Review: 75439 Darth Vader Bust
Posted by CapnRex101,
A new series of collectable busts debuted in the Marvel theme in 2025 and the range has moved across to Star Wars this year, beginning with two sets. 75439 Darth Vader Bust definitely looks to be the better of the pair, depicting the Sith Lord remarkably well at this scale.
However, I am not entirely convinced this model is actually needed, given its relative similarity to 75304 Darth Vader Helmet, which was available until the end of last year.
Summary
75439 Darth Vader Bust, 349 pieces.
£44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99 | 12.9p, 14.3c, 14.3c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
75439 Darth Vader Bust is almost perfect and far more accurate than I expected
- Very accurate shaping
- Great scale for display
- Comes with a minifigure
- Shoulder armour is not completely accurate
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigure
Personally, I have never felt strongly about adding a minifigure to Helmet Collection or Starship Collection sets, primarily because there has rarely been an opportunity for a particularly special figure. A new Boushh in 75351 Princess Leia (Boushh) Helmet is the main exception that comes to mind, but one of very few. However, including a minifigure does no harm and Darth Vader is provided here.
This is the standard Darth Vader minifigure, featuring the usual printed arms and legs, with lots of intricate detail on the torso as well. The colourful buttons and metallic silver shoulder armour look superb, as always, as does the two-piece helmet. I would still love to see a helmet with red-tinted lenses at some point though, maybe for the 50th anniversary of Star Wars next year.
Darth Vader's scarred head is very detailed and I love his facial expression, which conveys the character's personality quite effectively. Additionally, the minifigure comes with a red lightsaber, as always.
Reference
Source - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Lucasfilm
The Completed Model
As mentioned in the introduction, Darth Vader translates surprisingly well to this scale, far better than I envisaged. The design of his helmet and shoulder armour is easily recognisable and I am impressed with how smooth everything looks. I have no problem with exposed studs, but curved slopes and other nearly studless elements look fantastic here.
The bust is presented on a simple plinth, with space for the minifigure and a printed nameplate. The negative space on the plaque looks awkward to me, although this design is consistent with Starship Collection sets. Alternatively, you can remove the minifigure stand and bring the plaque to the middle, which was an option with the Marvel busts too.
75304 Darth Vader Helmet remains an impressive model, though seeing it beside 75439 Darth Vader Bust highlights some of its flaws. I think the smooth armour looks significantly better and the bust has considerable presence on display, measuring 18cm in height. The helmet is bigger, but considering their relative prices of $79.99 and $49.99, I am pleased with the new format.
Darth Vader wears heavy shoulder armour, featuring distinctive black and silver stripes. Ideally, the dark bluish grey elements used here would have been metallic silver and I think light bluish grey would have made more sense than dark bluish grey, although this shade does work rather well. However, the middle band should be narrower, so there is room for improvement there.
The pearl silver chain is a nice touch though, with black parts forming the top of Darth Vader's cape over the shoulders and hanging down the back. Based on the visible chain and shoulder armour design, I am reminded of the suit as it appeared in Revenge of the Sith, so presumably that was the main source of inspiration.
Of course, your eye is immediately drawn to the helmet and this is where the model especially stands out. One advantage of a smaller scale is that you avoid needing as many seams where rounded parts join and the designer has exploited that advantage, so the curvature of the top of the helmet and the shroud around the back and sides is close to perfect.
The more intricate sculpting on the face looks excellent too. The angular cheeks and rounded eyebrows are very faithful to the source material, as is the iconic respirator. The nose and two grilles are printed for maximum accuracy, while the atmospheric sensors found on the chin are brick-built and the whole structure comes together brilliantly.
The same can be said for the shroud, although there are unavoidable seams visible from the back. The surfaces blend together when viewed from a distance though and you can turn the head if you wish, with enough friction to keep it in whatever position you choose.
Overall
The prospect of Star Wars busts was pretty underwhelming when rumours started to circulate last year, but 75439 Darth Vader Bust is greatly elevated by its execution. The helmet's shape and particularly the details on the mask are exceptional, with only a little reliance on decorated elements where there is no alternative.
I have mixed feelings about the price of £44.99, $49.99 or €49.99. The model is pretty small for that price, although as a compact representation of Darth Vader for display on a shelf, there are few alternatives that would cost less. Fundamentally, this kind of set does not particularly appeal to me, but its execution is superb.
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46 comments on this article
I wish we got more SW play sets and less display sets. I have no interest whatsoever in display sets like this one.
I'm not sure what to think about price. How many smart bricks are included?
Of course it looks better than creepy Yoda but those stripes look cheap IMHO
I think SW fans should play it clever:
1. boycott bust
2. wait one year
3. Lego release not looking cheap Vader figure just like 76344 Iron Man
4. buy whole Vader, not 1/3
Pretty good, I'd certainly take this over the helmet....but not at this price.
Not interested. And it's me saying this...
@Briczk said:
"Of course it looks better than creepy Yoda but those stripes look cheap IMHO
I think SW fans should play it clever:
1. boycott bust
2. wait one year
3. Lego release not looking cheap Vader figure just like 76344 Iron Man
4. buy whole Vader, not 1/3"
Nah, by that time the whole Vader will be £399.99 for 1200 pieces.
SW fans should play it clever by not wasting money.
I think the eyes need a very, very dark red to help them pop so it doesn't look like a hollow cavity in there. (Vader did, in fact, have dark red eyes in ANH.)
@eiffel006 said:
"I wish we got more SW play sets and less display sets. I have no interest whatsoever in display sets like this one. "
Same, it's a good set for what it is, but just not a toy meant for real play IMO.
As a big fan of the helmets and the glut of source material never explored, I wish they'd continued that line instead of switching to these. I can't deny that this looks much better than expected though!
No, that front grill again is terrible.
Too short in the lines printed, because of the element used and a huge gap there. Looks like an open mouth.
The helmet grill was too short too but I left off the sticker and it looks much better.
@legoDad42 said:
"No, that front grill again is terrible.
Too short in the lines printed, because of the element used and a huge gap there. Looks like an open mouth.
The helmet grill was too short too but I left off the sticker and it looks much better."
I didn't notice that at first and now that's all I can see. Looks like a duck bill opening or something.
Overall the design is pretty decent but I agree, I'll wait and see if they do a larger scale figure like Iron Man. I have the big helmet set. Not sure if I need a smaller helmet set. I was collecting pieces for that one Bust that came out years ago and then stopped since I got the helmet. But who knows. How many Vaders and Iron Mans can one person have?
His mouth is open as if mid word, like an animated cartoon bird’s beak. I can’t un-see this now…
His mouth is open as if mid word, like an animated cartoon bird’s beak. I can’t un-see this now…
Queen's Royal Starship when?
Brooke Shields wants her eyebrows back.
I feel like without the chest plate and cape this looks very bland. This needed to be bigger in order to have the appropriate presence, though I don't doubt LEGO is a bit PTSD'd from large busts after the whole Black Panther thing.
Seeing the bust next to the helmet was a brutal K.O. The studless look is much better
Reminds me of the Monty Python scene with The Black Knight :))
"Look you got no arms left!"
"It's just a flesh wound!"
P.S. Lame that they managed to do the armor on 75227 right, but not on this "remastered" version with the new parts and all.
@Briczk said:
"I'm not sure what to think about price. How many smart bricks are included?"
This is the real test. I want to use a tiny green hammer to repair Vader’s suit!
I think it occupies a slightly different space to the helmet. I never pulled the trigger on that one as the exposed studs were just too much. Whereas this one looks great so I'll get this one at some stage.
Makes me wonder though....if you would mount the 75304 helmet on top of the shoulder armour from this set.....wouldn't that be a pretty decent representation of Dark Helmet? Obviously needs a few more minor modifications, but it's a start....
@eiffel006 said:
"I wish we got more SW play sets and less display sets. I have no interest whatsoever in display sets like this one. "
LEGO make sets for both children and adults now, get over it. Some adults like to display sets. Every time they make a display set, there are complaints it is not a play set. Every time they make a play set, there are complaints it is a rehash of a set made five or ten years before and how many of these do we need.
@R0Sch said:
"P.S. Lame that they managed to do the armor on 75227 right, but not on this "remastered" version with the new parts and all."
If you are referring to the shoulder armour, 75227 Darth Vader Bust was worse. The silver section in the middle should be narrower than the other stripes, whereas on that bust it is wider.
Star Wars lego fans are being constantly played the fool these days, underwhelming designs, abhorrent pricing and shrinking of sets brought on by some needless new technology or general infantilization of products.
End of an era.
It just occurred to me that they'll never do a bust of a female character because search results for "[Insert Woman Here] Bust" is going to turn up something very different.
Why? Another thing to just put on the shelf? This was supposed to be a toy at some time. I really don’t get the appeal of all these busts and helmets and just — things anymore.
They make both, and I'm guessing the display sets are not only incredibly popular with adults, but research is likely showing that it's the only sets a lot of adults are purchasing for themselves. The amount of adults purchasing play sets for themselves I'm guessing isn't as large. Personally the display sets are what got me back into Lego as an adult, starting with the helmet line, so there's probably many out there like me that are only interested in these sets, and the balance between the two is driven by sales.
Excellent model! I do hope SW fans will stop complaining about Sauron now :P
Why is it so tiny?
Lego doesn't make display sets or play sets. It makes building toys. Initial enjoyment may come from building what's on the box, but future enjoyment is only limited by your imagination. A new toy every day!
Am I the only one who feels like this bust is lacking a representation of any lenses in the eyes? I see from the third-to-last photo that there are pieces there, but the way they - as best I can tell - curve away while the brows face straight on mean that, from most angles, it looks to me like Vader just has empty sockets, rather than the distinct lenses from the movies.
Granted it may just be a 'me' thing because I haven't seen anyone else commenting on that point. And I suppose the lense shape is a pretty tricky one to replicate in Lego, especially at this scale. But it still looks oddly like there's just empty space beneath his brows, at least to me.
I am your father!
@AustinPowers said:
"I am your father! "
I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate!
@AustinPowers said:
"I am your father! "
No, that's not true - that's impossible!
@AustinPowers and @Murdoch17: The Robot Chicken "Extended Cut":
Vader: And Princess Leia is your sister.
Luke: That's not true! That's...improbable.
Vader: And the Empire will be defeated by Ewoks!
Luke: That's...chk...very unlikely.
Vader: And as a child, I built C3-PO!
Luke: Huh?
(Vader is sipping tea and Luke is smoking a cigarette)
Vader: And the force? Well, that's just microscopic bacteria in your bloodstream called midi-chlorians.
Luke: Look, if you're not going to take this seriously, I'm out. (walks away safely)
Still, better than 'The Sequels' :D
Ever since this was revealed, I've thought that you could make an interesting pattern with a bunch of those printed tiles. They could also be used for some interesting greebling.
@WizardOfOss said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"I am your father! "
I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate!"
What does that make us?
as someone who had to pay a pretty penny for the big round pieces for a moc recently, I'm glad they are back in black, previously seen in only the Micky and Minnie set.
@TheOtherMike said:
"Ever since this was revealed, I've thought that you could make an interesting pattern with a bunch of those printed tiles. They could also be used for some interesting greebling.
@WizardOfOss said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"I am your father! "
I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate!"
What does that make us?"
Absolutely nothing.
@AustinPowers said:
"I am your father!"
Luke: Surely you can't be...
Wait...
@AustinPowers said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"I am your father!"
Luke: Surely you can't be...
Wait... "
Stop calling me Shirley!
@WizardOfOss said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"I am your father!"
Luke: Surely you can't be...
Wait... "
Stop calling me Shirley!"
There’s an incoming message from Mustafar.
Mustafar, what is it?
It’s a place where lava, castles, and bad memories meet but that’s not important right now.
I don’t get the frustrations here. This is head and shoulders above most other sets.
@yellowcastle said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"I am your father!"
Luke: Surely you can't be...
Wait... "
Stop calling me Shirley!"
There’s an incoming message from Mustafar."
I don't recall your name - but your fez is familiar.
@yellowcastle said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"I am your father!"
Luke: Surely you can't be...
Wait... "
Stop calling me Shirley!"
There’s an incoming message from Mustafar.
Mustafar, what is it?
It’s a place where lava, castles, and bad memories meet but that’s not important right now."
I thought it was the guy from Aladdin.
@CCC said:
" @yellowcastle said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"I am your father!"
Luke: Surely you can't be...
Wait... "
Stop calling me Shirley!"
There’s an incoming message from Mustafar.
Mustafar, what is it?
It’s a place where lava, castles, and bad memories meet but that’s not important right now."
I thought it was the guy from Aladdin."
Opens up a whole new world of considerations.
Looks really good. Not really my thing but the shine of the helmet is spot-on. Those Prince of Persia quarter domes work great for this