Darth Vader Tantive IV Star Wars Black Series Centerpiece Photo Review

Hasbro unveiled a new type of collectible to the Black Series line up at Toy Fair 2017 called Centerpiece. These are static mini dioramas from epic moments in Star Wars history. They come with a statue of a character and have light up electronics. They are in scale with the 6 inch Black Series figures, and are intended to work with them. They even have pegs and peg holes all over the base for you to pose out additional Black Series 6 figures.

The first one is Darth Vader busting through the door of the Tantive IV (Leia’s ship at the beginning of A New Hope). It features an explosion on the door frame which lights up along with the rim of the door itself. It’s intended to work with classic Stormtroopers. It is generic enough that you can remix it into any other Vader + Squad entering anyplace of your choice though. Read on to check some additional thoughts and over 50 HD pics courtesy of Dorkside Toys!

Related Dorkside Toys Links: All Star Wars Black Series, Last Jedi Wave 1, Last Jedi Wave 2, The Last Jedi Wave 3, Luke & Landspeeder, Rey & Speeder.

Overall Thoughts:

I dig it!  By itself, it’s a solid piece that I may or may not have bought.  I’m not really into static / statue figures.  But, the fact that you can remove the statue from the set up without it looking weird is perfect.  You can easily swap in any figure you choose, in this case a Black Series 6 Darth Vader.  This allows you to get the poses you want.   The statue isn’t bad, it’s very well done for what it is.  The pose is dynamic, has a great sculpt and paint is on point.  But these are just more fun with the figures.

The environment is well done.  For the shelf, it’s got the right amount of footprint.  Can tuck it in there, and layer in other figures, so you don’t lose too much space.  That’s my biggest problem with dioramas, they take up valuable space on an already busy shelf.  This is good tho.  For photography, it’s great if you want to add a little spice to a shot that would normally be on a basic background without going into full diorama mode.  So win win on both fronts.

The lights are also well done, they have two modes, a short burst, and then continuously on.  They flicker to mimic an explosion.  Personally, with lights on any item, I’m not a huge fan.  They get messed with on first run, and then never go back on.  Eventually you’ll forget about it and then you have battery leak issues down the road.  I know these are for the broader market, but I personally would prefer no statue / figure, and no lights.   Cut the price by 1/3 to 1/2.   Make them expandable if you buy multiple sets.  I’d buy them in droves for both the shelf and for photography use.  That’s hard to do at 50 bucks with 2 major features that will go unused.

Bottom line, I was happier than I expected to be, and I welcome more down the road.  Stay tuned for the Luke on Hoth set later this week!

Key shots here, full set below!