Luke Skywalker (Rebel Hero: Yavin IV) - Heroes Of The Rebellion - 1:6 Scale Figures

As the galaxy struggles in the oppressive grip of the tyrannical Empire, a meagerly equipped Rebel Alliance strives to strike a victory against their overwhelming foe. Slim hope comes when secret plans to the Empire's mighty Death Star are stolen by Rebel spies, but when Princess Leia's starship is attacked and boarded by Darth Vader and his troops she is forced to hide them in the memory banks of an astromech droid named R2-D2. Fleeing with the secret plans, he and his counterpart, the protocol droid C-3PO, escape to the backwater planet of Tatooine leaving the Empire to begin an exhaustive search of the barren world.

Eventually the droids find their way into the possession of idealistic young Luke Skywalker, whose dreams of adventure and excitement far away are fulfilled at terrible cost when the Empire's stormtroopers come looking for them. Under the guidance of wise and gentle Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke embarks upon a mission to return the lost plans to the Rebellion, enlisting the services of the bold and brash smuggler Han Solo and his loyal Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca. Discovering the beautiful Princess Leia scheduled for execution aboard the Death Star itself, Luke's noble endeavor soon turns into a fumbling rescue and a desperate escape. All now depends on the heroes escaping the Empire's grip and restoring the secret plans to the Rebels.

From ordinary surroundings, Luke undertakes an epic journey, as much of growth in himself as one of distance and time, to become something greater than he could have ever imagined, a hero. Though he wields a lightsaber and flies a starfighter, Luke is still a young man at heart just like any other, struggling to find himself in the universe, and it is this that connects him with fans. When audiences see the universe of Star Wars, it is through the eyes of this restless youth. It is his yearning, his anger, his triumph that fans share in as they follow his journey, and it is through his eyes that the amazing universe of Star Wars unfolds before us. The original film concludes with a celebration of the Rebel victory at Yavin IV, with the young moisture farmer recognized for his great deeds and heroism. Thirty years after the original release of Star Wars, it is hard not to feel the same swell of pride and satisfaction to see Luke march down the colonnade of Rebel forces to receive his due.

2007 was the year that the Star Wars community celebrated the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, the franchise, and not specifically Episode IV. Thankfully, most licenses took the time during this celebration to pay homage to A New Hope, and many of the products developed for this landmark focused on characters and “things” that surrounded the film. Sideshow Collectibles already had in motion a focus of character from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and they perfectly reserved a celebratory version of Luke Skywalker to help celebrate three decades of the greatest sci-fi fantasy of all time. Luke Skywalker (Rebel Hero: Yavin IV) was developed as Sideshow Collectibles’ 30th anniversary piece, and while it isn’t a perfect representation of him, it is the best 1:6 Scale Figure version of his available on the market today, not that there has been many made. Continuing to amortize the Art S. Buck body type, and to the chagrin of some as they feel this body type needs to be retired, Sideshow Collectibles has all the pieces in place to perfectly replicate this extremely noticeable costume of Luke Skywalker. What makes this piece even more celebratory of 30 years of Star Wars (generally), and not just A New Hope (specifically), is that Luke Skywalker wore these same duds in the best part of The Star Wars Holiday Special. So you get the picture. 2007 is about the whole property of Star Wars, but we think it’s gravy that most collectibles for the year have a strong focus on the very first Star Wars film. It just makes sense.

How did Luke Skywalker (Rebel Hero: Yavin IV) turn out? It mostly turned out excellently, but we are not happy with the head sculpt. It’s too big and while the hair looks to be spot on (even though if you watch the film closely you’ll see his hairstyle change about four times in the short Yavin ceremony sequence), it’s too big and really doesn’t favor Mark Hamill all that well. His skin color is much too tanned, and his eyes and facial expression looks more confused than proud or elated that he singly defeated the Galactic Empire. Maybe that’s a harsh assessment of the portrait, but we just aren’t crazy about it at all. Sideshow Collectibles has nailed likenesses in the line already. It’s a shame that lately good likenesses have been hit or miss. So, for the head sculpt alone we give it a cool reception. Where we are impressed with Luke Skywalker (Rebel Hero: Yavin IV) is his outfit. It is tailored nicely to fit the Art S. Buck body type very well. The pants have a natural heathered look to them and the bright bold blood stripe running vertically down his legs couldn’t have been executed in a more perfect manner. You’ll find that this blood stripe wonderfully complements his outerwear. The jacket is beautifully designed. Sideshow Collectibles paid very close attention to the finest details on the jacket. For instance, the ribbing on the arms begins at the shoulders and stops midway at the elbows. It all has been perfectly replicated here. Underneath is a black long-sleeved shirt.

If you recall, there were promo images showing Luke in this outfit without the yellow outer jacket. You can now recreate this look in collectible format, something we particularly find special. A holster manufactured in real leather has been designed and Sideshow Collectibles added what has been referred to as “Princess Leia’s” gun inside out it. But if you look at the film or the various production stills from these scenes, you’ll see that this long-barreled blaster pistol is indeed correct. It’s hard to claim that Luke Skywalker (Rebel Hero: Yavin IV) is limited edition. After all, aren’t all things manufactured finite to one degree or another. But a hefty 6000 units have been determined as this piece’s limited edition size. 6000 units is a large amount of 1:6 Scale Figures for one character. There will be ample opportunity for interested collectors to pick this up now and in the future. Eventually we imagine that this figure will become increasingly more difficult to locate in the far future, but we know for a fact that there will be enough to go around for years. Luke Skywalker (Rebel Hero: Yavin IV) is truly the perfect symbolic representation of Star Wars in general and its three decade anniversary. If Sideshow Collectibles can change the approach to the way they design portraits, their 1:6 Scale Figure line will quickly gain new respect and hopefully an all-new following. We also must comment that the Art S. Buck body type is getting tired too. The wrist attachments are enough to make you want to throw the figure in anger. But thankfully there are enough positive details here to take away some of that sting.