Welcome to another Never Mind The Adverts… Here Are The Toys! This time we take a look at the 1978 Die Cast Darth Vader figure made by the Takara company, Japan.
Japanese toy company Takara has never been shy of infusing its love of the quirky into the toys and merchandise it was licensed to produce and distribute for the first Star Wars film. The transforming X Wing Fighter and missile launching R2-D2 are just two examples. It’s no great surprise to see their die cast Darth Vader receiving similar treatment with a ‘robot-look’ makeover, and the issue of not just his trusty lightsaber but a full-on missile-firing crossbow!
Features: This cool die cast Darth Vader measures in at around 7 inches tall (17.78 cm) has articulated legs and arms, and can turn his head to the left and right via a lever located on his back.
Accessories: lightsaber, crossbow, two shots, removable vinyl cape, stand.
Packaging: the partially bilingual box comes with the typical Takara graphics and includes the ST logo belonging to the company responsible for checking the safety standards of the toy. Line drawings on the back of the box indicate the action features. The bottom right insert picture on the back appears to show the C-3PO die cast figure that was released along with Vader.
If you want to discover other cool Japanese vintage Star Wars collectables check out my guide over on The Imperial Gunnery Forum
That’s all for now. Thanks for looking, and join us again soon for another Never Mind The Adverts!
The Vintage Toy Advertiser 
That is a great looking Darth Vader figure!
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Nice.
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Hi TVTA, If I had the money I wouldn’t mind getting one of these figures, something very different than the action figures churned out nowadays. The crossbow is called a “Bowcaster” in the Star Wars universe. Thanks for sharing.
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Hi Tyeth, thanks. Been saving for one of these of these for a while and finally glad to add one to the collection. As you say it’s something very different. Yes, the Bowcaster, Chewbacca had one of these. Looking at my pics I think I attached the cross section the wrong way round, oops 🙂
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Congrats! I didn’t realise this figure belonged to you, I thought they were publicity/advert pics. I never had any of the more exotic Star Wars toys like this one, but I did have the two Airfix scale model sets of R2-D2 and C-3PO, and they were very difficult to build! I look forward to seeing more of your collection.
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