Star Wars: Elite Series Darth Vader

The Elite Series purports to be a high end collection of Star Wars figures, aimed at collectors. These are not toys, and are not action figures in the normal sense of the term. Sold at Disney Stores and limited to a handful of characters, the Elite Series seems to be mainly movie tie in merchandise, and is perhaps Disney’s first original entry into the vast Star Wars merchandise universe.

This is my first experience with a figure from this line. A few weeks ago, my wife and I stopped in a Disney Store where these figures were on sale for like $15. So, finding a Darth Vader was all I needed to justify buying one. The figures are 7” tall, and make heavy use of die cast. They are large, weighty figures that are excellent representations of Star Wars characters. I don’t know how deep the roster goes, but I have seen a number of characters from The Force Awakens as well as some Original Trilogy characters, and now a slew of them from the upcoming Rogue One.

Vader is very nicely detailed. He comes with a lightsaber. The paint is a nice glossy black, so when light hits the helmet it gives off a decent shine, and all of the details are very noticeable on the chest. Even the ridges on the sleeves and thighs are clear, bright details. All of the buttons on his chest and belt are painted in, and his cape is a separate piece of hard plastic. He has a pretty extensive range of motion, with shoulder, elbow, wrist, waist, hip, knee and ankle joints, but none of the joints individually allow for much movement. They all move just enough to get some type of pose. Of course, with painted die cast, one always worries that moving parts around will result in chipped paint somewhere down the line, so I’ve been avoiding deep bends in any of the jointed areas; I also fear that doing so will hasten wear on the joints, making Vader floppy. But, more on that later.

 

The one let down about the details is that the eyes of the helmet are painted the same black as the rest of the figure, so there is no degree of separation visually, nothing to draw them out of the overall face. As I type this I struggle to think of some way to explain it where it doesn’t sound ridiculous or stupid, but had there been even a little difference in the black of the eyes, they would have popped out from the helmet more, and made for a better look. The original Black Series 6” Darth Vader has these brown-blackish eyes, and it draws them out a bit. I think the problem here is that the entire figure is a glossy, shiny black: had the figure been a matte black, glossy eyes would have accomplished what I’m talking about; had the figure been as it is, matte eyes or less glossy eyes would have done it. This is a minor complaint though, compared to the real issue with this figure, and I’d assume, others in the line.

The problem with this figure is the die cast. Long the darling of old toy collectors or those whose memories favor the 70s and 80s, die cast metal is often thought of as being a mark of quality, making sturdy, solid, weighty toys. There is a certain charm to old G1 Transformers that incorporate die cast, but it is kind of a problematic material. One real issue, especially with this figure, is that die cast metal is heavy, and Darth Vader here has hip joints. If you’re following along at home, this means that Vader occasionally has difficulty standing straight up, as the weight of the metal in his torso pulls him forward a bit, causing him to bend at the hips as if he were bowing. Right now, as a new, only recently out of the box figure, he can be repositioned to stand easily. But he won’t always be new; he won’t always have tight joints. Eventually, Vader is going to start leaning more and more, and his joints will be less able to withstand the pull of gravity on his metal body. And if the hips don’t give out, the plastic knees will. So, this is kind of a planned obsolescence figure. Vader does come with a stand with a single footpeg to affix the figure, but this is not going to stop the eventual weakening of the body. This is not an action figure meant to be played with or posed dynamically or even at all. This is designed to stand on something and look great, which is accomplishes effortlessly.

This kind of degradation happens to all figures over time. But it’s too bad, because this Vader is a really good looking Vader, and I want to leave him on display so I can appreciate him for the figure he is. I love Darth Vader; he’s probably my favorite fictional character of all time. I have a ton of Vader figures and statues and stuff; I even bought that voice changing helmet from the Revenge of the Sith line. But the overall stability of the figure makes me concerned, and he’s going to end up back in his box real soon. These figures usually retail for close to $30, like $25 or $28. I don’t recall, but they are at full price a little too pricey for me, considering they aren’t offering anything new or different than the outstanding Black Series, and are essentially metal versions of Black Series figures. Still, at the $15 I paid for Vader, I’d consider picking up a few Stormtroopers, as the Elite Series contains a few options there, especially now that Rogue One characters are beginning to surface. But the lack of poseability and concerns about stability makes any large scale investment in these figures, for me at least, an idea I’m not interested in pursuing. Maybe one of those lines where you find and buy your favorite character, and admire the rest from afar.