While I love my removable helmet Darth Vader figure, I dislike the fact that every time I posed him the helmet and mask would fall off. I also hated the flat chested Episode 3 look that he was sporting and the over-sized silver neck chain!

So I set out making my own modified original trilogy Vader, one that gave the impression that the muscular Dave Prowse might be under the armour. If you don't know who Dave Prowse is, you need to stop looking right now. Turn off the computer/media device and walk away.

The head comes from an Episode 3 Vader figure, the one where you squeeze his legs together and he performs a 'slashing' action. Stop laughing! I felt this head was quite nicely sculpted with sharp edges and clean lines. I painted the appropriate areas on his mask silver grey, such as the right hand cheek, neck etc. You might not notice it in the pictures here or in the original movies for that matter but they are there and screen accurate.

I also wanted him to look up and down so I installed a ball joint at the base of his neck which I pilfered from a Star Wars Pit Droid figure. Trust me, the figure was rubbish so my conscience is clean!

I beefed his chest up with milliput, re-sculpted the line pattern in his suit and replaced the armour. I scrapped the existing chest control box, and instead used the one from the Ep3 figure as it was larger and possessed a better and once again sharper sculpt.

He has a new cape sewn from scratch with craft wire in the seams for pos-ability. The old one was so transparent it was border lining on ladies negligee! Of course, what Vader wears in his spare time is up to him, but we want none of it here!

He was then finished off with a gloss paint job on the armour so gets that shiney look that all Sith Lords crave.

Things learned? I found out that if you let super glue seep down a figures neck hole and into his body it can quickly dry and freeze the joint in one of the arms!!! Fortunately, I also learnt that you can scalpel a hole in his back, get to the effected joint and use nail polish remover to loosen the hold of the super glue and free his arm again thus wasting two hours of my life that I'll never get back! Grrrrgh!