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 Post subject: ROTJ Vader Bodysuit Details
PostPosted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 3:43 pm 
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originally posted on the SLD forum:

For the past few years I've been researching and improving my ROTJ Vader costume to be as close to screen-accurate as I could achieve. I've looked at pics of ROTJ Vader so many times I can't count and there was always something about the bodysuit I couldn't figure out.
 
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That is until the "Costumes" book came out and had this pic.

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Now, I've seen various discussions on the "seams" on the front of the bodysuit and guys trying to replicate but I actually have a different view on it.  First, I believe the book actually has it wrong, they say the suit in the pic was from "Empire" in the caption (pg. 204), but it's my contention this is actually an ROTJ suit and the details seen in it are unique to ROTJ and never appeared in ESB or ANH (at least as far as my research has seen- but I'm not an expert on ESB so maybe someone can shed additional light).  

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What I see in the pic from "Costumes" is directly tied to just about every ROTJ image where you can see the bodysuit details, but it never appears in ANH or ESB (as far as I've found).  I believe for ANH and ESB, the seams on the bodysuit were all uniform and all straight up and down, but then for ROTJ they changed the design and wanted a "V" shape to accentuate Vader's physique.  As a result the seam that everyone has been talking about is actually not just a seam, if you look it's a tapered section that forms triangular patterns from mid-chest to the shoulder to give the suit a "V" shape.  In most pics we only catch the very bottom of this detail because of the armor, but when you look at the pic of the suit from "Costumes" next to the pics you can quickly see this is what it actually looks like without the armor.  So it's not just a "seam" in the bodysuit, it's actually sewn differently with tapered sections in the upper torso that only appear in ROTJ.
 
So, here's my "evidence":

The lowermost portion of this tapered (triangular) section corresponds to the same "seam" we see in ROTJ pics. You'll notice in all of the ROTJ pics this seam starts mid-chest (not the full length) and appears to be wider at the top than where it starts. When we look at the bodysuit pic we can then see it's the bottom of the triangle, not a seam.
 
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And finally an on set pic from ESB, once again no sign of the seam or the tapered sections (triangle).
 
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Feel free to share your thoughts (especially ANH/ESB guys).  :salute:


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 Post subject: Re: ROTJ Vader Bodysuit Details
PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 12:26 am 
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Nice catch on the difference in seams on the various pieces. Wasn't it a different company that created the RotJ leather suits than the one creating the ANH/ESB ones?

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 Post subject: Re: ROTJ Vader Bodysuit Details
PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 7:49 am 
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My thoughts on the ESB suit.
There is a bigger/thicker seam left and right, but not that "V" shaped detailing.
Bigger seam therefore cause they may made the vest out of 3 single parts?


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 Post subject: Re: ROTJ Vader Bodysuit Details
PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 12:29 pm 
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No Humor Man wrote:
Nice catch on the difference in seams on the various pieces. Wasn't it a different company that created the RotJ leather suits than the one creating the ANH/ESB ones?


Thanks, I'm not aware of who actually made the costumes but maybe someone else has that info. I've spent most of my time going over every piece of reference I can to replicate the look. I noticed the difference in the seam a while ago but never had any photographic evidence of the entire vest until the book came out, then I was able to see what caused that seam to be different from the others.

Maybe some of the other guys have more insight and/or info on who made the actual props?


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 Post subject: Re: ROTJ Vader Bodysuit Details
PostPosted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 4:19 pm 
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From memory, I thought it went like this...
Wested Leathers made the original ANH leathers then for ESB / ROTJ
they were replicated by Angels and the Wardrobe dept.


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 Post subject: Re: ROTJ Vader Bodysuit Details
PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 2:12 am 
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From my discussions with this involved that Berman and Nathans did ESB as their tags in the inner and outer cloaks have reflected this. Im not sure about ANH, as i never asked. Then Berman and Nathans had a fire where the ESB patterns were stored so most of those were destroyed and Angels Costumiers bought out or took over Berman and Nathans.


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 Post subject: Re: ROTJ Vader Bodysuit Details
PostPosted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 7:03 pm 
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Thanks gentlemen, I did not know who had made the suits, I only noticed after years of researching pics and screencaps to try to improve my costume.

I did recently have Fenix produce a custom bodysuit to add this detail- I have a few pics here of the new suit with this added detail: http://thepropden.aokforums.com/vp66461.html#p66461


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 Post subject: ROTJ Vader Bodysuit Details
PostPosted: Tue May 05, 2015 7:38 pm 
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I ran across this ROTJ behind-the-scenes photo where the V stitch is visible. Depicted here primarily is Alec Mills, cameraman/cinematographer for ROTJ and 007 movies. Image


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