~~~ Introduction ~~~

I remember as a young child (sometime during the late seventies) being given a Mr Potato Head as a present ... he was a wacky looking character with the body of a potato and weird features which you could re-arrange. I have fond memories of the toy and my mum even has a few pictures of me playing with it. However, it wasn't by any means a new toy ... as Mr Potato Head first appeared way back in the early fifties !!!

It was created in the US in 1949 by George Lerner and has been produced and distributed by Hasbro since 1952. It has never been out of production since that date and is one of the most popular toys of all time. It was also a toy that made history by being the first ever toy to be advertised on TV.

Times have changed and toys have moved on but Mr Potato Head remains as popular as ever ... he even bagged a role in Disny Pixar's Toy Story !!! It was only a matter of time, however, until Mr Potato "evolved" ... and in the last few years a number of movie themed Mr Potato Head toys have been created. One of the most successful themes was based on the Star Wars movies and "Darth Tater" was the very first character to be transformed.

~~~ Darth Tater ~~~

Darth Tater is a wonderfully designed toy as it perfectly captures the characteristics of Darth Vader without losing sight of the fact that it is still essentially a Mr Potato Head ... it is clear too that the people who designed this toy were keen to use ideas from the Star Wars Galaxy without taking away anything which has made Mr Potato Head such a classic toy for so many years.

It is a toy that will appeal to young children as the character itself is brightly coloured, chunky, and begs to be played with. It is also a toy that will appeal to adults too and looks fantastic displayed. That reminds me of a job interview I had a few years ago in a very formal office. The desk was very neat and tidy and the owner of the desk was extremely professional ... but I couldn't help grinning to myself when i noticed a Darth Tater peering down at me from a nearby shelf !!!

Darth Tater is a Sith Spud with bags of character and appeal. He can be posed in a number of classic "Vader" postions and if you buy this toy for your children don't be alarmed to find that your other half plays with it too !!! When Darth Tater was originally released the cost was around £10 ... these days he can be picked up quite easily for much nearer to £5 from stores such as Wilkinsons, Home Bargains and Quality Save. If you can't track one down there then just type Darth Tater into an eBay search !!!

The recommended age for this toy is 2+ ... mainly due to small parts. However, I did allow my 19 month old son play with Darth Tater (but made sure I supervised him just in case he put any of the parts in his mouth). I discovered that as a result of playing with this toy he learned how to say "eyes" "nose" and "smile" whilst slotting the different face parts in !!!

~~~ What's included in the box ? ~~~

In the box you get the potato body as well as a helmet, a face mask, a cape, a red lightsaber, two arms, shoes, eyes, nose and teeth. Just like the original Mr Potato Head the different parts can be swapped and changed. In addition to this the parts can also be mixed and matched with other themed Mr Potato Heads which enbles you to make some weird and wonderful creations. Any parts that you are not using can be safely stored inside the secret compartment ... which is located by opening a hatch at the back of the potato body.

~~~ Other Star Wars themed Potato Heads ~~~

* Spudtrooper (Stormtrooper)
* Artoo-Potatoo (R2-D2)
* Luke Frywalker (Luke Skywalker) * Disney Theme Park Exclusive
* Princess Tater (Princess Leia) * Disney Theme Park Exclusive
* Yam Solo (Han Solo) * Disney Theme Park Exclusive
* Spuda Fett (Boba Fett) * Disney Theme Park Exclusive
* Darth Mash (Darth Maul) * Disney Theme Park Exclusive

~~~ Where can you buy them ? ~~~

Spudtrooper and Artoo-Potatoo are widely available in many shops ... and currently sell for around £5 (Wilkinsons, Toys R Us, The Entertainer). The Disney Theme Park Exclusives can either be bought direct from a Disney Theme Park or ordered through Amazon (although many of these "exclusive" toys have found their way into specialized UK sci-fi stores such as Forbidden Planet).

*** It may also be worth checking out eBay too as a few days ago I noticed a winning bid of just under £20 on a set of all five of the Disney Exclusive Star Wars Potato Heads ... which i thought was a real bargain for the lucky winning bidder !!!

~~~ Final Thought ~~~

Darth Tater is a fantastic toy ... well designed and wonderfully re-invented without losing sight of what made the original Mr Potato Head such a classic !!!