[LE] Darth Vader

[coo_intro  ITEM-TITLE="Darth Vader"  ITEM-SUBTITLE="Sith Lord"  ITEM-COMPANY="Poch/ PBP"  IMAGE-URL-ONLY="https://i.servimg.com/u/f26/16/37/31/68/img_9710.jpg"  YEAR-RELEASED="1981"  RELEASED-ON="ESB 31, 37, 41"  FIRST-CARD="ESB 31"  LAST-CARD="ESB 41"  FACTORY-CODES="SA"  BOOKMARK-NAME="BOOKMARK_NAME_NO_SPACES"]

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[toc title="Darth Vader - Poch Variation"]

• Family 4 Kader         K/HG
  
• Family 3  Poch              SA
  

[/toc]

[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="Discussion Topic"][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="Basic Coo Guide"][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="Advanced Coo Guide"][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="loose figure guide
Kenner"][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="loose figure guide
late PBP (PBP)"][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="loose figure guide
Lili Ledy"][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="sealed baggie guide"][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="MOC Guide"]Link to be added[/snippet]

[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="Comparisons"]Identifying features of a Poch darth Vader variant can be seen as sloppy paint application, cracks and poor welding assembly.
Melt marks can also be found, usually to the upper back area and bottom, as well as mold flashing extrusions, especially between the legs.
Another identifier can be the difference of darker red paint used in comparison to Kenner figures.
But as so little paint is used on a vader figure, this is quite difficult to differentiate from his Kenner counterpart.[/snippet]

[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="NOTE"]This particular Poch vader is a coo III.1b Hong Kong.
But it is thought that there could be up to four different mold families used during production of Poch Vader's,
including mold families I, II, III and VI. Although it is thought that at least two of these mold families could be mixed up Poch hybrids.[/snippet]

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[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="NOTE"]it looks like, what appears to be melt marks to the lower chest buttons.The 'coin slots' are also of a very soft sculpt.
Also the sculpt of the belt buttons look irregular in shape and size. Something I have not seen on other Vader figures.
Quite extensive bubbling of the plastic on the head (although these particular head  defects can most likely be found on some Kenner examples too and shouldn't be assumed to be exclusive to Poch Vader figures)[/snippet]

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[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="Comparing Poch to his Kenner coo counterpart"]In these pictures we see comparisons of a Coo III.1b Poch vader with a coo III.1b kenner figure.[/snippet]

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[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="NOTE"]Differences can be seen with the softer sculpt torso on the Poch figure, as well as having a more violet coloured torso and darker, more blood red paint to the chest buttons.
On the rear of the figure, differences can be seen with melt marks to the upper back and bottom area, as well as a flashing extrusion between the legs of the Poch figure.
Also the Poch Vader has a mold injection point to the back of his head, this is not present on the Kenner counterpart.
However this may be a randomly produced mark, depending on where each helmet is on its sprue tree. I have noticed though that this injection point only seems to appear on earlier produced Vader's, whether kenner or not. By the later ROTJ, no coo figures this detail does not seem to be present, perhaps a result of change in production methods?
One thing both figures have in common is a rougher textured area to the shin of his left boot, which also creates a line across the front of the lower part of his boot. This can be seen from the front of the figure and so could be used to identify this coo III variant on carded examples, providing the boot is not obscured by his cape of course.[/snippet]

[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="Weapons & Accessories"]Poch figures, including Vader, came equipped with Kenner accessories and are not thought to be unique to the Poch line[/snippet]

[snippet SNIPPET-NAME="Note"]Examples of Kenner accessories that could be found with Poch Vader figures[/snippet]

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Vader Cape pic to follow

[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="Availability"]The first Poch Logo cards were produced in Spain by PBP on ESB 31 backs in 1981.
Many of these early produced Poch cards contained preassembled Kenner figures, produced in the Hong Kong factories of Asia and packaged in Spain.
These cards may also have contained figures that were assembled and painted in Spain, using parts that were produced in the HK factories in Asia.
The later produced 37 /41 back cards are considered to be the true Poch variants, which are not assembled from a mixture of Kenner painted stock and Spanish painted stock. But rather solely painted and assembled in Spain by Poch/PBP, giving them unique paint characteristics.[/snippet]

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[snippet  SNIPPET-NAME="NOTE"]The front of these cards also featured the Poch 'guarantee' logo.
The first PBP 31 Backs and early 41 Backs had the Poch logo on the front, but later releases removed the Poch logo from the front. These logos were printed in either blue or yellow ink depending on the cardback.
On later produced Poch cards, the Poch logo was removed altogether, only leaving the PBP logo remaining.[/snippet]