DARTH VADER Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back
At first glance you might think The Vintage Collection VC08 Darth Vader is a simple repack of the same figure we've seen over and over in the Hasbro's modern collection since 2004's The Original Trilogy Vintage Darth Vader, but this time out Hasbro took the best pieces of the previously released Vaders and added a new head and for the first time in the 3 3/4" collection a three-piece helmet!

Hasbro revealed four of the figures in the first wave of The Vintage Collection at the UK Toy Fair in January 2010, but the first wave, which also included new figures based on Dengar, Leia (Hoth Outfit), Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit), Luke Skywalker (Bespin Fatigues), the generic and very Kenner-esque AT-AT Commander, C-3PO (See-Threepio) with removable panels, the first ever single carded Dack Ralter and (Twin-pod) Cloud Car Pilot along with repacked 4-LOM and Boba Fett figures; wasn't fully revealed until the International Toy Fair the following month. This assortment began showing up in July 2010.

In the U.S., all eleven figures shipped with starburst stickers on the card front and pamphlets in the blister for a mail away Kenner style Boba Fett figure with a rocket-firing feature. In Canada, the initial release, which was found only at Walmart stores, didn't have the offer, so there were no stickers or pamphlets included. By the time the figures hit Toys "R" Us Canada, however, the offer was included. For whatever reason the stickers misspelled Fett's name as 'Bobba'.
U.S. Product Packaging
  
North American Tri-Logo Product Packaging

2019 Photo Real Rerelease
Armed with new revolutionary paint application procedures, Hasbro went back to four action figures from The Vintage Collection's first year of products that didn't see International distribution when they were hitting shelves in North America. The VC08 Darth Vader figure featured below shipped with VC02 Princess Leia Organa, VC03 Han Solo, and VC23 Luke Skywalker (Endor) in April 2019. All four figures are on updated cardbacks, but each retains its original VC number. In asddition to new paint applications, Hasbro has altered the helmet. While the original version was two pieces, the 2019 version is one piece.
Buy This Toy
Product Information
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Year: 2010
Original Retail: $9.99
Assortment Number: 97580/97568
Placement Number: VC08
UPC Number: 6 53569 49862 9
What's In The Box?
  • Darth Vader Figure
  • Cape
  • Lightsaber
  • Removable Helmet
  • Removable Mask
  • Removable Breathing Apparatus
About This Figure
U.S. Card Variations
  • There are no less than eight card back variations for the regular edition U.S. VC08 Darth Vader. The code below works like this: F = Card Front, B = Card Back, FS = Card Front Sticker, BS = Card Back Sticker, DS = Date Stamp
  • F3.1 B6.1 FS1.3 BS(N/A) - DS01031 - "COLLECT THESE AWESOME CHARACTERS! (Each sold separately.)" and "Original figures and packaging illustrated here are not available." on cardback. Rocket firing Boba Fett mail-away offer sticker.
  • F3.1 B6.2 FS1.3 BS(N/A) - DS02631 - No "COLLECT..." text and "Original figures in packaging from 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, and 2000's illustrated here are not available." on cardback. Warnings changed on cardback.
  • F3.1 B6.2 FS2.3 BS(N/A) - DS02701 - Boba Fett offer sticker updated to include text: "...plus shipping and handling."
  • F3.1 B6.2 FS(N/A) BS1.1 - DS02941 - Bar code sticker on back of card displaying new asst. number: 53569-54674.
  • F3.1 B6.3 FS(N/A) BS(N/A) - DS10281 - "Collect these awesome characters! (Each sold separately.)" added to cardback, pictures of loose figures shifted to left-side of their respective cardback photos, new asst. number now printed.
  • F3.2 B6.4 FS3.3 BS(N/A) - DS11851 - Revenge of the Jedi card, new ROTJ loose figures pictured & new text on cardback, vintage ROTJ Darth Vader pictured on cardback, old asst. number returns to bar code: 53569-49862, Prototype Fett offer on card front, warnings removed from cardback.
  • F3.3 B6.5 FS3.3 BS(N/A) -DS11861 - Return of the Jedi card, old text returns to cardback.
  • F3.3 B6.6 FS3.3 BS(N/A) -DS11871 - Empire Strikes Back card, wave 1 ESB loose figures return to cardback.
  • Released simultaneously, Hasbro produced special foil versions of select figures in the first two waves of The Vintage Collection's 2010 collection, including the VC08 Darth Vader figure. All the foil cards were short packed and boasted much smaller print runs. The Foil to Regular production ratio was roughly one to every ten.
North American Tri-Logo Card Variations
  • There were five versions of the regular edition VC08 Darth Vader sold in Canada.
  • The first, found only in the initial shipment to Walmart in July 2010 did not have the mail away offer, so the card didn't have a sticker of pamphlet.
  • The second version, which was readily available did feature the offer, but the starburst sticker had a typo, so it promoted a special "Bobba Fett" figure offer.
  • The third version of the regular edition was released with a corrected sticker that replaced "Bobba" with "Boba".
  • The fourth version, which shipped with the Bastila Shan wave in the fourth quarter of 2011, saw the age text on the upper left corner of the card front changed over to a thinner font. Because this version shipped after the Boba Fett offer had expired, it didn't have a sticker or order form.
  • The fifth version of the regular edition card featured the Return Of The Jedi layout and featured a different line up of figures on the back.
  • Released after the initial assortment hit shelves, Hasbro offered special foil versions of select figures in the first two waves of The Vintage Collection's 2010 collection, including the VC08 Darth Vader figure. All the foil cards were short packed and boasted much smaller print runs. This figure, along with the Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit), 2010 wave 2's VC18 Magnaguard and VC19 Clone Commander Cody featured the mail away order form in the blister, but didn't have the starburst sticker on the card front.
Related Figures

Photography by Rich Alot

Additional Photography by Suzan Lund and D. Martin Myatt

Text by D. Martin Myatt

U.S. Card Variations Catalogued by Vince Zannelli

Canadian Card Variations Catalogued by Scott McDonald

Page Built by Adam Lamping

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