THE BEST VADER FIGURE EVER...

[Darth Bonk]

I'm building a scene... and I'm having a hard time deciding the BEST VADER FIGURE EVER.  I mean, the ONE that's the absolute best.  It's going next to the Emperor Evolutions.  It's tough.

I'm thinking Vader Evolutions.  Right, or no?

[Ryan]

I'd agree with that. I thought the VOTC was pretty good but the EVO Vader is by far the best in my mind. The articulation is great so is the sculpt and the removable helmet works well and isn't too loose.

[Reid]

I prefer the '04 VOTC.

[Diddly]

It all depends on what you want really. If you want a tall, neutral Vader to just stand there, go with the 04 VOTC. If you want a Vader that can be posed in a specific position, go with the Evolutions Vader.

[JesseVader08]

I'd have to agree with the Evolutions Vader as the best, but one of my favourite things about the VOTC one is the way he can hold and choke Captain Antilles in the air.

[Mitsukara]

Well, I don't have a lot- my best vader is TSC Vader after all- but I'd say the best-looking and the one I've heard the most good about is the Evolutions Vader. He looks darn good, and big- appropriately big. The sculpting is great and you can pose him however you'd like.

VOTC Vader looks like a good enough figure, but the sculpting seems wrong in a number of ways. Most glaring is his slightly mis-sized/mis-shaped helmet- not sure exactly what's wrong with it, but a comparison shot between him and the 500th/TSC and Evolutions Vaders shows what I mean.

If he's never going to get moved much though... have you considered a 500th or TSC Vader? The TSC ones seem to be all over the place, and the sculptwork is all very good, and the cape's flow can be controlled if you know how to handle it and discreetly try to tuck it under the arms and such, unlike a certain ROTS Vader and his "I'm Batman!" cape (and pose).

If you'll forgive me liking again to Rebelscum's photo archive (look at it this way: you're stealing their bandwidth!), I think this comparison shot shows your probable best choices.

JD doesn't happen to have a comparison shot of these four Vaders up, but they do have some rather nice archives of each for your further comparison:

VOTC Vader - supposedly the "ultimate" Vader, but, angle cuts and such... and a little wacky sculpting...
2006 TSC Hoth Vader - rerelease of the 500th Vader and soon to be rerereleased in the Tatooine Wave, probably cheapest and easiest to find (check your local Wal Mart and Target )
Evolutions Vader - Arguably the Ultimate Vader, though he has right-hand grip issues according to some and lacks VOTC Vader's ball-jointed head and belt saber hilt; he makes up for it with lots of ball-joints elsewhere, great sculpting, and cool soft-goods

500th Vader doesn't seem to be in the JD archives; basically he's TSC Vader with a different paintjob on the chest/shoulder armor, a second removeable right hand that resembles the left, and a meditation chamber which can remove/replace his helmet via lever.

Hope that helps

[Darth_Anton]

I favor the the evolutions for overall playability. For sculpt however, depends on what Vader is supposed to be doing in the scene. I still use the commtech Vader for my Troop review scene.

[Darth Bonk]

Thanks!  That helps a lot.  Especially that comparison shot.

[Roton7]

EVO all the way!!!

[Matt_Fury]

Am I the only one who still ikes the POTF2 Removable Helmet vader?

[Jayson]

I'm a big fan of the Rev. Helmet Vader... he brings back fond memories of when that figure was first released after wanting something like it for many years. And he was such and improvement over the "Buff" Vader from 95. Plus you can pull he arm/hand off 

[Mitsukara]

I have a figure based on that one, the "Escape the Death Star" Vader with the removeable helmet (but not mask) a la TSC/500th Vader.

He's pretty good as POTF2s go, but he's a little too short, and he's still a POTF2 (although he's more like an Episode 1 figure with his angle-cut elbow and wrist on one arm)... nice, but I can't bring myself to call him ultimate... *shrug*

[JACKOFTRADZE]

EVOLUTIONS is the way to go! That Vader sums it up!

I have to admit I do like the face paint job better on the POTF one better though.......I stand by the EVO Vader as the best overall.

[Oboewan]

He's certainly not the most articulated Vader, but my favorite Vader is the Complete Galaxy Vader from the POTF2 line:

Complete Galaxy Vader

Oboewan

[Mitsukara]

Err, you might want to enter urls in the future by typing them like so:

{url=http://www.rebelscum.com/POTF2cgvader.asp}Link Name Typed Here{/url}
Just replace the {}s with []s

Here's this one fixed though:

POTF2 Complete Galaxy Vader

That figure's pretty interesting; it takes the buff POTF2 sculpt, admittedly one of the more passable characters for being buff considering the tall muscle dude that played Vader in the suit most of the time, and sort of 500th Vader-izes it with a removeable helmet, hinged knee joints for sitting, and hands posed for sitting. The hands make him kinda not multi-purpose, but he does have a certain charm I suppose.

A couple of Vaders I've seen and really want to get someday, are Death Star Clash Vader and Commtech Vader. Both represent ANH Vader rather nicely, with the tunic over the armor- personally I wish they'd kept it that way in ESB and ROTJ, it's kinda cool- and some pretty decent stances. Commtech Vader is only really good for standing and talking and interrogating and such, but that's most of what Vader did in ANH; and Death Star Clash Vader is perfect for the lightsaber battle with Obi Wan.

Commtech Darth Vader
Death Star Clash Darth Vader (Originally released as Masters of the Dark Side Vader)