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The 1976 McQuarrie Vader Costume

If you’re one of the lucky fans to snag a rare pre-release copy of The Complete Vader book last fall, you may have been intrigued by the cool-looking Darth Vader costume depicted on page 17 — a costume that appears to have been based on early Ralph McQuarrie concept drawings for the character.

Often mistaken as an early prototype mock-up for the Dark Lord’s helmet and chest armor, this particular costume actually never came anywhere near the Star Wars soundstages in England — rather, this was a Halloween costume fabricated by Star Wars concept designer Joe Johnston for a festive Industrial Light & Magic Halloween party in 1976!

Artist and former ILM Creature Shop employee John Brosio, who also happened to create a pretty stunning Vader of his own, recently asked Johnston about the fabled “McQuarrie Vader” costume, and its ultimate fate:

Brosio: Did you construct the entire costume?

Johnston: Yes, I made it in the model shop after hours. I put in one all-nighter as it got close to Halloween.

Was it styrene? Fiberglass?

It was slump-molded styrene over a fibreglass body mold that had been sent over with one of the costume shipments and discarded. The styrene completely covered the body mold which was a light brown and very rough textured. The helmet was based on a plastic German army helmet from the toy store, with styrene panels and model kit parts attached.

Is it true that you had glam boots on it?

No. The boots were made from a pair of old shoes that I glued to a four inch thick block of foam, then cut around the soles of the shoes and covered the entire boot with sheet styrene.

When was it made?

It was made for Halloween in 1976. It was based on Ralph McQuarrie’s early illustration of Luke and Vader having their laser sword fight, which is why it doesn’t look like the final version of Vader. At the point I made it, I had not seen the version of the suit that John Mollo had built. The color is a blue gray, matching the illustration.

What year was it destroyed on Halloween?

It wasn’t destroyed on Halloween. It was stored in a box of Star Wars things and was partially crushed when a box of heavier items fell on it as I was preparing to move to Marin County in April of 1978. It was too much trouble to repair so the entire thing went into the trash, except for the helmet.

Could you see out of it?

Yes, very clearly. I used a pair of tinted safety goggles as part of the faceplate.

Is it true that the costume never made it to Northern California?

True, except for the helmet. I saved the helmet for a few years, but pieces started to come off and since it really wasn’t the Vader that the world knew, I didn’t feel compelled to keep it from its destiny with the Dumpster.

This rare shot of Johnston’s workspace reveals several drawings and designs by the artist, including the McQuarrie-inspired Vader helmet and a small photo of Johnston in the costume at center (see below). According to Johnston, the bucket at right contained the paint used on his Vader costume.

UPDATE:

We received a bit of extra commentary from Joe Johnston about the costume and found another rare photo from 1976 (not the full-length image Johnston refers to, however):

“Somewhere there’s a full length shot of me at the party in the Vader suit with a working neon laser sword that one of the tech guys built for me just for the party. It had a huge ballast hidden in the handle and a very substantial extension cord. I think I could walk about 10 or 12 feet before I ran out of cord…very useful in lightsaber duels.”

Look for The Complete Vader in October, 2011.