CARE OF YOUR NEWLY PAINTED ARMOR

DO NOT WAX THE ARMOR. DO NOT DRESS THE SURFACE OF THE ARMOR FOR 45 DAYS FROM DATE OF RECEIVING. IT IS A CLEAR-COAT PAINT AND SHOULD NOT NEED WAXING AT ALL. TRY USING A PRODUCT LIKE FINESSE (AVAILABLE AT MOST AUTO PAINT SUPPLY STORES) TO CLEAN THE SURFACE AND REMOVE SLIGHT IMPERFECTIONS AFTER THE 45 DAY PERIOD. IF NEEDED YOU CAN USE A 1000 OR 1500 GRIT WET-OR-DRY SANDPAPER TO REMOVE THE SLIGHT IMPERFECTIONS AND THEN DRESS THE PIECE WITH A PRODUCT CALLED FINESS. BE CAREFUL AND PREPARED TO SPEND SOME TIME ON THE PIECE ONCE THIS PROICESS IS STARTED. YOU MIGHT WANT TO EXPERIMENT ON IT IN AN AREA THAT WILL NOT BE EASILY SEEN FIRST.

AFTER 10 DAYS YOU CAN CLEAN WITH A MOIST TOWEL AND A LIGHT CLEANER. DISHWASHING DETERGENT CUT WITH WATER WORKS REALLY WELL FOR ME. 1 OR 2 DROPS OF SOAP TO A SPRAY BOTTLE OF WATER.

KEEP OUT OF DIRECT SUNLIGHT. IT WILL EVENTUALLY CAUSE THE FINISH TO FADE. IT IS CAR PAINT, BUT, AS WITH ALL PAINT, IT WILL FADE IF EXPOSED TO SUNLIGHT FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.

KEEP IT STORED IN A COOL, DRY PLACE.

ON YOUR CHEST ARMOR PLEASE TRY AND USE A LEATHER CAPE CHAIN. A METAL CHAIN WILL SCRATCH THE FINISH.

BE CAREFUL WITH THE ARMOR ALONG THE EDGES, THIS IS ITS WEAKEST POINT AND THE CLEAR-COATING COULD START TO COME LOOSE FROM THERE IF YOU ARE NOT CAREFUL. AVOID BUMPING OR STRIKING THE EDGES.

SHOULD SOMETHING BAD HAPPEN TO THE ARMOR, RETURN IT FOR REPAIR. IT MAY NOT BE NECESSARY TO COMPLETELY REPAINT THE ARMOR. MOST OF THE TIME IT CAN BE LIGHTLY SANDED DOWN AND RE-CLEARED.

ON ALL HELMETS AND CHEST BOXES THE LENSES AND BILLET ALUMINUM PIECES ARE INSTALLED WITH HOT GLUE. SHOULD THEY COME OUT YOU CAN SIMPLY REGLUE THEM WITH HOT GLUE. I RECOMMEND YOU CHOOSE A MORE PERMANENT ADHESIVE LIKE 3M AUTOMOTIVE TRIM ADHESIVE AVAILABLE AT MOST AUTO PARTS STORES IF YOU INTEND ON USING THE ARMOR OR HELMET AS PART OF A COSTUME.

WHEN INSTALLING THE VELCRO ON THE HELMETS, REMEMBER TO CLEAN THE AREA WITH ALCOHOL AND HEAT IT UP SLIGHTLY WITH A HAIR DRYER TO INSURE A GOOD BOND. ENJOY YOUR ARMOR AND STORE IT COVERED WITH A SMOOTH CLOTH LIKE FELT OR A COTTON BATH TOWEL.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS PLEASE E-MAIL ME

HOW DID YOU MODIFY YOUR PERSONAL ARMOR?

BELOW IS A LIST OF THE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS AND HOW I MODIFIED THEM.

BELT BOXES; These are made by GalaxyTrading. I have removed 1/2 inch from the depth of these fine boxes. The belt is all leather and has a double pin buckle in the back. The front buckle is high quality metal with a powdercoat baked black finish and polished aluminum detailing. 

BOOTS;The boots I purchased from MOTOR CITY COWBOY. I had them modified by a shoe repair shop here in town to have 2" more on the rear of the soles.

CHEST BOX; The chest box lights up and has the correct blinking red coin slots.  I painted the box and gloss coated over the button vinyl stickers. I cut the red/blue lights to fit the holes correctly. This is a GalaxyTrading chest box, it is the best I have seen.

COD PIECE; The cod piece was made for me by a leather specialist. I modified it to look thicker by adding foam and leather to the front and removing the center.

LIGHTSABER; I have several lightsabers I use for my costume. The first lightsaber was custom built by me out of a 36" red blade neon plasma saber kit form IU. I custom installed it in one of my Heiland Syncronar hilts and it looks wonderful. I also carry another Heiland hilt on the suit that is non functioning. I now use a ULTRASABERS modified Master Replicas Darth Vader Saber. This saber is very durable and can be used for fight scenes where the delicate PlasmaSaber cannot.

SHINGUARDS; The shin guards came from Armor FX. They are pulls from the correct left and right screen used shins. I simply painted them and attached the included straps. These shin guards are the best I have ever seen. .

CHEST ARMOR;The chest armor came from Armor FX. I had to relocate the cape hook upward on the armor so that the cape looked correct. I modified the chest armor back to be lined with foam. I have attached a belt that attaches to the chest armor and goes around my back to steady the armor under the weight of the wool/satin cape. I modified the shoulder bells to attach the upper armor with special hinges of my own design, this gives the suit the correct shoulder width and helps the cape hang correctly. This is the best chest armor I have seen.

HELMET; The helmet is a Classic Action Helmet. I had to remove about 1" off of the right side of the face mask bottom and reshape the actual helmet. I painted the whole helmet to match the helmet in TESB. I replaced the velcro with a much better SuperVelcro to attach the mask to the helmet. I also added a back neckpiece and replaced the mouth screen with the correct metal screen. I replaced the tusks with the correct metal ones I offer on my for sale page. I have now installed custom acrylic lenses that are much better that Don Posts lenses. These lenses are more contoured and are custom fit to the helmet and also available on my for sale page.

GLOVES; The gloves are limited production run of Gt leather gloves. I have not modified these. They are built to match the ones in TESB.

DELUXE CAPE; The Deluxe cape was made by Kathy Pillsbury. I had her build it to match the one in TESB. It is 100% wool outer with a satin lining. It has real leather 3" trimming at the top and bottom, as well as, a leather cape chain.

CLOAK; Kathy Pillsbury built The cloak for me. It is 100% cotton and is 1" shorter than the cape. I had the pleats she put in moved up 3" inches to be in the correct position and had it lined with a satin like material.

PANTS AND TUNIC; The leather suit is from GT. The one piece leather jump suit is fabricated out of the highest quality leather and has breathable panels throught the areas that are covered by capes and armor.

VOICE AMP; The voice amp unit was built special for me by Jim Shima of CyberDyne. It has a continious breathing loop with a voice altering program built into the unit to modify the sound of my voice to sound like James Earl Jones's in real time. It also has the light saber power up, humming, swooshing and the power down effect built right in, controlled by micro switches located in the gloves.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE DON POST DELUXE AND CLASSIC ACTION DARTH VADER HELMETS?

THE DELUXE HELMET IS VERY HEAVY AND THE HELMET ITSELF DOES NOT FIT SECURELY TO THE MASK. THE CLASSIC ACTION, HOWEVER, DOES HAVE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF ATTACHMENT FOR THE HELMET AND IT IS MUCH MORE SECURE. ALSO ,THE PAINT SCHEME ON THE DELUXE IS A BIT DULL AND IS REVERSED FROM THE MOVIE VERSION. THE TUSKS ARE MOLDED INTO THE FIBERGLASS  ON THE DELUXE AND DO NOT LOOK CORRECT EITHER. I HAVE IT ON GOOD AUTHORIY THAT THE CLASSIC IS PULLED FROM THE SAME MOLD AS THE DELUXE. IT WOULD PROBALLY STAND TO REASON THAT DON POST BUILT ANOTHER MOLD OFF OF THE DELUXE THOUGH , AS THE ACTUAL MASKS ARE DIFFERENT AT THE TOP.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR PAINT ON THE CLASSIC ACTION HELMET AND THE DON POST DELUXE?

I TOOK THE DON POST DELUXE TO THE PAINT SHOP WHERE I GET THE PAINT AND HAD THEM COMPUTER MATCH THE PAINT TO IT. I USE A BASE-COAT/CLEAR-COAT TYPE OF PAINT, WHICH MAKES THE PAINT LOOK REALLY GLOSSY. I ALSO DO NOT REVERSE THE PAINT SCHEME ON THE HELMET, LIKE DON POST DOES.

HOW DO YOU GET THE HELMET TO ATTACH STRAIGHT WHEN YOU ARE PUTTING ON THE COSTUME?

I USE SUPER-VELCRO ON THE HELMET TO MASK ATTACHMENT AND DO NOT TAKE IT APART WHEN I AM PUTTING ON THE COSTUME. I HAVE ALREADY ATTACHED THE HELMET AND ALIGNED THE MASK SO THAT IT ALL LOOKS STRAIGHT. I THEN JUST SLIP THE HELMET ON.

CAN YOU TELL ME HOW TO BUILD A BREATHING/TALKING CHEST BOX?

On another subject, I've noticed on the costuming chat board that you have on your site that people are talking about different ways of getting a good Darth Vader breathing sound to go with their costume. Here's what I'm doing. I bought one of the new Diamond RIO MP3 players. I plan to make a 15-minute loop of breathing sounds pulled straight from video and edited with a shareware audio editing program. You can even add different spoken lines on top of it iff you want. Set the player to repeat the track and it will run for a couple of hours on 1 AA battery.I am going to hook up the player to a set of battery-powered computer speakers that I got at a local electronics surplus place. By chopping some of the plastic off and making some other modifications, they fit rather nicely behind the inner cloak on either side of the chest box. The speakers run on a few C batteries that fit in a battery pack that attaches to the belt in back, and they sound pretty good for 15 bucks. Total cost: about $135. Share this with your friends if you like, or refer them to me if they want more details.
This was submitted by Doug Dixon Thebigpyro@aol.com

WHY DID YOU PAINT AND RELOCATE THE ARMOR HOOK?

I RELOCATED THE ARMOR HOOK TO HAVE THE CAPE HANGING IN THE CORRECT POSITION. THE HOOK, AS IT IS STOCK, TENDS TO PULL THE CAPE OVER THE ARMOR AND MAKES IT LOOK RATHER POINTED AT THE CONNECTION POINT. I ALSO COULD FIND NO ONSCREEN REFERENCES TO THIS STYLE OF MOUNT. I ALSO FOUND NO REFERENCE TO A "BRASS" HOOK ONSCREEN. I PAINT IT TO MATCH THE ARMOR IN THE CENTER TO CONCEAL ITS LOCATION.

WHY DID YOU GO WITH A GLOSSY PAINT WHEN THE ARMOR IN "STAR WARS" SEEMS DULL?

I DECIDED TO GO WITH THE GLOSSY PAINT BASICALLY ON MY OWN PREFERENCE. I AGREE WITH IRVIN KIRSHNERS VIEW IN "THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK" THAT THE GLOSSY VADER AND THE LIGHTING GAVE A MORE DRAMATIC APPEARANCE TO THE COSTUME. YOU WILL FIND THAT THROUGHOUT THE MOVIES AND EVEN IN DIFFERENT SCENES IN THE SAME MOVIE, THAT THE ARMOR GOES FROM GLOSSY TO DULL, FROM ONE PAINT TO ANOTHER AND EVEN TO ONE STYLE OF COSTUME TO ANOTHER. THERE ARE MANY VADER STYLES OUT THERE, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, ALL HAVE SUBTLE DIFFERENCES. ONE MIGHT HAVE THE CAPE UNDER THE HELMET WHILE ANOTHER HAS IT MOUNTED AT THE NECK. ANOTHER MIGHT HAVE THE GLOVES GOING ALL THE WAY TO THE ELBOW AND YET ANOTHER TO THE MID FOREARM. YET ANOTHER MIGHT HAVE THE CHEST ARMOR AS ONE COMPLETE PIECE AND STILL ANOTHER WILL HAVE IT AS SEPARATE PIECES. SO YOU SEE, THERE ARE QUITE A FEW STYLES AND WAYS OF DOING THE COSTUME TO TAILOR IT TO EACH PERSONS TASTE AND STILL HAVE IT ACCURATE TO THE MOVIES.

IS IT HARD TO WALK IN THE BOOTS?

NO. IN FACT I HAVE GOTTEN USED TO IT, IT IS QUITE EASY NOW. I WOULD RECOMMEND WEARING THE BOOTS SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE PUTTING THEM ON WITH THE COSTUME, JUST TO BE SAFE THOUGH.

IS IT HARD TO SEE OUT OF THE MASK AND DOES IT GET FOGGED UP WHILE WEARING IT FOR A LONG TIME?

YES, IT IS HARD TO SEE OUT OF THE MASK. IT DOESN'T HAVE GOOD SIDE TO SIDE VISION AND THE LENSES ARE KIND OF DISTORTED IN THE MIDDLE. IT WILL FOG UP ON YOU ALSO AFTER A FEW MINUTES OF WEARING. I HAVE SOLVED THIS BY INSTALLING OPTICAL GRADE ACRYLIC LENSES I HAVE CUSTOM MADE FOR ME AND FOR MY COSTUMERS AVAILABLE ON MY FORSALE PAGE..

WHAT WERE DAVE PROWES'S BODY MEASUREMENTS WHEN HE DID STAR WARS?

Hello Bob,

Here are the measurements you require;

Height 6' 6"
Hat size 7 3/4
Neck 18 1/2
Chest 50"
Waist 38"
Biceps 18"
forearm 15"
Large thigh 27"
Calf 18"
Shoe size - a very wide 12 made to measure 6E fitting

Kind regards Dave..

WHAT DOES VADERS CHESTBOX LETTERING ACTUALY SAY?

This is the info from the Forcenet.com enjoy the info.

"WHAT DOES VADER'S CHESTPLATE SAY?

This is a question we've pondered a lot ourselves. We know it is in Hebrew, but can't really read it. It is even listed on the RASSM Newbie FAQ as a major point of question. People have their theories, but nobody has been able to decipher it. Who can help us? Who? WHO?

Out of the West rides a lone Newbie named Anat! She speaks Hebrew and gives her best shot at translating it! Here, posted in it's entirety, is her interesting attempt at a translation:

Being an obedient Newbie ('What is thy bidding my master') I've read the FAQ (July 30th) and came across the following: FAQ: "26. What does the Hebrew lettering on Darth Vader's chest-plate mean?

Answer: The chest-plate can be seen at http://www.umr.edu/~hanlon/picpage.htm

[image inserted below]

Of course I rushed to explore that site!! Hebrew lettering on "Papa" s chest-plate !? [ If my *real* father knew who I soo fondly call "papa" ;) ]

FAQ: "The readers of rec.arts.sf.starwars.misc have been researching this topic."

Hope I wont be 'flamed' for bringing it all up again, but I think I have a - significant contribution, that may shed some light on this matter.. Especially as Hebrew is my first language!

FAQ:"The readers believe that it is indeed Hebrew lettering."

Indeed it is

FAQ: "Some possible translations are "until he won" (where 'won' means a prize or money as opposed to a victory)"

Well, roughly

FAQ:" or "until a return""

Incorrect !!!

FAQ: "David Fleischer recently wrote in saying that - >The first line may be "Or, and his works","

Not entirely correct.

FAQ:" the second may be "which will move","

?????????????????????????????????????

FAQ: "and the third may be "until he has won"."

Well, this IS true - from a certain point of view :) These lines (which, together form ONE sentence BTW), are written in an ancient (Or Biblical if you like) Style / Syntax, as opposed to Modern Hebrew Syntax.

In Hebrew (Like in many other languages, both modern and ancient), Words often have several meanings - (Regardless of the style, grammar, or syntax in which they are used).

These are then defined according to the context of the sentence . Therefore, translating these lines can be tricky..

With that in mind ;) I would suggest the following translation:

The First Line - (Phonetically pronounced - Ein Maasav) Means -

His deeds (and not works) will not

The Second Line -

this is a difficult one: To begin with it is placed up-side down! I think it is partially covered (i.e. the letters are partially cut), I think it is misspelled as well (That is if I guessed it right in the first place!) Anyhow, IMHO, this line means - Be forgiven (Phonetically pronounced - Nisslachim)

And The Third Line (Phonetically pronounced - Aad shezacha) Means -

Until he merits (and not won)

Put together, the sentence reads -

" His deeds will not be forgiven, until he merits"

Which, not only makes MUCH more sense (IMHO), but also sounds very familiar. I know I've herd it before, but for the life of me I just cannot remember where At first I thought it may be part of the prayers or hymns of the Jewish - Day of Atonement service.

I've looked it up (read the whole thing) and it's not in there. Then I thought it might be mentioned in the holy scriptures - in one of the books that deals with repentant - Palms / Proverbs / Ecclesiastes.. (May be the book of prophets as well?) As I'm not orthodox - my knowledge of the old testament does not go beyond basic (in Jewish terms).

My knowledge of the new testament is probably less then basic - Anyone out there care to have a go? It just might be in there ( in an English version of course! ) Im currently researching these venues. I havent found anything yet.. But you'll be the first to know if I do! [ BTW, someone at work was very impressed with my - religious devotion - If only they knew :D ]

The more interesting aspect of this mystery chest-plate is - Who put it there? And why? Is it meant to be part of the story? Or just an anecdote? Another related issue is the upside-down line / word... In the Kabala (=Jewish mysticism) words are very powerful. Perhaps placing a word upside-down can reverse its meaning? (I'm not an expert in 'Kabala' either).

If this is the case, does the chest-plate convey some kind of prophecy or 'curse' placed by - say - Yoda, or Ben - only to be 'reversed' by our beloved Palpy? (Wild speculation..)

Or may be its just a fluke? May be the costume department just got it wrong, by mistake? ;) [Someone that knew nothing of the hidden meaning - in these odd Hebrew symbols (regarding them as just an exotic font) accidentally placed it upside-down..] Coincidence? I think not! In any case - food for thought.. -anat Anat wrote us and followed up with this: I accidentally used the word Nisslachim instead of Nimchalim ... They ARE synonymous words ( I was probably thinking in Hebrew - Consequently using the more modern version of the same word) .

They both mean - be forgiven - so I did not mislead you in that sense - but should you suddenly have an urge to pronounce that sentence phonetically... ;) Well, its only fair to give you the correct version/ pronunciation...

So, the sentence is pronounced - Ein MaaSaV NimChaLim (!) Aad SheZaCha -

Meaning - His deeds will not be forgiven until he merits. May the Force be with you, Anat" and if you want to go to the site heres the addy- http://www.theforce.net/rouser/chestplate.shtml

DARTH VADER

from the offical Star Wars Website

Standing two meters tall, dressed in flowing black robes and black body armor, Darth Vader is a tangibly evil symbol of the Emperor's doctrine of rule through fear and terror. With the Emperor's favor Vader has risen through the Imperial ranks to become a fearsome and dreaded military commander, now one of the most highly placed individuals in the New Order.

His face locked behind a hideous metal breath screen, Vader cannot survive without the artificial support of his suit, which functions like a walking "iron lung," breathing for his crushed lungs and keeping his shattered body alive. In spite of these injuries, Vader is a powerful and dangerous figure. Ruthlessly employing torture and brutal violence to achieve his objectives, Darth Vader commands fear within his own troops as well as among his Rebel enemies.

While there are those within the military who despise his weird "sorcerer's ways" and his eccentric and dramatic behavior, as Vader's power has grown these objections have become fewer.

Once a Jedi Knight, Vader was formerly the pupil of Obi Wan Kenobi in the days of the Old Republic, learning the ways of the Force for the purpose of defending truth and justice throughout the galaxy. Impatient with Obi-Wan's teachings, Vader chose a different way of using the Force, and followed the temptations of the dark side of this power. Corrupted and turned evil, he betrayed his mentor and helped the Emperor hunt down and destroy the Jedi, leaving the terrible regime of the New Order unopposed.

When Gran Moff Tarkin's Death Star was destroyed by the Rebels, it was believed that Vader had been lost to the void. But he did survive, piloting a special advanced prototype fighter equipped with hyperspace engines. Vader returned from deep space more powerful than before, to take command of the Imperial Star Destroyer fleet assigned to track down Luke Skywalker.

Through the use of thousands of probe droids dispatched to comb the galaxy, Vader eventually located the new Rebel base on the ice planet Hoth. Vader directed the invasion of Hoth and then trapped Luke's friends as they sought refuge on Cloud City. Ruthlessly manipulating Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca, Vader used their pain as bait to bring Luke to their rescue, all the while plotting to capture Skywalker for the Emperor. In his confrontation with Luke, Vader would unleash psychological horror to bring Luke down the same dark path. Tempting him with power, chilling him with revelation, Vader fought young Skywalker with far more dangerous powers than the lightsabers clashing savagely between them.

Their final confrontation would be before the Emperor himself, on board the second Death Star, within the depths of theEmporer's dark throne room. Here the ultimate battle for good and evil would be played out between their spirits, and in one last defining moment Vader's identity is at last revealed for everything that it is. Luke triumphs for both of them, and the circle of the Force is at last truly complete.