The Vader Project UK: Revenge Of The Brits

Revenge of the Brits: The Vader Project UK @ Celebration Europe

2007-07-14T03:41:00.000-07:00

the distinct gentlemen of Triclops Studios (aka Robotboy + Apeman) have snapped sweet "first-look" pics of The Vader Project customed-helmets [featured] currently on display in London, UK, as part of the Art Wars / SW Celebration Europe [blogged] - including the 60 Vader-custom helmets previous seen in the US, as well as 20 from UK artists:

peep images via TriclopsRobotboy's flickr-album HERE [all images via], as well as check out Triclops' adventures during the pre-show on their blog :)

Vader Custom Helmet by TRICLOPS STUDIO

2007-07-14T02:41:00.000-07:00

TOYSREVIL: what was the genesis / inspiration for your Vader-custom? what's it's name?

ROBOTBOY: We dithered so much about what to do, when we first heard about the project we had tons of ideas that we quickly realised once we received the Vader helmet couldn't be done.

That thing is huuuuuuge! And, it's a proper hardcore replica so made out of hefty fibreglass! Our first big idea was called Darth Raver, we were gonna put a hoodie hood on him made out of acid smiley fabric, a face mask like Altern8 (complete with 2 vicks inhalers) and a spinning light ball behind his eyes but then we saw the coverage of the US show and someone had put a hoodie and shades on thier mask, d'oh! Then, we were gonna make the back of the helmet into the Death Star with tons of diecast Star Wars ships flying round it suspended out on clear acrylic rods but finally, for reasons we still don't really understand, we built a giant replica birthday cake and plonked it on his head. We have entitled our piece BIRTH DAYDER , we felt that nobody had really celebrated the anniversary or wished Star Wars a happy birthday so that's what we did.

ROBOTBOY: We found out that there are fake cakes available, made out of polystyrene so we built the cake out of 2 layers painted up like a choccie cake. The internet also informed us that film sets often ice cakes with polyfilla so I had great fun in my kitchen mixing pastel shades! Originally we were going to get my Mum to bake us a cake to put on top of the helmet but Lucasfilm get to keep the pieces after the show and we thought it might get a bit stinky.

TRE: cakes are your friends! are you guys Star Wars-fans? are avid SW-collectors as well? what was your earliest memory of Star Wars?

APEMAN: I'm quite moody about it, I am a fan of the 3 proper Star Wars films, anything that involves Bounty Hunters really. I still haven't seen the last one, I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan. I've got all the Bounty Hunter Kubricks and a few crazy super-deformed things. I've got an original x-wing and tie fighter, I always wanted an AT-AT but my parents wouldn't let me have one. I remember my Dad taking us to see Return of the Jedi. I remember thinking that Luke Skywalker was really hard (at the time) cos he walks in to see Jabba with that black hood up and robot arm. The speeder bike chase was the most vivid thing (RObotboy, that's what the pod racing tries to recreate I reckon). And where the AT-At gets taken down by the snow speeder in Empire Strikes Back and where Obi-Wan surrenders to Vader and is struck down and becomes an empty robe on the floor.

ROBOTBOY: Yeah, big fan of Star Wars. I remember that the original Star Wars movie was on TV quite a lot when I was a kid (before they got too protective of it all) and I was often disappointed cos I would tune in all excited and be rewarded with Star Trek which I really didn't like. I always got them mixed up. My earliest Star Wars memory is sobbing all the way home in the back of the car cos my Mum wouldn't buy me the latest edition of the Return of the Jedi magazine, they were packed with behind the scenes photos and information about all the characters and plot, granted it was priced at £1.50 and in 1982 that was probably a month's wage.

I have a shelf in my toy cabinet dedicated to Star Wars kubricks. Also got one of those lush Medicom Tie fighter pilots as a leaving gift from my colleagues at Hasbro (some recompense for the pikey who stole my Boba Fett kubrick from the Hasbro shelf!)

TRE: free Star Wars-toys rawk! LOL - are you both for the Rebellion? or are proud citizens of the Empire?

APEMAN: No, Death to the rebellion, the bad guys are always cooler! Maybe that's just me!

ROBOTBOY: The baddies are better characters for deffo although Han Solo was pretty cool, but I guess he's the loveable rogue like Jack Sparrow so that's different.

TRE: if either of you were a Star Wars character, who would you (wanna) be, and why?

APEMAN: It's a toss up between Bossk, he's deffo my favourite character and I've always wanted a pet lizard thAT i CAN DRESS UP IN THAT PADDED JUMPSUIT. hIM, or Greebo cos he gets shot in the nuts and that would be such a claim to fame.

ROBOTBOY: Well, Boba Fett has the jetpack, Han Solo has the ship (when it works) but General Grievous is by far the coolest for me. The way that he's all wheezy and knackered is genius, plus he's a robot (to all intents and purposes) so I'm there.

TRE: nut-shots hurt, i reckon :p ... If you were both Sith Lords, what would your nick / Sith Lord-name be? and why?

APEMAN: Darth Punk, complete with Sex Pistols mohawk and franco-electronic music

ROBOTBOY: Darth Veggie, I would be surrounded by woodland animals like Snow White but at my word they would turn nasty and nibble my foes to death, yeah, have that.

TRE: i'd have thought you'd wanna be surround by Snow White in a metal bikini (heh) ... any closing comments on your participation in this event?

APEMAN: We're very chuffed to be a part of it, bit of an honour, big shout out to Dan Willett of Dan&Dan for getting us involved, originally it was really top secret and it was just going to be us and Mark James representing the UK but then they got a job lot of replica helmets in and the show was opened up to more artists which is great! We have seen a sneaky peak of the piece that our good buddies at Morpheus have made and it is absolutely awesome.

ROBOTBOY: We've never been so intimidated by a custom project but it's incredible to be a part of something so historic,thanks to the organisers for thinking of little 'ol us.

TOYSREVIL: Triclops Rawk! cheers for your time and trouble gents! in closing, please share with us, WHO ARE TRICLOPS STUDIO?

We are Triclops Studio, the rag-tag remnants of customising Superstore, Triclops. We now try to earn a living from our Design work and juggle a Design consultancy doing graphics, illustration, character design, toys and games concepts and other bits and bobs with a wide range of custom jobs that we spend the twilight hours building! You can see our online portfolio at www.triclopsstudio.com big thanks!

Vader Custom Helmet by ILOVEDUST

2007-07-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

TOYSREVIL: what was the genesis / inspiration for your Vader-custom? what's thy custom's name?

ILOVEDUST: Well we called the piece LOVELY DARKNESS, black on black, Matt and Gloss drippy and gooey. The first idea we hard starting off was fire grander than our final work, damn the dark lord his head was so damn shinny that it became hard to use the things we wanted, time was very much against us! We wanted to cover the head in a billion quotes but early tests didnt comeout to well, so we started to re-think. The new version is a much more freestyle piece with a few stormtrooperand AT -AT's and Star Destroyers thrown in for good measure. Basically we covered it in spunky drippy madness ohhhh lovely lovely darkness.

TRE: you had me at ~~drippy and gooey~~ "black on black" LOL ... are you a Star Wars-fan? what was your earliest memory of Star Wars?

ILD: I remember collecting the figures from about the age of 10 so around the Empire era, my friend had so many different figures, medical droids and weird bounty hunters etc, stuff you would send away for! im sure i tried to nick a few couple of cloud pilots and an AT AT driver as i recall!

TRE: i will not attempt to ask if you were successful in your "liberation" of said pilots and driver (heh) ... are you for the Rebellion? or is a proud citizen of the Empire?

ILD: If Han Solo was with the Empire it would be the sweetest thing! there ships always looked cooler, they sure had more fun blowing up planets and crushing peoples necks, hell im down with the darkside!

TRE: if you were a Star Wars character, who would you (wanna) be?

ILD: Bossk he is one slimey mutant killer !

TRE: If you were a Sith Lord, what would be thy nick / Sith Lord-name?

ILD: Darth Geyfish

TRE: any closing comments on your participation in this event?

ILOVEDUST: Just looking forward to meeting all the artist and staring at pictures of Princess Leia in Bikinis, wil she be there ?? does she have a younger daughter ???

TOYSREVIL: Leia + Bikini = fanboy-bliss (but only if tis "daughters" LOL) - cheers for your time Mark and have a good one!

www.ilovedust.com / www.designedtohelp.com

Vader Custom Helmet by BRENB

2007-07-13T14:58:00.000-07:00

TOYSREVIL: what was the genesis / inspiration for your Vader-custom?

BRENB: The initial concept was to divide the helmet in two halves. One side representing the Light side of the Force and the other the Dark side (obviously!). After that I knew I wanted to draw characters from the original trilogy and so focused on Luke and Vader, Ben and the Emperor.

TRE: Are you a Star Wars-fan? Are you a avid SW-collectors as well? What was your earliest memory of Star Wars?

BRENB: For some reason I never collected SW toys or any of the merchandise. I honestly don't think I even owned a single toy. Weird when I think of it now. I always remember visiting my cousin when I was a kid where he had pretty much everything in the range, Millennium Flacon, AT-AT's, Ewok village etc. My earliest memory of the movies was when we were on holidays from Dublin to Blackpool in 1980 and it was raining so my dad brought be see Empire. Still my favourite.

TRE: Empire rawked the hardest, IMHO (and no SW toys at all, were better than having them, but got thrown away by yer mum *le sob*) Are you for the Rebellion? Or is a proud citizen of the Empire?

BRENB: I always loved the design of the Empire. Darth Vader's Costume, the Storm Troopers uniform, the Death Star, Tie Fighters but I've always tended towards the Rebellion in aspiration.

TRE: If you were a Star Wars character, who would you (wanna) be? and If you were a Sith Lord, what would be your nick / Sith Lord-name?

BRENB: HAN SOLO. DARTH B.

TRE: Any closing comments on your participation in this event?

BRENB: Really cool and a great project to impress my friends at parties.

TOYSREVIL: cheers for your trouble Bren, in closing please do share with us, WHO IS BRENB?

BRENB was born in 1974 at his Mum & Dad's house in Dublin, Ireland. He certainly watched too much TV but also wrote little plays, which he acted out all alone in the nearby park. He continued the working in solitude as an illustrator and cartoonist, co-founded short-lived anthology comic Toenail Clippings which culminated in 4 issues and a nomination for Best New Comics at the International Comics festival Angouleme. His illustrations and comics have appeared in magazines, CD covers, advertisements and exhibitions in Ireland, Europe and the US.

As a member of the CANDYCOLLECTIVE he has interviewed many of his favourite artists for CANDY magazine and has talked lots of times about his own work to bored audiences most recently at Sweettalk New York. more at www.brenb.net and www.candycollective.com.

Vader Custom Helmet by SERGE

2007-07-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

TOYSREVIL: what was the genesis / inspiration for your Vader-custom?

SERGE SEIDLITZ: i used to draw star wars battles when i was younger, i loved drawing the space ships and characters from the films, so i basically expanded this idea. i didnt really plan the drawing, just locked my self away with some dvds and started drawing directly onto the helmet, i like the spontaneous approach, see where the drawing takes you.

TRE: are you a Star Wars-fan? are you a avid SW-collectors as well? what was your earliest memory of Star Wars?

SERGE: im a fan, but i dont collect now, i used to collect the toys when i was a kid, star wars is a nostalgic thing for me, i remember the first time my mum came into the kitchen and said there was a movie on tv i might like, after that i was hooked.

TRE: are you for the Rebellion? or is a proud citizen of the Empire?

SERGE: always defend freedom and democracy!

TRE: if you were a Star Wars character, who would you (wanna) be?

SERGE: i was always Hans Solo in the playground - i reckon he had the right attitude -and he got the princess!

TRE: If you were a Sith Lord, what would be your nick / Sith Lord-name? and why?

SERGE: never underestimate the power of the dark side-(litz) ! - so , sith side-litz

TRE: any closing comments on your participation in this event?

SERGE: its been a real fun project to be involved with, and reintroduced me to a big part of my youth and early influences as an artist.

TOYSREVIL: cheers for your time, Serge. in closing, please share with us; WHO IS SERGE?

SERGE SEIDLITZ: An English/ German hybrid, born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1977, Serge grew up traveling between the UK and Asia, he studied graphic design at Camberwell College of Art, graduating in the class of 2000, he currently resides in London working as a full time illustrator. His website is updated a regularly as possible. [website: www.sergeseidlitz.com / blog]

Vader Custom Helmet by PARIS HAIR

2007-07-13T14:53:00.000-07:00

TOYSREVIL: what was the genesis / inspiration for your Vader-custom?

PARIS HAIR: The inspiration came from my nom de plume, Paris HAIR. With this as a starting point it was obvious that I needed to top the Dark one with a hair-did of immense proportions. What is very hard to get from photos is just how HUGE Vader's head is. Luckily I know an incredible hairstylist called Peter Gray who I called initially to source the hair from but he got so excited about the project he worked out the method and applied the hair. If you get chance to see the thing in person you'll see what an amazingly thorough job he has done.

TRE: the Empire prefer blonds! :) are you a Star Wars-fan? are you a avid SW-collectors as well? what was your earliest memory of Star Wars?

PARIS: I used to be more of a fan, in my younger days when I would play with the figures all the time. I am not a collector and my entire collection was given to the local hospital for the sick children to play with when I outgrew the urge to play with little plastic toys. I believe some people never progress beyond this stage of development ;-)

As far as my earliest memories of SW go I can still remember seeing TESB in Canada whilst on holiday and being terrified of the Hoth Wamper. I watched a lot of that scene through my fingers. I also got some really cool SW drinking glasses from burger king afterwards. Or was it Dairy Queen?

TRE: BK i think? :p ... are you for the Rebellion? or is a proud citizen of the Empire?

PARIS: I imagine myself as being outside of the political conflict, in a Han Solo type of way. With no love for the empire but also no urge to fling myself into the role of an insurgent or counter revolutionary.

TRE: if you were a Star Wars character, who would you be?

PARIS: Han Solo.

TRE: and i wonder what will you do with Chewie's fur? ;p... If you were a Sith Lord, what would be your nick / Sith Lord-name? and why?

PARIS: If I couldn't be Darth Hair I would play the Sith naming game IE any word that begins with IN (as in INvader) and find one that sounded funny. Such as Darth Intracacy or Darth Spection.

TRE: any closing comments on your participation in this event?

PARIS: If you only knew the POWER of the dark side!!

TOYSREVIL: cheers for the time and trouble, Neil! in closing, please share with us; WHO IS PARIS HAIR?

PARIS HAIR: I am Neil McFarland AKA Paris Hair. I draw pictures and design cool stuff! I like drawing fancy ladies and stupid cartoons. Check me out! www.parishair.com

- peep Paris HAIR's flickr-album for some Vader-goodness :)

Vader Custom Helmet by JON BURGERMAN

2007-07-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

TOYSREVIL: what was the genesis + inspiration for your Vader-custom?

JON BURGERMAN: My concept was influenced by the short turnaround needed and the fact I had very little time due to other work commitments. It was along the lines of - Draw the hell over this helmet. So armed with a silver Sharpie I scrawled and coloured my way over the helmet, dropping in little Star Wars references as I went.

TRE: what was your earliest memory of Star Wars?

JB: I remember watching the originals many many times as a child. We'd video a New Hope off the TV on our brand new VHS player. The adverts on that tape are just as wondrous as the actual film. My older brother collected the toys and we'd create massive battles with them in the flower beds in our garden, much to the disapproval of my parents (who we suspected at the time were working for the dark side).

TRE: are you for the Rebellion? or is a proud citizen of the Empire?

JB: My allegiances switch a lot actually, there's cool stuff on both sides really. I guess I'm all for mass destruction and lots of battles and monsters.

TRE: mass destruction is always da best! LOL - if you were a Star Wars character, who would you (wanna) be?

JB: I'd like to be Uncle Ben, he must of made millions from all that rice he sells.

TRE: If you were a Sith Lord, what would be your nick / Sith Lord-name?

JB: Darthdoodler, Sith Lord of bad drawings.

TRE: any closing comments on your participation in this event?

JB: It was a really cool custom to be asked to do. I much enjoyed wearing the helmet around the house before I started work on it. Something I noticed was that whenever I put it on my breathing automatically became really deep and heavy... cuuuuhhh ooooh cuuuuhhh ooooh cuuuuhhh ooooh....

TOYSREVIL: cheers for your time and trouble, Jon - in closing, do tell us WHO IS JON BURGERMAN?

Jon Burgerman draws, paints, clicks and sleeps.
He is known for his unique and colourful artwork in a variety of media that includes drawing, painting, print, animation, street-art and toy design. He works on paper, cardboard, canvas and directly onto walls and objects. There is a very British sense of self-deprecation, humour and anxiety in his work. These themes, along with his passion for lunch and desserts, often tie his incessant doodling together, merging both commercial and personal projects into one body of work.

Burgerman's artwork has been widely exhibited in great cities that include New York, LA, London, Hong Kong, Paris, Melbourne and Derby. His work has featured in the following publications; The Guardian, Creative Review, Design Week, X-Funs, DPI Magazine, IdN, ROJO, Graphic, ModArt, Pictoplasma, Dot Dot Dash, Full Vinyl, 300% Cotton, Computer Arts, The Fundamentals of Illustration and This Is A Magazine. He regularly gives student tutorials and lectures at British Universities and has presented his work at the prestigious Pictoplasma Character Design Conference (Berlin, 2006) where he also ran a 'doodling' workshop for the entire audience. Over the years his characters and art has adorned bags, books, belts, snowboards, skateboards, surfboards, Ice-cream vans, lunch boxes, stickers, posters, collectable toys, computer games, exhibitions, mobile phones, clothing, cushions, mugs, wrapping paper, record covers and frisbees.

To see work samples please visit www.jonburgerman.com and www.biro-web.com

Arts Wars @ Star Wars Celebration Europe

2007-07-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

Star Wars Celebration Europe brings the 30th anniversary celebrations of Star Wars to Europe, starting @ ExCel Centre, London from July 13-15, featuring "an exciting mix of contemporary, underground art projects that showcase the galaxy far, far away through the eyes of some of today’s most vibrant artists."

ARTS WARS is supported by PUMA and is curated by design & toy production duo dan&dan (aka Jasper Stank's parents!) - one of the main features of ARTS WARS is The Vader Project (Revenge Of The Brits) featuring more than 20 new and exclusive helmet-customs by some of the UK’s hottest talents in the fields of art, design and illustration, including: Asbestos / BRENB / Build / Chris Judge / Container / dan&dan / Fos / Guy Featherstone / I Love Dust / JaKE / James Taylor / Jon Burgerman / JOOLS / J. Otto Seibold / Jude & Lerman / Marcus Broome / Mark Ecko / Mark James / Morpheus Design / Neil Mcfarland / Not Bad For a Girl / Oliver Jeffers / Pete Fowler / Peter Kennard & Cat Picton Phillips / Pinky / Puma Design Team / Romero Britto / Serge Seidlitz / Shag / Symbiotics / Swifty / Tado / Tim Biskup / Togetherplus / Triclops

these customs will be joined by all the 60 Vader-helmets from the USA [brainchild of DKY Toy's Dov Kelemer and Master Replicas / featured] = *coolness*

... posted amidst this weblog entry is a heap smattering of Vader-helmet imagery to ~~stir up the latent Force within you~~ tickle your funny-bone, before the actual customs are revealed (i can't wait!) including what is deemed by me to be the hawtest Vader-femme this side of the Imperial Galaxy (you go figure out who it is yourself LOL) ... ima hoping to do another serial feature (ala Vader Project) but we shall see how the response is this time, yeh? *heh*

[PM me just in case = toysrevil [at] yahoo.com or [at] gmail.com - thanks! LOL]

URBAN CANVAS
Watch hot European graffiti artists create giant Star Wars-inspired graffiti & live painting during STAR WARS CELEBRATION EUROPE. Artists including Tado, dan&dan, Neil McFarland, JaKE and Artful Dodger will be working directly onto large canvasses located around the ExCeL venue.

The ILLUSTRATED TROOPER
a selection of tattoo artists will decorate a life-sized set of Stormtrooper armour with custom tattoo artwork during STAR WARS CELEBRATION EUROPE. Each artist will work on a dedicated section of the armour and the armour will be assembled on a mannequin to create a one-of-a-kind illustrated-from-head-to-toe trooper. Presented by iconic London ink slingers Kids Love Ink,

The VADER PROJECT INSTALLATIONS
Thomas Neal’s Centre
Shaftesbury PLC have teamed up with the dark side! = Seek out Darth Vader & the evil empire at number 1 Thomas Neal’s Centre in Seven Dials from the 7th until 16th July.

THE ANIMATION ART GALLERY
the invasion continues! Bear witness to the power of the Sith at;

The Animation Art Gallery
13-14 Great Castle St
W1W8LS
Tel: 0207 255 1456
(7th until 16th July)

Hours of operation for STAR WARS CELEBRATION IV are 10:00 to 18:00 on Friday and Saturday, 13th and 14th July, and from 10:00 to 17:00 on Sunday, 15th July. In addition, members of the Official Star Wars Fan Club will have an hour of exclusive access prior to opening, from 9:00 each morning. (times like these, it pays to be a member, yeh? LOL)

Tickets to STAR WARS CELEBRATION IV are ₤21 per adult for a one-day pass or ₤57 per adult for admission for the full three days. Children’s admission is ₤10.50 for a one-day pass and ₤28.50 for three days. Tickets can be purchased online @ www.seetickets.com (simply enter “Star Wars” in the search bar on the home page) or in person at ExCeL Centre from 13th July.

For the continually updated news on STAR WARS CELEBRATION EUROPE programming, entertainment and special guests, visit the official website @ www.celebrationeurope.com

(cheers for the headsup, Dan and all the best for the show!)

Vader and Me

2007-07-04T02:35:00.001-07:00

the fanboy-fascination started eons ago ~~in a galaxy far far away~~ during thy early pre-teens when i remembered sitting in a darkened neighbourhood theatre and being thoroughly blown away (if not totally understood what it was that i was watching!) by the adventures, space-battles, lazer-blasts and light-sabres that cut thru the celluloid screen and into my psyche, of this sci-fi movie titled STAR WARS (one didn't notice the "A New Hope"-title until much later tho LOL) ... and one of the most memorable character, is but of coz, Darth Vader.

besides that annoying keypad embedded on his chest-plate (heh), everything else about him held my firm attention - from the all-black ensemble (which has influenced my fashion ~~disasters~~ tastes even til now) to his glorious dark shiny ~~roadhogbiker~~ helmet ... and even his ~~speech impendiment~~ breathy+throaty voice echoed within my mindscape (ah but of coz im glamorizing him a tad LOL)

i'd freely admit im not what you would call a "hardcore Star Wars fanatic", neither do i dare claim to be a true-blue-fan ... but my fascination for Lord Vader and his cinematic-ilk has survived thru the decades (i aint no spring chuk, mind LOL) til now (yes, including his infamous NNNnnnnoooOOOOOOOoooooooo-sequence in Revenge Of The Sith).

i first came to know about The Vader Project (US-version) via Dov Kelmer (originator and curator) on my blog - for which i'd started a "serial feature" - featuring images of Vader Customed Helmets and a little Q&A with the artists involved [peep HERE] ... but alas timing (or lack thereof) and the lack of response from artists left the series wanting ... regardless, my sincere thanks to all who had participated in that little blog-feature of mine :)

and now here is The Vader Project UK: Revenge Of The Brits whereby i will (again) attempt to feature and interview the UK-customizers and artists involved in this project-namesake and here's hoping i'll be able to feature all 20 of them :)

thanks for reading thus far and enjoy the Vader Customed Helmets in this here blog :)

cheers, and May The Force Be With You
Andy
toysrevil