Luke Skywalker - LC - Basic (BD51)

Luke leads an attack on Imperial AT-AT walkers that are moving toward Echo Base. He instructs the other snowspeeder pilots to use their harpoons and cables and aim for the legs in an attempt to take out the Imperial walkers.

Pardon us while we regain our composure because we are still spinning over one of the most amazing action figures we have ever received in the Star Wars figure basic line. We are not being dramatic, nor do we intend to over-sensationalize this new version of Luke Skywalker, but it is indeed a figure that takes our breath away. A completely new sculpt of Luke Skywalker (Snowspeeder Pilot) has been on the backburner for quite some time at Hasbro, but the time has finally arrived and they have treated us to one mind-blowing product. As long time collectors, we have mercilessly waited a LONG time to get a definitive version of a Luke Skywalker (Snowspeeder Pilot) and it has been a very grueling wait. Well worth it, Luke has exceeded expectations in ways that cannot be qualified or quantified. It is that good. Although we tend to love all of our Star Wars action figures equally like a parent loves his children, rarely do we get a figure that renders us speechless. We came (somewhat) close to getting a great version of Luke in this outfit in 2007's 30 (77-07) collection with the TARGET exclusive The Battle Of Hoth Ultimate Battle Pack set, but that Luke was simply a retool of the Zev Senesca figure from 2006's The Saga Collection (also a TARGET exclusive) Rogue Two Snowspeeder. (And his top jacket and bottom pants didn't match even though many of you will no doubt claim that this is movie accurate. We partially agree, but we don't think that the jacket and pants dramatically differed by that many shades of orange.) But no matter what your opinion is, most would agree that the figure did indeed lack in multiple ways. It has the old VOTC Luke Skywalker head and looked a little too thin and scrawny for wearing an insulation padded snowsuit that was seen in the film. All of these issues and more have been remedied with the 2009 Legacy Collection release. The figure is a marvel, wonder and spectacular piece of amazing art. And we see you rolling your eyes at us out there; you wonder how a piece of plastic could be this good. Well, it is, and we would have to say that either you are completely burned out with Star Wars collecting if you do not think that this figure is simply one of the best you will ever have the opportunity to purchase. Forgive us for this smart quip, but you would really have to have something wrong with you if you find fault with this figure. Luke Skywalker is an all-new figure. He is NOT a repaint of the Evolutions pilot at all, nor does he borrow any parts from them! Complete with super-articulation, he is everything and more you would want in an action figure. While we would have of course preferred ball-jointed hips (the one and only needed enhancement), the figure functions perfectly fine as is. Luke is exactly in scale with the other action figures and while his orange jumpsuit may look slightly off color to the film, we still love it and think it looks superb.

His head sculpt is quite excellent and is itself painted and not cast in flesh color (this always tends to cause issues for realism, good paint application and likeness) but Hasbro did a fine job painting it without sacrifing any of the details or quality in face sculpt (or any other aspects for that matter). His head is sculpted with the signature cap seen in Episode V and Hasbro recreated it with exacting standards – you can even see the bumps underneath it which represents the obvious headset/ears that lay below it. His chest box is perfectly sized and lays very close to his body, so it doesn't look bulky or out of place. His gloves have two shades of gray and this is a very accurate attention to detail – thank you Hasbro! And the boots look absolutely fantastic on him. The left boot has the standard X-wing ammunition rounds garter belt above it and the "straps" on the boots have been painted in a different color to show their functionality of how they tie and stay on the feet securely. Hasbro upgraded the design of the boots from the Evolutions snowspeeder pilot figures and they now look much better. The hands have been sculpted to hold both his lightsaber hilt as well as the tow cable/harpoon blaster. They have been constructed very well and they don't look disproportionate or bulky. His off-white pilot straps have been cast in a rubbery and soft plastic that will allow for good mobility when you try to seat him in a snowspeeder. If you recall, the Evolutions snowspeeder pilots had very tough straps and were basically unbendable. The jacket falls right below his waist as it should and it does not encumber his hip movement in the slightest. Even his helmet is all-new. If you thoroughly analyze the visor, you'll notice it is constructed with trapezoidal shapes that give it a very sharp and angled appearance. This design also allows his eyes to be seen quite clearly through them. This is an important detail for us because usually the eyes look distorted or cannot be seen at all through the traditional pilot helmets. This was a great update! Even the finest details, like the metal pieces on his belt and other parts are very nicely painted. Apparently extra careful attention was paid to not allow the paint jobs to look sloppy. Hasbro communicated this well at the factory level and have guaranteed a beautiful product for purchase at the retail level. There are a lot of different painting operations on this figure and it looks very sharp since a risk exists of too many decoration details making a figure come across as shoddily painted. His joints are quite tight (including his waist joint - this always tends to be the loosest) and he can be posed in an infinite amount of ways, whether static or action-packed. The figure is designed so well that he actually looks like a real man that was shrunken down into 3.75" scale. Luke Skywalker just looks brilliant and amazing, there is really no other way to say it.

Hasbro has kick-started the 30th anniversary of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back early with a huge bang with the December 2009 release of TESB themed figures. We wouldn't have minded if Hasbro bumped this wave into 2010 to give us an extra helping of Episode V characters for the 2010 product year. Actually, we lie. We couldn't have gotten this wave sooner. Luke Skywalker is without a doubt the stellar figure of this wave and he is loaded with accessories and is a faithful and accurate representation of the character we saw in the film. Even if you believe his outfit is not the perfect orange color, we still think that you will only be able to praise this figure for its magnificent efforts and successful likeness. He won't match your Evolutions snowspeeder pilots perfectly well, but you can chalk this up to all pilots are unique and different. We will go out on a limb and predict that he will be the most successful figure in the wave, so we imagine that he will be a tough find on the pegs while the cases are shipping. We are excited for what Hasbro has in store for future Episode V Luke Skywalker action figures simply based on how well this figure is constructed. They have proven that almost anything can be done and that any detail is fair and necessary game for inclusion in an action figure. As of this figure's release, the only outfit that needs a definitive update is Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit). We have received some pretty good versions of this figure, but we definitely need one that is super-articulated (and preferably with ball-jointed hips so that he can straddle a tauntaun). Luke Skywalker is definitely the best Luke Skywalker action figure from Episode V thus far. We now see what Hasbro is capable of doing with their action figures. This isn't a figure to sneer at, it is one of their best efforts. Get one for your snowspeeder and get one for your AT-AT, you will want one Luke for each, trust us. The harpoon he comes with is reason enough to purchase multiples for your various diorama displays. If you do find issues with this figure, we encourage you not to nitpick at these things because it will certainly hinder you from appreciating how perfect this action figure is. Sure, he doesn't come with a lightsaber blade. Get over it. The figure is brilliant in spite of its so-called faults. Luke Skywalker will likely go down in history as one of Hasbro's finest. We think it deserves this recognition now, because we doubt that Hasbro will be able to replicate or improve this amazing feat with a future release. It's easily one of our most favorite figures from 2009. And we imagine he'll rank high for you too.