Sideshow Darth Vader scale - is it correct?

Hi all,
I apologize if this has been discussed before, I tried searching and didn't turn anything up.

My son got me the Sideshow Vader (this one https://www.sideshowtoy.com/collectibles/star-wars-darth-vader-sideshow-collectibles-1000763/) for Christmas yesterday, and the thing is HUGE!!! He just seems TOO large to me. Not just height, but the entire build. So my question is: Is this thing accurately scaled? Was Prowse really that big?

Thanks everyone!

-Doug

Correct scale would be 13.25 inches, if I recall correctly. The SS Vaders are over 14 inches tall.

I agree that 14 inches seems a bit tall. That scales to exactly 7 feet. But I think 13.25 is a little on the short side. That scales to 6' 7.5". I did some research late last night. There's some debate regarding Prowse's height, but it's generally accepted he was around 6'6" - 6'7" (IMDB lists him as 6'6"). There's a 1" heel on the boot, and the top of every full-size Vader helmet I've seen adds about 3". So, if he was 6'6" (78"), addimg 4" makes him 6'10" (82") to the top of the dome. Scale that down (82/6) and the figure should be about 13.6". If Prowse was 6'7" (79"), that makes him 6'11" (83") to the top of the dome, which scales down to 13.83".

Of course my math goes out the window if the screen-used helmets were different, and didn't add the 3" or so on top.

This thread (https://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=20060) over at the RPF has what are believed to be ILM measurements of Prowse in costume, and lists him at 82" dressed - which would be the same 6'10".

Also, Wookieepedia says Vader is 2.03 meters (79.92") which would scale down to 13.32", closer to your thought of 13.25.
So I guess it depends on if you want in-universe height, or filming height.

I know Prowse has said he was 7' fully dressed.

So...

6'6" Prowse (with 4" in boots and helmet) = 13.6"
6'7" Prowse (with 4" in boots and helmet) = 13.83"
7' fully dressed (according to Prowse) = 14"
2.03 meter Vader (according to Wookieepedia) = 13.32"

What's interesting is that Sideshow lists the figure as being 13.75" tall on their site, which would scale up to 82.5" tall (6' 10.5"). But it measures taller than that for me.

pixletwin said:

Correct scale would be 13.25 inches, if I recall correctly. The SS Vaders are over 14 inches tall.

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Scale of their dome is certainty not correct.

Well that's thorough, good work jedi5150!

Personally I like the imposing nature of Sideshow's Vader, it's big and intimidating, but HT's versions are more accurate.

Hi, can anyone tell me what batteries fit in the chest and belt box on the sideshow deluxe Vader please. I bought mine second hand and it doesn't have any instructions. Better yet can anyone upload the instructions for me. Thanks


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13.25 inches looks best with the other short figures in HT's Star Wars line.

Look at Vader in the movie and then look at your Vader figure with your other figures. It's quite simple without math.


I never understand why people rush to google to check actor's heights (when they lie) instead of checking the source material (the movie) and eyeballing it.

There is a battery index thread stickied at the top of this forum.

Wor-Gar said:

13.25 inches looks best with the other short figures in HT's Star Wars line.

Look at Vader in the movie and then look at your Vader figure with your other figures. It's quite simple without math.


I never understand why people rush to google to check actor's heights (when they lie) instead of checking the source material (the movie) and eyeballing it.

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But it's not that easy.
-It wasn't always Prowse in the suit. Bob Anderson did most of the lightsaber sequences, so it isn't easy to know when it's Prowse and when it's the stunt guy.
-Mark Hamill sometimes wore lifts on his boots, so it isn't easy to know when he is or isn't.
-Camera angles and other filmmaking tricks make it difficult to know if the characters are directly next to each other, etc.

For example, consider the Emperor's Throne room sequence.
First we have Luke and Vader in the elevator. We can assume they're standing next to each other, on the same surface. Here, Luke seems to come up to about the bottom of Vader's nose.


Jump forward to when they reach the top of the stairs, and we get this angle. Here, Luke seems to only reach the bottom of the breath screen:


A few seconds forward, and we get a different angle. Here, Luke seems to come up to the bridge of the nose, maybe the bottom of the eyes.


Cut back to the first angle, and Luke is again to the bottom of the breath screen:


Cut back to angle 2, and he's back up to the bridge of the nose:


Later, a wide shot. Again, maybe to the bottom of the breath screen:


Here's a behind the scenes photo from ESB, you can see the lifts on Mark's boots. But, neither of them are standing up straight, so it's hard to judge.


And, a behind the scenes photo of Mark and Prowse. You can see in this one that Mark comes up to Prowse's chin, so the shots of Mark/Luke coming up to Vader's nose have been meddled with somehow:


And, a shot from a deleted scene of Luke and Vader arriving on the Death Star. Here, it looks like Luke comes up to his chin, but perspective and parallax error could throw that off:


So, camera angles, forced perspective, and other tricks (standing on boxes, lifts, etc) can throw it all off.

I swear I have read this conversation... like in 2011.

That shot with the yellow background would seal the case. Mark is short fellow. In some of the closeup framed shots he is prolly standing on a box as Leia who is clearly shorter than Mark did in this scene.



So if you want screen accurate, he is too tall. Real life accurate, he is correct.

Either way, suit accuracy aside, SS's is an imposing figure on the shelf. As Vader should be.

EVILFACE said:

Either way, suit accuracy aside, SS's is an imposing figure on the shelf. As Vader should be.

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Oh I totally agree. He's damn impressive.

What suit inaccuracies are there?

pixletwin said:

There is a battery index thread stickied at the top of this forum.

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Thanks, I have tried the batteries suggested there but they don't work. I hoped someone could check or upload the instructions for me so I could double check what the correct battery's are.
Thanks though.


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pixletwin said:

I swear I have read this conversation... like in 2011.

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Seems to happen every month or so. New thread is created usually every three months. Answer is never satisfactory and newb generally goes with what's he's always thought -- Vader's a monster because he was when newb was 5.

Wor-Gar said:

Seems to happen every month or so. New thread is created usually every three months. Answer is never satisfactory and newb generally goes with what's he's always thought -- Vader's a monster because he was when newb was 5.

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As I said in my original post, I did try searching for this info before posting. I'm so very sorry that in the hundreds of posts that came up when I searched for "Sideshow Vader Scale", "Sideshow Vader Size", and "Sideshow Vader Height" I couldn't find what I was looking for. Sorry to inconvenience you.

I might be new here, but I'm not new to forums, I know enough to try searching before posting. I'm also not new to Star Wars collecting, or to Star Wars costuming. 13 years 501st, I've helped build life-size Vader costumes (to fit the wearer, mind you), I've painted Vader helmets, and am very familiar with how it all goes together. The figure just seemed SO VERY LARGE when I first took it out of the box, I was concerned/confused/whatever.

brabus111282 said:

Thanks, I have tried the batteries suggested there but they don't work. I hoped someone could check or upload the instructions for me so I could double check what the correct battery's are.
Thanks though.


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LR41 batteries in the battery compartment on his belt. I just took the back off to check.

jedi5150 said:

Oh I totally agree. He's damn impressive.

What suit inaccuracies are there?

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If you can't see them then there are none, none at all

jedi5150 said:

As I said in my original post, I did try searching for this info before posting. I'm so very sorry that in the hundreds of posts that came up when I searched for "Sideshow Vader Scale", "Sideshow Vader Size", and "Sideshow Vader Height" I couldn't find what I was looking for. Sorry to inconvenience you.

I might be new here, but I'm not new to forums, I know enough to try searching before posting. I'm also not new to Star Wars collecting, or to Star Wars costuming. 13 years 501st, I've helped build life-size Vader costumes (to fit the wearer, mind you), I've painted Vader helmets, and am very familiar with how it all goes together. The figure just seemed SO VERY LARGE when I first took it out of the box, I was concerned/confused/whatever.

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You're not confused, he is way too large. Your eyes don't deceive you, don't listen to Ben.

jedi5150 said:

LR41 batteries in the battery compartment on his belt. I just took the back off to check.

View attachment 384599

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Thanks Jedi5150, appreciate that.


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brabus111282 said:

Thanks Jedi5150, appreciate that.


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In the interest of clarity I would like to just point out that the batteries shown in the picture are the exact same battery as mentioned in the battery index thread.