Luke Skywalker (Hoth [Outfit]) - TVC - Basic (VC95)

Celebrate the legendary Star Wars saga that changed the universe forever! This collection brings to life the incredible story of good versus evil that captured our imagination and took us to a galaxy far, far away. Iconic Star Wars heroes and villains are captured with incredible detail and premium features to commemorate each epic tale in the Star Wars saga. May the Force be with you!

They say you learn something new every day. Trust us when we say it's a true sentiment. When we started seeing packaged samples of The Vintage Collection's Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit), we became overconfident, believing that Hasbro mistakenly labeled the figure's name differently than how it appeared in 1982's The Empire Strikes Back lineup. We felt that Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit) was incorrect because most American collectors grew up with the vintage Kenner figure called Luke Skywalker (Hoth Battle Gear). We recently learned that some early Tri-Logo and Canadian samples called this figure Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit). So Hasbro is technically correct here, although it didn't appear this way in the United States. But it doesn't matter how Hasbro names this action figure because Hasbro re-released Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit) in 2021 for the Fan Channel, and it's now called Luke Skywalker (Hoth). Regardless, the cold-weather Hoth gear is a fan-favorite outfit of the hero, and it took Hasbro long enough to update this figure back in 2012. Sadly, this is an action figure that needs retooling. It doesn't look right without the goggles and scarf. Luke looks screen-inaccurate once removed. Back in 2012, the wait was grueling, and some may find the update a bit grueling too. We had Luke Skywalker's Tauntaun before we had the rider. We'll get to all of that more in a minute. The sad thing is that Luke Skywalker isn't going to meet everyone's expectations because Hasbro focused on a very scene-specific look for him. Then they tried to balance Luke's other appearances into the figure somewhat unsuccessfully. Are you confused by the points we are attempting to make? Don't despair because we'll go into them all thoroughly.

Quite honestly, Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit) doesn't meet the expectations we had for it either, but we do love what Hasbro achieved from the perspective that they based Luke on one specific scene. Plus, the many updates here are noteworthy. Do you remember the opening scene of The Empire Strikes Back, and the first moment we saw Luke Skywalker riding his tauntaun? Luke appeared as a stop-animation puppet. Thankfully, Lucasfilm hasn't replaced these moments of the film with CGI – something we've feared for years. Some of George Lucas's changes don't enhance "his" vision). This stop-motion animation puppet is the basis for 2012's TVC Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit) action figure (as well as the reissue). It's not based on Mark Hamill. It's based on an object, the puppet. But because Luke didn't appear as a stop-motion animation puppet throughout the entire film, Hasbro had to work in some removable parts to make it more versatile for "both" appearances, especially for a product in an action figure line. If you fully assemble Luke Skywalker, you'll have a pretty swell action figure. But once you remove the scarf/goggles combination accessory, you're left with a rather wonky-looking action figure. When Luke removed the goggles in Episode V, we could see the scarf hanging down from his helmet. Unfortunately, this detail couldn't work in tandem with the intended look of the figure, and you're left with the appearance of Luke, almost as if the action figure is wearing a turban. We're pleased that Hasbro updated the elbow joints to match the rest of the arm color. That bothered up in 2012, but it's remedied here. Other deco updates and changes are improvements here too. Still, it' not a perfect match to 1982's ESB Luke Skywalker (Hoth Battle Gear) figure.

But back to the figure's "likeness," if you "cover up" Luke's face, you will have before you a fantastic action figure. Hasbro perfectly designed Luke to straddle 2011's TVC Luke Skywalker's Tauntaun that was available as a TARGET exclusive. And surprisingly, the figure doesn't look too small upon it. The details on the outfit are perfectly replicate. Hasbro scores high marks in their approach of this action figure, from the waffled texture on the clothing to the textures present on the boots and belt. Ideally, Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit) should have come with two interchangeable portraits instead of killing two birds with one stone in the manner they did. But we don't think we will need to worry about a variation of this figure down the road in some exclusive set. Remember how upset we were with 2007's VTSC Han Solo (Hoth Outfit) figure because it came with the parka hood down? Well, we received plenty of "hood up" versions since that 2007 release, and Hasbro has more than made up for the initial lack thereof of what we considered a completed figure. We expected to see the same thing (or something similar) happen with Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit) as well, but to date, that hasn't transpired. The only update here is the Photo Real, which looks fantastic. Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit) is not necessarily complete yet either. Yes, the figure comes with great accessories, and the figure has excellent functionality. Still, until Hasbro masters the figure's aesthetics, we'll remain hopeful to see a definitive update sometime in the future. Don't get us wrong, Luke Skywalker (Hoth) isn't a complete waste of your time, but it's not one of Hasbro's best. You'll want Luke Skywalker (Hoth) to ride the tauntaun, but we want versatility with screen accuracy to complete other scenes from the film.

Editor's Note: Hasbro re-released The Vintage Collection Luke Skywalker (Hoth [Outfit]) (VC95) in April 2021 with a significant number of changes. Updates include: (1) Photo Real deco, (2) a newly repainted Hoth outfit with different colors added like tan and light yellow, (3) corrected elbow joints to match arm color (4) lightsaber plug removed (hilt maintains this feature) (5) new date stamp in black paint on the figure's left back thigh, (6) refreshed 2021 packaging with different graphics, (7) revised nameplate color (8) revised name

Review Status Update: The original publication date of this review is April 24, 2012. It was subsequently updated with a new Photo Gallery and revised General Analysis and republished on April 27, 2021 after Hasbro reissued the figure.