Darth Vader: ROTS

Model SL-16114 , Photo by Huw Jones
Description: Darth Vader: ROTS
Prefix: SL
Detachment: Sith Lord Detachment
Context: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

See also: ANH Vader, ESB Vader, ROTJ Vader

This Visual Guide has been reviewed by the detachment staff and the LMO team and is certified for use as a minimum approval guideline for GMLs. GMLs are free to approve this costume type.

This is a visual guide used for 501st costume approval, not a how-to for construction. Construction details are found at the costume's Detachment website. Measurements provided here are are generalized, and not criteria for approval. All 501st costumes are proportionate to the wearer in terms of size, fit, and scale. During evaluation, both text and images (CRL and Reference) must be considered. When in doubt about a feature of a submitted costume, GMLs should post questions in the Legion forum's DL/GML peer review section.

Required Costume Components

The following costume components are present and appear as described below. For 501st membership only the requirements in black need to be met. This Detachment defines additional, optional costuming details listed in blue and red. Please visit the Detachment website for more details on these options.

Dome

The dome is gloss black and symmetrical.
There is neither an indentation nor a sharp point in the front center of the dome brow between the eyes of the mask.

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable):

The black paint used on the dome should match that used on the face mask and the chest armor.
The brow of the dome should sit above the brows of the mask, and allows them to be fully revealed. The brow of the dome does not contour to the brows of the mask towards the outer edges.

OPTIONAL Level three certification (if applicable):

When viewed from the side, the bottom of the dome should slope downward to the back and extend to the middle of the back edge of the face mask neck.
The center ridge should be prominent from the rest of the dome and not rounded off.
When the wearer looks up such that the neck of the mask is touching the chest armor, the very back of the dome should almost be within two inches of the cape.

Face Mask

The face mask is gloss black and symmetrical.
The lenses are flat (not bubbled) and tinted dark grey (eyes are not visible behind lenses).
The lower mouth vent is triangular with rounded corners, and is roughly the size of the upper mouth vent.
Large, black, diamond-shaped mesh is inset in both vents; additional black screen backing is used to conceal the wearer’s face further.
The tusks are metal, silver, and have pointed (conical) tips.
The neck of the face mask extends under the chest armor and curves at the base to rest along the base of the wearer's neck.
No skin is visible from any angle (under or through the mask).
Allowed (but not recommended): The tusks may have rounded (hemispherical) tips.

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable):

The black paint used on the face mask should match that used on the dome and the chest armor.
All features of the face mask (corners, edges, etc.) should have a sharp, crisp, and non-rounded look to them.
No neck brace should be worn with the face mask.
Even though the dome only extends to mid neck length in the back, the back edge of the neck should still not be visible because it should be under the chest armor.

Balaclava

A balaclava is a black head sock/hood that is worn under the helmet and is used primarily to hide the following features: the wearer's mouth which could be seen through the mouth and chin vents, the wearer's neck which could be seen under and around the neck of the mask (especially during movement of the head), and the back of the wearer's neck/head which could be seen from the back at a low angle underneath the dome.
While the balaclava is labeled as "required" merely because it is the simplest way to ensure that none of the features listed above are visible when the wearer is in full costume as well as to keep the wearer's head cool, any other items or methods that achieve the same result may be used instead of an actual balaclava.

Cape

The cape is made of black wool (or wool equivalent), one-half circle, floor length, and lined with black satin.
The cape collar is the same material as the cape, and is two inches in width.
A cape chain is visibly hanging from each end of the cape collar (note: the chain itself has no functionality and does not keep the cape in place).
The cape chain is gloss black and metal with rectangular links about one-half inch in length, and is attached to the underside of the collar.
There is no visible cape or cape chain attachment device visible when in full costume.

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable):

The cape and collar should be made of wool crepe.
The cape collar should not be visible in full costume when viewing the wearer from behind.
The cape should be held in place by two hooks located on the underside of the ends of the collar (in line with the chain).
The hooks should fit into slots on the chest armor near the neck.
The cape chain should be attached near the top edge of the underside of the collar.
The edges of the cape should drape over the shoulder bells, thus allowing them to be visible.

OPTIONAL Level three certification (if applicable):

The cape should be constructed in four to six panels (sections of wool).
There should be 12 to 15 links of the cape chain showing.
The cape chain should contour to the curve of the neck opening of the chest armor.

Chest Armor

The chest armor is painted in an alternating pattern of gloss black and gloss gunmetal/dark grey.
The centermost raised section is grey, and all other raised sections are black.
The shoulder bells are grey with black raised sections, and are each fixed to the chest armor via hinges or equivalent.
The shoulder bells attach such that they appear as part of the armor (their shape contours to the shape of the rest of the chest armor).
The neck of the mask sits under the chest armor.

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable):

The black paint used on the chest armor should match that used on the dome and the face mask.
Two slots should be present on either side of the neck (on the black raised section) where the cape ends so that the cape hooks can secure the cape in place.
The armor should be fitted with padding if necessary to ensure 1) the bottom of the armor does not rise up substantially off the chest, and 2) the back of the chest armor does not stick out substantially through the cape.

OPTIONAL Level three certification (if applicable):

The very bottom of the chest armor differs from the Original Trilogy versions. The section starting at and between the two center-most raised black sections should be horizontal and not be a continuation of the bottom edge. Likewise, the sections to the outside of both outer-most raised black sections should level off.

Inner Robe

The inner robe is made of the same material as the outside of the cape.
It is ankle length, and worn over the codpiece, but under the chest armor and belt, and the front sides are approximately three inches away from the chestbox.
The side seams are sewn from the belt down.
There are three pleats/darts on each side of the inner robe that run perpendicular to the belt. These pleats run from the belt to mid-chestbox level.

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable):

The pleats/darts should start approximately two to three inches from the front edge of the inner robe, and be spaced one inch apart from each other.
The arm opening should extend almost all the way to the belt.

OPTIONAL Level three certification (if applicable):

The inner robe should be secured firmly by the belt so that the area between the belt and chest armor stays close to the wearer and is pulled taut.
The opening of the inner robe should gradually get larger as it approaches the chest armor (the edges should not be completely vertical from the belt to under the chest armor).

Chestbox

The chestbox is square, satin black, and worn right below the chest armor.
There are no visible straps since the chestbox is fixed directly to the bodysuit.
The face of the chestbox consists of:
Two metal silver rods on each side that are machined as shown.
Three vertically stacked metal silver coin slots on the wearer's right. These coin slots blink red.
A green colored panel (upper) and a red colored panel (lower) are on the wearer’s left and each are mounted in a raised black area slightly larger than the panels themselves. These panels are constantly lit.
Along the bottom are four rocker switches which are mounted individually and are, from wearer's right to left, red and three grey. The red rocker switch is constantly lit.
There are no small metal silver switches or any text anywhere on the chestbox.

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable):

In terms of width, the chestbox should extend just past the center-most black sections of the chest armor.
The coin slots should not blink too rapidly (strobe) nor stay lit for more than a couple of seconds.

OPTIONAL Level three certification (if applicable):

The center of each coin slot should have square corners, and contains a semi-translucent red material.

Bodysuit

The body suit is made of black leather (or leather-like material), fitted to the wearer, and quilted in lines spaced one inch apart down the torso, arms, and legs.
A one, two, or three piece suit is acceptable.
An open mesh back is also acceptable for comfort and heat dispersal.

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable):

The body suit should be made of leather.
It should have an unused/non-wrinkled appearance.

OPTIONAL Level three certification (if applicable):

The body suit should be one piece.

Gloves

The gloves are black leather (or leather-like material) and mid-forearm length (wearer's right glove pictured to the left).
The upper surface is quilted in lines spaced approximately one inch apart which run parallel to the arm and start just behind the knuckles. The starting area is curved and not rectangular.
The quilted lines on the upper surface are straight and DO NOT form a "V".
The palm side has no quilted lines(view image).

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable):

The gloves should be made of leather (more specifically, it should match the leather of the body suit).
The gloves should flare out at the end opening on the outside (little finger side), but not on the inside (thumb side).
There should be six long sections created by the quilted lines on the upper surface; they are not of uniform width (the outermost section is very thin).

OPTIONAL Level three certification (if applicable):

The quilted lines should be very finely stitched, and the upper surface should be padded minimally.
Of the long quilted sections, four are rectangular and run parallel to the arm while the outermost two curve with the flare of the glove and still maintain a constant width. The remaining area between the rectangular and curved sections contains two more quilted lines that run parallel to the curved sections.
The stitching on the gloves with the exception of the quilted lines should be external.
The finger portion (not including the thumb) of the glove should be constructed in a typical glove fashion and contain three fourchettes-one between each set of fingers.

Belt

The belt is made of black leather (or leather-like material) and is two inches wide.
The buckle is metal, and slightly smaller than the belt boxes in terms of height.
The base layer of the buckle is black and rectangular.
The second layer is silver and in the shape of a "D."
There are five thin progressively smaller square edged cutouts (the smallest is still a rectangular cutout and is neither a circle nor a square) in a triangular formation on the wearer's right.
The top layer of the buckle consists of a silver circle located on the center of the arc of the "D."

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable):

The belt should be made of leather.
The belt should have incised lines one eighth of an inch from the top and bottom.
The base layer of the buckle should not be gloss black.

OPTIONAL Level three certification (if applicable):

The buckle should be the same size as the ANH/ESB and ROTJ buckles; the "D" is larger, thus making the back plate appear smaller.

Belt Boxes

The belt boxes are black and centered vertically on the belt approximately three inches from the buckle, and mirror image one another.
The belt boxes sit in the recessed areas in the top of the cod piece.
The back side of each box is removable and meets flush with the rest of the box.
From the center outwards each box has:
two opaque green square light panels (bordered by a thin raised black section) above a rectangular inset containing silver diamond-shaped metal screen,
a cylindrical opaque red light set in chrome housing,
and six silver posts with grooved (knurled) sides (in two vertical columns of three).
All lights are constantly lit.

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable):

The belt boxes should not be metal.

OPTIONAL Level three certification (if applicable):

The boxes should be slightly glossed/polished.

Codpiece

The codpiece is a padded-construction and faced in black leather (or leather-like material).
It is worn over the bodysuit, directly below the belt, and under the inner robe.
It covers the front of the groin area and extends to the hips.
There are two recessed areas along the top for the belt boxes.
In its center, there is a deep rectangular inset with rounded corners that is edged with rolled piping.

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable):

The codpiece should be made of leather, have a stiff/smooth textured appearance, and not be thicker than one inch.
The area of the codpiece under the belt boxes should be slightly taller than one-third of the area under the belt buckle.
The area below the inset is rounded to meet flush with the back of the cod.

Shin Guards

The shin guards are gloss black.
Each shin guard covers the leg from the ankle to the knee, and at least one half the leg when viewed from the side.
The knee is shaped like a cut diamond.
Below the knee are six small square protrusions in a horizontal line (three on each side).
On both sides of the raised area along the center, a long "U" shaped cutout starts at mid-armor height, and gradually increases in depth.
The shin guards are attached by two straps that go around the boot.
Both shin guards are symmetrical.

Boots

The boots are made of black leather (or leather-like material) with a medium gloss shine and are lace-less.
They come to just below knee height, have a rounded toe, and a smooth textured appearance.
There is no noticeable zipper in full costume.
The sole of the front does not exceed one inch in thickness and the heel does not exceed three inches in thickness.

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable):

The boots should be made of leather.
Internal lifts (if used) should not be noticeable.

Lightsaber

The lightsaber should be a Master Replicas or custom built to match the hilt used in ROTS.
The metal has a chrome appearance.
The grips extend all the way to the middle section.
A lever is not present on the box on the middle section.
There are no connecting wires towards the top of the lightsaber.
There are no D-rings on the lightsaber.
There is a device towards the base end to mount into the Covertec clip.
The lightsaber should only be required as long as it's in compliance with the applicant’s local laws.
The lightsaber requirement may also be waived due to availability since it was not visible in the movie.

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable):

The lightsaber should be capable of being belt worn with the emitter facing downwards (detachable blade or no blade).
The lightsaber should be a 1:1 scale of the lightsaber used in the film.

Lightsaber Clip

A rectangular Covertec clip as seen in the picture is present to secure the lightsaber.
It is attached to the belt on the wearer's left hip.
The Hasbro or circular/oval Covertec clips will not be approved.