Luke Skywalker (In Endor Gear) - POTF2 [FF/TKC] - New Millennium Minted Coin Collection

The Star Wars Mint is officially re-instituted with this limited edition series! New gold-colored coins feature character images from the classic silver-colored coin release – all with brand new reverse-side stampings specially designed for this exclusive commemorative offering.

Pack-in figures are great when they come with Star Wars vehicles. After all, who will pilot the things? But more often than not it means we’re not likely to see that pack-in figure as a release in the accompanying basic figure line until many years after the fact. With Luke Skywalker (In Endor Gear), we didn’t have to wait all that long. The first modern version of this character was a pack-in figure for the Speeder Bike vehicle sets, one of three Kenner/Hasbro released between 1996 and 1997. Thankfully, Kenner/Hasbro tooled an all-new (and better) version for the Toys R Us exclusive New Millennium Minted Coin Collection lineup. Now the figure comes without any wonky articulated knees, and a sculpt that’s a little more refined yet still far from perfection. With a reduced-sized body frame but still, with the same “POTF2” personality, Luke Skywalker (In Endor Gear) comes with a coin, display stand and a couple of relevant accessories. And right now it’s the better of the two figures Hasbro released because the posture and stature of the figure aren’t affected by the articulated knees.

It’s an incredible coincidence that Kenner/Hasbro approached Luke Skywalker (In Endor Gear) in a nearly identical fashion as the 1985 The Power Of The Force Luke Skywalker (In Battle Poncho) figure. Both come with non-removable helmets, the same underbody, and a removable poncho. Granted, this version of Luke Skywalker (In Endor Gear) doesn’t come with a separately removable belt, but most of the other things are identical. For the New Millennium Minted Coin Collection version, Luke Skywalker (In Endor Gear) comes with a removable molded poncho and lightsaber (lit with a green blade). The figure has a standard pose and doesn’t come with any action in the sculpting. Unfortunately, Luke Skywalker (In Endor Gear) comes with the same awful head sculpt that all POTF2 Luke Skywalker figures have. There is almost no distinction between them now. The only saving grace is that the helmet isn’t removable and gives him a slightly different appearance. Still, you’ll see the same features underneath the helmet and wonder why Kenner/Hasbro didn’t go for something different here.

As one of the original 1985 The Power Of The Force Kenner figures to come with a Special Collectors Coin, the gold version of the vintage coin isn’t that noteworthy. The coin isn’t rare by any means. And it makes us wonder why the rarer mail-away coins weren’t the focus of the line. At least they gave us the Snowtrooper coin in this lineup. It’s the only one of the lot that possesses any obscurity at all. The display stand that comes with this figure is a nice addition. There is a special hole to allow for the coin holder. And then there are pegs which secure the figure to the base. It’s a nice construct, but we’re not sure if this line commands the $9.99 per figure. We think it would have been better if Kenner/Hasbro released all of the coins together in a gift set with an exclusive figure. That might have gone over better and would have kept the original silver coins valuable. We don’t think any collectors want to see most of the same figures reissued to get an exclusive coin. But all of the coins in a nice collector’s album would have been thoroughly appreciated. This update to Luke Skywalker (In Endor Gear) is one of the exceptions in this line. Most are repacks with little changes if any.