Fandom often inspires people to invest vast sums of money in the object of their obsession. Often when you visit a real enthusiast’s home, you’ll see so much merchandise that you start to wonder whether they also thought to invest in insurance to protect them if any of it was lost or stolen since the goods’ combined value can in some cases amount to thousands, even tens of thousands, of dollars.
In many ways, the amount of merch a person owns can act as an indicator of how big a fan they are, but what’s even more impressive than dropping exorbitant amounts of cash on a hobby is investing time and energy. Take, for example, this Niconico Video user from Japan who, rather than simply visiting a store or online shop to purchase a swanky new Darth Vader figurine, decided to make one out of little more than a pile of craft paper, and the end result is simply stunning.
This crafty fan’s creative journey began with the construction of a simple light saber. Well I say ‘simple’, but look at the detail on that thing!
But with the light saber nearing completion, its maker decided to build a scale model of the dark lord himself, Darth Vader, crafting everything from paper including his armour,
adorable Vader pants,
limbs,
flowing cloak,
menacing helmet,
and of course his violin. Wait, what!?
Yes, it would appear that this Niconico user is also something of a musician, as midway through building his mini Vader, he had the sudden desire to make his tormented leader a miniature violin to hold instead of his usual light saber, which the hobbyist remarks looked far too big for the figure. It’s an odd choice, but it’s quite nice to see Darth Vader taking time to release tension through music rather performing horrific acts like slicing his own son’s hand off (seriously, if you called “spoiler!” for that one then you’re about 30 years too late…)
▼ The finished product. We think even Vader himself would struggle to be “displeased” with that.
If you’re interested in seeing the construction of this figure in more detail, here’s the original Niconico video in full. Enjoy!
Source/screenshots: Niconico via Netorabo