Medicom RAH Darth Vader Review
By Neil Beedie

“I find your lack of faith disturbing.”

Star Wars touched a nerve with its audiences world wide upon its original release. The Star Wars theme boomed throughout the theatre, and the crawl gripped audiences before being blown away by the enormous imperial ship chasing the rebels. It was like nothing ever seen in a science fiction movie to date and took the world by storm.

Darth Vader, the tall menacing figure from the Star Wars Universe is one of the most loved movie villains to date. Vader was once a Jedi, Anakin Skywalker, who held the power of the force in his grip. He was turned to the Dark side by Emperor Palantine and stood by the emperor in their fight for domination over the Rebel Alliance. Darth Vader is feared by the rebels and imperials alike, in union of both man and machine hidden under his black armour and robes. Commanding the Imperial fleet and the power of the force, Vader rules the galaxy with his ruthless power and terror.

Star Wars merchandise is produced worldwide, Hasbro have been producing Star Wars figures for years, but the quality is yet to be seen. Hasbro’s 12” line has showed off some crappy looking figures with terrible articulation and outfits as well as the paint apps.

The Japanese toy company Medicom Toy is another story. Medicom have been producing high end quality figures and collectibles for years and the quality really shows. They also acquired the Star Wars licence and have produced figures such as Luke, with a stormtrooper on the way. Darth Vader is the newest addition to the line and the quality and craftsmanship really shows. The price tag is likely to scare some potential customers away as you’ll have to pay big bucks for most Medicom products, from anywhere between US$160- $250+ for Vader. But get your wallets ready, its gonna be an impressive ride…

Packaging 5/5

Now this box is big. And I mean BIG. Which I guess is well suited for a figure such as Darth. It’s a black flip panel and features the Star Wars logo all over. On the inside of the panel it has some very short info on the figure and on the back a list of all the people involved in its making. It’s also very collector friendly and can be taken in and out with ease.

 

 

 

Sculpting 5/5

There’s a lot of beautiful sculpting done on Vader. The 3 part mask itself looks dead on to the films and the face of Vader himself is also extremely detailed. Vader’s face on this figure is from ROTJ not the prequels, but I’m sure we’ll see that changed in a few years by Lucas. The intricate scarring and wrinkles all over his face add to the realism and the deep scars on the back of his head are spot on from what I can tell. It looks just like Darth from ROTJ. The rest of his armour I have decided to put into the outfit category as it fits in better.

Paint 5/5

The majority of Vader is black. His helmet, shoes and shin guards are painted black with a very shiny finish. The shoulder armour is black and silver striped and there is no slop.

Under the helmet is the rest of Vader’s mask and the detail work of the mask is perfect, again there is no slop to be seen. Once the entire helmet is removed it reveals Vader’s true face. The skin tone is a pale off-white colour. The eyes are a dark green and the area around the eyes is a dark bruised colour. The deep scars have also been darkened and filled in which adds more depth to it and its all very film accurate.

The cod piece and gloves are black with no shine. Some of the most intricate detailing is on the belt, chest piece and lightsaber. The detailing on these pieces is amazing. The chest piece and belt buttons have been coloured brightly. It looks very accurate and there is again no slop anywhere in sight.

Articulation 3.5/5

I wasn’t sure where to put the scale issue but I decided it would be best placed here. As it’s been discussed, the scale is different. A lot of people think it’s a big issue others think its just a new scale. There is only one 1/6 scale and Vader unfortunately falls short, literally. Vader was a very big, dominating character in the films but the figure is only about 12” which is shorter than Vader would really be. At the moment it’s not a big deal for me, I’ve displayed him by himself. But with the new Sideshow Star Wars line coming soon, I can tell it’s going to be a problem.

The articulation in itself is very good. It allows you to position Vader in all his trademark poses. The outfit restricts movement a little but its no real problem. The articulation in the wrists is also different to what you’d usually expect. Instead of the ball jointed wrists, the gloves slide into these flat pointed ends and it’s very effective.

Accessories 5/5

Vader is packed with accessories. He comes with 3 pairs of hands, his lightsaber, interchangeable blade and display stand.

The sets of hands have all been designed from his most distinctive poses. There are two closed hands for his lightsaber, a set of hands that look as though he is resting them on his belt and two more hands, one grasping and the other pointing. They can be changed very easily but make sure they’re secured as they can fall out if not put in properly.

The lightsaber looks just like Vader’s from the original trilogy. It has a changeable hilt although its different than the way Hasbro’s is done. The light saber hilt has a removable cup on the front end of the lightsaber.  You remove this small piece to attach the blade itself to the hilt and it looks nicer than Hasbro’s design.

The light sabre also has a metal ring at the top. This can be attached to the side of the belt from a metal hook; the end look is very effective.

Outfit 5/5

The outfit is another standout on this figure. The helmet and gloves have already been covered in other categories so onto the rest.

The body suit is exceptional and the material used has a semi-gloss and can stretch. It looks just like Vader’s from the films and the stitching is remarkable on something so small and fine.

The shoulder armour fits very well and is also flexible so it doesn’t restrict arm movement as much. The cod piece also fits very well around the waist and is very secure. The shoes are also very soft and flexible and the shin guards are very effective in appearance. The belt attaches around the back and the chest plate is secured to the chest a soft material, like the body suit. It helps it look discrete and attaches at the back also. Vader cape and skirt is a real achievement. The materials used are superfine and looks incredibly realistic in 1/6 scale. The skirt flows by itself but the cape is different. At the bottom of the cape there is a very thin wire that travels through the bottom. This allows the person to shape the way the cape hangs and can help make some poses even more effective. The cape is attached around the neck by a very thin chain, which makes him look even more realistic and in scale.

Value 3/5

I thought, especially for this figure, that it would be important to add a value section as it’s a big thing. I paid US$160 + shipping for mine, which was the cheapest, I saw it for. At most other online stores I saw it for around $200-$250. I got a great deal for mine at ToyTokyo.com but most other places have it overpriced and the price is going up.

Overall 9/10

You can probably tell how much I love this figure. You can’t express how beautiful it looks until you see it in person. It’s extremely realistic and Medicom have gone to great trouble to make this look accurate in every way. It’s easily the finest Vader produced to date and a highlight of my collection but price will be an issue for some collectors, especially now as the price of Vader is starting to go up. The only thing pulling this back from a full 10/10 is the scale and price.

Although it’s a very expensive figure, the quality shows. I hadn’t received my Vader when I heard that Sideshow had the licence to Star Wars 12” line so I was worried if theirs would exceed Medicom’s Vader. But with him in hand, I can safely say that Sideshow is going to have to pull a miracle to make their Vader this good.

Toy Tokyo also has the new Medicom Vader up for pre-order at their site. The new Vader is not like this one but from Episode III and slightly different from this one, including a new sculpt of Hayden Christiansen with burns like the end of the movie and a slightly different Vader outfit. The new Vader is becoming up for pre-order at a few online stores. Personally I like this version better, not because it’s the one I own but because I like the original movies better. But the choice is yours…

“I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I met you I was but the learner. Now, *I* am the master.”