Luke Skywalker - OTC - Vintage

Added: May 4th 2013
Category: Original Trilogy Collection, The
Reviewer: Paul Harrison
Score:

Name: Luke Skywalker
Collection: The Original Trilogy Collection
Number: N/A
Source: A New Hope
Availability: July 2004
License: Hasbro

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Celebrate the legendary Star Wars trilogy that changed the universe forever, with The Original Trilogy Collection. This collection brings to life the incredible story of good versus evil that captured our imagination and took us to a galaxy far, far away. The finest recreations of the iconic Star Wars heroes and villains are back with incredible detail and premium features to commemorate each epic tale in the Original Trilogy: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. And, as a tribute to the dedication of Star Wars fans everywhere, we are re-releasing elements of the original packaging that harken back to the creation of Star Wars action figures, which began over 25 years ago with the Original Trilogy. May the Force be with you!

The release of The “Vintage” Original Trilogy Collection Luke Skywalker action figure is bittersweet. Hasbro took this character further than ever. While we adore the amount of premium articulation added to the figure, a major detail prevents this figure from reaching definitive status as far as we’re concerned. How can an action figure have so many incredibly positive elements, but then possesses ONE thing that makes us wish that it underwent some further tweaking before getting released? That’s about where we stand with 2004’s VOTC Luke Skywalker action figure, a figure we love as much as it provokes us to anger. No doubt a stimulating release on multiple levels, Luke Skywalker has issues that ball-up making them seem more significant than they are. We wish that when Hasbro decides to release an action figure in premium packaging that they ensure that they’re releasing the best/ultimate version of the character they can. Maybe they thought they did that here, but even a cursory glance of this figure will show any collector further strides are needed to perfect it. Let’s breakdown the positives of this release first. Luke Skywalker looks relatively “unbelievable” in the recreated Kenner packaging. The homage paid to 1978’s SW Luke Skywalker figure (also a proud member of the Early Bird Figures package) is nothing short of heartwarming. But the sad thing is that the figure’s likeness lacks. In our opinion, Luke Skywalker has a rodent-like appearance. Despite the disappointing portrait, Luke Skywalker is a premium figure no matter how you slice it. The figure comes with twenty-five points of articulation as well as a decent amount of accessories, one of which is well-fitted soft-goods. As a bonus, Hasbro also tooled an all-new lightsaber accessory. Perhaps these extra additions make us forget what we want to see changed with this action figure (the head sculpt).

As mentioned, Luke Skywalker comes with three accessories: a soft-goods tunic, lightsaber, and removable belt. If you remove Luke Skywalker’s tunic, the figure is nude from the waist up. We’ve never seen an approach like this on this character, and we appreciate Hasbro’s efforts. We hope Hasbro continues developing future versions of this Episode IV Luke Skywalker character in the same fashion. The soft-goods tunic and belt, along with a bare body underneath is something that we truly love about this release. Sadly, the soft-goods are a bit bulky, but they look pretty good if you futz with them a little. Some collectors have tailored it down a bit by tacking darts and stitches here and there, but most collectors don’t possess these skill sets to improve upon the figure. A better-fitted tunic does wonders for this action figure, but we still believe with a little patience that you can situate it in a way that compliments the action figure. Luke Skywalker received multiple “special” points of articulation, including a ball-jointed torso and two ball-jointed hips. These joint articulation types aren’t common in the Hasbro Star Wars line. As you can imagine, this gives Luke Skywalker an incredible amount of movement, and the figure can stand in positions that you might not think are possible. Whether you choose Indian-style sitting, running, leaning, and hunched-over, you can capture these positions with Luke Skywalker. The all-new belt accessory contains the buckle and droid caller details. They aren’t removable but look fantastic nonetheless. The belt closely wraps around the figure’s waist snuggly to help secure the tunic for a fitted appearance. It all seems to work out. Overall we’re delighted with this Luke Skywalker update. The paint operations are a bit “here” and “there.” For example, the applications on the lower leg wrappings are divine, but what’s up with the orangey-pink brightness of the figure’s skin color?

So, for us, all of Luke Skywalker’s issues focus around the head sculpt. We’re not crazy about it at all. Perhaps it’s a lot of fuss to make over this release, but we want our action figures to look like the on-screen characters. Besides, we’ve itemized a list of what is positive with Luke Skywalker. We’re confident you’ll find that the likeness doesn’t favor actor Mark Hamill at all. And we would be more inclined to state that the figure’s features are inspired by another living person altogether. At best, it looks like a generic human with blonde hair. It’s a stretch to say that this particular likeness passes for any “Luke Skywalker” action figure. We hold Hasbro to a higher degree of expertise, and they could do better with this action figure’s head sculpt. This version doesn’t measure up for us. That said, there is still much to appreciate with this Luke Skywalker update. While better head sculpts exist on older action figures with inferior articulation, we’re always thankful to get an all-new sculpt. Besides, when you see this figure in the packaging, you’ll glance over the figure, and appreciate and absorb the magnificence of the classic vintage-styled packaging instead. Luke Skywalker delivers a whole new level of articulation to the collecting community, but the packaging does more to draw in the crowds. We agree that Luke Skywalker should excite you, and if it doesn’t, that’s on Hasbro. But we should see better updates in the future. They need to retire this likeness. You may want to complain about the likeness too, but customizers everywhere are already beginning to give this action figure their choice of likenesses instead (from other action figures). For us, we’ll wait for Hasbro to do that. For now, Luke Skywalker is a fantastic start towards perfection. The most important takeaway here is that Luke Skywalker is one of the original 12-Backs, and it’s delightful to have a modern Hasbro interpretation of that classic Kenner action figure.

Collector Notes

Luke Skywalker

Status: Luke Skywalker is an all-new figure.

Articulation Count: 25 points (14 areas of articulation)

Articulation Details: ball-socket head (1), ball-jointed left shoulder (2), ball-joited right shoulder (2), ball-jointed left elbow (2), ball-jointed right elbow (2), swivel left forearm (1), swivel right forearm (1), ball-jointed torso (2), ball-jointed left hip (2), ball-jointed right hip (2), ball-jointed left knee (2), ball-jointed right knee (2), ball-jointed left ankle (2), ball-jointed right ankle (2)

Accessory Count: 3

Accessory Details: soft-goods tunic, removable belt, lightsaber

Date Stamp: 2004

Assortment Number: 85214/85213

UPC: 076930852149

Retail: $9.99 USD

Market Value: Click here to check the latest prices based on Click here to check the market value on eBay! listings.

Luke Skywalker

The "Vintage" Original Trilogy Collection Wave 1

Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi

Han Solo

Luke Skywalker

Princess Leia Organa

The "Vintage" Original Trilogy Collection Wave 2

Darth Vader

Lando Calrissian

See-Threepio (C-3PO)

Yoda

The "Vintage" Original Trilogy Collection Wave 3

Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) (With Extension Arm)

Boba Fett

Chewbacca

Stormtrooper



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