Details
Name: Series: Release Date: Pros: Cons:	Darth Vader (Star Wars: Power of the Force) Star Wars 1998 Removable helmet, forearm and wrist swivels which were rare for this line. Some of the proportions are a little off, limited articulation, even for at the time of release.

Review

For anybody that was collecting Star Wars figures in the 90s will surely have remembered the Power of the Force (or Power of the Force 2 for much older collectors) line of figures, and the insane number of characters they released during it's 4 year run. Funnily enough, while I did collect some of the figures when I was younger, I never owned any iteration of Darth Vader at all. It is kind of strange that decades later, I would finally get my hands on a version of Darth Vader from the the PotF line. While this is not the only version of Darth Vader released in the line, I can say that despite not being completely accurate, it's probably one of the more movie accurate depictions of him.

In terms of the overall painting and sculpting, it's mostly spot on. A quick glance, and you know it's Darth Vader. Unlike the first release of Darth Vader at the beginning of the line which had a body builder physique (despite being more machine than man), this version goes for more realistic proportions, though he still looks a little chunkier than he's supposed to. In a nice touch, his left hand is molded in his "Force choke" gesture that he used back in A New Hope when expressing how disturbing Admiral Motti's lack of faith was. A minor gripe, I found the eyes on Vader's helmet are maybe a little too small, though it doesn't detract from the overall presentation. Also, I noticed that his right arm was significantly thicker than his left.

Someone's been swinging their lightsaber around a little too often... if you know what I mean.
But in all seriousness, there is a reason for this, which I will get in to later. It would have been nice if the left arm matched up for consistency's sake.

In terms of accessories, he does have more than what can be seen at first glance. He has his lightsaber which can be wielded in his right hand. While it is a loose grip, the saber will not fall out of his hand. Also, my copy has a bent and faded lightsaber blade. It comes with the territory of second-hand figures, not to mention that this figure was from 1998.

In addition, his helmet can be removed to show old man Anakin's face, which features some nice paint details to highlight the scars. Also, keep in mind that while he does have eyebrows, it is technically accurate at the time of this figure's release, as later re-releases of the films digitally removed Vader's eyebrows, long after this figure came out. Surprisingly, the helmet fits rather snugly on his head, so you don't have to worry about it falling off, nor worry about any gaps. Furthermore, while Old Anakin's head is a bit small, the helmet's proportions do match with the rest of the figure. You wouldn't know at first glance that the helmet is removable. Finally, he does have a removable right wrist, allowing you to recreate when Luke disarmed Vader in their final duel. As the wrist is held in place by a thick peg, the rest of Vader's right arm was buffed up to accommodate for it, which explains why it looks like he has a wanker's arm. Finally, the cape is removable. While it does clip in place and never fall out, it is a little loose.

Articulation of the figure is pretty basic, even for something that came from the late 90s. The head seems to have movement, but it's so tight, it can only slightly look left and right. If you remove the cape, the arms can go all the way around. Extra articulation is included in the right arm for lightsaber wielding, something that was rare in this line of figures. Though the wrist is designed to be popped off, it is also articulated. The waist has movement, though it is difficult to do a full 360 degrees. Finally, the legs can go forward, but because of the plastic robes, they are obstructed from going backwards all that much. It also means he cannot sit in any vehicles as a result.

In terms of size, he's a pretty small figure. Even smaller than many 1/144 Gundam model kits with the HG 1/144 scale RX-78-02 Gundam (Origin version) being displayed here. Also for reference, I included Ironfactory's Honekumoki (aka 3rd Party Legends class Bludgeon).

While some of the porportions are a little off, and despite limited articulation, the figure overall is still pretty decent. Its small size makes for a nice display piece on your desk or shelf. Just don't expect to pull off any wacky or dynamic poses with this version of Darth Vader. Second hand copies of this figure can be found for cheap if you know where to look. I got mine from Amazon Japan for less than 1000 yen at the time of purchase, though lately, it's been selling for a lot more. Of course, expect to pay a lot more for an unopened version of this figure.

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