Vader PF has left the building!!

[Darklord Dave]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

I think Elwood's comments are very fair and observant although I'd have to say -- Vader with a grey chestplate? It may be screen accurate, but it's not how I see him in my mind's eye.

We've established by Cking's measurements that the helmet on the PF is undersized about a 1/4 of an inch. My theory is that this was done to make it more aesthetically pleasing, the larger head could start to look silly staring at it on your shelf for long periods of time.

But overall I think that even the ultra-critical (such as Gru and Elwood) seem to be pretty happy with it, and call it the best Vader out there. I think most people will come to agree with that.

 

[Bullseye]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

I think Elwood's comments are very fair and observant although I'd have to say -- Vader with a grey chestplate? It may be screen accurate, but it's not how I see him in my mind's eye.

We've established by Cking's measurements that the helmet on the PF is undersized about a 1/4 of an inch. My theory is that this was done to make it more aesthetically pleasing, the larger head could start to look silly staring at it on your shelf for long periods of time.

But overall I think that even the ultra-critical (such as Gru and Elwood) seem to be pretty happy with it, and call it the best Vader out there. I think most people will come to agree with that.

While I agree this is a very nice Darth Vader and one i will eventually pick up I still think Attakus has produced the best Vader to date DV1. That being said i hope CM produce the definitive one if they get the licence.

 

[TheWitchKing]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

I agree Dave, it may be off by a tad bit but for the most part it is best that way.

 

[The Josh]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

I think Elwood's comments are very fair and observant although I'd have to say -- Vader with a grey chestplate? It may be screen accurate, but it's not how I see him in my mind's eye.

I think he was being fair. I just thought a couple of his cons where tad nit picky and pointed it out. It wasn't meant to start a bitch fest. I think what you see in your minds eye has more to do with it than anything.

We've established by Cking's measurements that the helmet on the PF is undersized about a 1/4 of an inch. My theory is that this was done to make it more aesthetically pleasing, the larger head could start to look silly staring at it on your shelf for long periods of time.

A 1/4 of an inch? Man, this piece is horrible how can SS do this!! LOL Like I said it's not totally screen accurate but close enough that I'm not going to get my panties in a bunch.

But overall I think that even the ultra-critical (such as Gru and Elwood) seem to be pretty happy with it, and call it the best Vader out there. I think most people will come to agree with that.

I agree it's the best out there.

 

[JustinLuck]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

I don't understand why you guys think a screen accurate helmet would be too big. It's as if you expect his mask/helmet gear to equal the size of a human head? Of course the mask has to be a certain size if a human head is going to fit inside there. It's same as when someone wear's a motorcycle helmet.

 

[JustinLuck]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

Hey, for those of you who own the Chronicle books, which one is your favorite? I'm interested in purchasing them, but not sure I can afford both. Do the books have different layouts/formats?

 

[SKARY]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

Well my vader came in today and while taking out the styrofoam I could hear a slight rattle it the Box I thought "Oh, No!!!" sure enough when I opened it there was vader with his fingers chopped off and a shoulder pad as well. Just when I thought It was finally here I still have to wait to display him. I'm just waiting now for my RMA to send him back.

 

[The Josh]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

Hey, for those of you who own the Chronicle books, which one is your favorite? I'm interested in purchasing them, but not sure I can afford both. Do the books have different layouts/formats?

I've only had mine a day now but both are pretty sweet just glancing through them. They are $95 bucks each at Amazon. It's broken down each chapter by movie.


Sk sorry to hear about your Vader. Man that totally sucks.

 

[RoboDad]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

Well said Dave! Based on the reviews (both the glowing ones and the critical ones), I am completely confident that I will love this piece when mine arrives, and I have no regret about purchasing it.

I have to admit, though, that I am puzzled by the "gray chestplate" comments. It doesn't look gray to me at all. It looks like it is black, but because of the semi-gloss finish on it, the lighting can make it look slightly gray from certain angles. Yes, there are "gray" stripes on it, but I wonder if even those were really meant to be gray, or if they just were supposed to have a "rougher" finish (which would tend to look very gray on film).

 

[lcummins]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

Without really getting into the issues about different "film versions", I'll just state that I personally have never really understood the importance of a character's appearance between films, when the films timeline isn't very long. With Star Wars for example, I have always had the impression that the events in Ep. IV thru VI took place over several months, maybe a year or so. If that were true, Vader's armor and helmet probably wouldn't have changed much in "real life" and the changes only occurred because humans were making the films and sometimes had to recreate costumes and props that no longer existed. So to me, I want a Vader that is representative of Vader across all three films. This would hold true of any character that was always costumed the same, such as Stormtroopers, etc. Now for the human characters that had different outfits, I could see matching a particular film, but otherwise, I would prefer a "representation" of the characters without a lot of duplication showing different costumes.

Therefore, my conclusion... this Vader rocks! And I really don't care about minor little details between films, and whether or not something lit up in one film but not another, or that his helmet changed, or that his armor is a different color, etc. etc. etc. What I wanted, and what I got, was a Premium Format 1/4 scale Darth Vader, that anyone, even non-fans, would instantly recognize!!! No offense to anyone, especially those who posted in this thread, but I like it and think it is the ultimate "representation" of Darth Vader to date! Shall I say it? It is the essence of the iconic character from Star Wars!

 

[The Josh]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

Without really getting into the issues about different "film versions", I'll just state that I personally have never really understood the importance of a character's appearance between films, when the films timeline isn't very long. With Star Wars for example, I have always had the impression that the events in Ep. IV thru VI took place over several months, maybe a year or so. If that were true, Vader's armor and helmet probably wouldn't have changed much in "real life" and the changes only occurred because humans were making the films and sometimes had to recreate costumes and props that no longer existed. So to me, I want a Vader that is representative of Vader across all three films. This would hold true of any character that was always costumed the same, such as Stormtroopers, etc. Now for the human characters that had different outfits, I could see matching a particular film, but otherwise, I would prefer a "representation" of the characters without a lot of duplication showing different costumes.

Dito sir

Therefore, my conclusion... this Vader rocks! And I really don't care about minor little details between films, and whether or not something lit up in one film but not another, or that his helmet changed, or that his armor is a different color, etc. etc. etc. What I wanted, and what I got, was a Premium Format 1/4 scale Darth Vader, that anyone, even non-fans, would instantly recognize!!! No offense to anyone, especially those who posted in this thread, but I like it and think it is the ultimate "representation" of Darth Vader to date! Shall I say it? It is the essence of the iconic character from Star Wars!

I'll give ya a second ditto and especially to the bolded part.

 

[user 131]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

I just got my Vader and he is now staring at me as I type this. It really is a piece of art!

 

[JustinLuck]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

I myself would LOVE to have a definitive Vader. Believe it or not, I don't really care about the different versions either. But I do remember Vader's mask and helmet a certain way. When I watch each OT film, I instantly recognize Vader. The masks from ANH through ROTJ look similar enough to me that I never noticed anything different between them (except for looking cleaner in ESB and ROTJ). But the instant I saw the Sideshow version, I knew something looked 'off'. So, what I'm saying is, the Vader masks from all three movies of the OT look more similar to each other than the Sideshow version looks to ANY of them.

Earlier, Andy let us know that Sideshow scanned the ANH mask to make the PF one. Well, I used to believe that scans were perfect. But then, after seeing some 'scanned' products of human likenesses, I realized that the scanners they use today don't have a high enough resolution to maintain good accuracy. There is something lost in the translation.

To be honest, I desperately WANT to like the Sideshow version. But the wrong proportions are just too much of a distraction This is probably a bad analogy, but it is like seeing a celebrity impersonator. They can look really close to the actual person. But subtle differences can ruin in the illusion.

Random link on Google:
https://www.celebrityimpersonators.com/shania_twain.html

 

[Brent72]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

I think it's unfortunate that pieces like this get "nitpicked" to death almost to the point where people take the fun out of collecting. I hang out over at the RPF(Replica Prop Forum) sometimes and I have to say that some of the people over there are just downright impossible to tolerate. If something has the slightest imperfection they go into hissy fits about it crying and moaning "it's not 100% screen accurate, it sucks"! I honestly don't know why they even bother collecting because it takes all the enjoyment out of the process if you can't be happy with anything you buy. If I was as anal them about pieces being perfectly screen accurate I wouldn't have this in my collection:

https://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8454/10010951my.jpg

Or this:

https://img504.imageshack.us/img504/7807/10010860gu.jpg

Personally, I'm much more into "WOW" factor than screen accuracy and as long as something looks cool that's all I really care about. I know the SS Vader isn't going to be a perfect representation of how Vader looked in ANH, but I still think it's a great looking piece and will be a nice addition to my collection. Just my .02 on the subject.

 

[tomandshell]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

This is probably a bad analogy, but it is like seeing a celebrity impersonator. They can look really close to the actual person. But subtle differences can ruin in the illusion.

 

[Viking28]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

Great review Elwood! I cant wait to get mine (its lost somewere in Fedex land, had to but a trace on it )

 

[JustinLuck]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

Brent, those pieces look AWESOME! Infact, words can't describe how impressive they are. If Sideshow's mask and helmet had the same proportions as the one on your 1:1 replica, I would love it.

 

[The Josh]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

I think it's unfortunate that pieces like this get "nitpicked" to death almost to the point where people take the fun out of collecting. I hang out over at the RPF(Replica Prop Forum) sometimes and I have to say that some of the people over there are just downright impossible to tolerate. If something has the slightest imperfection they go into hissy fits about it crying and moaning "it's not 100% screen accurate, it sucks"! I honestly don't know why they even bother collecting because it takes all the enjoyment out of the process if you can't be happy with anything you buy. If I was as anal them about pieces being perfectly screen accurate I wouldn't have this in my collection:

https://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8454/10010951my.jpg

Or this:

https://img504.imageshack.us/img504/7807/10010860gu.jpg

Personally, I'm much more into "WOW" factor than screen accuracy and as long as something looks cool that's all I really care about. I know the SS Vader isn't going to be a perfect representation of how Vader looked in ANH, but I still think it's a great looking piece and will be a nice addition to my collection. Just my .02 on the subject.

Brent I agree 110% with you!!

As far as those pieces. Holy **** those are sweet!!

 

[LOTRFan]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

I think it was said a few pages ago (it certainly is hard to keep up) by Fritz, that this thread (and the others) have been very educational, thanks for the informed posts by many who have studied and know the costuming with such precision . As for me, I have always know there were differences, but I am not so sure I could have articulated exactly what they were.

Here is how I see the SS piece:

1) It is VERY hard to deny that the helmet and other issues (namely the chest plate) are exact to the ANH Vader, to say that they are identical to me just isn't explainable

2) However, most collectors are not either aware of the differences, or concerned with them

3) Therein lies the rub, there is obviously a group of collectors on this board that are looking for the most "screen accurate" Vader piece to date, specifically coming from ANH. The other side (and perhaps the majority) just wants the "essence" of Vader to be visable. There are two communities in conflict, and I am not sure that they will ever see eye to eye.

4) My theory is that SS will probably not be producing another Vader in the 1/4 scale, and thus this Vader works to both capture the essence of Vader, and look generic enough to fit for all the films that he appeared in. The "screen accurate" crowd however, was expecting this to be the ANH Vader - and after all why wouldn't they? So perhaps there will be no way to reconcile this, if this will be the only 1/4 Vader (and of course it is only an "if"), than it fits the wide range of Vader's incarnations; but as it stands the ANH version of Vader it does have some flaws (whether major or minor depends on your initial reason for purchase).

5) I am happy to be adding this Vader to my collection (Bob, I can't get word soon enough! ), but I do recognize that it is a "Vader" piece, and NOT the ANH Vader - but again I am not sure my primary concern was "screen accuracy."

 

[Mini-Rock]

Re: Vader has left the building!!

lcummins: Just an FYI on the SW timeline, EPV took place about three years after EPIV, and EPVI took place a year after that. So, from A New Hope to Jedi was a span of about four years.

Brent: I totally agree man! I remember when some of those guys at the RPF tore into MR for taking liberties with their prop replicas. Namely, them not using the same materials used for the actual filming prop. What MR had done, and still does, is capture the essence of the prop and how it would look and feel if it were taken right out of the SW Universe. SS has done this with their Vader as has GG and Attakus. All have made beautiful Vader statue's. I think the best bet for anyone who is looking for a 100% screen accurate Vader (and I mean every piece and detail) is better off making their own 1:1 statue since companies making 1/6, 1/5, and 1/4 statue's won't be able to meet their personal expectation of the character. That is the only way for the "nit-pickers" to be sure they get exactly what they want and not have to fret over extremely minor differences.

Personally, I'm happy with the pics I have seen on this piece, and I'm happy with other pieces from other companies that have taken liberties with their replicas, ships, and statue's. I love the pieces in my collection (even though not one lightsaber, blaster, ship, or statue is 100% screen accurate) and will continue to purchase these high-end collectibles for my collection.