Review: 75304 Darth Vader Helmet
Posted by CapnRex101,
75304 Darth Vader Helmet provides impressive potential and accurately recreates the imposing appearance of this fantastic character, although official images seem relatively unflattering. This helmet has therefore induced criticism, focused primarily upon the breathing filter.
Fortunately, this model appears more attractive upon completion, displaying significantly better proportions than official images suggest. Furthermore, the extensive detail looks marvellous and compares favourably with the onscreen character, particularly across Darth Vader's face.
The Completed Model
75304 Darth Vader Helmet is noticeably larger than previous helmets and more expensive in most territories. The model measures 20cm in height and is considerably heavier than others, reflecting its relative size onscreen. Moreover, the proportions between the face structure and neck shroud are reasonably accurate, which surprised me after viewing the packaging.
Contrasting with 75305 Scout Trooper Helmet, which is unusually simple, the internal structure here is complex. The arrangement of bricks with studs on the side within the crown is relatively familiar but the face comprises various slopes which are connected using hinges, brackets and even ball joints. The eyes are particularly impressive as they are angled outwards slightly using clips, creating the correct shape.
Each helmet is mounted on an attractive display stand, remaining consistent in design across the range. The tapering shape looks nice and I like the printed plaque which avoids detracting attention from the actual helmet. However, the black stand does blend with this model to some degree, matching 75274 TIE Fighter Pilot Helmet in that regard.
Darth Vader's helmet is closely integrated with his life-support suit onscreen, featuring a neck brace which rests above the Sith Lord's metallic chest armour. That integral feature is present here and looks splendid, beneath a stickered exhaust vent which also appears authentic. This shape is outstanding, employing a 4x4 wedge slope to superb effect.
The proportions between the distinct mask and crown sections of Darth Vader's famed helmet are extremely important. Unfortunately, this design has elicited understandable criticism based upon official images, where the mask seems disproportionately large. The model actually looks far more appealing in person because the box image exaggerates the relative size of the mask. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that the proportions are imperfect as the crown section should be slightly taller.
Furthermore, criticism has been levelled against the respiratory filter covering Vader's mouth. The original prop does include a grille which completely fills the triangular surround, although shadows usually reduce its prominence. Having edited this photo to extend the grille, I favour the standard design. Despite its fundamental inaccuracy, only displaying part of the respirator creates the illusion of shadow and looks excellent in my opinion.
While this respirator design has proven controversial, the surrounding facial features appear remarkably accurate. The angular cheeks match the source material and the light bluish grey environmental sensors flanking the grille are perfect. The sticker above the grille looks superb as well, although applying such a small sticker requires particular precision.
The pronounced curves above Darth Vader's eyes look marvellous too, successfully capturing the onscreen helmet shape. However, that smooth curvature contrasts with the exposed studs which dominate the neck shroud. Other helmets have featured similar concentrations of visible studs so such consistency is appreciated and their prevalence does not bother me, particularly because many studs could not easily be concealed with tiles or slopes.
Additionally, these visible studs ensure that the central ridge appears suitably prominent. The shaping around the neck shroud corresponds with the source material and has surpassed my expectations, including a new 2x6 wedge plate! However, the rearmost edge seems much too straight, presumably since no wedge plates with sufficiently shallow gradients are available.
Overall
Darth Vader's menacing visage undoubtedly belongs within the Helmet Collection and requires some interesting construction techniques to recreate its distinctive shape, arguably surpassing previous helmets in that regard. The resultant design includes exceptional detail and achieves superb accuracy when compared with the original character, especially across the mask.
Compromises are inevitable though and I can understand why the exposed studs have proven divisive. The respiratory filter also differs from the film, although this change benefits the LEGO model in my opinion. Given the comparative size of 75304 Darth Vader Helmet, I think the price of £59.99 or $69.99 represents reasonable value and am accordingly pleased with this addition to the collection.
This set can be pre-ordered from LEGO.com now and will ship at the end of April.
This set was provided for review by The LEGO Group but the review represents an expression of my own opinions.
117 likes
53 comments on this article
So.
Many.
Exposed.
Studs.
Great review as always!
I'm still undecided about it, however I am more interested now..... I might have to watch a video review or even see it in person if possible to truly make up my mind. I am definitely getting the Scout Trouper 75305, and the Probe droid 75306.
good to know it looks better in real life than pictures. hope batman is the same way. thanks for the review
That new 2x6 wedge plate is long overdue: the 3x12 member of that wedge family was introduced way back in 2004. I hope that part gets used in many sets from now on.
Thank you for an excellent and comprehensive review and analysis. I for one think it’s looks great as a display piece especially with all the others. I really liked last years helmets and look forward to getting this one and the Scout Trooper.
The grill should be extended as done in the mock up, but then two more grill lines should be added to either side of the bottom piece, making it six lines across to better fill the entire piece/bottom of triangle.
Looks excellent from the front but I’m not so sure about the sides and the back. Probably only going to pick up the Scout Trooper this time.
Great review. Might get this one, as Darth Vader is my favorite Star Wars character.
But I still think Boba Fett is the best of the helmets collection, followed by the Stormtrooper and the TIE pilot.
Yeah too many bumps. I know it's LEGO, but that helmet is supposed to be SLEEK and smooth. Other than that the rest of the build seems good
The rear just looks wrong... the rounded shape just isn't captured...
Whilst I get what you mean about shadow often covering the respirator, shadow generally covers the top section, not the bottom- meaning this just looks all kinds of weird... And your edit only looks odd because:
1. The respirator's grey colour is too bright making it too prominent.
2. As @jpmeier notes above, the grille needs to be extended either side.
3. The whole respirator should be at an angle- and a fairly sharp angle too (hence the shadow!)... but it isn't... it's flat
Say what you like about the studs and capturing the shape etc., but a core aspect of Vader's helmet is that reflective appearance, and by having a studded approach you lose this. Sure, I can't personally see how you achieve this at this scale... But that's why you need to increase the scale!
I'm sure we'd happily spend £179 on a Vader bust that we found it really hard to criticise- but £60 on something way off that standard... it's a pass
The large number of exposed studs help soften some of the sharper edges, and are clearly intentional if you compare the curved tops in the group shot. I suspect whoever designed these is familiar with the Lowell sphere.
I can’t unsee the tiny mouth grille. My eyes go straight to it every time.
The head on picture at the top of the article makes the helmet look knitted. I understand why LEGO has been photographing it from an angle.
It look like a model I'll have to see in person before I decide how I feel about it. All black LEGO sets just don't photograph well.
I would have captioned the picture of the photoshopped grill "Darth Beaver".
I'm with others on the studs: it's a scale where they are very prominent still, versus bigger sculpts where your mind tends to "average out" the surfaces. It's not quite as apparent on the official angled pictures, but looking straight at them makes it a bit bad.
Still, very iconic, nobody would think it's anybody else's helmet, so I guess they did a very good rendition, bar for the super fans who know the details of that helmet by heart.
I’m gonna pick this up April 26th for sure along with Batman
Guess it looks better in person
The face looks great (except for the grille), but I can't get past the incorrect proportions of the helmet. And that last photo just looks terrible, in my opinion; the edge isn't even remotely rounded off.
Lovely.
In Canada, it’s going for $100 + 15% of taxes. So it’s actually $115, which is $93 USD. Way too expansive. Which is a shame because I have every other helmet and will get the scout trooper one. If I happen to find a discount on it at some point I may get it, but otherwise I’ll pass and I won’t have the complete collection.
Are not the cheek surfaces too tall for the rest of the face? I'm not sure for certain, it's been ages since I've studied Vader's mask in any detail, but my eye goes to them every time and they just look out of place to me, as if the whole mouth grille shape has slipped down his face a bit too far.
Maybe it's just because, in the black-on-black, it's hard to tell where his eyes end and the cheeks begin so I'm reading the shapes wrong...
Regardless, it does look better than in the official image, and Vader *is* iconic enough to make this head more interesting to me than the others have been so far. Still, the cheek design keeps bugging me, and I can't place an exact finger on why.
(Also, that photo at the end, with all the helmets lined up? Makes me think they're just waiting for an Ewok to come along and play drums on them, like in the end celebration of Return of the Jedi xD)
@tkatt said:
"It look like a model I'll have to see in person before I decide how I feel about it."
Um, it IS a model!
Am I the only one that doesn’t care that LEGO models have LEGO studs? If you want a perfect, smooth, representation of whatever is being modeled wouldn’t you be happier with anything but LEGO? There’s always gonna be compromises and IMO there should always be LEGO studs.
I love the exposed studs. One of my complaints about a lot of the newer sets are how smooth they are; it’s Lego, it has studs—show them off! There’s a certain charm and familiarity with the studs, and even a bit of nostalgia for my youth. (Plus, it also makes my wife happy: “Where are the sticky-outty-bits?”)
If LEGO had printed the grille tiles, the lines would be less prominent, since their printing on black is so faint of color & that would have looked better.
The sticker print looks too stark and flat, it has no depth. If a darker shade of gray was used it would look better and give the illusion of being shadowed.
I do like the overall look though & will be adding it to my collection.
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"So.
Many.
Exposed.
Studs."
It’s Lego :P
@ThatBionicleGuy I know exactly what it is: Look at an image of Vader's helmet and you'll see the "cheekbones" slope upwards and forwards/outwards to end at a point, and are flat and smooth across the top (below the eyes). In this model, they're bifurcated and stepped and the lower step curves upward toward the nose for some reason. The helmet is, as Vader notes in the novel "Star Wars: The Rise of Darth Vader", "needlessly angular over the cheekbones" and this model does basically the opposite. The helmet's eye lenses are set far back, but only because how far forward those cheeks protrude, and this model lacks that.
Another aspect that is slightly off is within the actual helmet the brim blends smoothly back into the wings, leading to a wider result. With the examples LEGO had in place for their life-size Vader statues (staring at one now waiting to get into my local store), they could have been a little closer to source. It's probably a piece count / price decision.
@MrJackson - Oh right! I see what you mean, yeah; that makes a lot of sense, thanks for clarifying!
Studs don't bother me. Small mouth definitely still does. The most striking revelation of this review? The image with all of the others together. For such a high price, it looks like the easily the smallest on display.
Definitely looks better even in these photos compared to the official packaging (shows you have tough it is to photograph models even for the pro's).
The top, sides and back of the helm are very nice. Well proportioned to the real one.
From front view, looks good to.
It's the sides and 3/4 view that hurt it.
The cheeks are still off. Doesn't have the right tilt and slope and you notice the 'snout' of Vader is supposed to rake forward a bit more. That's one of his unique features and they couldn't capture it.
Plus the grill, even from the front view needed to be longer. It's still too short.
I know the 'rule' is no stickers across two plates but you have to make an exception here or have brick built it will grill pieces.
I still pre ordered it hoping someone on youtube will have a solution for this.
I just wish for this helmet out of ALL of them, should've been a masterpiece.
He's too iconic to have it so off like this.
Definitely, Vader is too small.
He's not to scale with the others. He needed to be much bigger and like over a thousand pieces to get all the slopes and snout right.
I'm too perfectionist; the half grilles (with stickers) are a major NO to this set. Quite ironic that for such price they couldn't add the lower part.
@J0rgen said:
"The head on picture at the top of the article makes the helmet look knitted. I understand why LEGO has been photographing it from an angle."
Can't unsee!
For each his own, but this (and the Batman one) are badly designed. The front is nice, I'll give them that, but the helmet is plain ugly. Studs are ruining it and a deal breaker, not to mention the high cost.
@legoDad42 said:
"Definitely, Vader is too small.
He's not to scale with the others. He needed to be much bigger and like over a thousand pieces to get all the slopes and snout right. "
Darth Vader's helmet is the correct size within this range. The neck shroud exaggerates its size onscreen and the mask section covers Vader's head more closely than a Stormtrooper helmet, for example. With the shroud, Darth Vader's entire helmet should be slightly wider than a Stormtrooper helmet, which this model achieves.
The best illustrative image I can find which shows both characters side-by-side is this one: https://www.pngkey.com/maxpic/u2w7r5a9u2y3w7i1/ That is clearly a composite image but their respective heights and accordant helmet proportions look correct, despite Sidious' efforts to get in the way!
Admittedly, the Darth Vader helmet is actually the farthest from the camera in my last photo, albeit only narrowly, so that does reduce his apparent size. I needed to curve the five models inwards slightly so they would each be in focus.
It just seems....unfinished.
I don't mind the studded surfaces on most of the other helmets, but the shiny dome is integral to Vader's appearance. I think a few slopes would be a great benefit.
Another issue I think is the coloring. With the solid black, much of the shaping of the mask is lost at a distance. Making the lenses trans-black, and adding the pearl dark gray cheek pad like the movie prop might improve its overall look. Perhaps the contrast would be too great at this scale though.
Back on the studs issue, it's not so much that they are visible because it's Lego, it's because this is a product for AFOLs, with most of the other products much "smoother" to be more accurate. Look at all the modulars, the trains, the IDEA projects, and even most of the vehicles in City: there are still some studs here and there. But the overall idea is to build with Lego, keep the Lego vibe, but not make it look like it's unfinished. The Tree House has tons of uncovered studs, but at places where it doesn't hinder the finish.
In comparison, this helmet looks like it's meant to have accessories attached on top and on the side. I guess Huw is probably happy to connect his goats there...
Say, CapnRex101, since you were gracious enough to edit the grille to extend below the provided stickers, and gave us a look at it, I wonder if you could do the opposite?
Either edit out the sticker grille entirely (akin to photoshopping it) or replace those tiles with plain, non-stickered tiles so we could see how the “mouth” looks without the respirator grille at all.
I’m curious how it’d look without the respirator grille stickers...
Thanks, as always, for your insightful reviews, pointing out what works, and what could be improved.
I want to get it, but I'm struggling here. Plus increased cost and me trying to save money... But something feels off by looking at it, and maybe that's just because it's all black. The group photo it looks tiny and too many sruds. I agree that it needs some exposed studs and I wouldn't know how to do it differently. But we can all expect a remake of it in a few years after everyone bought this one, just like the construction figure re release of a superior version.
Showing this with the other helmets really looks great, although Boba Fett is a little out of place as he doesn’t fit in with the Empire’s very creative color scheme. Unfortunately, I don’t think it looks good on its own, and to purchase the other helmets is a pretty significant investment. I’d much rather spend $200+ on a UCS set.
Of course, it’s worth pointing out that the first three helmets were significantly discounted for an entire month leading up to Black Friday, and even extended beyond Black Friday. I seriously considered purchasing a stormtrooper helmet at that time but ultimately decided that there were much better ways to spend my Lego money. However, for people interested in getting these, you may want to hold off for a good sale.
Good effort in trying to defend the snout design, but I still think it’s off by a long shot. And I’m not convinced that exposed studs is a good representation of a smooth Vader helmet.
I quite like the helmet sets, but I do have a couple gripes with some of the new ones. The prices are getting kind of ridiculous so I'm glad to see this set actually be bigger and more complex than the other helmets to justify its higher price. However, I really don't like all the exposed studs. I've never really complained about that with LEGO because you want people to recognize that the model is LEGO, after all, but while every other helmet strikes a good balance between smooth and studded surfaces I think Vader is just too studded. Also, of the decorated parts in these sets should be printed. Again, stickers aren't usually a complaint of mine - but with the disproportionately high price of the Helmet Collection, we shouldn't have to apply tiny stickers on 1x1 pieces.
@cflyg said:
"Say, CapnRex101, since you were gracious enough to edit the grille to extend below the provided stickers, and gave us a look at it, I wonder if you could do the opposite?
Either edit out the sticker grille entirely (akin to photoshopping it) or replace those tiles with plain, non-stickered tiles so we could see how the “mouth” looks without the respirator grille at all.
I’m curious how it’d look without the respirator grille stickers...
Thanks, as always, for your insightful reviews, pointing out what works, and what could be improved."
Removing the grille stickers actually looks surprisingly appealing, in my opinion: https://www.flickr.com/photos/brickset/51080432863/in/photostream/
@dbonyx said:
"Good effort in trying to defend the snout design, but I still think it’s off by a long shot. And I’m not convinced that exposed studs is a good representation of a smooth Vader helmet. "
I am not seeking to defend the design, only to understand why certain decisions were taken and provide my opinion.
no problem with the studs out look, but tbh the entire "cowl" just isn't doing it for me: it looks very unfinished and small and the exposed clips really sell that issue. helmet itself need improvement but the eyes and maybe the nose are good? otherwise needs work; def not worth $70
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"So.
Many.
Exposed.
Studs."
I think you just started a new Official Lego acronym. "SMES"
There are too many things, that I don't like about this set.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @cflyg said:
"Say, CapnRex101, since you were gracious enough to edit the grille to extend below the provided stickers, and gave us a look at it, I wonder if you could do the opposite?
Either edit out the sticker grille entirely (akin to photoshopping it) or replace those tiles with plain, non-stickered tiles so we could see how the “mouth” looks without the respirator grille at all.
I’m curious how it’d look without the respirator grille stickers...
Thanks, as always, for your insightful reviews, pointing out what works, and what could be improved."
Removing the grille stickers actually looks surprisingly appealing, in my opinion: https://www.flickr.com/photos/brickset/51080432863/in/photostream/
@dbonyx said:
"Good effort in trying to defend the snout design, but I still think it’s off by a long shot. And I’m not convinced that exposed studs is a good representation of a smooth Vader helmet. "
I am not seeking to defend the design, only to understand why certain decisions were taken and provide my opinion."
Oh, that's MUCH better without the grille stickers. Thanks for arranging that, so we could get a look at it. To me, it's always been the "dead non-eyes" and the triangular "mouth," along with the helmet, that define the Darth Vader mask for me. It's never been the grille itself. So, I'd definitely display this without the grille stickers. (As another commentator pointed out, it's hard to "un-see" the grille stickers once you become fixated on it.)
Thanks, CapnRex101.
Definitely my least favorite of the series. Don’t like all those visible studs. Wallet saved for other things....
@CapnRex101 said:
" @legoDad42 said:
"Definitely, Vader is too small.
He's not to scale with the others. He needed to be much bigger and like over a thousand pieces to get all the slopes and snout right. "
Admittedly, the Darth Vader helmet is actually the farthest from the camera in my last photo, albeit only narrowly, so that does reduce his apparent size. I needed to curve the five models inwards slightly so they would each be in focus."
What's the solution you think to fix the snout and grill?
I think it doesn't capture the "helmet" part shape very well.
Normally I'm not against a Lego model showing studs, but here it really bothers me, as the helmet should look very smooth and shiny.