Darth Vader - Galaxy Of Adventures

No matter the action figure format, it's probably a safe bet for Hasbro that any collectibles or action figures based on Darth Vader will be surefire hits. And although controversial, the five-inch Galaxy Of Adventures line introduced Darth Vader in an animated style that exceeded many expectations. Love them or hate them. The Galaxy Of Adventures line is a high-quality kids' action figure format, and they come with super-articulation, which should interest adult collectors. The interpretive line seemed to do well, and then not so well at retail. And it looks like we can stick a fork in Galaxy Of Adventures now, as the last few waves are seemingly only going to be available through the fan channel. Admittedly, the absolute last thing the Hasbro Star Wars brand needs is another scale. But the Galaxy Of Adventures line is turning out to be something that Star Wars collectors can describe as impressive, excellent, and brilliant, while still being a bit of a frustrating basic figure line (more on the last point in a moment). There is no argument the 5POA action figure line is the cheapest to produce. So throwing it all away like it never existed feels odd and slightly perverse. But the newly updated Galaxy Of Adventures line feels like direct competition to the 6" line while alienating the 3.75" line. And we don't know why numbers cannot be crunched to maximize the value of scales that are already performing the best.

We'll get to more of their perplexity of this line with front-page articles; however, despite our reservations of the Galaxy Of Adventures line, we can't discount what Hasbro's done with the revitalized 5" line. In short, the line looks incredible. We're hard-pressed to criticize the final figures. They all turned out excellently. Although you have to be a collector who appreciates animation-styled Star Wars interpretations to enjoy this line, no one can discount the high-quality efforts Hasbro put into them. Whether critiquing the design (from the tooling to the details etched into the parts), the paint operations, or the animated style's inspiration, the Galaxy Of Adventures line is a success from where we stand. Darth Vader is a testament to how wonderful this line turned out. The figure has a stunning sculpt reminiscent of Ralph McQuarrie's irrevocable artwork. Along with that is a flair of modern animation. Darth Vader sports geometric shaping through his athletically boxy frame, and the figure exudes confidence and dominion over the other figures in the line. The action figure looks intimidating and scary! They did well with this figure. And Darth Vader is perhaps the smartest repack of all the figures in this line. We're happy to see that Hasbro decided to carry the figure forward into the latest case assortments. It feels right at home with the new Boba Fett and Yoda figures.

With a jaw-dropping 23 points of articulation worked into Darth Vader, it's going to be a bit difficult for lovers of super-articulation to disregard this line altogether. We're not claiming they'll fall for it, but Hasbro used premium articulation here, embedded and hidden, and the figures possess a fluidness that not all of The Vintage Collection figures have, which, of course, is frustrating. But Darth Vader here can do "anything." More importantly, Hasbro worked in the ball-socket head and reverse ball-socket neck (the barbell joint) for Darth Vader and the other figures in the line, giving the figures a wealth of movement that isn't possible otherwise. Darth Vader comes with a removable cape (you'll need to remove his head sculpt if you want this removed) and a nicely detailed lightsaber (which is noticeably thicker in girth than the ones from The Black Series 6" line dues to the animated nature of the line). Disappointingly, Hasbro added an action feature to Darth Vader. (He comes with "Force slash," which is nothing more than a feature that allows him to swing his lightsaber quickly.) If they can "edit out" the action features, this line would probably interest more collectors. The biggest issue here is that Hasbro added almost the comparable articulation totals as the original run The Vintage Collection figures, but for only $9.99 (not $12.99). So, why can't they do the same thing for the 3.75" super-articulated line too, and help save costs and give the line more value?