1/6 1/6 Hot Toys - MMS 452 - Star Wars: Episode V ESB - Darth Vader

[rayeknor]

It depends on whether it's on backwards or forwards for the most part

 

[r3dPyramid]

I think this is a pretty good Vader.

 

[D.R.37]

I prefer the helmet a bit lower. Lowered it about 2mm and adjusted/cut the slots on the rubber grommet sonthe helmet sits forward more too.

Anyone??

SSC does not double box. BBTS does.

 

[matrix69]

I made a few more tweaks to the mask/helmet....first i rounded off the widows peak(no pointy peaks in TESB)....i also repainted the top right tusk tube to match the lower one.

Unfortunately on this vader the tusk tubes are part of the sculpt and can't be removed...whereas on the ANH/R1 versions they were a separate piece..

View attachment 430403View attachment 430405View attachment 430404

 

[Racetrack]

I prefer the helmet a bit lower. Lowered it about 2mm and adjusted/cut the slots on the rubber grommet sonthe helmet sits forward more too.



SSC does not double box. BBTS does.

Yes they do. Except you need to pay $10 and add it to your account. Except some figures are too big for the pack out. I was wondering if this one was or not.

 

[matrix69]

The cuts in the tusk tubing don't bother me so much as they were there in the chamber scene...granted not as prominent but they were there.

But i still don't understand why they sculpted the tusks pointing downwards...it's like they were looking at the reference material upside down...and just went with it...again all baffling..

View attachment 430406

 

[matrix69]

Subtle and all that it is...raising the dome up a tad improves the overall look...

Stock and modified.
View attachment 430409

 

[Rainbowsteve]

Does anybody know what I can do about the scuffs on my vader's dome? I got a replacement some, but that had even worst scuffs.

 

[davejames]

Subtle and all that it is...raising the dome up a tad improves the overall look...

Stock and modified.
View attachment 430409

Yeah that does look a lot better, and somehow makes the mask seem not quite as long too. Although it also feels to me like the dome doesn't sit forward as much as it should. And you can see it in your profile comparison as well.

 

[Wor-Gar]

But i still don't understand why they sculpted the tusks pointing downwards...it's like they were looking at the reference material upside down...and just went with it...again all baffling..

View attachment 430406

Clearly the HT designers followed the upper tubing to aim the tusk incorrectly because, in the movie, the tusks follow from the lower tubing...

I added redlines to matrix's comp for emphasis:

 

[TaliBane]

Yeah that does look a lot better, and somehow makes the mask seem not quite as long too. Although it also feels to me like the dome doesn't sit forward as much as it should. And you can see it in your profile comparison as well.

Yeah, agreed. It's one of the issues with the way the dome attaches is there's really no way to tweak where it sits other than spin. I'll maybe futz with that to see if I can get it to move forward a touch. It's one of the things that gives it a bit of a "flat face" look in profile.

As I mentioned earlier, the other issue with raising the dome as well as the helmet overall is it pushes this Vader back up into that 14" height range the RO version has. It was one of the pluses of the HT ESB Vader - that it was a notch or two shorter than the ANH and RO versions.

The 13 1/4" height of Matrix's custom feels much more accurate to me, but I guess it doesn't matter if you display Vader as a standalone.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Can't you achieve that look by re-angling the helmet, not raising it but pulling the back more outward... in other words, tipping the helmet as a whole more forward? That shouldn't change the height at all.

 

[D.R.37]

Here's my modded dome. Shaved a little bit off of the rubber insert and moved it back some so the helmet sits lower and more forward. It can still be positioned to show a little more brow if i wanted.

 

[bwh1990]

My ESB Vader arrived today, all the criticisms against it are justified, but despite all that It's still a dann good looking figure. First impression was very good. With modding this will be a great Vader, a nice contrast to my modded ANH Vader. Very glad I finally ordered him.

 

[TaliBane]

Here's my modded dome. Shaved a little bit off of the rubber insert and moved it back some so the helmet sits lower and more forward. It can still be positioned to show a little more brow if i wanted.

View attachment 430435

View attachment 430437

That's a great solution. Next time I have the head off the figure, I'm going to do that. Even though the dome hovering a bit higher is okay for ESB, I do always want it to sit a bit lower than stock.

It's a bummer about what Matrix mentioned - that the tusk rails are part of the main sculpt, and not separate like on the ANH/RO sculpt. Big job to fix that "break" in the tusk rail. Even repositioning the tusks was trickier than I thought it'd be.

 

[Lord Valefor]

Clearly the HT designers followed the upper tubing to aim the tusk incorrectly because, in the movie, the tusks follow from the lower tubing...

I added redlines to matrix's comp for emphasis:

View attachment 430434

yeah but the lower tubing is also pointing too much downwards

 

[D.R.37]

That's a great solution. Next time I have the head off the figure, I'm going to do that. Even though the dome hovering a bit higher is okay for ESB, I do always want it to sit a bit lower than stock.

It's a bummer about what Matrix mentioned - that the tusk rails are part of the main sculpt, and not separate like on the ANH/RO sculpt. Big job to fix that "break" in the tusk rail. Even repositioning the tusks was trickier than I thought it'd be.

Yeah there’s no way of bending (adding the slope) the top rail unless you want to do some micro-sculpting. Unless they make styrene that same 1/2 diameter. I’ve been thinking about fixing those seems too but not anytime soon. I’ve also thought about heating up the tusks to bend them upwards a bit but not wanting to risk any damage.

 

[rayeknor]

I'll repost this from me unpacking mine. I guess I got very lucky? Maybe the person responsible gluing the mask together is high as a kite every day

 

[Vader0706]

Very interesting!

So there are different versions out there, with different tubes alignments?

This only makes me even more curious for when my fig arrives!

 

[canofhumdingers]

I'll repost this from me unpacking mine. I guess I got very lucky? Maybe the person responsible gluing the mask together is high as a kite every day

View attachment 430457

Your tusks are pointed down just as much as anyone else’s. It’s just the angle you took your photo from combined with the fact you got the head leaning back a bit tends to hide it. Mine looks exactly like that in profile. Below is a 1:1 Efx helmet for comparison.