Commander Skywalker Star Wars: Clone Wars May 2007 The second set of Clone Wars animated shorts brought with it an excellent new costume design. Anakin is essentially wearing a brown version of Darth Vader's armor, minus the life support components. This was a striking look that also hinted at what's to come. After much consideration I decided to make this costume in a realistic manner instead of stylizing it like the cartoon. That route was much more affordable for me because I could recycle my boots and lightsaber from my ROTS costume. This was completed in time for the Star Wars Celebration IV convention in May 2007. APPEARANCES May 26th, 2007 Star Wars Celebration IV

::: Chest Armor Initially I wanted to make the armor from scratch because I didn't feel Vader's chest armor resembled the cartoon armor enough. I tried making it out of cardboard covered in fiberglass/bondo but that quickly became too thick and heavy to wear, even without the rest of the costume. My second attempt was made out of a smooth vinyl, the chest section layed well but I just couldn't get the shoulder bells to hold their shape. I was close to giving up but then just decided to paint up my Rubie's Supreme Vader armor, which I had already thickened with fiberglass to give it a more appropriate weight and look. ::: Outer Tunic and Cape My sleeveless outer tunic was made by my girlfriend and I out of calcutta fabric. This is a crinkled cotton that is similar to the fabric Anakin's ROTS outer tunic is made of. I wanted this costume to look and feel like a natural transition between films so I used the similar textured fabric and dyed it a slightly lighter brown. This outer tunic goes over an inner tunic that's simply a long-sleeved brown t-shirt. The cape was purchased online and sewn directly to the outer tunic to make it easier to put on and take off and to also keep it together and laying correctly while wearing it. Velcro strips were sewn on the back to attach the armor securely. ::: Belt I made my belt out of a leather blank from Tandy Leather and many strips of vinyl to replicate the segmented look of clone trooper belts. It was then painted to match the chest armor. ::: Boots My boots have been made in full leather, custom fit to my measurements. They stand 19" tall, not including the rubber sole. ::: Lightsaber My "hero" lightsaber is the limited edition replica produced my Master Replicas in 2005.