Starwars Transformers: Darth Vader
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“Join the dark side or die”, “I am your father, Luke”. Guess you all quite familiar with the heavy breathing voice speaking out these phases. Yes, is Darth Vader and this time he makes another comeback in Starwars: Transformers crossover toy. You all have been very familiar with the dreadful, fearsome and evil villain in the big screen, but i bet you can’t imagine him being a Transformer and transform himself into a Tie Advanced fighter. Read on!
I bought this toy from my friend Grayfoxzero, 2nd hand (without box) to be precise. The toy has been like 4 years old. Judging with the 1 inch Darth Vader figure that comes with the toy, this is pretty much the 1st batch of Tie Advanced Starwars Transformers that i have here. There are re-issue of this Tie Advanced – Darth Vader in the market now but the price is much more pricey compared to the one i have and definitely you can’t get the cute 1 inch Darth Vader with it.
The 1 inch Darth Vader
I guess you can’t get anything cuter than having the 1 inch evil Darth Vader. Don’t underestimate this mini Darth Vader as you can also notice there are quite a bit of details being put onto it: Mask, the breathing mechanism, the utility belt are all visible. Moreover, it comes with simple articulations on the arms, legs and waist part and most important of all, it can sit in nicely into the Tie Advanced.
Alternate mode: Tie Advanced
The Darth Vader comes in a Tie Advanced fighter as his alternate mode and the ship is quite movie accurate.
A point to note here, since i bought this 2nd hand and in a very dirt cheap price, this collection is not in the perfect condition especially there is very serious discoloration on the wings and body of the ship. But anyhow, I keep this due to the 1 inch Darth Vader it has which you can’t find it in the re-issue.
You can see the cockpit windows (with actual cockpit where you can put the 1 inch Darth Vader into it). The 2 red front lights are actually painted.
The side of the Tie Advanced has some grill like rough texture which does add points to the details.
You can notice that the 2 light sabers at the back which are also the 2 main cannons for the Tie Advanced. Some panels on the side of the wings are also visible which add another point to the detailing.
Hmm.. Quite a number of parts of the body being discolored as you can notice. Well, guess it wasn’t being taken very good care from his previous master OR there is problem of the quality of the plastics. Figures.
Robot Mode: Darth Vader
Here you go with the transformed Darth Vader. 1st impression on him will be: this Darth Vader does have a long neck like a giraffe? Is it just me thinking that way?
Anyhow, the overall details are quite well done apart from having a very loose arm and leg articulations.
The robot mode is quite proportionate or at least having a more balanced distribution of weight for the body parts so that you can stand or pose him easily.
The 2 wings of the Tie-Advanced will make up of the shield and the cape for the Darth Vader. This is the shield which attached to the arm of Darth Vader.
Here’s the “metal” cape which is made by the other wing.
A close up on how the Darth Vader look like. I like this part as it does has a lot of details nicely done. You can see the movie accurate Darth Vader head piece as well the breathing mechanism panels (with different color of grey, red and blue) on his chest and metallic silver coloring on his utility belt as well.
Transformation Process
Transformation process is very simple and straightforward. You don’t need a lot of brain juice figuring how the transformation works. Guess it does fit into the “age 8+” toy afterall. 🙂
Gimmicks, gimmicks, gimmicks…
Conclusion
Apart from the discoloration and loose joints, this is quite a cool piece of Starwars Transformers to have.
Currently there is new re-issue of this figure and i wonder did they improve on the newer model or not. But there’s one thing for sure is that it will definitely not bundled with the 1 inch figure. Too bad.
My personal rating for this collection of mine: 6/10 (lower mark due to the condition of discoloration and loose joints).
Yeah, it does. I would just push both sides to clip to Vader’s ribs, and they’d do that without snapping :S
Well, maybe i should bring to you and try it out :p i might be doing it the wrong way.
Aikss? That’s strange…
Does it previously work?
Hmm, I also suspect it’s the quality of the plastic used 😛
On a more sober note, the discolouration was due to long exposure to fluorescent light.
By the way, do you see the panels sticking out beside ribs? It can be flipped to hug his body, therefore creating a more streamlined torso.
hahahaha.. but anyhow, i just hope my toys wont be discolored as most of them are under fluorescent light.
Bro, speaking about the panels. They are not flip-able, i have tried flipping and broken one of the panel. I glue it back using super glue so i dont dare flipping it anymore.