You all tried to tell me that the MAFEX Star Wars Darth Vader was worth the buy. I didn’t listen. Until now. How dare you make me forsake my beloved model kit Vader!
The truth is, I didn’t want to like this Vader. And I didn’t, at least not completely at first. Sure, the sculpt is nice, the paint is crisp, and the articulation is fluid. But the size of the head and how the helmet sat high on top was throwing me. But I accidentally fixed the helmet issue and grew to like the head overall. Yeah, accidentally. I’ll get to that further down.
First of all, the packaging.
MAFEX Vader isn’t the most expensive Star Wars figure I’ve ever bought, but he’s not the cheapest either. Fact of the matter is, the packaging looks cheap. It does its job well, showing what you are getting, but after seeing various Star Wars items hit the clearance aisles for months now sporting this same kind of box art has my mind relating the orange and Rebels Stormtrooper graphics to that. But really, it’s a package; it’s getting chucked, so no big deal. It’s the figure I want.
And the figure delivers. Y’all tried to tell me; I wouldn’t listen. But really, this is one hell of a toy.
The articulation is smooth and natural. If I had to pick one thing to improve, it would be the head movement. The helmet design hinders it somewhat, but it’s how the cape is attached that really gets in the way. You can check out how much and all the range of movement and articulation points in my video review, along with me blathering on about the sorrow of seeing the Bandai Vader kit leave its front and center position on my shelf.
Though the neck is hindered, the rest of the articulation allows for some nice poses.
I’m calling the cloth cape a point of articulation too, since the wire in the front on both sides gives you a little freedom to pose it in subtle positions. It’s not going to hold the cape up above his arms or anything, it just give you options, like over the shoulders or billowing in the wind.
The paint overall is nicely done. Clean all over, like the chest box and belt gadgets. The mask has matte black parts and is a bit asymmetrical in that regard, but I’ve heard that’s true to the movie mask. I haven’t verified that, but I read it on the Internet.
The sculpt may not be for everyone. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nicely sculpted piece, but the slightly thin proportions may turn some off. The build almost reminds me of Vader from the last moment of Revenge of the Sith, but not quite. And like I said, the head is a little small and the helmet sits a tad high. More annoyingly, the one centered helmet pegs loose, so when you’re posing and fiddling, the thing wants to rotate around on the top of the head.
That is, until you break the peg that attaches the helmet to the head. By accident. You know the kind of thing that sends you into panic mode for a few seconds before you can assess the full situation? That’s what I felt. I was trying to put the helmet back on and didn’t get the one peg lined up completely with the one peg hole and it snapped off. Thankfully in half. If it had completely broken off this would be a much different review.
The break worked out in my favor, though. Where the peg broke made it slightly wider, so when I pegged it back into the head it was a tighter fit. Yay! Even better, it was apparently the length of the peg that was making the helmet sit high. Shorter peg, lower helmet.
I know that did nothing for the actual size of the head, my main complaint, but it made me like the head so much that I began to subconsciously ignore that nit. Funny how that happens. Such a tiny little change, such a huge difference in my eyes.
For accessories, there are five sets of hands, an interchangeable right glove stump, an unmasked Anakin head, a stand, and a lightsaber with removable blade.
The pointy fingers were a bit weird at first. My initial thought was this:
But I soon realized that besides using it to point at Rebel officers, they can also be used as a loose grip on the lightsaber for more “lightsaber extended out” poses.
The lightsaber is a nice sculpt. The blade peg is flat and angled so it can only go one way. I’m still getting used to the blade’s taper from bottom to top, but it’s growing on me. And there is even a peg on the belt for hanging the hilt, if you so desire.
The stand is pretty basic and kind of thick, but it does the trick. There are three hinges and the jaws open and close. It’s tough enough to hold Vader in the air. For standing, I haven’t had a lick of trouble keeping Vader upright without the stand, so in a box it goes until I really need it.
For the Anakin head you have to remove both the helmet and upper portion of the head, leaving the neck and lower jaw of the mask. This all unplugs, and the Anakin head just plugs right into it. Watch out for the breathing tubes — they can get in the way. The same goes for the handless stump. Really, this is a nice addition. Each little wire is painted with yellow, blue, or red, making it way more detailed than it probably deserves to be.
The unmasked head doesn’t beat the Figuarts version.
But it’s about on par with the Black Series version.
While we’re on the topic of heads, I’ve heard talk of replacing the MAFEX head with the Bandai model kit’s head. It can be made to work, sorta, but it ends up looking too big.
Kind of a “Dark Helmet” vibe.
Comparing to the Bandai model and the Black Series:
I don’t even count the Black Series Vader as a contender anymore, so he’s out. I never got the Revo (too stylized) or S.H. Figuarts (too small). So the match-up comes down to the MAFEX and the Bandai model. The model is how I picture Vader in my head: big and bulky. But the MAFEX inches ahead in pure action figure fun. Plus, the cloth cape with the wire for a little dynamic posing beats the hard shell cape of the model. Sorry, model kit. You’re not gone, just going to a secondary shelf.
Because the MAFEX Darth Vader looks fantastic with the S.H. Figuarts Jedi Luke.
So there you have it. It’s not perfect. I still look at the pics and some things jump out at me, but in-hand it hits all the right spots, enough to call it my new main Vader. You may feel different, and that’s okay. With all of these choices there is bound to be one that fits your criteria, and enough pieces to cobble together something if these don’t.
It’s a great time to be a fan of Star Wars and 1:12-scale figures.
I got mine imported from Amazon Japan, but it should be hitting Amazon US and other outlets soon. Expect to pay about $40.
