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

[Wor-Gar]

Since ESB is the superior movie, I'd say go with ESB.

And I agree -- no one will display their Vader with mask off except for a few pictures. It's a nice extra to keep in the box though.

 

[The Autistic Asexual]

Can't you have a Vader from every OT movie? That's only 3 Vaders. Not too much for the screen's ultimate evildoer.

ANH - dog-of-war cruel henchman Vader

ESB - shiny, elegant supervillain Vader

ROTJ - wimpy, unmasked Vader

I too thought that the unmasked Vader pouring his heart out to Luke at the end of Return of the Jedi was kinda cringe-inducing and wimpy. I was always like, "Vader, pull yourself together old man!!"

 

[dukefett]

Who would display their Vader unmasked? Seriously this is the way to go.

I change up my displays enough that I will get my use out of a RotJ unmasked head.

 

[chalor]

Since ESB is the superior movie, I'd say go with ESB.

And I agree -- no one will display their Vader with mask off except for a few pictures. It's a nice extra to keep in the box though.

Yeah, Jedi is by far my favorite. Empire has always been the most boring/overrated of the three for me. So by that, I'd rather have an official ROTJ Vader, but if the uniqueness of ESB Vader is more....lol then that's what I'm trying to figure out. Plus I don't think they'll be able to top the stand this one comes with. I was trying to figure out all the differences from the 501st site. That seems to be by far the best way to figure out every single detail; but even they aren't 100% accurate. They list that there are no (left of buckle) stud on the belt & upper chest box straps studs; but the film says otherwise.

 

[TonTon]

Buy this one. Who’s to say how long ROTJ will take, and whether it will be any better? Could be worse. Buying them all is always the safest option.

 

[TurdFurgusonsHat]

Buying them all is always the safest option.

Indeed!

 

[chalor]

Buy this one. Who’s to say how long ROTJ will take, and whether it will be any better? Could be worse. Buying them all is always the safest option.

lol - yeah, and if Jedi is better (doubt it) then I can just sell the ESB one. I've been doing researching on the 501st site to see which costume is more unique..and it's interesting that the specifications for the ANH one is different than even the Hot Toys 2.0 version. Comparing images from the movie to the Hot Toys figure to what the site says; Hot Toys got it more right than the 501st. Regardless, the ANH one will always be my favorite cause of the less glossy finish and the widows peak.

 

[eradicate]

My guess is if they were both out today I would get ROTJ, it's more likely to have more versatility (cut off hand, fully removable mask etc). But, this one is already many months away and they won't even announce ROTJ until this one is out, not to mention however many months on top of that it will take to go for sale.

I would say get this one and sell if ROTJ looks worth it, these things keep their value very well on the secondary market so there's very little risk.

 

[chalor]

Agreed. I've been buying/selling on eBay since '99.....and have never had a major let down selling off one of my Hot Toys figures.

 

[zeiss]

You must not have bought many of the force awakens figures. Or sold them before they plummeted in value. However, ESB Vader is a pretty safe bet for holding its value.

 

[chalor]

You must not have bought many of the force awakens figures. Or sold them before they plummeted in value. However, ESB Vader is a pretty safe bet for holding its value.

Uh...no. I collect the real deal OT stuff only. I was 19 at the time Episode 1 came out and it was killing me working at Toys R Us that I couldn't rip into those boxes and get the figures before the release date. I was like a madman with a shopping cart, getting every single thing off the shelves to buy. Boy, was that a big mistake in hindsight. So not too long after that, I never bought another non OT Star Wars product. I mean, I see all the new Star Wars movies, tv shows, etc. but just have zero interest in any of their merchandise.

 

[DjBoogaloo]

2 weeks down. 2 to go....

 

[Lord Valefor]

So we get to see the "final version" of the figure...

 

[RiggsMcClane]

So is there an official release at this point?

 

[rayeknor]

afaik this is still scheduled for 3rd or 4th quarter release

 

[DjBoogaloo]

I’ll be messaging Japan Hot Toys (ToySapiens) later today to find out if this is still scheduled for release this month.

 

[RiggsMcClane]

I've heard several release dates so it will be nice to know something solid. Let us know Dj and thanks.

 

[DjBoogaloo]

I've heard several release dates so it will be nice to know something solid. Let us know Dj and thanks.

Will do. Sent them a message but this still being Monday morning, I haven’t gotten a reply.
I paid for the figure in full with a receipt stating delivery in June. Hopefully they stick to it.

 

[DjBoogaloo]

Got a reply in the most typical Japanese way. The item isn’t in now and they don’t know when it’ll arrive. There’s a possibility the release might be delayed but they don’t know.

That’s fine, but you’re actually Hot Toys, not some secondary distributor, and could easily find out if the product has been dispatched from China on its way to Japan. There’s less than a week left in the month you have as the release date for a product you demanded full payment in advance for. A bit more transparency and effort would have been the better way of going about it. But, I suppose that would actually amount to doing more than the minimum which isn’t how they roll.

 

[rayeknor]

Trick is to bake those things into the question so they have to address it or sound like a bot

If you ordered the Japan prerelease I'm sure they will honor it, rest of us gotta wait few more months..