
 
He looks amazing. Love the hard work put into him.

A few suggestions.

You seem to have switched to the wrong chain with the bigger links. Your first was better.

The left hand side shoulder seems far to wide as if the shoulder Bell is extra padded to stick out further.

The belt width seems to narrow.


Keep up the good work.
 
Thanks guys for the kind words. I really appreciate them !

vader45 Thank You for your feedback ! The chain is exactly the same as before. As for the shoulders it’s not the padding, it`s the position of the arm and elbow on the left hand side that makes this side appear wider than the other. Also the Cape is not worn symmetrical on-screen appearance
(8 chainlinks are visible, 4 links to the right and 3 to the left, hook is in the 5th link)

As the shoulderbells of the ROTJ Armor are flush, less padding on the left side would make no huge difference
The belt should be fine. Other than ESB the belt of Vader is more narrow in ROTJ
 
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Thanks guys for the kind words. I really appreciate them !

vader45 Thank You for your feedback ! The chain is exactly the same as before. As for the shoulders it’s not the padding, it`s the position of the arm and elbow on the left hand side that makes this side appear wider than the other. Also the Cape is not worn symmetrical on-screen appearance
(8 chainlinks are visible, 4 links to the right and 3 to the left, hook is in the 5th link)

As the shoulderbells of the ROTJ Armor are flush, less padding on the left side would make no huge difference
The belt should be fine. Other than ESB the belt of Vader is more narrow in ROTJ

This is what the chain should look like. This is the closest available chain today.

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The ANH/ESB belt is 2.25" and the ROTJ is between 2" and 1.75". I went with 2" since I couldn't find the in-between size.

And I just think that wide shoulder is somewhat throwing off the look. That is my opinion. If you like it that's cool. It's YOUR Vader. Enjoy it your way.
 
I really appreciate your Input. Working on something, for such a long time, leads to a blindness... Therefore i‘m glad you‘ve pointed out some things I haven‘t considered before.

As for the chainhook I‘ll check, but to get as close as possible to screen-accuracy, a treatment with an exacto knife would be neended. Think I will be doing this as soon as I‘ve found the time for doing it.

For the rest I‘m good and leave it as it is
 
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