Sculpt--5/5
Owning this figure is like owning a scaled prop replica--it's that good! Vader's helmet is simply awe inspiring and easily surpasses any Vader helmet in this scale. The helmet is pure Vader from the pointed "cheeks" to the grilled "mouth" and the ominously empty "eyes". As you may have heard, this helmet is made up of three pieces, just like the real thing. Remove the dome to reveal the sharply detailed faceplate underneath. All the switches, wires and doo-dads that make the faceplate look so complex are faithfully recreated here and it's awesome. Remove the faceplate and you'll not only be able to gaze upon the excellent headsculpt of Anakin Skywalker, but also the superbly sculpted lower section of Vader's helmet. This thing has it all, from the two breathing tubes to all the gizmos and machinery that help Vader breathe. It's impressive how far the sculptor's went in this area; the details go well into the neck area where you can barely even see them! All three pieces of the helmet fit together pretty snuggly, but not too tight.

If you think they did a great job with Vader's helmet, wait till you see his scarred headsculpt underneath! This is perhaps one of the most impressive headsculpts done in the history of 1/6th-scaled headsculpts. There's a great likeness to Sebastian Shaw but what's really impressive are the little details. There are tons of tiny wrinkles in Anakin's skin and there's even a subtle texture to the skin that makes it look eerily real. The huge scars and gashes on Anakin's head are also done extremely well with deep cuts and great texturing around the wounds. This is a museum-quality piece and this headsculpt is proof.

Other sculpted elements such as Vader's various armor and control boxes are equally impressive. The shoulder and chest armor are connected at the top of the shoulder but still allow for full movement of the arms. The armor fits around Vader's neck and hangs off his shoulders just like the real thing. Moving downward, the control box on Vader's torso is once again done magnificently with well-defined buttons and switches along with a bunch of little details to appreciate. This control box is strapped on around Vader's torso with some pleather straps that connect via velcro in the back.

The belt has all the right details in all the right places, plus it has a metal hook on the left side so you can hang Vader's lightsaber hilt off of it--a sweet detail for non-action poses. The belt can be removed if you desire. The separately molded codpiece is, like everything else, sculpted with great care and attention to detail. Microscopic wrinkles sculpted into the codpiece give it a slightly leathery look. The codpiece is also removable. The vinyl boots are made up of two pieces: high-top boots and the armored shin guards. The shin guards fit snuggly over the boots and their softness still allows for good ankle movement. The shin guards have a nice smooth finish and look rigid even though they're softer than they appear. The gloves are as well done as everything else, and you get six of them total! I'll comment more about the different gloves in the accessories section, but I'll end this section by saying that each glove looks very real with just the right amount of creases and a great suggestion that there are hands actually in the gloves even though there aren't. Keisuke Sawada, the person credited as the prototype sculptor, should be given an award for such fine work!

Outfit--5/5
This brings us to Vader's nicely tailored outfit. The main bit of Vader's costume, his black quilted body suit, is made of pleather and fits the figure like a glove. This has its good and bad points as it's a bit too fitted to allow for full leg movement, but it looks great nonetheless. Vader's inner cape is likewise tailored to fit this figure to a tee. This isn't cheaply made either; the inside of it is lined with a shinier fabric as opposed to the cotton-like outer shell. Vader's cape is another point of interest in this set with its real metal chain which hooks onto the chest armor. But perhaps the coolest thing about this cape is the fact that you can essentially "sculpt" it so it drapes exactly how you want it to. This is achieved by a thin metal wire at the bottom of the cape. Bending the wire creates folds in the cape and helps keep the cape looking in scale with the figure. The additional weight of the wire also helps make the cape hang better off of Vader's shoulders. This is a revolutionary idea that Medicom has been using for a while now and I think it'd be great if Hasbro (and Sideshow, now that they are taking over the 12" line in America) started to use this in their own figures. Anyway, the cape is line just like the inner cape with a polyester material and is nicely tailored to drape over Vader's shoulders. The box credits Mieko Akimoto with the costume development of this figure and I think she's done a marvelous job of bringing the sculpted and sewn pieces together to create the Vader costume we all know and love.

Articulation--5/5
Most modern 12" figures are great for their super-articulation, and this figure doesn't disappoint. It's hard to say exactly how many articulation points there are on this figure since I don't want to remove his outfit to find out, but the official site says it has 24 points of articulation. Let's try and count them: ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders, swiveling biceps, elbows, hinge and swivel wrists, ball-jointed mid-section, waist, ball-jointed hips, swiveling thighs, knees, hinged and swivel ankles, and another set of hinges at the ankles which allow them to bend inward so the feet are always flat on the ground--even in wide stances. That doesn't quite add up to 24, but since certain points have multiple joints, it technically does add up. But no matter what, this all adds up to one super-posable Darth Vader figure that is capable of recreating many of your favorite poses from the movies and then some. About the only limitation is the previously mentioned body suit which is so well fitted that it's hard to bend Vader's legs at the hips and knees. Despite this, you can still create some very awesome action poses, and of course, relaxed poses are easy. The arms have much better motion than the legs, and with the six different hands, you can recreate certain poses such as having Vader rest his hands on his belt, or acting like he is Force-choking someone, or beckoning Luke to join him, or...well, you get the idea. About the only real negative with my figure is that it has a loose neck joint. The helmet might simply be too heavy or it might not be, but whatever the case, I've got a slightly floppy-headed Vader. However, it's not that bad as the cape and chest armor seem to help support the head, and getting his head into the pose I want isn't too difficult.

Features--5/5
There's the sculptable cape--very cool. The three-piece removable helmet--ultra cool. And then there's the lightsaber which can be displayed on or off. The whole blade and the tip of the lightsaber hilt is removable and an extra unlit hilt tip is included to put in its place. This is a nice and sturdy way to do it and the pieces snap in tightly.

Accessories--5/5
You get Darth Vader's lightsaber with lit and unlit hilt tips, an action figure stand, and you get a total of six different interchangeable hand sculpts. You get one pointing right hand, an open splayed left hand, a right and left hand for holding the lightsaber, and a right and left hand for resting Vader's hands on his belt. Of course, you can mix and match these to suit whatever pose or mood you want Vader to be in. Want a reprimanding Vader? Use the pointing right hand and the resting left hand. Want Vader to hold his lightsaber with one hand? Or two? He can do it all. I do kind of wish they included a closed left fist, but you can use the left lightsaber hand as an adequate substitute. The hands all connect to Vader's wrists in the same fashion--they just slide on and off a wedge-shaped piece of plastic that forms part of the wrist joint. The wrist joint basically consists of a hinged wedge that can swivel which is then plugged into the forearm. The hands slide on and off pretty easily, but if you push them onto the wedge too hard you might get the wedge stuck inside the hand which can be slightly problematic since the whole wrist joint can be detached from the arm. Just remember not to push the hands on too hard and you'll be fine.

The lightsaber is another masterpiece within this set. The details on this piece are stunningly accurate and detailed. Somehow they managed to faithfully recreate every detail, from the activation switch to the tiny knobs and buttons close to the emitter. The belt ring is even made of metal and is fully functional! As mentioned earlier, you can hang it on Vader's belt or display it with the blade on or off.

The included stand is made of clear plastic and comes disassembled. A rod plugs into the base and you have the option using two clamps, each a different size, to help secure the figure. The bigger of the clamps seems like it should go around the waist, but with all of Vader's clothing, it's hard to get it around. The smaller clamp seems like it should go around the leg, but Vader's inner cape kind of gets in the way of that plan. In the end the clamps seem worthless for this figure, but the stand is still useful for having the figure lean his back against. By putting the weight of the figure towards its back, it will keep the figure from falling forward and you will thus have a decently stable figure on display.

Paint--5/5
Superb paint job! Everything is painted well here, from the buttons on Vader's control boxes to the silver of his chest armor. There's very little slop with only slight bleeding that isn't really noticeable. Perhaps the most impressive paint job on this figure is on Anakin's headsculpt. They got the color of his skin just right and the way his scars are painted are perfect--with a slight wash that brings out the details but doesn't bring attention to itself. Anakin's eyes are also very well done and look almost real. The innards of Vader's helmet are also another paint highlight with all the gadgetry cleanly painted with no holding back of color use. One part of Vader's helmet I found extremely interesting was the facemask. Certain areas of the face are painted with black while the opposite side is painted in a dark grey. For instance, the left "cheek" area of the mask is painted black, while the right "cheek" area is painted dark grey. The color difference is subtle, but it helps make the sharp features of Vader's mask all the more apparent.

Packaging--4/5
The box is certainly minimalist with its coated black cardstock and simple graphics. It's mainly a black box with small logos here and there. The front has an embossed Imperial insignia on it along with the Star Wars logo in silver foil, Darth Vader's name (also in silver), and Medicom's logos for their Real Action Heroes line. Almost all sides of the box are done in the same fashion except for the back which has all the copyright info and a list of all the people involved with making the figure. I think having the credits of the people responsible for the figure is a good idea since I think these are miniature works of art and these people should get credit for it by all means. The front of the box is actually a flap which opens to reveal a windowed pane that shows off the figure and all its accessories. The inside flap is sparse, only listing the features and cool points about the figure. The box is pretty collector friendly, only requiring you to cut the tape that keeps the top or bottom of the box shut. Once opened, a plastic tray holds everything in place with a snap on lid. You could easily put the figure back in the box if ever you would want to.

So what don't I like about this packaging? Well, the cardstock is a bit flimsy and seems like it could get bent easily. The fact that the cardstock is coated to give it that soft look is also problematic since it's easy to scuff up and scratch. Think of how wax paper is easily scratched and you'll get the idea. It also would have been nice to have more text on the inside flap. Maybe something about the making of the figure or at least a small bio of Darth Vader. Granted, pretty much everyone knows something of what Darth Vader is about so it might be redundant, but still, this is a character toy and people should be able to learn something about the character if they have no prior knowledge of said character. Anyway, this problem is minor in the great scheme of things, since nobody would buy a Vader figure for $200 without knowing who he is. On a positive note, I suppose it's nice to know that most of the money for this figure is going to the actual figure and not on the package design.

Overall--5/5
So the big question: Is this thing worth paying about $200? I think it all depends on how big of a fan you are and of course, if you've got that kind of money to spend on an action figure. If you can afford it, and you are a big Vader fan looking for the ultimate Vader figure, then do not hesitate to pick up this figure. Once you have it in your hands, you will not only be glad you spent money on it but you will also think that it was worth every penny. This is truly a museum quality piece and if you buy one you should treat it as such. The quality is top notch, and the detailing is second only to the real thing. As I'm looking at my figure right now, I can't believe how awesome it is and how realistic it looks...drool. Ahem, so what if you can't afford this figure? If you can't then there's not much you can do except save up for it. Yeah, it sucks that it costs so much, but this is ten times better than any Hasbro product and the price reflects that. So my advice is to just save up and hope you can buy it later. Highly recommended.

P.S.: Be sure to check out all 46 photos of this figure by visiting the gallery!

Where to Buy:
I've searched high and low for the best price on this figure, and surprisingly StarWarsShop.com seems to have the best price for US customers. Follow this link to get it for $149.99: 12-Inch Darth Vader Real Action Hero Figure
YesAsia.com sells it for $216.99.
www.monstersinmotion.com sells it for $224.99.
Action-HQ Limited seems to have a preorder for $209.95 but it could be in stock...page seems out of date.
And then there's eBay which you can view listings for this figure below.

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