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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2008 5:31 am 
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The Prop Den: Code of Conduct wrote:
• Do not make factual claims or assertions that you are unwilling or unable to back up. If you do not have or are unwilling to provide support for a claim you make, you must frame that claim as an opinion (i.e. “I think that . . .” or “I believe that . . .”). Members here have a right to know why certain things are fact or purported fact; the absence of proof only creates uncertainty, and blindly following non-supported assertions will inevitably lead to misinformation. One of the essential pillars the Den was founded upon is the open sharing of information for the benefit of all members. If you feel like making unsubstantiated claims, please take them to other forums.

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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2008 11:03 am 
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All the OT posts will be split from this topic into a "Real Suit Discussion" thread later today, as this topic is only about PROVEN FACTS, and is basically not a discussion topic par se.

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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2008 11:04 am 
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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 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.

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.

The shoulder bells were individual sculpts - left and right.


Anson


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PostPosted: Thu May 22, 2008 9:36 pm 
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Anyone got anything more that needs confirming?


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PostPosted: Thu May 22, 2008 10:13 pm 
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I think dividing it up into:

Helmet

Armor

Shins

Would make it easier to follow, as it seems we are getting facts for more than just the helmet.

Did you add that the face was sculpted, then molded for a plaster cast and the dome was sculpted on top of that? Or was it some other way?

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PostPosted: Fri May 23, 2008 1:40 pm 
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Ok, Brian just confirmed in another thread that he also sculpted the bubble eyes in the clay sculpt and that those were used as the basis for the lense curvature.

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PostPosted: Fri May 23, 2008 8:15 pm 
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Fatherless One wrote:
Why does the front edge of one cheek rise up and the other curve downwards? And at the time did you notice?

Kind of the same question as above, where the cheek lines go towards the rear of the face mask and meet at the lower edges of the eye sockets, one side is higher than the other, did you notice this once you'd completed the sculpt, and if so were you tempted to correct this? Did anyone else notice this ? Same question regarding the mouth droop.

Definitely interesting questions that has left many men intrigued.

Though, wouldn't these fit better in the The complete ANH Vader Mask thread?

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PostPosted: Fri May 23, 2008 9:03 pm 
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NoHumorMan wrote:
Fatherless One wrote:
Why does the front edge of one cheek rise up and the other curve downwards? And at the time did you notice?

Kind of the same question as above, where the cheek lines go towards the rear of the face mask and meet at the lower edges of the eye sockets, one side is higher than the other, did you notice this once you'd completed the sculpt, and if so were you tempted to correct this? Did anyone else notice this ? Same question regarding the mouth droop.

Definitely interesting questions that has left many men intrigued.

Though, wouldn't these fit better in the The complete ANH Vader Mask thread?


Hi NHM,

At this very moment, in between answering posts, I'm writing a book about my 40 years in the film industry. The much sought after answers to these two questions will be revealed in it :wink:

Brian


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PostPosted: Fri May 23, 2008 9:07 pm 
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vaderman wrote:
NoHumorMan wrote:
Fatherless One wrote:
Why does the front edge of one cheek rise up and the other curve downwards? And at the time did you notice?
Kind of the same question as above, where the cheek lines go towards the rear of the face mask and meet at the lower edges of the eye sockets, one side is higher than the other, did you notice this once you'd completed the sculpt, and if so were you tempted to correct this? Did anyone else notice this ? Same question regarding the mouth droop.

Definitely interesting questions that has left many men intrigued.
Though, wouldn't these fit better in the The complete ANH Vader Mask thread?

Hi NHM,
At this very moment, in between answering posts, I'm writing a book about my 40 years in the film industry. The much sought after answers to these two questions will be revealed in it :wink:
Brian

Sweet. Going to offer signed copies for sale to people here?

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PostPosted: Fri May 23, 2008 9:51 pm 
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Of course - but as I'm only on page 11 it might be a while :lol

Brian


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PostPosted: Sat May 31, 2008 1:47 pm 
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Bump!

Let's not this thread dissapear - this is turning into a great reference and a brilliant Wikipedia entry.
Anyone else got anything that Brian can confirm or deny?



Anson

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PostPosted: Sat May 31, 2008 2:29 pm 
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AnsonJames wrote:
Bump!

Let's not this thread dissapear - this is turning into a great reference and a brilliant Wikipedia entry.
Anyone else got anything that Brian can confirm or deny?



Anson


This will, I'm sure, become a sticky thread. Thanks again to Anson, Brian and others that have contributed.


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PostPosted: Sat May 31, 2008 3:09 pm 
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We heard that:

- Three masks were pulled for the production: two for screen use and one for testing purposes.

- Lenses were sculpted bulbous in the clay and the perspex lenses formed for the finished pieces were based on that shape.

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 Post subject: Re: ANH Vader helmet - Just the Facts.
PostPosted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 5:02 pm 
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I would love to know how the dome was attached to the faceplate of the helmet. Was it just held in place with velcro?


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 Post subject: Re: ANH Vader helmet - Just the Facts.
PostPosted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 7:12 pm 
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Arcturus1020 wrote:
I would love to know how the dome was attached to the faceplate of the helmet. Was it just held in place with velcro?



The crown of the skull on the mask has three plastic 3M tabs. Apparently, the interior of the dome had a bit of a "platform" with three corresponding 3M tabs to connect to as well. The ANH mask did not appear to use any velcro (like the type we use today) on the forehead. It may not have been the best attachment method, as there were some Death Star corridor fight scenes where Vader's dome allegedly nearly came off.

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