Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) - Order Of The Jedi - 1:6 Scale Figures

Following his defeat at Cloud City and Darth Vader's stunning revelation, Luke makes his recovery in the care of Leia and the Rebellion's finest medics. His new artificial hand is a sobering reminder of the power of the dark side, and his near brush with death. Resolving to complete his training in the face of these challenges, the young Jedi returns to Dagobah to seek answers from his old master Yoda, but arrives in time to find the ancient Jedi nearing the end of his long life. With his master's passing, Luke becomes the last of the Jedi... but a new hope is kindled when Luke learns of his twin sister, Leia, and the promise they both hold for the return of the Jedi.

Upon Luke's return, the Rebellion launches its final, desperate attack on the Empire, a perilous strike against the new Death Star. Luke and his friends form a covert strike team to disarm the Empire's crucial defenses on the forest moon of Endor. Luke feels the powerful presence of his father, Darth Vader, but rather than sewing doubt and fear, the Sith Lord's proximity only strengthens the young Jedi's determination to confront him one more time. Staking everything on his belief in the innate goodness that must reside somewhere within the Dark Lord, Luke leaves his friends and seeks out Darth Vader, giving himself up to the Empire as a prisoner.

Confronting his father, Luke appeals to the man Vader used to be, the courageous Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker, but it is only when he makes the ultimate sacrifice, refusing to fight Vader in the full knowledge that this will mean his own death, that Luke's appeal reaches the Dark Lord's heart. Turning on his Emperor, Vader saves Luke and destroys the Sith in one action, thereby fulfilling his destiny and securing the future of the Jedi. But it is Luke's resolute belief in Vader and his commitment to the Jedi ideals that have truly saved the galaxy and the soul of Anakin Skywalker.

Arguably, the biggest announcement at 2005’s San Diego Comic Con was that Sideshow Collectibles struck a deal to be under license with Hasbro to create one-sixth scale Star Wars figures. Hasbro’s interest in their Action Collection line was severely waning by the time Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith was released. Character selections were running thin and the constant reuse of the same GI Joe molds time and again were becoming monotonous. There were of course a few exceptions of excellent 12” figures Hasbro produced, but it was time for them to pass the torch and what better company to hand it to than Sideshow Collectibles. In a surprising move, Sideshow Collectibles announced that their first order of business was going to be Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight). Not that this shouldn’t be one of the first characters that Sideshow Collectibles produced, it didn’t seem like the most iconic Star Wars character to open up a new line with for the collecting community. Still, hardcore fans didn’t really care what the first character choice was, they just desperately wanted to see Sideshow Collectibles get down to business and flood their collection with quality 1:6 Scale Figures. When Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) went up for pre-order on November 11, 2005, it broke records and sold out in pre-order status than anyone ever expected. What made things even crazier was that Sideshow, in their typical fashion, released an exclusive version that included a skiff guard blaster accessory with an edition size of only 1250 units. It remains a very hot commodity on the aftermarket. The Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) 1:6 Scale Figure opened the door for the Order Of The Jedi collection and collectors were going to be treated to quite a few Star Wars characters that fell under this banner shortly after the announcement of Luke Skywalker.

Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) utilizes the short Art S. Buck body type. There are both positives and negatives with this body type. Thankfully they used the shorter body type to use for Luke Skywalker, but his hands are much too long for the body. And we absolutely despise the hand attachment convention Sideshow uses for their figures. The tiny peg on the arm is nearly impossible to secure into the hand attachments and you’ll nearly go mad trying to get them attached. The portrait has been a hot topic of discussion in the collecting community as well. While we believe this is a good facial likeness of Mark Hamill, many feel that Sideshow could have done better, especially for a figure that is meant to introduce the collecting public to the line. Still, Mat Falls, one fo Sideshow’s greatest sculptors is responsible for this portrait of Luke Skywalker and we have to say that it is a better than good likeness to our favorite Jedi Knight. The expression on his face is limiting meaning it doesn’t work for all the poses you can configure him into but it is very pensive and plaintive and works in most scenarios. The size of the head is perhaps the greater issue here. It’s definitely too big, but works well when Luke is fully garbed in his Jedi gear. The costuming is excellent, especially for this scale and the denim like quality of his pants and shirt contrasts nicely against the felt-like quality of his outer Jedi robe. The vest is removable and woven in a dark gray heather and looks fitted with the body type creating a lean silhouette. Luke is well accessorized and comes with the aforementioned hooded cloak, removable belt, lightsaber hilt (that attaches to a hook on the belt), lightsaber with ignited blade and the femur bone from the rancor scene. He also comes with multiple hand attachments, but you’ll likely find a pair of your preference and stick with them.

The paint job is focused on the portrait of Luke Skywalker and for the most parts we feel Sideshow Collectibles has done a decent job here. We feel that Luke Skywalker’s paint job ranks around the excellent mark. It thankfully doesn’t look like Luke has pancake batter applied to his face like a few of Sideshow’s figures do and the coloring of the lips is muted and looks overall quite natural. There is no glossy finish for the paint job on his face. It’s flat and again looks very realistic. One right hand attachment includes the charred injury he sustained from one of Jabba’s henchmen. It looks eerily realistic and is our favorite “accessory” of the entire lot. It has a layered look to it; really dark at the center of the injury and then fades as it moved out from the circumference of where he was hit with the laser blast. The figure scores high marks with accessories and décor. Where the figure lacks is the body sculpt. There are many varying opinions of the Art S. Buck body type. But no matter how you slice it, Luke Skywalker’s arms are too lanky and long. There are a few detracting details however and we find them unacceptable here. Despite its wonderful articulation, the Art S. Buck body type has limitations, most notably in the shoulders and hips, especially when trying to pose him through his clothing. Overall, the Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) figure is a fine start to the 1:6 Scale/12 Inch Figure lineup and we bet that since we haven’t received this quality to date that many collectors are going to be scooping these up. From the fine details like a wire in the flap of his shirt to the wiring to shape the hood around his head, the Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) 1:6 Scale Figure is right now the definitive version of him. It’s better than Medicom Toy’s version and until Sideshow improves the Art S. Buck body, this is what we have until improvements come.