Bandai Star Wars Movie Realization Samurai Taisho Darth Vader 18 cm action figure review 1

continued from previous toy blog post (still on the subject of Darth Vader)...

This figure was from my October 2015 toy haul (posted on my toy blog HERE)

Everyone knows George Lucas drew inspiration from Akira Kurosawa's "The Hidden Fortress" for Star Wars, particularly the droids C-3P0 and R2-D2. Not only that, Darth Vader's armor / overall look also was based very much on the Japanese samurai armor, specifically Date Masamune's samurai armor (Check out the 1/6 scale Date Masamune Samurai 12-inch figure released by DID posted in my toy blog HERE). Fighting with light sabers were very much mimicking the sword duels of the Samurais.

This Bandai Star Wars Movie Realization Samurai Taisho Darth Vader action figure, designed by Takayuki Takeya, is about 18 cm tall, and comes with three pairs of alternate hands and lightsaber sword pieces - one with fully extended Lightsaber blade and one with just the Lightsaber hilt. This Samurai Darth Vader has over 15 points of articulation and is cast in ABS and PVC plastics. This figure is the first in Bandai's Star Wars Movie Realization series and was not released in great numbers because many people failed to pre-order and there was a shortage in supply to retailers once the figure was released which caused the price to skyrocket pretty fast. I'm glad I got mine and would like to share these pictures with you guys :)

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A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Here's Darth Vader reimagined as a Samurai warrior in feudal Japan. Samurai were the military-nobility and officer-caste of medieval and early-modern Japan. The samurai were usually associated with a clan and their lord, were trained as officers in military tactics and grand strategy, and they followed a set of rules that later came to be known as the bushidō.

Check out the close-up pictures of Bandai Star Wars Movie Realization Samurai Taisho Darth Vader action figure

NEXT: More pictures of Bandai Star Wars Movie Realization Samurai Taisho Darth Vader 18 cm action figure with his lightsaber sword

Related posts:
Review of Bandai Star Wars Movie Realization 7-inch tall Ashigaru Stormtrooper action figure posted on my toy blog HERE and HERE
Bandai Star Wars Movie Realization 7-inch tall Ronin Kenzan Boba Fett action figure reviewed HERE and HERE