Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) - Mini Busts

It was on the swamp planet of Dagobah where Luke Skywalker began his Jedi Knight training with Yoda to learn the ways of the Force. As part of hs Jedi training, Luke returned to Tatooine to construct his new lightsaber. Luke concealed his Jedi weapon inside R2-D2. This was all part of the plan to infiltrate the palace of Jabba the Hutt and free the captive Han Solo. Luke Skywalker challenged Jabba the Hutt for the return of Han Solo. Jabba refused, sending Luke to fight his hideous pit-beast, the rancor. Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca were then sentenced to death at the Great Pit of Carkoon. R2-D2 delivered Luke's weapon to him, and Skywalker was able to destroy the Hutt's forces and escape with his friends.

When things go wrong for a Gentle Giant Ltd. product, they really go south. Perhaps it isn’t fair to criticize the Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) Mini Bust so openly in the start of a review, but we’re not sure what anyone who was responsible making this piece was thinking. It not only is a screen inaccurate interpretation of our favorite Jedi from Episode VI, it mixes too many things together which ultimately affect the authenticity of the piece. Sadly, the sculptors created a fine portrait. They just need to find a new way to present the Jedi Knight version of Luke Skywalker so that he is screen accurate and not a complete mess. Gentle Giant Ltd. is really hit or miss with human interpretations of Star Wars characters in the one-sixth scale line of Mini Busts. The tragedy is that a great likeness is made inferior because they’ve taken the piece to an Expanded Universe level and that is something Original Trilogy purists find quite tragic.

Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight), as we have stated, attempts to mix too many scenes from Episode VI altogether making the final product inauthentic. The Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) Mini Bust has him wearing his cape down. This happened at one point in Return Of The Jedi when commanding Jabba to bring him Captain Solo and the Wookiee to him. Other than that the hood of the outer robe/cape is worn up or completely removed from his person. Luke is also sculpted with his newly constructed lightsaber on his belt. As you know, the lightsaber was stowed away in R2-D2 until he released it in mid air to Luke during the Battle of Carkoon, where Luke was no longer wearing an outer cape. We did see him wearing the hilt on Endor, but again, his outfit was in a much different configuration. Again, a great head sculpt is made to suffer because Gentle Giant Ltd. was trying to put too many eggs into this basket. Simpler would have succeeded much better here.

To add to the confusion, Gentle Giant Ltd. also has the Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) Mini Bust posed pulling a black glove over his battle-damaged hand. This of course happened well after the Battle of Carkoon. Because the Mini Bust at best is could be considered accurate to events just before Luke’s arrival on Tatooine to recue his friends, it makes even less sense that the detail oh him placing the black glove over his hand completely implausible. Playing devil’s advocate, this version of Luke Skywalker could technically be an off-screen moment after the Battle of Endor. Certainly it’s possible that Luke put on a new cape (since his last one was left in the rancor pit) and was checking on his hand and putting the glove back on but honestly that is a heft dose of “what if” when they could have mirrored plenty of versions of Luek Skywalker from plenty of scenes in the film. There is no way to put this nicely. We aren’t fond of this Mini Bust. We hope Gentle Giant Ltd. makes it right one day soon for collectors of this line.