Jakks Pacific's 31" DARTH VADER

"You don't know the power of the dark side." -Darth Vader

Now here is one popular villain/hero when it comes to science fiction characters - Darth Vader! I've been a Star Wars fan ever since I was a kid and my first Star Wars action figure was the 1983 Kenner's Return of the Jedi Darth Vader. From teenage to adulthood I have collected various forms of Vaders until one day I saw a giant size Darth Vader being sold online. Having read and watched some figure reviews, I was finally convinced to have one. So after a couple of months searching for this figure locally, I got mine from Toys R Us.


Man this figure is really huge! I was like carrying a huge doll for my daughter on my way to the parking lot.

Appearance:

This Giant Darth Vader figure stands 31 inches or 78.74 cm. tall. The body sculpt is realistic to me because it's like a 6'5" David Prowse (the actor inside the suit in Episodes 4-6) being scaled down. For your information, Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) who also played Darth Vader in Episodes 1-3 is only 6'1" tall where he needed to have extensions to reach Vader's height of 6'6" tall (another inch for the boots).

This figure comes with a long fabric cape, one in the shoulders and in the waist. The rest is made up of plastic material. You can see the vertical line patterns along the arms and legs are well proportioned.

The chain around it's neck has the right size which looks great in the chest armor.  There is an average amount of glossy paint on the helmet, gloves and chest armor.

Talking about Vader's chest box (the ones with colorful buttons), thumbs up! The paint job is flawless, right selection of colors and looks as if the buttons are working but not.
The belt comes with a lightsaber locked in place and it looks kinda' small to me when you try to pair it to his hands. Not a big deal though because the lightsaber is well-sculpted.

One of the best things I like about this figure is the helmet sculpt. It captures the movie screen look in any angle you look at him. It could be better if the helmet is removable and you can see the burned face of Anakin!

He has a closed fist on his right and a strangling left hand gesture ready to use the force against those who failed him.

This figure has a medium-built body which portrays the younger Vader who just risen from Emperor Palpatine's surgical reconstruction center.

The boots are glossy too ready to kick ass!

Paint:

Even though he's painted all black, you can still the details in the helmet and in the entire suit. The glossy parts and fabric cloths has added some versatility in his over all appearance. Not to mention the red, gray and green buttons in the chest box and belt.

Articulation:

Actually the giant size Star Wars series has limited articulation and I'm hoping the next wave can have pivot elbows and knees.

As for now, Vader has a swivel head, swivel shoulders, swivel wrist and swivel legs.

That's very basic movement but no problem, he will still look awesome in your toy shelve.

He can stand well in basic stance or arm raised so you need not worry putting him in the upper part of your shelve. I like to place him in higher areas of my room because his helmet has a better angle when looking at him from below.

Below is a comparison of a Giant Darth Vader to a 12" Kotobukiya statue. Wow!

Final Verdict:

Appearance: 9/10
Paint: 9/10
Articulation: 7/10
Value for money: 9/10

I do recommend Star Wars fans having this giant Vader. Even he lacks articulation, just looking at him will make your collection complete. He will look grand when you line him up with your other Vader collection. Grab one now!