Sculpt—5/5
VOTC Vader was a great figure, but there was something slightly off with its overall appearance. Now that I have 500th Vader in my hands, I think I know what it was--the helmet! 500th Vader's helmet is a masterpiece with its excellent proportions and accurate shape. In contrast, VOTC Vader's helmet dome is too small and is not wide enough from front to back. 500th Vader's helmet sports the removable dome, and underneath you'll find excellent details on the hidden parts of the facemask and Vader's scarred back of the head. At first I thought that Hasbro reused VOTC Vader's torso for this figure but upon closer inspection, that doesn't seem to be true. Some details are the same--the control box and the wrinkled suit underneath sport the same sculpting details. However changes were made to the molded inner cape that drapes the sides of Vader's torso. Here, the wrinkles aren't as pronounced and more realistic wrinkles were added to the sides giving it a nicely draped look. The arms are all new with more wrinkles in the sleeves than seen on VOTC Vader. 500th Vader's gloves are extremely well sculpted with sharp detail in the wrinkles and nicely defined fingers. The hands are sculpted in a relaxed, open-palmed pose, though a second right hand is included to hold a lightsaber. The separately sculpted belt is also slightly different with the most notable change being the lack of a peghole for a lightsaber hilt. Below the belt, things are very similar to VOTC Vader. About the only that has changed is that they've widened the stance for 500th Vader; all other details, such as the wrinkles in his suit, remain the same. And let's not forget the use of soft goods for the lower part of the inner cape. The material Hasbro has used is good and the cape is properly fitted to look like it is continuing from the molded cape above the belt (VOTC Vader's inner cape had a problem with this). In the end, we have a Vader that is much improved over VOTC Vader in terms of sculpting, however, articulation is another matter...

Articulation--4/5
500th Vader has 14 points of articulation: standard neck, standard shoulders, angle-cut elbows, wrists, waist, hips, ball-jointed knees, and swivel boot tops. Now that's excellent articulation, but VOTC Vader has this figure beat with its ball-jointed neck and shoulders. Still, this figure is capable of some good poses and of course, looks great in sitting poses.

Features--4/5
The figure features a removable helmet dome and the included meditation chamber can lower it or raise it off of Vader's head. The dome fits on nicely, but doesn't snap on so it is very easy for it to fall off. It would have been nice if it could have fit a bit more snugly so it wouldn't fall off so easily. The moveable arm connected to the meditation chamber isn't totally accurate, but it still looks cool and gets the job done. The helmet dome fits into the clamp-looking claw and stays quite secure. Lowering the helmet onto Vader is as easy as pushing down on a lever found at the back of the chamber. Pull it up to raise the helmet. It would have been nice if Hasbro included a proper top section of the meditation chamber since it would have been cool to open and close the chamber.

Accessories--4.5/5
You get Darth Vader's lightsaber, an extra right hand for holding the lightsaber, a removable cape, and of course, the meditation chamber. The meditation chamber may very well be the prime reason to own this set (other than its special edition status), and there are things to love and hate about it. On one hand, this thing is awesome, with great detailing and the cool functioning helmet-lowering arm. I mean, there are some really nice details here like the Imperial insignia on Vader's seat cushion, the hoses and details on the base of the chamber, and the intricate control panel stickers. On the other hand, sticklers will note that the meditation chamber isn't as big as it should be and thus it doesn't have as many "prongs" as it should. But perhaps the worst thing is the lack of a proper top section for the chamber. Sure, Hasbro made the plastic packaging cover to be durable enough to keep as part of the set, but it is a poor substitute for a proper chamber top. Still, the meditation chamber looks great as a whole, and I feel the good far outweighs the bad as this thing just looks plain cool!

The removable cape is similar in cut to the one attached to VOTC Vader; laid out, it's a half circle. Hasbro has chosen to use the silver rope material yet again and an elastic band secures the cape around Vader's neck. Since the cape doesn't properly fit around Vader's neck, it doesn't quite look right. You can fold the cape to help it look better, but in the end it just isn't the best cloth cape out there. The fact that it is removable is nice though, since Vader doesn't wear his cape in the meditation chamber. The extra right hand is rehashed from VOTC Vader and allows this Vader to properly hold the included lightsaber. The lightsaber has a well detailed hilt and it is most likely rehashed from some earlier Vader figure though I'm not sure with which figure it appeared first.

Paint--5/5
VOTC Vader got a lot of things wrong in this category and Hasbro has redeemed themselves wonderfully with this figure. Everything is painted as it should be--the buttons that are supposed to be red are red and the switches that are supposed to be silver are silver. The meditation chamber also has a great paintjob with its white interior. If there is one thing to complain about, it's the fact that the scar on the back of Vader's head isn't quite as convincing as it could be. They just kind of painted a sloppy red line. Adding pink around the red would have helped a bit.

Packaging--5/5
A special edition figure calls for special packaging and Hasbro definitely delivered. The packaging basically consists of a square cardboard base with the meditation chamber twisty-tied directly on top of it. The plastic top serves double duty as both a way to protect the toy inside and also to provide the top portion of the meditation chamber. The plastic they used on this top portion is thick and quite durable--a stark contrast to what we're used to seeing. It's obvious that Hasbro wants you to keep this part of the packaging as part of the set. Sculpted on its surface are the prongs of the top portion of the chamber and they are painted black on the outside and white on the inside which was a nice touch. The helmet-lowering arm is functional through a hole in the back of the plastic, so MIBers can still play with this set! The cardboard base which the toy rests on is almost like a trophy base and has a plastic name plate inserted at its front with the number "500" being the most prominent thing on it. The bottom of the cardboard base has all the legal type and a description of what this figure is about for the uninitiated.

Overall--4.5/5
This is a definite buy for Vader fans with it's unique packaging and cool meditation chamber. The figure itself is also a worthy addition and is the best removable dome Vader made yet. Those only looking for the ultimate Darth Vader figure should wait for the Anakin to Vader Evolutions 3-pack, but those looking for a great looking set or a unique Star Wars toy will do well to pick one of these up. My advise--buy it!

--Photos and review by Garett Yoshimura
garett@carrotnetwork.com