chrome darth vader poly bags still to be found?

mountebank · July 2014

Grams were invented by the French and thus are not to be trusted.

Farmer_John · July 2014

Luccide said:
i know 7749 did as i just bought one lol

I was thinking more along the lines of #8014 Clone Walker Battle Pack and #8015 Assassin Droids Battle Pack. These sets are 1/2 the size of #7749 and I don't remember any special anniversary markings on them.

jediami65 · July 2014

Well decided to open those sets as I am going to be building a SW base/display mini-figures and sadly but not surprising NO Vaders. I have given some of these away to friend's kids and no one has mentioned a Vader, I have a few other boxes but will not open them for now.

Farmer_John · July 2014

^Sorry to hear you didn't find one. I am pretty confident the unopened sets I have won't have one either. I'm one of those people that could never win the lottery (although it does help to purchase a ticket).

nerick906 · July 2014

#8015 does it need to have a sticker on it?

Luccide · July 2014

na 8015 dosent need to have the anniversary edition logo so you are in with a chance there nerick906

fizicyst · July 2014

fizicyst said:
Hmm...I still have a sealed Assassin Droid Battle Pack that has a mass of 114.3 g. That is 5.8 g more than what is listed on Bricklink. I also have a sealed Battle of Endor, but never measured its mass because I didn't even realize it might have a chrome Vader in there! I might have a Hyena Bomber or Corporate Tank Alliance Droid, too.

Sorry @dolphins79 I decided I would take the chance and open it...

Score! Chrome Vader inside! I am pysched because I was just coming out of my dark ages and rarely pick up SW sets. I happened upon a handful of 60-75% sets (mostly SW) and picked up just that one and a MagnaGuard Starfighter (leaving a several battle packs and a Rogue Shadow behind).

Now I wonder how many others will go ahead and open up their sets and I think I might have one to three more 2009 sets to weigh!

dolphins79 · July 2014

Totally jealous now...congrats!

Rainstorm26 · August 2014

Does anyone know if sets #7655 and #7654 have the potential for Chrome DV? I just found these sets sealed in my basement.

fizicyst · August 2014

Rainstorm26 said:
Does anyone know if sets #7655 and #7654 have the potential for Chrome DV? I just found these sets sealed in my basement.

According to one article I read online, they were in the following 2009 sets:
7748 Corporate Alliance Tank Droid
7749 Echo Base
8014 Clone Walker Battle Pack
8015 Assassin Droids Battle Pack
8016 Hyena Droid Bomber
8017 Darth Vader's TIE Fighter
8018 Armored Assault Tank (AAT)
8019 Republic Attack Shuttle
8036 Separatists Shuttle
8037 Anakin's Y-Wing Starfighter
8038 The Battle of Endor
8039 Venator-class Republic Attack Cruiser

I hope that helps some!

It has a mass of 5.7g, so if you get a very accurate scale and check smaller sets that should help. I still have a couple of sets I have not looked at (7748, 8016, 8039 and maybe an 8018). Normal variation in mass of a large set is more than 5.7g, and more accurate masses can be found on bricklink.

Johnnyfinlandia · August 2014

Hey I found a 7749 that I haven't opened. Will weigh and see :) I built the other while ago.

Johnnyfinlandia · August 2014

.. OK I found my 7749 (which was 317g) and also a 8014 (which was 113g).
Bricklink says 8014 (it has no chrome vader pic) should be 114g.

BUT .. on bricklink it says 7749 should be 312g ... this version has the 1999-2009 Chrome Vader pic in the lower left corner and is 317g. So is that weight accurate or could it be wrong? (ie. version with other normal Lego inside) .. I am a little bit excited ;)

Anyone know weights of 7749 ?

fizicyst · August 2014

@johnnyfinlandia,

While I do not have a #7749 to compare, I can tell you that my #8015 did not have any markings indicating that it could have a chrome vader inside. It came out exactly 5.8 g higher than what was listed on bricklink. I would say your chances are at least 50/50, better if you can find a better scale (that goes to 0.1g).

Here is the link to brickset confirming which sets could have chrome vaders:
http://brickset.com/sets/list-11028

Johnnyfinlandia · August 2014

Yes I used my mini digital postal scale so quite accurate but not beyond 0.1g :(((( and so not quite 5.8g (5.xx only) more than Bricklist - or the 312 it says there - another site (maybe Brickset says 314) :( Hence the reason I am stalling ;) I reckon it is just extra normal weight or indeed it should be that weight. I would be gobsmacked if it did contain a DV though.

Captain_Eyebrow · August 2014

I've still got to get around to ferreting out those sets that need checking!

Johnnyfinlandia · August 2014

Can anyone weigh their 7749 if they have some scales please .. I think mine is red herring though, as a few other sites (Amazon for instance) quote higher weights in lbs (then converted). Maybe sets range normally quite a bit :)

Johnnyfinlandia · August 2014

.. OK fairly sure no DV .. put a couple of phones (as references) on both scales (found another scales) and they were +1g/+2g to the internet weights, so I reckon true weight is 315g which is only 3g more :( not enough. Boo.

fred67 · August 2014

Jumping in, here. I had a number of 8017s, all Anniversary Editions with the Vader picture in the corner. Out of five:

1 weighed 572g
2 weighed 570g
2 weighed 529g

That's just crazy. Bricklink says 533g. So I think I can safely count out the bottom two, and figured I'd pop open the heaviest one to check... and no dice. It's good, though, that I took this step... I am giving one away this weekend to a (hopefully) happy kid, because while I didn't pay that much for the current BL value is nearly $100 on the low end... and I'd hate to give away a Chrome Vader to boot.

But I'm not unhappy about opening one, either, because I didn't really buy them to sell, but now I can't really give the one I opened as a gift, either.

Off to check

fred67 · August 2014

So even the little sets needed the "Anniversary Edition" on them? None of mine do.

fred67 · August 2014

Hyena Droid Bomber... 430g, BL says 397g. I only had one, so couldn't compare, but no Vader. On that note, anyone want to buy a new 8016... new in open box?

Farmer_John · August 2014

I would really like to open a few of mine, but I probably have a better chance of winning the lottery (and I don't even buy lottery tickets). My thought is that it's pretty easy to determine if a smaller set (e.g., #8014, #8015) have a chrome Vader based on weight, but nearly impossible with anything larger...unless you have an x-ray machine.

Gurooo · December 2014

fizicyst said:

According to one article I read online, they were in the following 2009 sets:
7748 Corporate Alliance Tank Droid
7749 Echo Base
8014 Clone Walker Battle Pack
8015 Assassin Droids Battle Pack
8016 Hyena Droid Bomber
8017 Darth Vader's TIE Fighter
8018 Armored Assault Tank (AAT)
8019 Republic Attack Shuttle
8036 Separatists Shuttle
8037 Anakin's Y-Wing Starfighter
8038 The Battle of Endor
8039 Venator-class Republic Attack Cruiser

I hope that helps some!

It has a mass of 5.7g, so if you get a very accurate scale and check smaller sets that should help. I still have a couple of sets I have not looked at (7748, 8016, 8039 and maybe an 8018). Normal variation in mass of a large set is more than 5.7g, and more accurate masses can be found on bricklink.

So, no chance of finding one in 10198 Tantive IV? I'm thinking of selling a sealed one, but wouldn' risk giving away a chrome DV...

Farmer_John · December 2014

Nope...for whatever reason it didn't make the list. I have an unopened #10198 Tantive IV that I wouldn't hesitate to sell if finding a Chrome DV was the only reason not too.

Gurooo · December 2014

Thanks :)
I'm just putting out some ads to see if someone will bite at the right price before Christmas, if not I'll be happy to build it myself.

pumperx · December 2014

Isn't 10198 also has a chance to find extremely rare Princess Leia with straight hair?

Gurooo · December 2014

Aha... that may be what I was remebering. I remember seeing several of them in a store once, all with broken seals, and I thought someone had been opening them looking for that Leia.
Hmm... I don't think there's much chance of her being in there.

jadeirene · January 2016

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but I have two sealed #8038 Battle of Endors sitting in my closet. They have 2011 seal codes on them, but do have the 10th anniversary logo on the front of the boxes. Does anybody know if the chrome Darth Vaders could be in 2011 boxes or were they only inserted in 2009 production runs?

oldtodd33 · January 2016

According to the list a few posts up it should. The year 2009 was the 10th anniversary but it should carry through the whole production run.

HokieJoe99 · January 2016

This just feels like a scheme to get me to open my old Star Wars sets to see if I got lucky twice. The first round of luck was finding a lot of them at Walmart for great clearance prices.

adello25 · January 2016

I also have 2 sealed #8038 ....to open or not to open

jadeirene · January 2016

@oldtodd33 Thanks for the info, although it makes it harder for me to decide what to do.

I may have some Echo Bases in storage as well....

SumoLego · January 2016

I'm sure a nice AFOL dentist could x-ray the boxes for a nominal fee...

KazJY · January 2016

I would love to read that someone really opened their old sets and found a chrome Vader. Seems it is scary to cut those seals though (I'd feel the same)

SumoLego · January 2016

One wonders if a Mr. Gold is sitting, undisturbed, in a blind package just waiting to be discovered...

Farmer_John · March 2016

I've noticed that the Chrome Darth Vader is roughly at the $200 USD mark based on current eBay sales. It's more than doubled in price in less than two years...at least based on my records. Those who purchased the set before 2015 are going to do well. It should also help with the aftermarket pricing of sealed sets that potentially contain the Chrome Darth Vader polybag.