Anakin To Darth Vader - SW [DV/ROTS] - 12-Inch Figures (Electronic)

Experience the power of the dark side. Recreate the moment when Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader, the evil Sith lord.

If anyone is looking for proof to see just how far the Star Wars line has regressed, they needn’t look any further than the Anakin To Darth Vader electronic 12-Inch Figure. Gone are the days of awesomely articulated 12-Inch Figures. Hasbro has decided a budget approach to the Star Wars line is in the best interest of everyone involved. And they prove this quite efficiently with the Anakin To Darth Vader figure. Interestingly, this figure isn’t even part of an assortment. It’s a standalone product. And it isn’t even in proper scale with the rest of the figures that make up the “shampoo bottled” inspired 12-Inch Figures line. (Anakin To Darth Vader is significantly taller than the 12-Inch Figures.) Articulation has once again taken a back seat and the quality is even worse. We don’t think we have witnessed a worse likeness of Anakin Skywalker in our lives. And besides, when you have him in “Anakin Skywalker” mode, he isn’t the least bit screen accurate. So how do we assess something that clearly isn’t for fans of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. Or are kids going to be a whole lot less anal-retentive than their adult counterparts who will do avoiding this figure like the plague?

What is even more mind-boggling than the release of this figure is that it was featured by retailer, most notably TARGET, as the “Hot Toy” pick of the 2013 holiday season. Sadly, it didn’t meet sales goal remotely and went on clearance for as low as 70% off the original retail and higher. (That’s how we secured our review sample.) OK, OK. So Anakin To Darth Vader has a neat feature. It know what color lightsaber blade to ignite based on how he is dressed. Admittedly that is a cool feature no matter how crappy the toy. When you have him in Anakin Skywalker mode, the lightsaber lights up blue. But when you have him dressed as Darth Vader (which will require the face mask and helmet dome in order to work), you begin to hear Darth Vader breathe and then the lightsaber will ignite in red once activated. So we hand it to Hasbro for developing a remarkably neat play feature for kids to enjoy. It’s just a shame that it’s all housed in such a garbage figure. For Anakin To Darth Vader to not have any lower body articulation is just not acceptable for us. And the figure has an ever so slight backwards lean to it that in our opinion would frustrate anyone trying to pose him in a collection somewhere.

We also must concede that when Anakin is fully outfitted to be Darth Vader that the figure doesn’t look half that bad. The removable pieces include the aforementioned helmet dome and face plate. But Darth Vader also comes with removable shoulder armor (with a Velcro seal so you can slip the armor over his head yet still secure it closely to his neck as well as a soft-goods cape. The soft-goods cape is definitely fabricated in a cheap material and the cut lines are sloppy. (It doesn’t even have that nice of a drape.) And the plastic molded skirt and chest armor easily snap into place to recreate the iconic look of Darth Vader. Whether as Anakin Skywalker or as Darth Vader, the lightsaber illuminates very, very brightly. Our sample has scratches on the clear plastic blade, and sadly it affects the evenness of the illumination. But we can’t complain because we paid a song for this toy. While we admit that the features of this figure are pretty cool and that it looks good as Darth Vader, we see the enjoyment of it fizzling out rather quickly. There is no way this is an item for adult collectors, but we don’t think the magic of it will last long for kids either. The MSRP of $24.99 is way too much for this piece. But if you can find it cheaper, it may be worth considering.