zeiss
Super Freak
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2005
- Messages
- 1,119
- Reaction score
- 60
Yesterday, I found the Anakin to Vader Transforming action figure at my local Toys R Us and decided to get it in case it had had a good dome sculpt that would replace the one I have on my ANH Vader. It is funny actually, when I told my wife that I wanted to get it, she thought I was jumping the shark regarding my collection. She doesn't mind me buying $200 figures but it seemed crazy to buy a $30 toy.
Anyway, I was actually surprised that the figure doesn't look as crappy as I initially thought. It is clear that the designers actually cared about the appearance of this thing (as opposed to those awful $10 12-inch figures that have been showing up at retailers). Here are a few of my impressions:
Helmet:
The helmet sculpt is based on ROTS Vader and is actually pretty good! In fact, it is the ONLY ROTS 1/6th scale figure to base the helmet off of the one used in the movie and it seems clear that the sculptors used computer renders of the prop helmet to get some of the details right. There are some issues though. The tusks have been greatly shortened (probably due to this being a child's toy) and the dome could stand to be slightly larger as the ROTS costume included a ginormous dome. Additionally, you can see Anaikin's hair behind the neck of the dome when it is placed on Anakin's head (very annoying). Finally, I did have to use a hairdryer to flair the sides of the dome when I got it. However, I kinda expect to do this with most Vader figures I get because the plastic trays usually push in the sides more than I like.
Cape and Armor:
Other than the helmet, the Vader armor fits pretty snugly, and they did a good job of designing the cape so that it can lay across the shoulders. They even put extra material at the bottom corners of the cape so that it would have more weight! That is quite surprising for a toy that is clearly designed for children and not collectors. The cape is made of cheap material though and it really only looks good in one pose.
The chest plate is sculpted nicely and includes a nice paint job. It would make for nice custom fodder if someone wanted to make a ROTS Vader.
Light-Up lightsaber and voice gimmick:
The light-up lightsaber and voice gimmick works pretty well and does do a good job of switching from Anakin to Vader once the armor is put on. Since the color of the saber and style of voice are dependent on whether the Vader armor is on, I think it is one of the better implementations of a voice gimmick that I have seen in a toy.
Articulation:
The articulation is pretty bad. The head and arms are on swivel joints and the legs do not even move it all. However, I do like that it stands up very solidly and would require some force to knock down. There is one elbow swivel joint for the arm that holds the lightsaber.
Summary:
I planned on buying the figure for the helmet but have actually decided not to butcher the figure since it is actually a very good toy. I realize that most collectors have set their sights higher but I wanted to give my impressions since I think that at the very least, the dome and chest plate could make for some great custom fodder.
I am including some pictures so you can check out the best parts of the figure: the dome and chest plate.
Anyway, I was actually surprised that the figure doesn't look as crappy as I initially thought. It is clear that the designers actually cared about the appearance of this thing (as opposed to those awful $10 12-inch figures that have been showing up at retailers). Here are a few of my impressions:
Helmet:
The helmet sculpt is based on ROTS Vader and is actually pretty good! In fact, it is the ONLY ROTS 1/6th scale figure to base the helmet off of the one used in the movie and it seems clear that the sculptors used computer renders of the prop helmet to get some of the details right. There are some issues though. The tusks have been greatly shortened (probably due to this being a child's toy) and the dome could stand to be slightly larger as the ROTS costume included a ginormous dome. Additionally, you can see Anaikin's hair behind the neck of the dome when it is placed on Anakin's head (very annoying). Finally, I did have to use a hairdryer to flair the sides of the dome when I got it. However, I kinda expect to do this with most Vader figures I get because the plastic trays usually push in the sides more than I like.
Cape and Armor:
Other than the helmet, the Vader armor fits pretty snugly, and they did a good job of designing the cape so that it can lay across the shoulders. They even put extra material at the bottom corners of the cape so that it would have more weight! That is quite surprising for a toy that is clearly designed for children and not collectors. The cape is made of cheap material though and it really only looks good in one pose.
The chest plate is sculpted nicely and includes a nice paint job. It would make for nice custom fodder if someone wanted to make a ROTS Vader.
Light-Up lightsaber and voice gimmick:
The light-up lightsaber and voice gimmick works pretty well and does do a good job of switching from Anakin to Vader once the armor is put on. Since the color of the saber and style of voice are dependent on whether the Vader armor is on, I think it is one of the better implementations of a voice gimmick that I have seen in a toy.
Articulation:
The articulation is pretty bad. The head and arms are on swivel joints and the legs do not even move it all. However, I do like that it stands up very solidly and would require some force to knock down. There is one elbow swivel joint for the arm that holds the lightsaber.
Summary:
I planned on buying the figure for the helmet but have actually decided not to butcher the figure since it is actually a very good toy. I realize that most collectors have set their sights higher but I wanted to give my impressions since I think that at the very least, the dome and chest plate could make for some great custom fodder.
I am including some pictures so you can check out the best parts of the figure: the dome and chest plate.
