Redlands Newbie
#16
Welcome Hyperlance.


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It never hurts to ask, but it does if you make Assumptions.
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#17
Well I've had a bit of a setback. My car has died and had to get a new (used) one, so that is setting the budget back a bit till after new year for sure. But will give me plenty of time to do some research. So seems I'll be getting my Darth Vader on again for Halloween.
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#18
Everything happens for a reason.

No need to rush. Take your time and Welcome.
Real democracy is not something that can be palmed off with a click of a mouse once a year, a crossed box and crossed fingers.

Democracy is for life, not just elections.

I survived Dreamworld 2010DW2011DW2012DW2013DW2014DW2015
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#19
Thanks Scotsman! That helped keep my enthusiasm up.

Seeing its Mental health week or was, might as well mention I am a sufferer of depression and anxiety and having two special need kids (ADHD and austism) am a Asperger like from time to time Smile
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#20
Well I've decided to actually go with Darth Vader now seeing my wife spoilt me with Darth Vader stuff for Christmas. Plus whenever my youngest see's Darth Vader she calls him daddy LOL. So time to go and do some more research. And yes already registers on the sith lord detachment. Probably going for a ESB Darth Vader as I love that movie the most out of the three original.
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#21
(Wednesday 28-Dec-2016, 10:11 PM)hyperlance Wrote:  Well I've decided to actually go with Darth Vader now seeing my wife spoilt me with Darth Vader stuff for Christmas. Plus whenever my youngest see's Darth Vader she calls him daddy LOL. So time to go and do some more research. And yes already registers on the sith lord detachment. Probably going for a ESB Darth Vader as I love that movie the most out of the three original.
Evening mate I'm one of the local Vaders so when I wanted to be sure to post up the advice to provide a decent foundation of info, this is the same info I give any that start an Introduction over on the SLD Forums and I've also tried to include some Aussie specific details for you. Smile hopefully the amount of info doesn't discourage, I just want to make sure that you have a solid foundation of info to go from having been through it all myself   Doppeldaumen1

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Building Vader:
General Tips and information:
Looks like you've decided which version of Vader it is you like
That is out of ANH, ESB, ROTJ or ROTS versions. Each are different in their own unique ways and the costume reference library ("CRL") will help you determine what you need for 501st clearance. Make sure you read this top to bottom, inside and out as this will become your guide to building your Vader and the key to getting approved. CRL’s Here: http://www.501st.com/databank/Costuming:SLD_CRL

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Patience and research are the key to building Vader and your best friend. This build not be quick or simple, there’s a good reason there aren’t many Vader’s in the Legion. The best way to describe it is that building a Vader is like a marathon, rather than a sprint. If you do build Vader  it WILL take anywhere from 1.5 years to 3 years. Pretty well all the Vader’s end up at around just a under 2 years from start to finish. It’s not an all in one instant build due to needing multiple vendors all with different runs and multiple wait times. Most Vader Vendors have wait times ranging from 3 months to upwards of a 1-1.5 years (one vendor which I suggest you avoid has 3 year long wait list.
Make sure you ask plenty of questions on the SLD Forums, members of the Sith Lord Detachment Command Staff (like myself) are always willing to answer them and help you out. Before starting the build or buying anything, I highly recommend that you research other Vader build threads to get an idea of parts, suppliers, process and the challenges of building Vader.

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Research:
And did I mention how important research is? Well you should research research research and then followed by more research! The best way for you to conduct your Vader Research is to read through other members WIP (Work in Progress) Build threads. This way you can learn what vendors and parts are generally being used, things to watch out for when doing your own build, and perhaps the most important thing is you can learn from the mistakes of others. You can also see some very detailed builds that chronicle every step of the build, those in particular are vital reading Wink 

This research will allow you to understand the reasons for purchasing the parts you want to buy.  Reading WIP threads will grow your knowledge on the subtle things about building Vader and allow you to craft a truly awesome product in the end!
Also please DO NOT buy anything with out seeking advice on the forums since you don’t want to end up with a part that won’t be approvable, and end up wasting money in the long run. Just make an intro post and WIP Thread where you can post all your questions and myself and others can answer them

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Building Vader’s Downunder:
As I said above, building a Vader is a lengthy and costly process. Due to exchange rates and shipping costs, it's only realistic to expect that we will need to pay more. However you can get around that by researching, planning and buying parts one at a time to spread the load.
For my build alone I have easily spent upwards of $4000 on my costume (and I built a lot of parts myself) and if I add up all my shipping costs it’s easily in the four figure region…
If you are looking to keep costs to a minimum you could do what I'm doing and build a lot of the parts yourself. For instance I built the buckle, belt boxes and Chestbox. I have kept detailed build threads for each that you may find helpful if you decide to go down that path. It just depends on how confident you are with getting hands on.
There is no one supplier is a one stop shop for all the parts. For my personal Vader I ended up using a total of 8-9 suppliers/companies and It would have been more if I hadn't built the majority of the parts myself. Another tip from my experience building Vader so far is to keep an excel spreadsheet with your budget and the cost for parts. That way you are able to work out what is reasonable to buy next and how your going budget wise  Doppeldaumen1


Vader is one of the most expensive costumes in the Legion (apart from maybe Fett edging it out as most expensive) and one of the most time consuming and among the more difficult to build. Please don't be turned off by the vast amount of info above it's not supposed to scare, the intent of the info above is to help get you thinking in the right direction to avoid any potential costly mistakes and the like Smile 

We'd love to hear from you over on the SLD, so please do post up an introductory thread in the new members introductions so other experienced members can provide insights and advice Hyerlance  Doppeldaumen1
And good luck with your research, we have plenty of great info through the forums and the sub-forums
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#22
Little bit of threadomancy, but figured might as well repost here. 
Been working on a sith lord outfit and went to comic con in brisbane on the weekend and hung up with Vader and a few of the gang Wink  Plus my daughter as Rey who was a very last minute custom made by my partner the night before.

Inspired me again to work on something worthy of the 501st and probably a go back to my first love of a Royal Guard. So now I know what it takes and can plan for it.

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