Help/Advice putting together Darth Vader for birthday party

Seadog985

New Hunter
Hi all, I am trying to put together a decent, reasonably priced Darth Vader costume. Don't want to pay $800 for a Rubies but would like to get some of the Rubies pieces. Need some shoulder and shin armor. Saw an ad in the Cargo Hold for capes and shin guards but got no response from seller. Have spent a week surfing the web and have found almost no one selling parts. One place I found was Star Fortress but upon further research I learned that this person is to be avoided. I can and am going to make some of the pieces myself. Any advice or assistance in locating pieces from Rubies or otherwise would really be appreciated. I have until September so no rush. Thanks
William
 
William,

Good Luck! That's a heck of a expensive costume just for a birthday party, have you checked to see if there is a costume store near you? It might be better to rent one rather than hunt down costume parts. A good Vader is just as expensive if not more than Boba... Anyways, you are going to want to head over to the Sith Lord Detachment: The 501st Legion Sith Lord Detachment join the forum there.. They are the experts on Vader.

-Jimmy
 
I know, my wife likes to go all out for my son's b'day so she doesn't mind. Last year it was Batman. If I have to break down and get a Rubies I'll do it but if I can get the shoulder and shin armor I'll be good. Looked at some football shoulder pads today. That might be a good foundation for some home made armor. I used to ride in a civil war reenactment group so I know about expensive dress up :)
 
My Vader is almost complete, just some fine tuning. I have about $488 in it. $100 was for the rubies helmet and $130 for the FX light saber, leaving around $238 for the remainder.

I did a little work on the helmet, some bondo, sanding and painting. I added a fan and formed some lenses to replace the junk that it came with. Had to trim some off the neck to get it to sit right for me.

The shoulder armor and shin guards are made from wonderflex. The shoulder bells are the tops of a childs plastic batting helmet. Wonderflex is cool but does not have a smooth finish.

The cape and robe are made from cloth I had already. I've got to add a little satin material to the bottom to lengthen it a bit. Needed more material to add one more panel to the cape but that would have meant not being able to use the cloth since it had been laying around for a while and faded a bit.I

The chest box is from a Hasbro Vader mask toy. Its small I know but it was $2. I ripped the guts out and added blue and red lights. I cut a hole in the top above the coin slots so I can insert a micro recorder which will have the breathing sounds playing.

The belt came from my closet and the boxes/lights I ordered from West Fla. Components. A little wire, paint, and a 9v battery and that was it.

The cod piece is a piece of foam covered in vinyl. Am thinking about recovering it in the faux leather material I used on the suit. Not really happy with it.

The boots are from my Civil War riding days. Square toes but cost nothing.

For the suit I bought a black long sleeve tee shirt and a pair of exercise pants. I got some faux leather material from Hobby Lobby and some quilt batting. On the top I covered the front and the sleeves only. On the pants I covered the front and extended it a few inches toward the back. I ran vertical stitching about 1" apart over all the faux leather.

I know this is not 501st quality stuff but that was never my goal. I just wanted a decent costume to fool some 6y/o kids at a party. I have some used FX Stormtrooper armor coming so we should have a great party and cause lots of smiles and memories.View attachment 77478View attachment 77478View attachment 77478

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Not to be rude, but this isnt a Darth Vader board man...you would have had a ton more help if this was a Boba or jango build....but your vader isnt something most people here specialize in.
 
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