Intro:
Ladies and gentlemen, my fellow Cybertronians, this is it. As promised ages ago, finally, we are going to take a look at my first ever Star Wars Crossover figure – the TIE Advanced X1 Star Fighter Darth Vader.
Darth Vader is a legend, not only in the Star Wars universe, but in pop culture in general. So when I first came across this figure way back in 2006, I never hesitated. If there was one Star Wars Crossover figure that I was going to get, it was going to be this guy. I even went past the Millennium Falcon – a combination between Chewbacca and Han Solo (which I kinda regret now of not getting) – just so that I could get this guy.
So is he well worth it? Let’s go take a look…
Alternate Mode:
Well, as mentioned earlier, Darth Vader transforms into a TIE Advanced X1 Star Fighter, and it’s a very good and convincing looking replica at that. I really how this guy looks in general, with minimal kibbles showing.
The cockpit has a transparent plastic which enables you to look at the tiny miniature Darth Vader inside piloting the spacecraft. Yes, you heard correctly, the set also comes with a miniature Darth Vader figurine, which looks absolutely screen-accurate.
The tiny figurine has both arms moving in tandem, and it bends at the hip to a sitting position. Personally I think that it’s a really nice touch and it’s kinda sad that they didn’t include any figurine in the Yoda set.
The spacecraft also has two translucent red-colored light sabers sticking out from the bottom edge, acting as a warping jet effect (however you wanna call it), which also double up as a couple of missiles. The triggers poking out on each side of the wings are used to shoot them out.
The downside of this mode is that the wings maybe a bit flimsy and may detach from the main body when you’re fiddling with the figure, but it isn’t really that bad.
Overall, it’s a very interesting alternate mode.
Robot Mode:
The robot mode is simply awesome. Of all the Darth Vader incarnations in the Star Wars Crossover line, this variant has the most similarities with the actual character depictions in the movies. The colors are tremendously accurate, amazing head sculpt and right down to the computerized chest look!!! He even has a cape(!), although I have to admit it’s a bit awkward looking, but then again, I think it was a creative touch by the designers to utilize the wings as both the cape and the shield – yes, he has a shield too.
Articulation-wise: the head turns left and right; the shoulders rotate and the lower shoulders consist of a combination of two swivel joints, which are mainly used for transformation, but is quite useful nonetheless; the elbows bend and rotate; the wrists rotate and the fists can hold the light sabers quite firmly; the hips are on a set of slightly-ratcheting joints; the knees, though are single jointed may be bend as if they are double-jointed; and finally the front feet move down.
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| Looks a bit naked without his cape... |
That’s not all; even the cape itself has articulations! The lower cape is divided into 3 sections, all of which can swivel outward independently. I just wish that those separate pieces could lock in, and that would’ve been quite awesome.
The articulations are simply tasty and with appropriate stands, you could probably pose him in many exciting poses.
My one minor complaint would probably be the screw holes on the shoulders, which are facing the front that kinda slightly ruin the look. They could’ve either had the screws on the back of the shoulders, have a screw cover to cover them up, or at the least, used a black colored screws instead. Anyways, it’s just a minor, minor complaint.
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| The Epic Battle |
Overall:
As far as the various Star Wars Crossover Darth Vader variants, this is definitely the best of the lot, simply because he looks the part. He can transform and still looks like an accurate TIE fighter model and also has an accurate-looking robot figure!!!
The Death Star version is a great figure (cuz I am a sucker for humongous bots!) – the planet mode looks amazing, but although the robot mode looks good, it’s unmistakably a robot! The same goes to the previously reviewed Star Destroyer Darth Vader, which has an amazing-looking alternate mode, but a robot mode that requires a little bit of imagination. In both versions, it is said that Darth Vader himself used the power of the force to modify the Death Star/ Star Destroyer to imitate his image.
This robot mode, however, doesn’t even look like a robot! It is as if you can say that Darth Vader himself altered his own body so that he can transform, and he really looks the part!
I just can’t tell you enough how much I love this figure, and if any of you guys ever thought of buying only ONE Star Wars figure in this line, this one has to be at the very TOP of the list.
ABSOLUTELY, EXTREMELY RECOMMENDED.
Final verdict: 9.5/10.
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