When there is a new Star Wars movie out, you can count on Hasbro to release some 1:18-scale action figures and vehicles featuring characters and ships from the film. In recent years, the 6-inch scale has become a standard for Hasbro releases. Every year Hasbro likes to try out a new form factor featuring our favorite characters from a galaxy far, far away, and today we will take a look at one by way of the new Black Series Centerpiece line.
The Centerpiece line is 6-inch scale PVC statues with light-up bases that are meant to interact with the 6-inch scale Black Series action figures. The statue can serve as a “centerpiece” for your Black Series display.
Darth Vader comes with a display base meant to recall the Tantive IV hallway, except this time Vader has cut the door off with his saber. The figure comes in the box split into four pieces and the base is also four pieces that snap together tightly.
The base has a light-up feature that simulates a blaster bolt and the still glowing metal of the doorway.
Vader is posed rather dramatically with cape flowing and arm outstretched in a force push motion. It seems a little out of character for him to move so dynamically, but it looks pretty nice. 
Vader’s details are all nice and sharp and he scales well with the other Black Series figures.
On the underside of the base, there is a place to hold six pegs. These pegs can be removed from under the base and added to the floor of the base as support for other figures.
The paint is quite nice with clean work on the buttons and switches and a few different types of Black for the outfit. The base has a nice gloss black floor and convincing weathering.
I think my favorite feature is the LED lighting effect. It does shine a little through the plastic on the door, but it adds some interesting lighting for photographs and it flickers a little. You can click the button for brief lighting, or hold the button down for a few seconds and it will stay on until shut off. You have to supply your own AAA batteries.
I think the regular Black Series Vader looks kind of cool on the base as well.
Luke comes on a downed AT-AT foot-base with a light up explosion effect and two different snow pieces.
The larger snow piece has foot prints and places to insert the pegs from underneath the base.
The smaller piece attaches the same way as the larger piece, but it will take up less shelf space.
An interesting feature on this figure is that the helmet is removable; however, the head sculpt doesn’t really strike me as a great likeness. It does have limited swivel articulation.
The paint on the face is not great, but the outfit, helmet and AT-AT piece are really nice painted and weathered. The pose is pretty fun, and while not accurate to any moment in the film, it’s more of a “between the frames of what we saw” kind of thing.
I’m not normally a statue guy, but making these Black Series compatible sold me on at least giving them a try. I think they are fun little pieces I will enjoy having on the shelf. They remind me of the old “unleashed” figures, but a bit more realistically staged and way more realistically sculpted.
The price is fairly high, but I got a sale price that makes them worth it to me. As a guy who likes to take action figure pics, I kind of wish the bases were more complete backdrops. I think that would make them more useful to me but I enjoy them for what they are.
