I have points to burn and thinking of getting this Vader. Is he worth it?
Having just received this, while I do really like it more than my HT ANH Vader (v1) overall, considering the reissue of the HT ESB is only a few bucks more than this at retail ($235 vs $285), you should either get that one or wait for the eventual 1/6 HT ROTJ version. I only paid $170 for it and at that price, I think it's pretty great. With some mods, this will be my only Vader.
He's OK, but the body is way too tall, and the cape isn't great.
Yup I agree with this statement. For someone who doesn't know all the exact detailed differences between Vaders like myself, here is my pros and con list of this SS Vader vs my original HT ANH Vader:
PROS:
-molded gloves and specifically the belt box holding gloves. Those are too cool and I like them better than the HT ESB ones.
-Wrist peg in each glove makes swapping easier.
-Easy on and off switch for the lights on the belt and chest boxes. HT makes this more difficult. I always had to use tweezers.
-Body suit, leather belts and straps feel stronger/better.
-Body (in terms of articulation) I felt worked better than my HT body and looks a bit more natural in the suit. Though when the arms are at his sides, they do flair out a bit, so might have to dremel some under arm/upper rib areas to get them to sit more flush.
CONS:
-However, the SS body is too tall.
-Ignited lightsaber blade just looks weird. I'm modding mine to receive the HT red blade and so I can get a "in-motion" blade to attach as well.
-Very soft details on the shin guards. not nearly as crisp as Hot Toys. Going to try to replace them with the HT ones.
-Head sits too high on the body also contributing to the height problem. I'm going to dremel out some excess plastic so it can sit lower hopefully.
-Stand is basic plain black SS stand. I'm using the HT one currently.
-Cape and inner robe. I've got the HT cape on mine and will eventually get an HT ESB or ROTJ inner robe when I get a chance.
-No reveal head. If this is supposed to be an ROTJ version, a reveal head is a must IMO. They could've just reused their original for all I care. Or do the partial back reveal from ESB since that sculpt
is actually under the the dome.
Equal/Things I don't mind:
-Head/helmets are pretty on par with each other. But again, I don't know the finer details like others. I can see the differences between the two (as there should be) but they both look like their respective movie helmets to me.
-Details on the lightsaber hilt hold up to HT IMO
-No LED light-up saber arm. I only used it once on my HT as they remain being a POA to attach and to get to the switch.
-No breathing/movie quote body. As cool as that feature is on the V1 ANH, I only used it once when I originally opened it to show my ex "how cool!" the feature was at the time. And it's also a POA to get to and turn on.
-Two-piece boots. I don't mind them as you can't really see them behind the inner robe anyway. It's just the lack of detail on the shin guards that bothers me.
When HT releases their ROTJ version I'll either sell this one at the same price I bought it at, or just buy the reveal head, cape and inner robe separately.
Even with the cons, they're nothing I can't fix. I personally am really enjoying it. I was pretty impressed with it when I opened it up and if I hadn't had a HT one to compare it to, I would've been just fine with it as is (minus the base-that would need to be ungraded regardless).
For $170, this isn't a bad Vader at all and I'm happy to have it replace my ANH V1 Vader. Thinking back, I honestly can't believe I paid the retail $300 for the original HT ANH V1 Vader especially considering the HT ESB and this SS Vader are cheaper and IMO better. When it comes to that, I think this SS version beats out the HT ANH V1.