Reviewing Fanhome’s ‘Darth Vader’ 1:2 Scale Build-Up Subscription Stages 75-79

The latest box in my Fanhome Star Wars Darth Vader 1:2 Scale Build-Up Subscription* has arrived. At the end of the last box’s build stages, I had both arms, two sets of hands, Lord Vader’s helmet, one leg, and a few other odds and ends completed. By the end of this batch of build stages, both legs will be complete. I am still in awe at the scale of this figure. On paper, it’s one thing, but laying all the pieces out that I have already assembled really puts some perspective on the situation. This thing is huge.

Build Stages 74 and 75 

At the very end of the last box, there was one build stage that I chose to leave sealed because it was dependent on Stage 75. I don’t like having little unattached pieces floating around for weeks, so I held onto Stage 74 until this package arrived.

Stage 75 is the second half of the complex hip joint for the left leg. This mirrors the build stages for the right hip joint, so nothing new here, just repeating some stages in mirror mode. 

Articles in this stage’s magazine feature the first part in a series on Qimir, also known as The Stranger, and Nute Gunray. 

Build Stage 76

Articles in this stage’s pamphlet are on Vader’s fortress on Mustafar and the anthropomorphic tarantula Admiral Trench.

Build Stage 76 requires completion of the hip joint from the last stages with a collar that allows the joint to rotate while being securely fastened to the inside of the upper left thigh. There’s also a piece that completes the front left thigh. That thigh piece is a trick to install, with lots of little tabs and bits that need to line up just right. 

Build Stage 77

Stage 77’s magazine kicks off with a second installment on Morgan Elsbeth, the magistrate of Calodan on planet Corvus. The second piece is on Poggle the Lesser, who controlled the droid factories on Geonosis. 

In this build stage, the left calf is attached to the lower knee joint.

Build Stage 78

Fourth Sister leads off the 78th magazine, followed by Queen Karina the Great. 

The build stage involves assembly of the left ankle joint. I’m really starting to appreciate how many points of articulation this model has, and how expertly designed they all are. I’ve probably already stated how complex shoulders, wrists, hips, and ankles are. The human body is really amazing. These replicated joints don’t have all the range of actual human anatomy, but they are the closest proximity I’ve seen in an action figure or model. 

Build Stage 79

The first article in this installment is a second piece on The Stranger. The backup piece is on IG-11, who is one of my favorite droids. Eyegee’s head is a repurposed Rolls Royce Derwent mk9 combustion chamber. That’s the kind of stuff that I absolutely can’t get enough of. A shoe polisher becomes a PKE meter. A ladies’ disposable razor becomes a comlink. A cigarette lighter, a pen cap, and a cufflink become the Golden Gun. It’s the kind of practical effects shorthand that allows propmasters to reuse and repurpose props and everyday items to stay within budget while worldbuilding and maintaining design language. 

Build Stage 79 adds the left shin and completes that left ankle joint. This brings me to a fun stage of the build where I can lay stuff out in approximate positions to get an idea of what’s coming next and how it will all look when it’s finished. I don’t know if we’re going to be building the torso or feet next, but things are about to get really interesting.

*Fanhome provides this subscription to me free of charge for the purpose of review.