- Published November 1, 2016
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“I find your lack of faith disturbing.” — Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope
A long time ago in a living room far, far away…
It is a period of weirdness – Men have mullets and the perm is in fashion.
A young lad has been given chocolate after dinner which is a victory against the moody “only wants to beat him up” Mom. During the battle of wits against bed time, a rebel Dad promises him that if he is really good and watches the movie quietly, he will be rewarded with a Caravan Chocolate bar- only the best chocolate that kids today will never experience.
Confused by all the drama on the movie the rebel Dad put on, the young kid is mesmerised when he sees the character he knew only as “Asthma Batman” for at least a year thereafter appear on screen– the coolest character in the entire franchise (except in episode 3 – which I am still mostly upset with) Darth Vader…
That class, was the beginning of my life-long love for Darth Vader.
I swear I was more heartbroken to learn that Darth Vader was supposed to be the villain than I was about some break ups I have had over the years – The betrayal!
He senses your fear
And Now…
Stepping away from the worst ever flashback in history, let’s look at the Darth Vader Sixth Scale Collectible Figure by Hot Toys.
Quick shout out to my friends Naseemah and Reza from Project Mayhem for making this review possible.
As always when looking at an action figure (Lordy pie- it seems almost sinful to describe this thing as an action figure!) we will consider the cardinal A’s (because three A’s turned out to be too restrictive) which for this review are Aesthetics, Articulation, Accessories and Aish-Factor.
AESTHETICS:-
This guy is a beast and stands at approximately 35 cm tall which is a bit taller than the average Hot Toys figure as far as I can tell.
Right off the bat you can rest assured that this is definitely one of the better renditions of Darth Vader available. Sure there are dozens of licensed figures bearing his likeness all in different price brackets so I tried to benchmark this figure against the Sideshow version from a little while back.
While both are brilliant, I reckon this version is a few notches higher just for the workmanship we see from Hot Toys and boasts a super realistic likeness of Darth Vader from the sculpt of the helmet all the way through to the fine detailing across the armour and costume. The textures are phenomenal!
This is especially noteworthy when you consider that this is a primarily black on black figure and the way the different portions are coloured and (in the case of materials) are textured really help bring the character to life. There is also a sort of metallic lustre that permeates the black finish of the helmet as well.
To this end, kudos to Hot Toys who developed a newly designed and tailored suit and armour, with multiple layers that comprise his tunic and cloak and specially designed armoured boots. I found that the build of the figure was solid and while I would be loath to drop it I am confident that this figure could take a bit of a beating as well. This could be distinguished from the Sideshow version which seemed slightly less “rough and tumble”.
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As it that wasn’t enough, the figure boasts some light up panels on the figures belt to simulate Darth Vader’s costume controls (please tell me you knew that the gizmos on his belt were not just there for decoration in the movie). The light up features work through a separate hand attachment that takes a little bit of doing to get it attached properly for it to work.
Behold the stylishness…nothing “Forced” here (lol)
The light seems a bit muted in natural lighting be has a nice even look in dimmer light or in the dark. Don’t get me wrong, it can still clearly be seen in ordinary light but the effect is better in a dimmer setting.
Last, but certainly not least, and arguably the main selling point of the figure… SOUND EFFECTS!!!!
Now it’s near impossible to do the sound effects justice in text – all you need to know is that it is almost as though they were able to take James Earle Jones and place him into the figure. The figure has seven different sound effects which include the classic Vader breathing and a series of his most iconic lines. Have a look at the embedded video to get a basic idea of what I mean.
ARTICULATION
The beauty of Hot Toys is that the proprietary True Type body base figures generally boast up to 38 points of articulation which is no mean feat. The build of the Hot Toys True Type Body figures also boasts fairly solid and pliable joints which are distinguished from Sideshow whose figures seems to be slightly less pliable.
As highlighted above, Hot Toys developed a special body for this figure. While moderately larger than the average figure and being fairly bulky due to the multiple layers of clothing and armour, the figure does not lose too much of its poseability and enjoys a decent range of motion, including back/forth and side to side tilting.
While one ought not to expect Darth Vader to assume any ninja crouching poses; the movement of the figure is most hampered in the legs and shoulders due to the thick pants and shoulder armour respectively. However the movement of the hips and knees as well as the wrists and elbows help make up for this.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that there is a thin wire lining the inner robe which would help one achieve some extra poses.
ACCESSORIES
I have this thing… I get really excited when a figure comes with many accessories because I feel like I am getting more bang for my buck.
This figure really checks that box for me as it comes packaged with a lightsaber, 9 interchangeable gloved hands (including fists, open palms, resting hands, a lightsaber holding hand and a gesturing right hand), and a remote controller to activate the sound effects, a torture droid accessory and a stylised base.
You have to “Hand” it to Hot Toys….
AISH-FACTOR
Here’s the thing – there are any number of Darth Vader figures out there. The question you have to ask yourself whether this one (which being a Hot Toys figure is a little pricey) is worth splashing out on.
Like I said, you have a beautifully crafted figure which nails everything in terms of appearance and accessories. The light up features and the sound effects are well executed and do justice to the character.
However the greatest boon of the figure that being the light and sound features also act as a bit of a curse. Not the execution of the features itself, but rather some of the manufacturing choices.
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For example in order to use the light up features for the lightsaber, you have to pretty much strip down Darth Vader attach the wired hand and suit him back up again. This turned out to be a much easier means of doing it, particularly as the process in the instructions manual required you to operate the arm in such a manner that the figure may have been damaged.
The same applies to inserting the batteries and operating the switches for all the features- I think Hot Toys really needs to revisit this kind of thing in future releases.
However, I can’t deny that the fact that Hot Toys conceals the switches etc in such a manner helps to preserve the aesthetic appeal of the figure itself.
To be fair it doesn’t take too long to strip the figure down and suit him back up again if necessary so it isn’t the worst thing ever, but its still enough of a schlep to be the only issue I have with this baby and cost it it’s Perfect Procurement Piece” status. Yes that is going to be a thing now.
Still, I can’t deny that this is definitely one of the must get figures with Star Wars making it’s come back in a big way since last year’s “the Force Awakens” and this year’s “Rogue One – A Star Wars story”.
In summary, while this isn’t the cheapest Darth Vader figure you can get out there, it is without one of the best to invest in.
Between impeccable attention to detail and features that do justice to this timelessly classic character that finds the balance between the aesthetic appeal of a statue against the playability and poseability of an action figure this figure gets a resounding AISH!!!!!
Order yours from Project Mayhem who can be reached at:
www.projectmayhem.co.za (online store) or
collectibles@projectmayhem.co.za
“I find your lack of faith disturbing.” — Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope A long time ago in a living room far, far away… It is a period of weirdness – Men have mullets and the perm is in fashion. A young lad has been given chocolate after dinner which is a victory against the moody “only wants to beat him up” Mom. During the battle of wits against bed time, a rebel Dad promises him that if he is really good and watches the movie quietly, he will be rewarded with a Caravan Chocolate bar- only the best chocolate that kids today will never experience. Confused by all the drama on the movie the rebel Dad put on, the young kid is mesmerised when he sees the character he knew only as “Asthma Batman” for at least a year thereafter appear on screen– the coolest character in the entire franchise (except in episode 3 - which I am still mostly upset with) Darth Vader… That class, was the beginning of my life-long love for Darth Vader. I swear I was more heartbroken to learn that Darth Vader was supposed to be the villain than I was about some break ups I have had over the years - The betrayal! [caption id="attachment_147888" align="aligncenter" width="950"] He senses your fear[/caption] And Now... Stepping away from the worst ever flashback in history, let’s look at the Darth Vader Sixth Scale Collectible Figure by Hot Toys. Quick shout out to my friends Naseemah and Reza from Project Mayhem for making this review possible. As always when looking at an action figure (Lordy pie- it seems almost sinful to describe this thing as an action figure!) we will consider the cardinal A’s (because three A’s turned out to be too restrictive) which for this review are Aesthetics, Articulation, Accessories and Aish-Factor. AESTHETICS:- This guy is a beast and stands at approximately 35 cm tall which is a bit taller than the average Hot Toys figure as far as I can tell. Right off the bat you can rest assured that this is definitely one of the better renditions of Darth Vader available. Sure there are dozens of licensed figures bearing his likeness all in different price brackets so I tried to benchmark this figure against the Sideshow version from a little while back. While both are brilliant, I reckon this version is a few notches higher just for the workmanship we see from Hot Toys and boasts a super realistic likeness of Darth Vader from the sculpt of the helmet all the way through to the fine detailing across the armour and costume. The textures are phenomenal! This is especially noteworthy when you consider that this is a primarily black on black figure and the way the different portions are coloured and (in the case of materials) are textured really help bring the character to life. There is also a sort of metallic lustre that permeates the black finish of the helmet…
Geeky Goods Review: Darth Vader Sixth Scale Figure by Hot Toys
Geeky Goods Review: Darth Vader Sixth Scale Figure by Hot Toys
2016-11-01
Darth Zady Bun
Don't Underestimate the Power of the Dark Side
Total - 9.8
98 9.8
This particular version of Darth Vader is a sheer pleasure to behold. Boasting all the aesthetic beauty of a statue with the poseability of an action figure with special features to boot! If you can afford it - Buy it! If you can't afford it - get a payment plan going and buy it anyway.
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10
Front Packaging
Reverse Packaging
Unboxed – First Glance
Displayed – First Glance
Displayed in dark
Close Up – Torso and Costume details
Close Up – Torso and Head
Close Up – Head
Included Base
Left view
Back View
Right View
http://www.geeknode.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/vader-90-degree-rotated.mp4
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Darth Zady Bun
Geeky Goods Editor
Zaid is a story teller, traveller, artist, entertainer and comic culture geek of note.
Powered by chocolate, and guided by an ever growing bucket (and collectibles) list, he finances his addiction to geek merchandise, comic books, action figures and all the cold cast porcelain and PVC pieces of heaven he can buy by giving (mostly) legal advice. He is also rumoured to have once eaten an entire pack of Marie Biscuits with a single mug of Five Roses Tea.
Witnesses deny the incident.
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