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PostPosted: Sat May 17, 2008 6:47 pm 
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Brian,
Since most people's body's, and faces are not symetrical did you notice
anything in the casting of David Prowse that would affect how the final
sculpt of the chest armor would come out in order to fit him properly....

I guess what I'm trying to ask is. Was the Armor symetrical. or would the
Armor be a little off in order to fit his proportions properly...

Thanks in advance :)


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PostPosted: Sat May 17, 2008 8:03 pm 
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artisanprops wrote:
Brian,
Since most people's body's, and faces are not symetrical did you notice
anything in the casting of David Prowse that would affect how the final
sculpt of the chest armor would come out in order to fit him properly....

I guess what I'm trying to ask is. Was the Armor symetrical. or would the
Armor be a little off in order to fit his proportions properly...

Thanks in advance :)


Hi Doug,

The body cast did not strike me as irregular but as with the human face it
is very unlikely that it was totally symetrical. I had to make it look as symetrical as I could with the cast I was given. Therefore to answer your question in all probability it was a little off to fit his proportions properly.

Brian


Last edited by vaderman on Sun May 18, 2008 1:36 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sat May 17, 2008 11:53 pm 
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Another fact we can add is that the tips of each side tube end with a machined metal 'tusk' on either side of the mouth.

Brian, I guess you probably knew that something was going to be added there at some stage once the mask was complete, but can you tell us if these were pre-existing items or were they machined specifically for the mask?

Jeremy


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PostPosted: Sun May 18, 2008 2:23 am 
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Hi Jeremy,

I don't remember if I was told at the time that there would be a metal tusk added.

I don't know if the metal tusk ends were specifically made but I have seen the late Nick Harrison (son of Norman Harrison - Elstree Props) state on 'The Making of the Myth' film for Sky Movies 1999 that they were made by Norman's engineering workshop.

Brian


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PostPosted: Mon May 19, 2008 6:44 am 
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I was thinking this is probably the only thread about the Vader helmet/armour that no-one can argue in!
This is what we have so far;

The tubes on the faceplate were sculpted,moulded and cast as seen on screen.

They were never cut in the clay, plaster or fibreglass for the 2 screen masks.

The tubes were brought forward at the clay stage after discussion with John Barry. There was no indication or line in the clay caused by this change so it did not appear in the clay,plaster or the fibreglass screen mask.


The tubes were not two roles of clay placed on the sides - they were gradually built up from small roles of clay.

The strip across the top of the helmet was carved into the clay - looking at the screen helmet you will see that the line of the helmet from the front is level with the strip and it curves into the bottom edge of the strip.

The Darth Vader armour was sculpted on the figure of Dave Prowse to the neck line. The mask/helmet was not in place at the time.

no concept heads were sculpted just the one screen helmet.

The faceplate originally had a back and front section.

The moulds were made from silicone rubber with a fibreglass case.

The helmets would all differ as no casting would be exactly the same due to the fact that the rubber has to be placed back into the case and it will never sit into the case exactly the same each time. Also in the laying up of the gel coat you can have air bubbles appear in different areas which are filled and rubbed down. These are extremely subtle differences but nevertheless are there.

The clay used was 'buff body' clay - with or without 'grog' according to the detail you needed to put into the sculpt. Without grog is for the more detailed sculpting.

The shoulder bells were handed ( one left and one right).

The grooves under the eyes (tear ducts) were made with a small wooden modelling tool.

The tusks were more than likely made by Norman Harrison's workshop - based on the statement by Nick Harrison in 'The Making of the Myth' documentary - not 100% but close.

The three clips on top of the mask were for connecting the back and front together and Velcro to be used for the neck area.


Last edited by AnsonJames on Mon May 19, 2008 11:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Mon May 19, 2008 7:46 am 
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Thanks for that Brian!


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PostPosted: Mon May 19, 2008 9:57 am 
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What an amazing thread. It's the perfect thread for people who aren't able to translate all this huge threads to get the confirmed infos without using translation programs :lol
Thanks Anson for this great idea and thanks Brian and all the others for such great infos...i really appreciate this. :bow

Cheers

Nick


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PostPosted: Mon May 19, 2008 10:05 am 
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Another excellent Vader thread. Great Idea Anson. Makes it clearer to have the facts in one place :thumbsup .

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PostPosted: Mon May 19, 2008 11:16 am 
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Great idea for a thread Anson. Great input.

I might add your new avatar is very disturbing :)

Cheers Chris


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PostPosted: Mon May 19, 2008 11:34 am 
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It is great to have people sharing info on Vader.

I'm sure that all Vader nuts will take this info and sleep well at night.

Thanks Brian & Anson.

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It will help you win friends & influence people.....


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PostPosted: Mon May 19, 2008 11:57 am 
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A few more facts;


The original clay sculpt was discarded once the mould was taken as there was no more use for it. As with many other things in the film industry it ended up in the skip.

The sculpt was made from a single sketch from John Mollo - it was a 3/4 view, no shading just a line drawing.

The shin guards were cast in fibreglass along with the armour.


Anson


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PostPosted: Mon May 19, 2008 4:24 pm 
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Brian,

Could you tell me how you created this line in the helmet?
Was it scribed into the clay?

Image


Thanks!

Anson


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PostPosted: Mon May 19, 2008 11:12 pm 
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vaderman wrote:

Yes you're correct the helmet and armour were sculpted independently of each other. I did not sculpt the armour with the mask in place but I would be surprised if I did not put the mask in place to mark the line on the neck.

Brian



Even considering that, they fit together amazingly well....


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PostPosted: Tue May 20, 2008 12:21 am 
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AnsonJames wrote:
Brian,

Could you tell me how you created this line in the helmet?
Was it scribed into the clay?

Image


Thanks!

Anson


Hi Anson,

This was not a line scribed into the clay with a tool. It shows a sharp line but it was caused by a change of angle.

As I said in my pm to you , this thread was a great idea :idea of yours to get all the facts together and there is now a point of reference for everyone who has interest in Vader. :thumbsup


Brian


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PostPosted: Tue May 20, 2008 6:21 am 
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vaderman wrote:

This was not a line scribed into the clay with a tool. It shows a sharp line but it was caused by a change of angle.

As I said in my pm to you , this thread was a great idea :idea of yours to get all the facts together and there is now a point of reference for everyone who has interest in Vader. :thumbsup


Brian


Cheers Brian!

The line in the helmet was always something I was curious about.

Anson


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