Luke Skywalker’s Desert Sport Skiff - POTF2 [R/G] - Deluxe

HEIGHT: 1.72 Meters
STATUS: Jedi In Training, Revel Commander and Pilot
CLASSIFICATION: Human
AFFILIATION: Rebel Alliance
WEAPON OF CHOICE: Lightsaber, Blaster
VEHICLE: Desert Skiff
VEHICLE LENGTH: 2.5 Meters
SPEED: 400+ KM Per Hour

Before Luke Skywalker became a Rebel hero and Jedi Knight, he lived the modest life of a farm boy in the arid Jundland Wastes of Tatooine. When he wasn't working, Luke and his friend Biggs Darklighter raced anything they could get their hands on: T-16 skyhoppers, swoops, and sport skiffs; it didn't matter as long as they were fast. Luke bought a slightly used but powerful sport skiff from a group of traveling Jawas anxious to unload the vehicle, cheap. He experimented constantly with the engines, creating a truly powerful, inner-atmospheric repulsor-craft.

Originally intended as a sport-craft incapable of much more than short trips and amusing stunts, a standard-make desert sport skiff came with mid-sized repulsors and turbo thrusters. Since the passenger rode the skiff standing up, the manufacturer limited its thrust capacity to 150 km per hour for safety reasons. However, Luke and Biggs beefed up the repulsors and added an afterburner mechanism to the meglifts, giving the skiff better acceleration, greater altitude range, and a top speed of 400 km per hour (Luke's record). They also equipped it with enough firepower to take out all the womp rats on Tatooine: three, high powered laser blasters, one on each wing and one on the nose.

Because of its wing-base, the sport skiff could outmaneuver any speeder bike or swoop, though it was not in their league for pure power. Luke found it well suited for picking off vicious womp rats in Beggar's Canyon, and if necessary, fierce enough to combat Tusken Raiders.

Very early into the second year of The Power Of The Force “2” lineup, collectors were informed that a modern return of the Mini Rig was coming in the form a Deluxe line. With just very few exceptions, collectors were to expect a figure and vehicle combination for under $10 with most based on “off screen” Hasbro concepts. In all honesty, the line was eagerly anticipated, but once they started hitting the pegs, the interest was half-baked. It was a new Star Wars toy release, but do they have to be as “out of the box” as this. Despite the initial hesitation, the Deluxe line sold quite well. The initial case assortment offering included Luke Skywalker's Desert Sport Skiff, a take on the facts we know about Luke Skywalker from A New Hope…. with a twist. The bio on the back of the packaging is almost painful to read, but if you do spend the time to read it the overview goes on to explain how he became in possession of the Desert Sport Skiff and how it was modified to be a more rugged and adventurous vehicle for Luke Skywalker as well as Biggs Darklighter. Well designed for a toy, but not too believable in final execution as something that would be in Star Wars, Luke Skywalker's Desert Sport Skiff was the beginning of a short-lived Deluxe line.

Again, for a toy, Luke Skywalker's Desert Sport Skiff is a great deal of fun. The wings fold underneath the vehicle and lock into place which gives the vehicle a sled-like appearance. A demure action feature button allows you to release the wings where the span of them is very generous. The vehicle more than doubles in width because of this. The vehicle also comes with an articulated steering column. This allows you to “pack up” the vehicle more compactly, but also provides options for the included Luke Skywalker action figure so that you can position him as needed to pilot it. There are also two removable laser cannons that hold on tightly to the hull of the Desert Sport Skiff, but they’re also very easily removable as well if you’re looking to position this vehicle with an alternate view. The Desert Sport Skiff itself is beautifully decorated, detailed and ornamented. While we don’t believe in its “functionality” like the back of the packaging goes on to explain, we nonetheless see it as a beautiful plaything for Luke Skywalker. And for the price, you do get a lot of plastic here for your money. You’ll be hard-pressed to criticize the value here. A figure and vehicle for less than $10 is a very wonderful price.

The Luke Skywalker figure included here is an all-new figure, although we don’t deny for a minute that it is closely based to the sculpt of 1995’s POTF2 [R/G] Luke Skywalker figure. Aside from a completely different paint job, this pack-in Luke Skywalker action figure comes with a large hole in its back, perhaps to interact well with the other large accessories in the Deluxe lineup (like Han Solo and the Stormtrooper for example). It is aesthetically displeasing to see a big gaping hole in the back of your figure of course, but Kenner put it there for one reason or another for additional play value. We don’t know how successful that will be. When you situate Luke Skywalker on the Desert Sport Skiff as a pilot, we have to admit that it looks like a fun toy. There are two separate foot pegs on the platform where he stands, so there is no worries that Luke Skywalker will go flying off of the vehicle with some rough play. Kenner certainly thought about this vehicle’s creation very carefully and made sure it was extremely compatible for both kids and collectors. Luke Skywalker's Desert Sport Skiff may not interest those in “movie only” vehicles and accessories, but we think this is an extrapolation of the wonderful Mini Rig days. Who can deny how awesome those things were?