All Fours.

All-Fours. (Vintage AT-AT, Vintage Tie Fighter Pilot)

All-Fours. (Vintage AT-AT, Vintage Tie Fighter Pilot)

Let’s circle back to the AT-AT’s feet for a minute. I realized after the fact that the earlier shot with the two X-Wing Pilots fell a bit short in only showing two of the AT-AT’s feet instead of all four. This little piece of drama goes the distance.

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Deep Ties to the Empire.

Deep Ties to the Empire. (Vintage TIE Fighters, Vintage TIE Fighter Pilots, Vintage Stormtroopers, Vintage Death Squad Commanders, Vintage Imperial Commanders, Vintage Bossk, Vintage Boba Fett)

Deep Ties to the Empire.
(Vintage TIE Fighters, Vintage TIE Fighter Pilots, Vintage Stormtroopers, Vintage Death Squad Commanders, Vintage Imperial Commanders, Vintage Bossk, Vintage Boba Fett)

The vintage TIE Fighter vehicle by Kenner is awfully sweet. The wings pop off in distress when you press secret buttons and another button lights up a chin gun and makes a cool laser sound to boot. I didn’t have one of these as a kid but was always deeply envious of my little buddies that did.

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Empire Strikes Black.

Empire Strikes Black. (Vintage TIE Fighter Pilots, Vintage Darth Vader, Vintage Darth Vader TIE Fighter)

Empire Strikes Black.
(Vintage TIE Fighter Pilots, Vintage Darth Vader, Vintage Darth Vader TIE Fighter)

Buying Notes on Vintage Darth Vader

Check out the current vintage Darth Vader listings here.

A nice vintage Darth Vader action figure is pretty much the alpha and omega of any collection. This is true for the beginner and advanced collector alike. A classic toy reaching back to 1978, the vintage Darth Vader has spun countless revisions and imitations but really has never been improved upon.

So I can’t blame you for thinking about picking one up. But because this item is so popular, it can be rough seas acquiring a good (and authentic) example for a reasonable price. Let’s go over some of the main points to consider before pulling the trigger on a vintage Darth Vader.

Once you’re on board at eBay the first thing you’ll notice is that the key words “Darth Vader” are used and abused ad nauseum to get your attention to buy other stuff. Don’t be discouraged and whatever you do don’t be distracted or tricked into buying something else. Your eyes will quickly learn to ignore all of the nonsense and aim strictly for the vintage gold. The links I’ve provided already do it to some extent, but you may also want to play around with the search engine’s advanced function on eBay to filter out the unhelpful stuff. Be especially aware of the new Hasbro toys labelled as “Vintage Collection”, “Original Trilogy”, etc. Their packaging is cleverly retro and aims to steer the newcomer off course.

Important to keep in mind with the vintage Darth Vader is that you’ve got two accessories to contend with: the vinyl cape and the light saber. Both were easily lost and/or damaged by their original owners so it’s common to see reproductions in the marketplace being passed off as original. There are excellent resources to read through at the Imperial Gunnery forum that will help you avoid pitfalls. Read them carefully. Go here for the light saber and here for the cape. This is also a good time to correlate a seller’s claims of authenticity with their feedback score. Have they sold a ton of toys? Do they score 100% with their buyers? If not, you can think twice about believing their claims. Don’t forget to double check the photos closely. Does the cape look torn anywhere? Do the arm-holes look distressed or sharp? How about that saber tip. Does it look straight and strong or does it like a toddler might have chomped on it for a snack once or twice?

As much as any other vintage figure, Darth Vader was a character that saw heavy play at the hands of us grubby kids in the 70s and 80s. If it’s not mentioned in the auction be sure to ask the seller in a message if the figure’s limbs and head are loose or stiff. Let the loose limbed Vaders go to the diorama builders. You want the guy that’s as close to package fresh as possible. The vintage Darth Vader had very little paint applied by Kenner so not much to worry about there. And chances are if you’re buying a figure with loose limbs there won’t be paint loss.

Feel free to add any thoughts in the comments and drop me a line if you run into any trouble!

Check out the current Darth Vader listings here.

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Death from Above.

Death from Above. (Vintage TIE Fighter Pilot, Vintage Battle Damaged TIE Fighter)

Death from Above. (Vintage TIE Fighter Pilot, Vintage Battle Damaged TIE Fighter)

2023 edit: This is one of the earlier shots where I started to get lucky with the tiny lights. The TIE Fighter Pilot is seated inside his cockpit and the photo is actually taken through what is probably a scratched plastic windshield. These were results that urged me forward for sure.

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Escort Service.

Escort Service. (Vintage TIE Fighter Pilot, Vintage Stormtroopers)

My first experience with a Star Wars action figure was the stiffly-postured, no-neck, original Stormtrooper. It was love at first sight back then in early 1978, and it’s still one of my absolute favorites. The TIE fighter pilot is a more recent discovery and definitely no slouch.

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