Building a Vader: Obi-Wan Kenobi's Darth Vader at FBFX

This Star Wars Day, a look back at one of the most iconic characters we’ve been fortunate enough to build at FBFX: Darth Vader.

This iteration of the character was for 2022’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series - a fighting Vader, with a costume that would honour the original while allowing for plenty of stunt work and action.

Working closely with costume designer Suttirat Larlarb and Lucasfilm, every detail was carefully considered. We were supplied with incredible reference material including two screen-worn helmets - an absolute treat to have in the workshop!

The helmet was particularly complex. The design for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series incorporated elements from different films, including Episode IV and Rogue One.

With the Darth Vader helmet, it’s vital to maintain the handworked asymmetry of the original, so in the era of CAD design the challenge was to replicate just the right amount of asymmetry while using modern manufacturing techniques. 

Perfecting the chest box fixings involved lots of prototyping and experimentation, the original buttons and switches recreated digitally, cleaned, printed, remoulded and recast. The electronics were designed at FBFX, with the lights individually controlled via DMX.

The leather had to be just right. Multiple tests were carried out to find the right weight and feel, the leather handworked for the ideal level of crinkle, which was then sewn into place. 

To allow for the all-important action, the shoulders were attached with elastic so they could snap back into place, and the mantle strapped to a harness through each layer of the costume to maintain position.

We couldn’t have done any of this without the help of the brilliant Lynda Foote and her costume team.

As lifelong Star Wars fans inspired to go into costume making by the original films, the chance to build a Vader was something we’d waited a lifetime to do!