| |
| |
Review |
| |
| Sculpt: |
| This version of Vader comes from RETURN OF THE JEDI, and is a scene-specific sculpt. After being defeated by his son, Luke Skywalker, Vader watches as the Emperor unleashes deadly Force lightning upon him. As his son writhes in agony and cries out to him for help, Anakin Skywalker at long last breaks free of the Dark Side and comes to the aid of his Jedi son. Hauling the Emperor over his head, Vader/Skywalker takes several Force lightning hits before tossing the evil tyrant to his death in the reactor core of the Death Star II. Residual Force lightning dances across the former Sith Lord's protective body armor, momentarily making visible his glowing skeleton. The original sculpt comes from the Power of the Jedi toy line (2000-2002). The action figure is molded in transparent plastic from the waist up, simulating the Force lightning effect seen in the film. Beneath his helmet and breath mask is a skull. Originally, the figure's right hand was removable at the wrist, which was film accurate, although it lacked any detailing (like wires from the severed prosthesis). For this version, a robotic arm is visible through the translucent plastic, but the hand comes off at the bottom of the glove. This is less accurate, and exposes far too much of the prosthesis. Also, the skull inside the helmet (originally molded in glow-in-the-dark plastic for the POTJ release) sits way too far up inside the dome portion of the helmet. A removable Force lightning effect replaces the lightning paint apps from POTJ version. Overall, not a bad retooling of the figure, but still not perfect. 8/10. |
| |
| |
| |
| Paint: |
| The skull inside the helmet appears to be molded in silver, with a black wash to bring out details. The helmet itself has a silver deco at the "nose," and two small silver details at the spikes of the rebreather grill. The torso has black paint apps at the armor yolk, as well as on the chest box. There are silver, red, and blue paint details on the chest box. The robotic prosthesis inside the right arm is molded in silver, with red and blue details. Both the right and left arms have glossy black detailing on the should armor sections. From the waist down, the figure is molded in solid black plastic, with silver, green, and red details on the belt. The boots are painted a glossy black: 8.5/10. |
| |
| |
| |
| Articulation: |
| Planer-cut joints at the neck, shoulders, hips, right upper bicep, right wrist, and waist: 8.5/10. |
| |
| |
| |
| Accessories: |
| Character-specific figure stand, lightsaber, removable cape, removable Force lightning, and removable right hand: 8/10. |
| |
| |
| |
| Packaging: |
| The same The Saga Collection card as the rest of the series, with a character-specific background image--in this case, the Throne Room of the Death Star II. The insert image is a nice close-up shot of Vader, and has The Saga Collection logo to the right of the character image. The figure's name is just below TSC logo, with its collection number (Vader is Saga #045) just to the right. To the left are the five white-orange triangles, indicating the position of the enclosed mini-figure. The cardback features a small film image of Vader standing next to Luke, with text that explains the scene from ROTJ, along with the diecut display area for the Exclusive Hologram Figure. I've deducted a half-point because Hasbro didn't use a shot of Vader with the Force lightning or glowing skull effect either on the insert or cardback: 8/10. |
| |
| |
| |
| Availability: |
| As of this writing, the figure has been appearing at retail for over a month; it is also available from most online sources. Because this figure is packed two per case, it's a bit easier to find than others in the wave: 7.5/10. |
| |
| |
| |
| Conclusion: |
| This sculpt has been endlessly rehashed by Hasbro since its initial POTJ release, but this is the first re-release featuring the translucent pieces and inner skull. While the new right arm with damaged prosthesis isn't film accurate, at least its better than the simple pop-off hand from the original version. A newer lightsaber from the ROTS Vader would have been a nice touch, though. I miss the glow-in-the-dark skull, too. 8.1/10. |
|
|
|
