Sideshow ESB/ROTJ Darth Vader

[shocktrooper_au]

The fix for the dome would be to attach a magnet, possibly cut the top knob of and replace and paint black

 

[generalgrevious]

what lego set is that from cool

 

[VASith]

no..........licoriced condition.........(insert ba-dum-tish here)

Oh boy...

 

[barryo]

Oh boy...

...........that was kinda lame huh?

eric, you liking vader so far? im like 95% happy with him & while the dome was a big improvement there was still a little room for being better.

 

[pixletwin]

Thanks for the illustrated tutorial. Have you decided how/if you are going to attempt a way to get the dome secured to the mask?

Got my Vader yesterday. Add mine to the "broken tusk" club.

However, I'm initially impressed with this figure. This one is a marked improvement on the ANH version in many ways. Sideshow is definitely heading towards Hot Toys-level of quality here, though they still fall short. The specialized body is definitely too tall by at least a 1/4 inch, but not so much that a body-swap will be necessary. The thinner robes and cape are a nice improvement, but the edges of my cape are frayed, making me wish it were hemmed or at least cut more sharply. Surprisingly, I found the lights on the belt and chest to be a really nice touch and to be my favorite updated feature.

However, the biggest missed opportunity was deciding not to make the separate unmasked sculpt, mask and helmet fit together better. As has been mentioned before, these pieces actually fit together very much like Medicom's version but are only missing some small tabs or slots to hold them all together!

Lest any of you are also curious to do this but worried about damaging that Anakin sculpt, you can follow these steps. Be careful, since it's obvious this toy is fragile as hell and I won't be held responsible for any mishaps due to your clutzy butter-fingers!

First, you'll find that the back corners of the mask can be slid past the cheeks if you place it at an angle, like so:



Then, lower the front of the mast so it lines up with the lower mask:



Finally, push the mask back until everything lines up:



The separate helmet can even go on top, but sadly has nothing underneath to securely attach it to the top of the mask.



While I appreciate that Sideshow took the added measure of including a separate fully assembled helmet, I can't believe they would go through so much trouble to get the extra individual pieces to look and fit correctly yet not add that extra little bit so that they could snap together. Ultimately, this is more frustrating to me that the extra 1/4 inch to his height!

 

[Tabula Rasa]

So just had a better chance to inspect this. Is the cape supposed to be frayed at the bottom and the tunic is not?

Neither should have any fraying.

 

[Tabula Rasa]

I posted this a few pages back. It's part of the Iron Man 3 Workshop base that I was not using because it's too big. I'm thinking I could put Vader in the middle and have him flanked on both sides by Storm Troopers on the elevated platform. I think it will be a nice setup plus it will eliminate the Vader is too tall perception.

That's this; https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hot-Toys-1...9997?pt=US_Action_Figures&hash=item4d166c061d
but your pic is without the center piece, right?

 

[barryo]

Thanks for the illustrated tutorial. Have you decided how/if you are going to attempt a way to get the dome secured to the mask?

shock trooper suggested a magnet. they make teeniny earth magnets that would fit the bill for that in a heart beat.

 

[VASith]

...........that was kinda lame huh?

eric, you liking vader so far? im like 95% happy with him & while the dome was a big improvement there was still a little room for being better.

Haven't had time to futz with him. He arrived right before I picked up my 17 month old daughter from school. Don't want her anywhere near him. . Figure I'll mess around with him tomorrow.

 

[Bo Shrek]

What are people doing about the "broken tusk"?

 

[Jaycepticon]

I posted this a few pages back. It's part of the Iron Man 3 Workshop base that I was not using because it's too big. I'm thinking I could put Vader in the middle and have him flanked on both sides by Storm Troopers on the elevated platform. I think it will be a nice setup plus it will eliminate the Vader is too tall perception.

That's an awesome idea. Vader's base would look perfect in the middle of that. Unfortunately, it's too wide for a detolf, right?

 

[Darth Waller]

Thanks for the clarification, Royce12.

 

[PJB-1138]

Thanks for the illustrated tutorial. Have you decided how/if you are going to attempt a way to get the dome secured to the mask?

Since Sideshow included a fully assembled headsculpt, I don't see any reason to. I just wish the head, mask and helmet could snap together since putting all those pieces in place on the figure would just slip apart from one another. Again, this just seems like something Hot Toys would have figured out.

 

[guyver1]

I posted this a few pages back. It's part of the Iron Man 3 Workshop base that I was not using because it's too big. I'm thinking I could put Vader in the middle and have him flanked on both sides by Storm Troopers on the elevated platform. I think it will be a nice setup plus it will eliminate the Vader is too tall perception.

Looks like Joker likes the detoif

 

[barryo]

Haven't had time to futz with him. He arrived right before I picked up my 17 month old daughter from school. Don't want her anywhere near him. . Figure I'll mess around with him tomorrow.

galactic heroes man ..............thats what i started the kids out with. (kept a couple......don't tell anyone)

 

[PJB-1138]

What are people doing about the "broken tusk"?

Contact Sideshow customer service. They should be able to send a replacement part.

 

[Pixelpiper]

I just wish the head, mask and helmet could snap together since putting all those pieces in place on the figure would just slip apart from one another. Again, this just seems like something Hot Toys would have figured out.

It's not that Sideshow didn't figure it out, it's that they made a design decision to not include such a feature. According to Sideshow, under no circumstances are the extra mask and helmet supposed to be assembled on the Anakin head sculpt. Sure, they may "fit," but they weren't designed to.

What they could have done to make this point is to include sculpting on the inside of the mask to make it impossible to fit over the head sculpt. Or better yet, make the Anakin face sculpt bigger, because it looks undersized in the images shown so far. This could make it look better on the body and at the same time prevent attaching the mask.

 

[momaw]

I posted this a few pages back. It's part of the Iron Man 3 Workshop base that I was not using because it's too big. I'm thinking I could put Vader in the middle and have him flanked on both sides by Storm Troopers on the elevated platform. I think it will be a nice setup plus it will eliminate the Vader is too tall perception.

That is awesome. That base disassembled in that manner makes a fantastic Bespin environment. Could use with Vader, HT Luke, Stormies, Boba, even Carbonite Han if you have him in sixth scale. I just grabbed one of ebay. Thanks for posting this!

 

[shocktrooper_au]

Some of mine

 

[jedijim3002]

^^ That looks awesome shock. What did you make the background from?