Sculpt—5/5
Fans of Star Wars Kubricks had to wait till series 4 to finally get a Darth Vader Kubrick, and it was definitely worth the wait! This figure perfectly captures the look of Darth Vader while still keeping in style with the simplistic look of the Kubrick figure. There are just enough details for this figure to impress the most hardcore Vader fan. The molded cape, chest armor and control boxes all look great with all the buttons and details exactly as they should be. Adding too much detail, such as the texture of Vader's body suit, was avoided to keep the figure simple and Kubrick-y.

Most impressive though, is Vader's helmet; this is one area where they didn't try to keep things simple. No, they went all out and made this thing super detailed. The best part--it's a two-stage removable helmet! Remove the dome and see all the detail on the usually hidden parts of the facemask. Take of the facemask to reveal Anakin Skywalker's scarred face! Each part of the mask looks terrific and is full of detail. There aren't any sculpted details on Anakin's headsculpt since the basic Kubrick head is just a cylinder, but they did round the edges of Anakin's cylinder-head which is different from the norm. Besides the helmet, none of Vader's outfit is removable. It seems Medicom doesn't want people to be swapping parts and making kitbashed figures so they simply make it very difficult to remove anything that's not supposed to be removed.

Articulation--2/5
Kubricks usually have eight points of articulation: neck, shoulders, wrists, waist, and hips. Sadly, because of Vader's outfit, many of these points are restricted and don't really have room for movement. Because of Vader's sculpted inner cape, the legs have such little movement that it's pointless to move them at all, and the waist articulation is totally restricted as well. Thankfully, Vader has full use of his arms for some decent lightsaber poses.

Accessories--5/5
You get Vader's lightsaber and I suppose you can count his removable helmet. The lightsaber looks great and is kind of stubby-looking which perfectly fits in with the proportions of the figure. The blade seems a little long but it still looks good. Not much else you can ask for.

Paint--5/5
Exceptional work! Everything is painted cleanly with no slop at all. All the buttons on Vader's control boxes are painted the correct color, and the painted details on Vader's helmet look great. Anakin's face also looks excellent with its clean lines and solid colors.

Packaging--4/5
Kubrick boxes are pretty small and there's not a lot of space to do a lot of crazy things on it. Medicom has stuck with the basics and kept things simple. Star Wars logo, figure name, series number, and a drawing of the figure appear on the front of the box. The right side of the box is devoted to warnings and legal stuff, while the left side of the box shows the lineup of the whole series. The back of the box shows a smaller image of the figure along with a quote from one of the Star Wars movies next to it. In the case of Darth Vader, the quote is "You don't know the power of the dark side." I like the inclusion of the quotes as they stir up memories of the character depicted. Once you open the box, you'll find a foil bag with the Medicom logo on it. Sealed within is a clear bag with the figure inside it. So that's three layers of protective wrapping for these figures, which is a good way to ensure your figure will be minty fresh. I think the only thing I would change about the packaging is the fact that once opened, the boxes can't be closed without the use of tape or glue. Reclosable boxes would be appreciated since I keep all my boxes and will probably use them to store the figures if I ever need to do so.

Overall--5/5
If you only get one Kubrick figure in your life, make sure it's Darth Vader. This Kubrick is uber-cool with its two-stage removable helmet, great detailing, and clean paintjob. Posability is a little weak but these are mostly for displaying and not for playing. Highly recommended to Vader fans or Star Wars fans who like something a little different every now and then.

Where to buy--
There aren't many brick and mortar stores in the US that will be carrying Kubricks, so your best bet is probably an online shop or ebay. Kubricks generally retail for $10 or less so if you get them below $10 each, you should be paying what most people pay.
Some good online shops to check for Star Wars Kubricks are:
ToyTokyo.com Sells the set of six Series 4 figures for $59.99.
Mopiku.com (Canadian but will ship to the US)Sells series 4 by the case.
YesAsia.com -Sells Series 4 cases for $108.99.
Kidrobot.com -Sells some older Star Wars Kubrick figs along with a bunch of other trendy figures.
Jbox.com -Doesn't seem to have Series 4 but has some Series 3 figs.

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