Review: Bluefin and Bandai's Star Wars Darth Vader Model Kit Is Most Impressive

Earlier this year, Bluefin and Bandai teamed up to offer a new series of Star Wars action figure kits featuring many of the iconic characters and vehicles fans have come to know and love.

We finally managed to get our hands on one, featuring the Dark Lord of the Sith himself Darth Vader. The crew also sent along a Mr. Hobby Basic Tool Set to aid in our assembly, which made the process much more convenient. The tools are perfect for any Gundam-style model kit and are affordable at $19.99 MSRP.

With the use of nippers, tweezers, and a nail file, we got to work in putting together the 200 piece kit to make our articulated Sith Lord. The Mr. Hobby set also came with a black pour type pen. I didn't need this for the Vader kit, but can see how it would be useful in correcting a mistake, such as if you went a little crazy with the file.

The pieces in the 1/12 scale model came as part of five separate sheets of the different pieces. The Mr. Hobby nippers were vital in getting each piece out cleanly. The file was rarely needed to sand down some of the edges, as the nipper could easily remove most excess plastic with a smooth edge.

The directions are very explanatory and descriptive, laying out each step with clarity. Some model kits can get repetitive and lull you into a groove, where easy mistakes can be made. Each step here felt intuitive and unique enough that there were never any problems necessitating back tracking or disassembly.

All in all, the Darth Vader kit took about 4 hours total to complete, but that's just in the assembly part. The Bandai kits all come with both decals and stickers, depending on which you choose to use and where. The stickers are the easiest to apply, though they don't look as good or conform to the details as good as the decals do, but the decals can be a source of frustration in the smaller areas.

Of course all of that could be side stepped with a paint kit, which many collectors are likely to use instead. The instructions come with a color guide so you can be as accurate as possible when putting the finishing touches on the model.

Fully assembled, the Darth Vader kit comes with many different articulation options so you can place the Star Wars villain in some of his iconic poses. He also comes with different hand assemblies, so he can either grip the lightsaber or appear as if he's choking the life out of an insubordinate lackey.

Model fans will appreciate the attention to detail and the ease in assembly, and it's the perfect set for an entry level hobbyist. And at an affordable price of $24.99 MSRP, it's a worthy addition to any Star Wars fan's nerd shelf.

You can get more info on the Darth Vader kit and many of the other action figure model kits and other Bandai items available on Bluefin's B2C Star Wars page here.