February 2007
Story and Photos David Syczylo (Boba Binks)

KENNER 1994 / 10,000 UNITS / $199.99
Many collectors fondly remember Kenner's short-lived Cinemacast Darth Vader statue from 1994.

CinemaCast, a division of Kenner known for their precision in sculptural and decorative detail back in 1994, originally sold this Darth Vader limited edition cold-cast porcelain statue. If you have seen an interview of George Lucas at his office at Skywalker Ranch you will notice this statue on the shelf behind him. It is said that this is George Lucas’s favorite statue. Now a days this may have changed since it has been many years since this statue has be created. In recent interviews this statue is still seen on the shelf behind George Lucas.

The piece was sculpted based on imagery from Return of the Jedi. Darth Vader seems to roar, "Feel the power of the dark side of the Force!" as he raises his lightsaber skyward in attack position. This two-piece statue of Darth Vader stands an impressive 15.5" inches high on a two-inch step platform base. The lightsaber is an additional piece making the total pieces of this fine quality statue a total of four pieces. Total weight is around 10-pounds.

The attention to detail is superb. The paint job for the time this statue was released was the top of the line making this a remarkable addition to any Star Wars collection from 1994 and today. This is a most sought after product of Darth Vader. It is believed to be one of the first high end products produced of Darth Vader thus opening the doors for future high-end items to come.

Hasbro recently stoked the flames on this smoldering series by releasing an all new Mustafar-inspired edition of Darth Vader, now re-christened Cinemascape Darth Vader that was released in 2005.

Whereas the original 1994 edition Darth Vader was cold cast, the 2005 Cinemascape Darth Vader has been totally re-sculpted and plastic cast for Revenge of the Sith, complete with a lava base covered by weathered floor grates.