Luke Skywalker - TBS [SW40] - Six Inch Figures

Well, you probably already know by now that we have been impressed with this Luke Skywalker figure since its original release. We did have pretty low expectations for The Black Series [Phase III] Luke Skywalker (21) figure before it got released, but after finally getting one and holding it in hand, we think it have actually exceeded our expectations. Now it has been re-released for The Black Series [Star Wars 40] line to celebrate 40 years of Star Wars. There was quite a bit of criticism directed at Luke Skywalker because of his baggy soft-goods shirt. You know what? It IS a tad too baggy, but with the proper amount of futzing, you can make it look quite nice and very screen accurate. And while a part of us would have preferred molded clothing as opposed to what we received, the “thinking” part of us believe that there was some forethought put into this figure to bring us future figures. For example, and we could be way off here, many parts of Luke Skywalker would befit a “Dagobah training” version of Luke Skywalker sometime in the future. Hey, it could be pie in the sky, but we’re determined to think positively about this line whenever we can. It wouldn’t be entirely correct to say that Luke Skywalker is flawless. He definitely isn’t. However, we are SO HAPPY about some of the details that Hasbro got right straight out of the gate that it nearly brings tears to our eyes. And we would love to see this treatment give to a 3.75" version.

For us, we couldn’t be more thrilled that Hasbro nailed Luke Skywalker’s hair color. Remember The Black Series [Phase II] Luke Skywalker (#03) figure with red hair? Remember The Black Series [Phase I] Luke Skywalker (#01) with orange hair? Well, Hasbro mixed together the correct formula of colors to produce a screen accurate dirty blonde and it looks spectacular on the figure. While we’re on the topic of the figure’s head, we must express that we’re quite impressed with the head sculpt. This feature has been VERY difficult to assess in package and with the photography Hasbro provided to the media. It’s only out of the package just how close and accurate Luke Skywalker’s features are. Maybe his expression isn’t completely perfect, and maybe the paint detail directly on the eyes hasn’t been applied as perfectly as we would have liked to see, but we’re going to go out on a limb here and say that we’re extremely impressed with the portrait of this final production figure. When you remove the soft-goods shirt, Luke Skywalker looks excellently bare-chested. We’re applauding Hasbro for creating “nakedness” with subtle joint cuts that really don’t interfere all that terribly with the figure’s overall aesthetics. You’ll be comfortably confident posing him with or without his shirt while being reassured that he looks equally good either way. That’s a rarity sadly, but we think Hasbro has done an admirable job and has succeeded here.

Luke Skywalker comes with five accessories. At face value this appears generous. But they could have provided more. Little perks go a long way for collectors, and if Hasbro would realize that an extra head sculpt, an extra accessory here or there and a little more value for the $20 average purchase of these figures, everyone, including Hasbro, might be a little bit happier. So Hasbro, please include “more stuff” in The Black Series 6” line. The competition is putting you to shame. Included with Luke Skywalker is the aforementioned soft-good shirt. He also comes with a removable belt, a lightsaber hilt, a blue lightsaber blade, and macrobinoculars. All of these extras interact perfectly with Luke Skywalker. We don’t have any complaints about them at all. Again, we would have loved to see more added. Luke Skywalker is loaded with articulation, and you can pretty much attain and pose or position anything you want with him. Many collectors will be relieved to know that he comes with double hinge-jointed elbows which allows you to touch his hands to his shoulders. The range of movement with this type of articulation is quite astounding. We’re happy about it too. Luke Skywalker is nicely scaled and fits in with the rest of the TBS6 figures quite nicely. Although we have quite a few already, we’re accumulating a nice collection of figures based on Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and many more are on the way. Don’t overlook Luke Skywalker. He is better than you think he is. And if you love vintage Kenner inspired packaging, this one is for you!