Dave's Supreme Star Wars Transformers Rant

     Darth Vader (Death Star)

     Permalink: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/SW/Supreme1

     I got mine online from hasbrotoyshop.com with a coupon code that gave me
free shipping and 25% off, but started seeing it in stores ($49.99 at Target
and TRU, $46.72 at Wal-Mart) a few days later.

CAPSULE

     Darth Vader: Poseable and proportional, much more stable in robot mode
than smaller SWTFs.  Transformation is a bit fiddly/frustrating due to its
ur-Shellmaster nature, but the Death Star mode is pretty solid once you get
it right.  Recommended.   $49.99 at Hasbrotoyshop.com


RANT

     Packaging: Biiiig box, a real shelf-hog.  Like other Star Wars 30th
Anniversary boxed toys, it's a regular rectangular prism with the upper left
corner chopped off.  17" (43cm) across, 14" (36cm) tall and 8" (20cm) deep.
The corner is a 45 degree truncation, a missing piece 2.25" (5.5cm) tall and
wide.  
     The front and top have window plastic, with reasonably thick borders
around the edges (the top edge of the front window has no border and runs
seamlessly into the top window).  There's a TRY ME hole on the right of the
front window, with some "speaker holes" above it.  The whole thing us very
sturdy, and not as heavy as you might think, but it is a bit awkward as most
of the mass is on one side.
     The front border has the Star Wars logo in the upper left, a comic-style
depiction of the robot mode in the lower left, and a comic style drawing of
the Death Star mode in the lower right, accompanied by TIE fighters.  The TF
logo and toy name are along the bottom.
     The left side has a larger version of the Death Star art, and the right
side has a more complete version of the robot mode art, with TIE fighters
swooping around it.  The bottom just has Empire logos, UPC and some
legalese.  
     On the truncated upper left side the robot mode art is repeated, with
the 30th Anniversary logo.  The top panel has the Death Star art on the right
side, and the SWTF line blurb along the back edge.
     The back panel shows photos of both mos, insets of some of the storage
and minifigures, and various callouts.  It also has the bio note in the upper
left, but they've totally given up on techspecs.
     Inside, Darth is packaged in robot mode, holding his light saber over
his head.  This takes up the right half of the box (your right, not his).
The left half is almost empty, with a cardboard cutout of the Death Star mode
"SHOWN ACTUAL SIZE OF DEATH STAR VEHICLE!"  The pilot figures (Darth and
three Stormtroopers) are in a little blister down front on the left.  The
three TIE fighters are rubberbanded to blister pillars in the upper left, to
look like they're flying around over the cardboard Death Star.  Oddly,
they're assembled with the solar panels pointed the wrong way (flat sides
front and back rather than top and bottom).
     The Try Me button lets you hear Darth's various phrases, which sound
like James Earl Jones, although some have said it sounds more like David
Kaye.  His chest lights up green as he talks.  You can just see the
incongruous blaster in Vader's left hand, but it's mainly covered by the
Death Star art on the box.
     The corrugated cardboard box is trivially easy to open from the
non-truncated side, just one piece of tape holds it closed (stouter cardboard
means it relies less on tape for structural strength).  There's some folded
up rectangular tube spacers in the back to keep the twist ties from damaging
the back of the box during shipping, and the instructions are slid down
between them.  There's also a general Star Wars toy catalog, the only TF
content is two pages with Darthstar, Saesee Tiin, Mace Windu, and the
upcoming Commander Cody/Turbo Tank.
     The instructions are a double-sided 14"x22" (36cm by 56cm) sheet of
paper in black line art with red highlights.  One side is 3/4 dominated by
the 25 steps of robot to vehicle transformation, then has the battery
replacement and safety instructions.  On the other, about 1/3 of the sheet is
about the various storage options and gimmicks (and calls the TIE fighters
Mini-Cons), the rest is 25 steps to go back to robot mode.
     Getting the TIE fighters out isn't too hard, since the solar panels just
pop off, you don't even need to muck about undoing the rubber bands.  The
minifigs are even easier, just held in by blister molding, making the
packaging reusable for display if you want (the blister molding will hold the
TIEs in as well).  Along the right side of the inner tray, Vader's cape is
all folded up inside a slim rectangular case.  Loosening the straps at the
top is enough to let you pull the cape out.
     Four twist-ties on the bottom and three in the back secure Vader to the
tray.  There's secondary trays between the feet and the cardboard (rain
shoes?).  Once you remove these seven ties and cut the tape on some tabs
along the top, the whole blister comes free, revealing one more twist-tie to
undo (around the saber-raising hand) and a plethora of the H-connected rubber
bands that pretty much define SWTF packaging.  In this case, 8 constitutes a
plethora.  There's also non-H'ed bands holding the lightsaber in its hand (2
for that task) and the missile in the gun, and a traylet between the right
forearm and the backpack kibble.  Also a band around the right shoulderpad.
So, 12 rubber bands that I can find.  :)  I went straight to cutting these
off, didn't even bother with undoing them properly.


IMPERIAL: DARTH VADER
Altmode: Death Star
Callouts: "Launches projectile!"  "Phrases, sounds & lights"  "Mini vehicles"
     "3 Stormtrooper figures"  "Different weapon sounds"  "Darth Vader Pilot"

     Darth Vader battles the Rebel Alliance fleet with weapons, warriors, and
the power of the Force!  The Sith Lord strikes with his lightsaber and
blaster, then uses secret morphing technology to change into the Death Star
battle station and launch a devastating attack on the heroic Rebels!

     Sound Effects: I'm just going to list them all here.  Rather than try to
muck about with a button that changes which sounds are created in what mode,
they simply make two SFX buttons, each only accessible in the proper mode.
All sounds that are accompanied by flashing green LEDs are followed by a pair
of "Vader wheezes".
     Robot Mode has one button on the bellybutton area, and cycles through
the following phrases, which sound to me like James Earl Jones: "I find your
lack of faith disturbing," "Join me...on the Dark Side," "The Rebels must not
escape," "The circle is now complete," and "The Force is strong with you."
These sounds are accompanied by all four green LEDs flashing.  There's a
second button on the right forearm, and a third inside the right fist.
Placing the lightsaber into the right hand the right way causes the SFX of a
saber igniting, humming for a while, and then de-igniting.  Pressing the
forearm button while the saber is in will repeat the sound.  If the saber is
not aligned correctly, or is simply absent, pressing the forearm button
creates a blaster sound effect.  It's worth noting that he can't actually
hold the blaster in this hand, but it still lights up the fist red.  Hm.  Or
lights the saber if it's in halfway.  [Update: If you press the button while
the lightsaber is humming, you get a "parrying" sound most times, and
occasionally a "whiff".  And in blaster version, if you hold down the arm
button rather than just pressing it, the blast is followed by an explosion.]
     The vehicle mode button is next to the battery cover, and hidden under
the cape and the big circular shell kibble that forms the bottom of the Death
Star.  So it's more or less accessible in robot mode.  It cycles between only
two pieces: a beeping powerup followed by a single blast and big explosion
(LEDs in the chest blinking around like a countdown clock then all four
flashing), and Darth saying "You may fire when ready!" (all LEDs flash)
followed by three firing sounds (center LED only) and an explosion (all
LEDs).  Presumably the first is the planetbuster attack, and the second is
using the main gun against starships.  I'm a bit disappointed that we don't
get the "Beyuuuuuuuuu" pre-firing sound.  [Update: it's been pointed out to
me that if you hold down the button rather than just pushing it, you get one
of four more phrases, which work like the robot mode phrases in terms of
lights and wheezes.  "You have failed me for the last time," "Commence
primary ignition," "Wipe them out. All of them," and "This battle station is
fully operational."]

     Pilot Figures: Vader is 34mm tall and made of black plastic with some
silver and red paint bits on his torso.  The stormtroopers (all the same
mold) are 31mm tall and made of white plastic with black details on helmet,
arms and legs.  All of them bend at the hips (with fused feet) and have an
axle through the shoulders so both arms move at once (although you can move
them a little independently due to internal friction and the flexibility of
the axle).  Vader's feet-base piece is big enough to let him stand stably,
the stormtroopers are a little less stable.
     Vader, being bigger, is a little poorer a fit to the storage
compartments.  There's four storage spots for these, pale clear red doors in
the shoulderpads and in the shins.  These can only be accessed in robot
mode.  The shin ones close a bit more securely than the shoulderpad ones.

     TIE Fighters: 22mm across, with panels 28mm tall and 24mm deep.  The
whole thing is made of blue-gray plastic, with black paint on the solar
panels, silver and red on the "face" (more on that in a second), silver on
the blaster tip, and a mix of lighter and darker gray on the front window.  
     The panels are connected via hexagonal pegs, which are aligned 30
degrees off from where they SHOULD be for proper assembly.  You can kinda
force them into the right positions, but they're not stable.  And you can't
even go with the story that these are a special kind of Droid TIE with a
different configuration, since the photo of the TIEs on the back of the box
has them in normal panel configuration.
     There's a stinger-like tail ending in a blaster on the underside, hinged
to swing with a range of 180 degrees (full forward to full backwards).
Pushing up on the bottom of the cockpit pops up a little drone head on a
hinge.  So, more or less, these are Mini-Cons after all, I guess.  No
connectors for hardpoints, though.

     There's storage for these in the big shoulderpad kibble pieces.  But
with two bays for three ships, you need to get a bit creative to fit 'em all
in without just taking the solar panels off.  These require moving some
kibble to get at in robot mode, but can be opened in either mode.

     Robot Mode: 10" (25cm) tall at the head, 11" (28cm) at the top of the
shoulderpads.  With all accessories stored and attached (the cape drapes over
his back kibble and just reaches the ground behind him), he weighs 1 pound,
13.5 ounces (834g).  Pretty much every piece that isn't shell kibble is made
of black plastic, except for the storage panel doors (clear pale red), light
saber (clear pale red) and blaster missile (clear neon green).  The shell
kibble is all light gray, and there's light gray "garters" above the knees
where some shell pieces swivel behind the legs.  On the instep sides of the
boots are clear colorless plastic bits for the Death Star mode lightpiping.
A light gray "button" on the collarbone is part of the triggering mechanism
in station mode.  There's four green LEDs in the chest, one at the center of
a dish shape and the others at 12, 4 and 8 o'clock on the disc.
     Paints are fairly minimal, mainly silver accents in a few places, plus
black and silver on the hilt of the lightsaber and red eyes.  The voice
gimmick button is painted silver.  The helmet has some silver and gray paint
details intended to give the impression of being surface trenches on a
moon-sized robot.
     The head turns smoothly, but only about 45 degrees either way.  The
waist turns on a stiff ratchet.  Shoulders are ratcheting universal joints,
elbows are ratcheting hinges, and there's a ratcheting swivel just below the
elbow (no upper arm swivel).  The wrists turn smoothly.  Hips are ratcheting
universal joints, there's a soft ratcheting swivel above each knee.  The
knees are ratchets, but only bend one click (or one and a half if you force
it) in the normal direction before the shell kibble on the boots runs into
obstruction.  The toes are on universal joints with soem ratcheting, and the
heelspurs are somewhat adjustable.  Despite being fairly topheavy, there's no
real problems with the figure falling over.  But since the knees barely bend,
he's about as dynamic as "A New Hope" Vader...a walking tank.
     Despite the large amounts of shell kibble, it's relatively
inobtrustive.  The calf pieces are really the only ones that cause serious
problems, the rest stay out of the way or can be easily moved if they get in
the way.

     Transformation: In rough strokes, it's basically the Eggman transform.
He folds in half with his knees bending backwards and his arms bending a bit
and then pegging to his waist.  EVERYTHING else is panel folding.
     He's the ultimate shellformer, most of the vehicle mode is panels folded
up on his limbs or swung around on his back.  But you kinda have to do that
to get a decent robot at this size out of a spherical altmode (you can get
away with weirdly rounded limb pieces with a Mini-Con like Dead End, but not
so much on a 10" tall figure).  Like Big Convoy, there's a lot of massaging
needed to get all the shell pieces into place.
     There's no official place to store his lightsaber in this mode, although
you can just sort of cram it between his legs and it'll stay there.  If you
manage to squeeze all three TIEs into one of the bays, you can stick the
cloak into the other.
     For what it's worth, I didn't need the instructions to transform it, but
following them probably would have made my life easier in terms of having the
"right" order in which to panel-shift.  Or maybe not, the instructions end
with, "NOTE: Follow steps to change Darth Vader to Death Star.  After
finishing those steps, you will need to further adjust some of the pieces for
an optimal fit."  Not may need, WILL need.  
     [Update: there's a ring at the back of the blaster.  This is an
undocumented feature, you're supposed to jam the lightsaber blade in there to
keep it in the right place for storage in station mode.]

     Death Star Mode: Well, it's a ball, 5.5" (14cm) in diameter.  Four
little landing legs (in the usual SW strut design) fold out of the bottom,
and it stands 6.5" (17cm) tall when resting on them.  They're not that long,
it's just that the Death Star is a little taller than it's wide.  It has nice
heft and solidity once you get all the panels together, and the only stuff
that rattles around inside it are the pilot figures.
     All the shell pieces and the struts are a light warm gray, with paint in
various shades of very light and medium gray.  It's almost a Clone Wars style
of Death Star, in terms of detail level and looks.  The main weapon dish is
made of clear colorless plastic mostly painted light gray so that the green
LED light can show through the fissures.  Unfortunately, either there's a
problem with the gun blocking things, or I lined stuff up not-quite-right,
because the 12-o'clock green LED is mostly blocked, lessening the effect of
the "countdown" flashes.
     A pair of hatches opens up on the north pole, letting you push down on
Vader's head inside.  This makes a button on his collarbone push out,
pressing on the trigger of the blaster and firing the missile out the main
dish.  Rather clever.
     The TIE bays are on the rear along the equator, flanking the battery
cover.  The sound button is above the battery cover, and is made of black
plastic. 
     Hm.  While the struts are kinda nice for ease of use, they do look a
little weird on a moon-sized station...what's it gonna land on?  The
resources would have been better used in making a stand for the station
mode.  

     Overall: While the $15 size SWTFs continue to have major problems, the
larger size continues to let them better meet the engineering challenges of
having to match the specs of the altmodes.  It has the usual issues of a
shellformer, and someone needs to be reprimanded for screwing up the TIE
fighters, but it's a good (if somewhat short) addition to the Supreme class.

     Dave Van Domelen, "I find your lack of pants disturbing." - not
something the toy says, but it should.