Luke Skywalker & Tauntaun - SW [S - P1] - 12 Inch Figures (Exclusive)

Three years after the destruction of the Death Star, the Rebel Alliance continues the fight against the Imperial forces and suffers a defeat on the ice planet Hoth. Luke Skywalker journeys to the planet Dagobah to train with Jedi Master Yoda, who has lived in hiding since the fall of the Republic. In an attempt to convert Luke to the dark side, the evil Sith Lord, Darth Vader, lures Luke into a trap in the Cloud City of Bespin. In the midst of a fierce lightsaber duel with Vader, Luke faces the startling revelation that the Sith Lord is in fact his father, Anakin Skywalker.

On the ice planet Hoth, the Rebel Alliance use tauntauns as mounts and pack animals. These easily domesticated animals are protected from the planet's extreme cold by their thick, gray fur. Luke Skywalker rides a tauntaun as he patrols the freezing perimeter of the Rebel's base. During his patrol, he is attacked and captured by a vicious wampa but uses the power of the Force to free himself from the predatory beast.

When Hasbro released the Han Solo & Tauntaun set as a Toys R Us exclusive in 1997, they impressed collectors with the sheer size of the Tauntaun beast. And getting a version of Han Solo we didn’t have in the line yet as its rider was gravy. After its release, collectors knew that Hasbro upped the ante and were interested in pushing the 12 Inch Figures line as far as they could go. As happy as collectors were with the Han Solo & Tauntaun set, they were eager to know when Hasbro would give us Luke Skywalker & Tauntaun. And they made collectors wait a very long time before releasing it. Part of the Star Wars “Saga” [Phase I] line, and no longer under the “Action Collection” (or “Collector Series”) banner, Hasbro released Luke Skywalker & Tauntaun as part of the Fall 2002 exclusive program. And Toys R Us became the retailer of choice. At the time, Toys R Us has a partnership with Amazon, and pre-orders for this sought-after set began in July 2002. The item finally shipped the following September. It was easily one of the most eagerly-anticipated exclusives of 2002.

Set with an MSRP of $59.99, collectors received an altered Tauntaun (Luke Skywalker’s beast of burden has a broken horn) and perhaps what we’d consider the best-looking Luke Skywalker (in Hoth Battle Gear) 12 Inch Figure in the line to date. This figure presents a unique iteration of Luke Skywalker: after he was swatted by the Wampa as his face sports battle-damage cut and blood from the injury. We aren’t exaggerating. Luke Skywalker hasn’t looked better in the 12 Inch Figure line. After more than a half-decade of producing these figures, it’s nice to see Hasbro take the realism to heightened levels and finally produce a figure of Luke Skywalker that looks like actor Mark Hamill. The shape of the figure’s head is correct. The hair color of Luke Skywalker is about as perfect as we’ve ever seen it. And the costume, while very similar to the earlier versions of Luke Skywalker (In Hoth Gear), is different here and tightens everything up for the best presentation of Luke Skywalker possible. Check out the closeup headshots in our Photo Gallery to see what Hasbro did with the portrait. It’s impressive.

You can recreate all of the different costume variances we see Luke Skywalker employ from The Empire Strikes Back. The figure comes with a scarf, cap, and goggles. And you can make Luke Skywalker wear these in different ways. The rest of his outfit includes a vest, a shirt, pants, boots, and a belt/holster combination piece. For accessories, Luke Skywalker comes with a blaster and a lightsaber, which breaks down into a hilt and a blade. You can hang the hilt to the belt via a knob on the belt (and a hook on the handle of the lightsaber hilt). Also of note, Hasbro utilized an update buck for Luke Skywalker, and this allows for more natural movement and more points of articulation. Luke Skywalker mounts the Tauntaun beautifully. Hasbro designed the saddle that perfectly accommodates the 12 Inch Figures bodies. If we had any complaints at all here, it’s that the hands given to Luke Skywalker don’t hang onto the reins all that well. Also, the figure’s feet don’t necessarily fit into the stirrups all that well, but they provide adequate functionality. This release is a fantastic retailer exclusive. And we’re happy to see an updated Luke Skywalker here as well.