Gentle Giant and Hot Toys' Chubby Vader
with jager

You've seen lots of versions of Darth Vader over the years, but you've never seen one like this! Based on the Russian stacking doll, the Chubby Vader is egg-like and...well, chubby! Hot Toys has teamed up with the great toy makers Gentle Giant to create these and while the idea is silly, the quality is great. Freebento.com got these in stock and thought we might get a kick out of them, and we agreed. In fact, we like him so much we thought we'd share! Check the bottom of the article for a contest to win this round Lord of the Sith. But first, let's check out the toy!

Like I said, while this is undoubtedly a silly toy the quality is top notch. The paint applications are really clean and even though it's a cartoon stylization of Vader, all the details are there. It's cool how his helmet, cape, feet, and lightsaber are all removable. But it's especially great that the helmet comes apart in two pieces like the real thing. It's also molded with all the details that the movie showed us. This brings up the only real problem I have with the toy. The amazing more realistic detail of the helmet sitting on the very cartoony body of the toy doesn't seem to blend together well. I don't think there was any other way to really do it, but it seems visually awkward. For that reason, I like him better with the helmet off. The lightsaber slides snuggly into a hole that makes it look like he's holding it, and the feet are held by magnets. This is such a great idea. It lets the bottom of the egg-like bottom stay smooth and the feet can be posed so he can look up or down or side to side. But of course the real feature of this guy is that he is segmented so he can stash stuff away inside him. He opens at the waist like most Russian stacking dolls, and since he's just over 8 inches tall he can hold some serious stash.

If you're a collector of Star Wars, or Russian stacking dolls (hey, they're out there!) you should check out this Chubby Vader. He is pretty silly to be sure, but the quality is top notch and if you ever get raided, they'll never look in the belly of a Sith.

You can win this Chubby Vader for your very own snack hiding uses! Just email entry AT millionaireplayboy.com with chubby in the subject line and tell us what YOU would stash in his belly. The funniest one will win this big guy.

Freebento.com has some great vinyl and Japanese toys. You owe it to yourself to check out their shop, there's always a discount!

We have a Star Wars and Designer Toy page with all our articles on the subjects for your reading ease. Check 'em out on your next coffee break.

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