Between all the hype surrounding The Force Awakens and Disney seemingly giving merchandising rights away to anyone who wants it, it's safe to say that the world is in the grips of Star Wars fever right about now. And for toy collectors S.H. Figuarts are right at the heart of this, as Bandai Tamashii Nations seem to be putting their all into an expansive range of figures that cover the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the forthcoming Episode VII . After warming up the line with favourites in the form of Darth Vader , Stormtroopers and Luke Skywalker , Bandai are tackling the prequels for the first time with the character a lot will have been looking forward to see - Darth Maul . Now say want you want about the overall quality of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace , but you can't deny that Maul was one hell of a cool character. Underused and ultimately inconsequential yes, but with that horned, tattooed head and double bladed lightsaber he still managed t...

Ever since Disney bought the rights to Star Wars and started giving the merchandising rights out like  no tomorrow, everyone's wanted to get in on that surefire money printer. In the last year alone we've seen Revoltech, Good Smile Company and Bandai Tamashii Nations get in on the action - the latter even giving the iconic characters a brand new twist with their Movie Realisation line. But as soon as it was discovered Bandai would be hitting up the franchise S.H. Figuarts were what everyone was waiting for...and now the wait is over! Kicking things at the end of April was the release of the standard Stormtroopers and the Sith Lord himself - Darth Vader . Based on the character's appearance in Return of the Jedi,  many expected this to put Hasbro's own 5" Black Series figure to shame. Did it live up to the hype? Read on to find out!