Darklord Dave
Super Freak
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2005
- Messages
- 19,029
- Reaction score
- 80
The summer of 1977 was one of the most memorable summers I ever had and changed my life forever. For a child just discovering science fiction novels and developing a love of film there could not be a more significant event than the release of what would become a decades-enduring worldwide phenomena.
I had seen a small blurb in "Starlog" magazine about an upcoming film called "Star Wars." The image of a spaceship shooting lasers was intriguing and the short blurb about the film sparked my 9-year-old imagination. As soon as the novelization came out I picked it up and read it, and then read it again. I carried it with me everywhere and knew that the upcoming film would have to be disappointing compared to the images conjured up in my own mind.
I don't recall seeing anything about the film besides the movie trailer and TV commercials, there was no internet that got movie news and rumors months in advance. But somehow I knew that this film was important and I knew I had to see it and had to see it right.
My family went on the annual dull driving summer vacation to visit relatives scattered across the southern US, and my only request was to find a decent movie theater to see Star Wars as soon as we could. Finally in North Carolina we caught the film and I remember that it was crowded. But when the blue letters "A long time ago..." came on screen and then the first notes of John Williams score blared out of the theater speakers I was completely lost in another world.
Despite my fears that the film would suffer compared to the book I was delighted and surprised that it surpassed my wildest expectations. I was fascinated for the entire run time of the film and couldn't wait to see it again after it was over. I remember nothing else of that summer vacation, but when we got home I did everything I could to see the film again. Between mowing lawns and my newspaper route money I made enough to pay for admission twelve times to see Star Wars and I never got tired of it, riding my bike many miles to attend theatres further away as the summer went along. I saw it twelve times that summer, and would have seen it more if time and money had permitted.
If you had asked me then what I liked so much about the film, I probably couldn't have told you at the time- I know I loved the funny droids, but it was the menacing figure all in black that truly fascinated me. There was something about the design of Darth Vader that worked on almost a visceral level to both scare and delight. I hated mowing those lawns to get movie money, so while I did so I passed the time dreaming about how I would make my own Vader costume - what parts I'd need, how I'd get the right gloves, boots, cape, etc. That Vader costume never came to be - but I sought out every Vader collectible I could find - from the little 3 3/4" figure with his plastic dressing gown to the nearly static, almost solid plastic 1/6 figure that couldn't even hold his lightsaber in two hands.
I was older when The Empire Strikes Back came out and I knew it was a better film, but it couldn't elicit the same wonder that the first film had. But Vader became an even more interesting character when it was revealed that he was actually the father of the movie's hero.
All of this has been a long preamble just to explain why the Sideshow 1/6 scale Darth Vader is so important to me and will be to many others. There is obvious love that has gone into creating this figure and although it does appear that a corner may have been cut in one place, it's the definitive Vader collectible.
This is strictly a episode 4 Darth Vader, the costume is specific to the eccentricities of the outfit in that film and that film only. We'll address those differences as we come to them.
Packaging
This box is bigger than any of the human Star Wars figures that have come before, only Jabba's box was larger. It's completely collector friendly with no twisty ties and extra protection for the shiny helmet.
Accessories
He comes with a set of fist hands, a set of lightsaber holding hands and a pointing right hand. The exclusive comes with an extra Force hand that is also useful for putting a menacing hold on a rebellious princess.
There is the usual 2 lightsabers, one without the red blade for hanging on his belt. The stand is standard except the wire part is much longer to accommodate the much larger than normal figure.
The Body
The body is unique to Vader and seems to be a mix of the Prometheus and the armor body used on the trooper figures. It does an excellent job emulating the large build of Dave Prowse. It is also tighter than any previous Star Wars body from Sideshow. There is no need to use the stand at all unless you want to do an awkward pose.
The Costume
The cape is really well done, it doesn't have a wire in it like some SSC figure cloaks have had in the past. I think this was a good call - in Star Wars Vader didn't stand dramatically with cloak billowing, and a wire would have inhibited the natural drape. It hangs extremely well and the material feels and looks in scale.
Although you can't see it without removing the head, the cape has a film-accurate leather-like collar and a tiny chain to hold it on. This doesn't unclasp, the only way to remove the cape is to remove the head. Sometimes in the film you would see the chain on the outside of the helmet. It's not possible to display the figure this way, they went with a tight fit around the neck with the chain under the helmet. Since it was this way for the majority of the film, I think this was the right way to go.
The gown/vest piece is very tight and goes over the armor perfectly. It was only worn over the chest armor in the first film, but that is the look that sticks with me and I've had no desire to see how it would look with it under the chest armor. The ribbed body suit looks to be in perfect scale and the material used has the same look and texture that I'd imagine the original costume had.
The boots are two parts, but both parts are glued together. The shin plates are glossy black and the rest of the boot is a flat black rubber material. It's a thick solid piece so there's no real ankle movement allowed.
The cod piece is a piece of plastic glued to a leather belt that velcros in the back. It's sculpted to look like leather over metal and the shape and texture capture the film look perfectly. The control box belt also attaches with velcro and the sculpting seems identical to the costume. The chest box attaches with a small clasp in the back, perhaps like the original? One might wonder why they didn't just go with velcro again, but this attention to detail can only benefit the figure. The shape of the chest armor is perfect and the shoulder pieces are attached fabric tabs to the main armor. It's painted in gray and black tones.
The Helmet
I tried to capture the two tone checkerboard paint scheme on the helmet - this is done really well and unique to the first film. The tusks of the helmet being different colors is also only in the first film and then only in certain scenes. However since many devout Vader enthusiasts cite the tusk differences for an Episode 4 Vader I guess SSC decided to go in that direction, if for no other reason but to distance it from any future 1/6 Vaders even more.
The face mask part of the helmet appears to be perfectly shaped and the eyes have a slight red tinge although you can't see through them. The shape of the dome has been criticized but looking at the figure on its own not many viewers would see anything wrong. It looks like it could flair out a little more and perhaps extend down a bit more to be 100% film accurate - but it's a small quibble.
Overall this is the Vader that I've been looking for - It's nearly perfect and even improves greatly on Sideshow's previous Vader in quarter scale. For someone who is a 1/6th enthusiast and a hopeless Star Wars and Darth Vader fan - this is the be all and end all of collectibles.
____________________
Man, that Medicom is smaller than I'd have thought.
Okay, it's really the Tomy(?) 1/12 scale.
I had seen a small blurb in "Starlog" magazine about an upcoming film called "Star Wars." The image of a spaceship shooting lasers was intriguing and the short blurb about the film sparked my 9-year-old imagination. As soon as the novelization came out I picked it up and read it, and then read it again. I carried it with me everywhere and knew that the upcoming film would have to be disappointing compared to the images conjured up in my own mind.
I don't recall seeing anything about the film besides the movie trailer and TV commercials, there was no internet that got movie news and rumors months in advance. But somehow I knew that this film was important and I knew I had to see it and had to see it right.
My family went on the annual dull driving summer vacation to visit relatives scattered across the southern US, and my only request was to find a decent movie theater to see Star Wars as soon as we could. Finally in North Carolina we caught the film and I remember that it was crowded. But when the blue letters "A long time ago..." came on screen and then the first notes of John Williams score blared out of the theater speakers I was completely lost in another world.
Despite my fears that the film would suffer compared to the book I was delighted and surprised that it surpassed my wildest expectations. I was fascinated for the entire run time of the film and couldn't wait to see it again after it was over. I remember nothing else of that summer vacation, but when we got home I did everything I could to see the film again. Between mowing lawns and my newspaper route money I made enough to pay for admission twelve times to see Star Wars and I never got tired of it, riding my bike many miles to attend theatres further away as the summer went along. I saw it twelve times that summer, and would have seen it more if time and money had permitted.
If you had asked me then what I liked so much about the film, I probably couldn't have told you at the time- I know I loved the funny droids, but it was the menacing figure all in black that truly fascinated me. There was something about the design of Darth Vader that worked on almost a visceral level to both scare and delight. I hated mowing those lawns to get movie money, so while I did so I passed the time dreaming about how I would make my own Vader costume - what parts I'd need, how I'd get the right gloves, boots, cape, etc. That Vader costume never came to be - but I sought out every Vader collectible I could find - from the little 3 3/4" figure with his plastic dressing gown to the nearly static, almost solid plastic 1/6 figure that couldn't even hold his lightsaber in two hands.
I was older when The Empire Strikes Back came out and I knew it was a better film, but it couldn't elicit the same wonder that the first film had. But Vader became an even more interesting character when it was revealed that he was actually the father of the movie's hero.
All of this has been a long preamble just to explain why the Sideshow 1/6 scale Darth Vader is so important to me and will be to many others. There is obvious love that has gone into creating this figure and although it does appear that a corner may have been cut in one place, it's the definitive Vader collectible.
This is strictly a episode 4 Darth Vader, the costume is specific to the eccentricities of the outfit in that film and that film only. We'll address those differences as we come to them.
Packaging
This box is bigger than any of the human Star Wars figures that have come before, only Jabba's box was larger. It's completely collector friendly with no twisty ties and extra protection for the shiny helmet.
Accessories
He comes with a set of fist hands, a set of lightsaber holding hands and a pointing right hand. The exclusive comes with an extra Force hand that is also useful for putting a menacing hold on a rebellious princess.
There is the usual 2 lightsabers, one without the red blade for hanging on his belt. The stand is standard except the wire part is much longer to accommodate the much larger than normal figure.
The Body
The body is unique to Vader and seems to be a mix of the Prometheus and the armor body used on the trooper figures. It does an excellent job emulating the large build of Dave Prowse. It is also tighter than any previous Star Wars body from Sideshow. There is no need to use the stand at all unless you want to do an awkward pose.
The Costume
The cape is really well done, it doesn't have a wire in it like some SSC figure cloaks have had in the past. I think this was a good call - in Star Wars Vader didn't stand dramatically with cloak billowing, and a wire would have inhibited the natural drape. It hangs extremely well and the material feels and looks in scale.
Although you can't see it without removing the head, the cape has a film-accurate leather-like collar and a tiny chain to hold it on. This doesn't unclasp, the only way to remove the cape is to remove the head. Sometimes in the film you would see the chain on the outside of the helmet. It's not possible to display the figure this way, they went with a tight fit around the neck with the chain under the helmet. Since it was this way for the majority of the film, I think this was the right way to go.
The gown/vest piece is very tight and goes over the armor perfectly. It was only worn over the chest armor in the first film, but that is the look that sticks with me and I've had no desire to see how it would look with it under the chest armor. The ribbed body suit looks to be in perfect scale and the material used has the same look and texture that I'd imagine the original costume had.
The boots are two parts, but both parts are glued together. The shin plates are glossy black and the rest of the boot is a flat black rubber material. It's a thick solid piece so there's no real ankle movement allowed.
The cod piece is a piece of plastic glued to a leather belt that velcros in the back. It's sculpted to look like leather over metal and the shape and texture capture the film look perfectly. The control box belt also attaches with velcro and the sculpting seems identical to the costume. The chest box attaches with a small clasp in the back, perhaps like the original? One might wonder why they didn't just go with velcro again, but this attention to detail can only benefit the figure. The shape of the chest armor is perfect and the shoulder pieces are attached fabric tabs to the main armor. It's painted in gray and black tones.
The Helmet
I tried to capture the two tone checkerboard paint scheme on the helmet - this is done really well and unique to the first film. The tusks of the helmet being different colors is also only in the first film and then only in certain scenes. However since many devout Vader enthusiasts cite the tusk differences for an Episode 4 Vader I guess SSC decided to go in that direction, if for no other reason but to distance it from any future 1/6 Vaders even more.
The face mask part of the helmet appears to be perfectly shaped and the eyes have a slight red tinge although you can't see through them. The shape of the dome has been criticized but looking at the figure on its own not many viewers would see anything wrong. It looks like it could flair out a little more and perhaps extend down a bit more to be 100% film accurate - but it's a small quibble.
Overall this is the Vader that I've been looking for - It's nearly perfect and even improves greatly on Sideshow's previous Vader in quarter scale. For someone who is a 1/6th enthusiast and a hopeless Star Wars and Darth Vader fan - this is the be all and end all of collectibles.
____________________
Man, that Medicom is smaller than I'd have thought.
