Luke Skywalker (Lightsaber Construction) - TVC - Basic (VC87)

Hasbro never ceases to amaze us. Back when we found out that the Return Of The Jedi Luke Skywalker figure Hasbro was going to release in wave 3 of 2010’s The Vintage Collection line was not coming with his tunic or Jedi robe and was based on his capture at Endor, collectors everywhere began hammering Hasbro with questions on if and when we would be receiving a Luke Skywalker figure purely based on his Jedi Knight appearance. Hasbro alluded that one was in the works, but all of that got interrupted once Lucasfilm, Ltd. announced that the complete Star Wars saga was going to be released on Blu-ray and that for the first time fans would be able to view deleted scenes from the Original Trilogy. One long rumored deleted scene was confirmed to exits and was announced and show at 2011’s San Diego Comic Con. That scene in particular was the original opening of Return Of The Jedi and Luke Skywalker building his new lightsaber and ultimately stowing it away in R2-D2 (implied not shown). Hasbro then decided that a complete wave of “deleted scene” figures would be the way to go and that Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) figure developed into what we refer to Luke Skywalker (Lightsaber Construction). Released in the eleventh wave of The Vintage Collection (if you count from the 2010 The Empire Strikes Back wave as number one), Luke Skywalker (Lightsaber Construction) is unequivocally the best modern update to the 1983 Return Of The Jedi Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) figure. Let it be known that the figure isn’t flawless, but it is perfection in most ways and we couldn’t be prouder to rave about it and defend it as another prized action figure in our ever growing collections.

Luke Skywalker (Lightsaber Construction) is based on 2010’s TVC Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape) (VC23) figure. Although the torso, head and cod section are all-new, Hasbro reused the arms and legs in their entirely (as they should have of course). The right hand has been repainted to be flesh tone (as Luke obviously didn’t have a battle-damaged hand at this point of the film had the scene made it to the final cut). The all-new portrait is stunning. Yes, his hair is parted on the wrong side and you can’t blame the winds of the sandstorm on it since this isn’t the scene from which this figure is based. Also, the hair to much darker. Remember 2009’s LC Luke Skywalker (BD16) figure? Even though that figure is a debacle by today's standards, it had a running change where the hair went from a reddish brown to blonde. We wonder if something similar will be happening with this figure at some point down the road. The details etched into this face is just simply brilliant. The look on his face is expressive and contemplative. And you can tell that Luke, although very brave and somewhat confident, is very concerned about executing a safe mission to rescue his friends. Luke is extremely proportionate from head to toe. He has a very think but athletic frame. Many collectors don’t like the ball-jointed wrists, but we’re quite fond of them. They offer versatility that simple swivel wrists just cannot accommodate. Hasbro ensured that the newly developed accessories fit well into the existing hands. Oh, and Luke does come with quite a bulky Jedi robe. That is just sometimes the way the cookie crumbles with soft-goods. With extra careful placement with the way it falls against his body, you can make the Jedi robe look halfway decent. Just don’t let it prevent you from enjoying the figure. (Move along as they say.)

Perhaps the things collectors will look most forward to after the incredible new sculpt are the newly tooled accessories. Both the lightsaber hilt and the lightsaber “wrench” (for lack of a better word) are so intricately detailed and look completely realistic. The “wrench” itself is alarmingly thin and tiny. Pray you don’t misplace it somewhere because we doubt you’ll ever be able to find it again. The lightsaber hilt has the power compartment doors open! It’s amazing! You can see some of the tiny mechanics of the lightsaber inside. This is micro-managed detail for an action figure, but we couldn’t be happier that Hasbro’s sculptors were so specific with the accessories’ designs. You also will receive a regular fully lit lightsaber with nothing new added. But it’s nice that Hasbro has allowed us to complete the deleted scene with all of the included accessories. The only thing this figure is missing that the 1983 vintage figure has was the skiff guard blaster. But realizing that this figure is based on a scene that occurred before he intercepted the blaster from one of the Gamorrean Guards, it makes complete sense. One thing we do not like at all with the deleted scenes figures is the card back art. They are awful composite images and they look much too animated or like they’ve been drawn instead of photographed. We did our own Google search on the web and found PLENTY of stills from the Blu-ray that provided great shots of all the characters from this “deleted scenes” wave. In other words, Hasbro did a lot of extra work for nothing and if they had used these stills instead,, it would have been more realistic. Still, it’s not enough to steal our joy over this figure. You’ll definitely want Luke Skywalker (Lightsaber Construction). This is what collecting is all about as far as we’re concerned.