I’m
not collecting the 6” Star Wars Black figures. I am collecting the
3.75” Star Wars Black figures. So far this makes two 6” SWB
reviews and zero full 3.75” SWB reviews, though I did review a batch last Friday.
Well, I can explain the 6” reviews – I actively collect anything Fett and I will pick up Darth Vader items that catch my eye. So I had to get the 6” Boba Fett that I reviewed (as well as the Walgreens Exclusive version, which I won’t be reviewing other than to say it’s just as good as the regular one except white). When I was still hunting in stores for that white Fett I found the wave he comes in – Vader, Jedi Luke, and Chewbacca. Luke looks great, Chewie not so much, and I really liked the Vader. But I thought it was Revenge of the Sith Vader because that’s what Hasbro has been giving us for the past several years. I figured the helmet didn’t come off and that they would make a new one with a different head later down the line.
Side
Note: I don’t like the Chewie because his mouth is open (not a
neutral expression, which is what I prefer on my figures) and I think
the way they tried to conceal the joints with his hair looks really
weird.
Then
Schweck told me that it was a Jedi
Vader and that the mask and helmet do come off, which I could have
discovered for myself if I had just looked at the back of the box. So
then I felt dumb for not buying it and figured it would be a while
before I saw another one. Fortunately I found one in Walmart the
other day (they had Luke and Chewie, as well) and bought it. Along
with another Vader:
I’ll
review him later this week. Or next, depending on the schedule. But
soon.
As far
as Darth goes, when I was a kid I thought he was a robot. I mean,
until 1983 when Return of
the Jedi came out. Even
when he *SPOILER ALERT* told Luke that he was his father in Empire;
I don’t know if that didn’t penetrate or if I just thought Luke
had a robot dad (which Kevin Hart is shooting as the sequel to Ghost
Dad), but when I saw
Sebastian Stan’s pale, decrepit face it blew my little mind. That
was always the big reveal to me and probably why I put so much
importance in whether or not a Darth Vader figure’s helmet is
removable.
I was
never really scared of Darth Vader. As a matter of fact, here’s a
list of ten things from the Original Trilogy that scared me more than
Vader did:
The
Dianoga
Jawas
Everything
on Dagobah
Lobot
Ponda
Baba
The
Tusken Raiders
CZ-3
Bib
Fortuna
Ugnaughts
Pote
Snitkin
Okay, I
probably didn’t even notice Pote Snitkin. But he is pretty creepy
and his name is fun to say. Try it.
There’s
no denying that this is an impressive looking action figure. It’s
large in the box and, well… it’s Vader.
I
like these fancy-pants window boxes for a couple of reasons. First,
they’re easy to spot. Second, they just look nice. But I dislike
them because they are hard to photograph. The plastic is so glossy
that if you use a flash it looks terrible, but if you don’t it
looks like that up there.
This
is the part that I should have looked at that first time to see that
this was Jedi
Vader. I like the combination of a brief scene description and a
quote, though it might be more appropriate for a line that was likely
to see many versions of the same character. I’m shocked we’ve
already gotten three Lukes. And I still don’t understand why they
made pilot Luke first. I suppose a 6” scale X-Wing isn’t out of
the question, but it seems very unlikely to me.
Is
it just me or is this Vader a little skinny? Maybe it’s just his
voluminous cloak. Because that is a
lot of
cloak:
I
also need to go ahead and get this out of the way because I am
terribly confused by it and you’re going to be seeing it in all of
the pictures – I do not understand what’s supposed to be going on
with Vader’s tunic and his codpiece. Both are clearly cut to
interact with each other, but I cannot figure out how.
The right side looks correct to me here:
But
it is difficult to get it to stay that way and it doesn’t seem to
be the way it’s supposed to be. I don’t understand the purpose of
the notched cuts on the tunic because in every picture I can find –
and on other figures – the tunic just hangs straight down over the
codpiece. IT’S SO WEIRD AND IT’S DRIVING ME BANANA.
Okay.
Sorry.
Everything
else about this Vader figure is fantastic.
The
head sculpt is about as perfect as I could have wanted. The first
massive win is that this is Sebastian Shaw and not Hayden
Christensen. I hope hope
HOPE that Disney has done away with George Lucas’ insane retro
insertion of prequel stuff into the OT. I could make a list of things
that are absolutely stupid, but those lsits are all over the
internet. Instead I’ll continue with a review of this Darth Vader
figure, which I’m sure you can only find here on Needless Things.
Ahem.
Vader’s
pale, scarred head looks gruesome and wonderful. I’m sorry my flash
washed out the detail (buy me a camera), but the scarring and paint
deco are just fantastic. The eyes are painted well and are oddly
haunting. The respirator is thoroughly detailed. At first I thought
it sat a bit low, but the only time we see Vader’s face is when he
is laying down on the boarding ramp of the shuttle, so it would have
been pushed up further.
The
bodysuit is textured very nicely. The quilted squares are
asymmetrical and conform to the various folds and wrinkles in the
suit. It has the right level of gloss and is uniform across all of
the body.
I
remember the first time I realized that Vader’s armor had silver in
it. It wasn’t from watching the movies, it was when Kenner’s
Power of the Force 2 Darth Vader with Removable Helmet figure came
out. I think it was the first Vader to feature this detail, but I
know it was the first I owned that did. I thought it was some kind of
error or weird design decision. I don’t recall how I resolved it,
but of course over time it became clear that it was correct.
Don’t
even get me started on the red lenses in his mask.
Vader’s
control boxes look good. All of the little buttons and indicators are
raised and clearly defined by sculpt. The paint apps are extremely
tight. I’m amazed that there’s no slop.
I
love how wide the tops of the gauntlets are. They are distinct pieces
of the costume. The quilting detail is as good on these as it is on
the bodysuit and the seams and fingers are defined well. Vader’s
right hand is sculpted to hold his lightsaber and the left is in what
I would say is not quite a Force choke. It looks okay in profile from
the figure’s left side, but it’s a little odd when you’re just
looking at the hand.
Vader’s
boots and greaves look good. For some odd reason I’m really
impressed with the definition of the soles.
The
soft goods on this figure work well for the most part. The huge cloak
has thicker fabric sewn into the corners:
While
the edges of the cloak are hemmed (thought the bottom is not), the
tunic is just cut fabric. My figure already had some fraying right
out of the box:
I’m
not crazy about how the cloak is attached to the figure. I’m glad
we got actual metal chain links on it, but the cloak is attached to
the figure’s shoulder armor with two unsightly threads that are
looped through two unsightly holes. It isn’t as bad as I’m making
it out to be, but it’s kind of weird looking.
There
were a few little nitpicky things that bothered me, but overall this
is a fantastic looking Darth Vader. It’s very tall and full of
details. Various glosses of black were used to define various parts.
It looks great and intimidating just standing around, which is
something Vader needs to do.
If
you want some truly insane
details about Vader’s get-up, read this – Darth
Vader’s armor – Wookieepedia.
Also,
this:
This
Darth Vader comes with a lightsaber, a lightsaber blade, a mask, and
a helmet.
The
lightsaber and blade fit together snugly and – much to my surprise
– stay that way. It’s just a simple plug-in with no ridge or
anything to keep it in place, but it works. The detail on the grip
are accurate and painted well. The blade is a vibrant, translucent
red and is very clean – no edges or anything like some of the
smaller scale sabers have had.
The
accessories are great, but I really would have liked another left
hand posed to hold the lightsaber in a two-handed grip. And for the
hand we have to look more Force-chokey.
This
Vader probably beats every other Vader ever released in this
category. I’m not going to run down the articulation joint by
joint, but suffice it to say that the figure is able to pose in every
way that a seven foot tall, half robot man covered in ten (yes, ten)
layers of armor might be able to pose. Probably a bit more.
The
range of each joint is very good. I was really impressed with how
much the head could move. The shoulders are slightly limited because
of the shoulder armor and the plating on the shoulders themselves,
but the pieces were designed to work together and definitely have
more range than the actual Vader probably would.
Between
the excellent posability of the figure and the interaction it has
with the included accessories, I spent a lot of time playing with
this one. No human being in a Darth Vader suit is ever going to be
able to achieve the same kind of poses this figure can, so Hasbro
went far above and beyond what was necessary. The helmet and
lightsaber fit and attach in exactly the way they should and
everything stays securely in place.
I
was really
hard
on this figure and I know that. I suppose it was because for all
intents and purposes this should be the greatest small scale Darth
Vader action figure ever made. I won’t compare it to Sideshow’s
incredible sixth scale Vader for obvious reasons (although it trumps
that one in the removable helmet department), but as far as little
plastic guys go this should be the gold standard. I may not be
actively collecting the 6” Black figures, but the line is certainly
noteworthy and in an odd way important to me.
The
3.75” scale will always be my home. That’s where I started. And
in 1995 when Kenner relaunched the Star Wars line was when I returned
to collecting in earnest. But McFarlane Toys and Toy Biz changed
everything with their 6” lines and this scale will always be my
favorite for franchises that don’t interact with vehicles. It’s
nice to see great figures of characters I love in that scale.
This
is a great figure. It could be better, but it’s a must-own if
you’re a fan of Vader or a collector of the scale.
4
out of 5
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