Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) - TVC - Basic (VC158)

Celebrate the legacy of Star Wars, the action-and-adventure-packed space saga from a galaxy far, far away, with this collection of premium, highly-detailed 3.75-inch scale figures and vehicles. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability.)

The only all-new figure from the Luke Skywalker (Jedi Destiny) Special Action Figure Set is the first to get single-carded in The Vintage Collection. And to be frank, we think it’s the best figure of wave 23, the wave for Triple Force Friday. Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) has been a mainstay in the Hasbro Star Wars line. And this is the second effort to card the character in modern vintage Kenner-inspired packaging. The first, 2006’s The “Vintage” Saga Collection Luke Skywalker: X-Wing Pilot figure, didn’t fully meet the expectations of the Star Wars collecting community with its inaccurate head sculpt, but Hasbro did tool a super-articulated body that made most of us happy. Now, thanks to technology, we have the best-looking Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) action figure that we’ll ever receive from Hasbro. With “photorealistic” deco technology, enhanced super-articulation, and a likeness that rivals all previous versions, it’s fantastic to finally check out the “vintage versus modern” counterpart for Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) in our Star Wars collections. Nothing differs from the figure in the Luke Skywalker (Jedi Destiny) Special Action Figure Set and this single-carded version. So if you have one, or the other, rest easy knowing it’s the same figure. It’s the packaging that sets the two apart.

As you know, Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) is an “all-new” figure. It’s probably a great guess that Hasbro took the digital files of The Black Series [Phase I] Luke Skywalker (#01) figure and applied it to this super-articulated 3.75” version. Utilizing the “modern” articulation system for 3.75" action figures which includes ball-jointed wrists, swivel thighs and other extra points of articulation, Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) takes all previous versions of the character in this outfit and instantly makes them obsolete. Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) has NEVER looked better, and Hasbro should be pleased and PROUD of what they accomplished with this figure. If we had to direct any criticism to them about the figure, we’d comment that the flight suit’s straps around the thighs are much too tight and inhibit the full range of movement of the joints. With a little finagling, you can put them up over the joints and take advantage of the articulation, but it’s a bit time consuming, and the figure doesn’t have as much fluid lower body movement as we’d like to have seen. Hasbro also updated the font to Avant-Garde on the name “pill,” something that Jedi Temple Archives has lobbied since The Vintage Collection’s return. We’re thrilled to see it corrected after so many seemingly futile attempts.

Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) comes with an all-new helmet which also has beautiful deco and all of the necessary details that make it screen-accurate. Also included with the figure is a blaster pistol. He doesn’t hold it as well as we’d hoped, but it is functional, so it’s ultimately a non-issue. We’d wish Hasbro was consistent throughout the years with the shade of orange they chose for all X-wing fighter pilots. Luke Skywalker (X-wing Pilot) appears to have yet another different shade. We have to wonder why it’s so difficult for Hasbro to use the same orange plastic over and over to ensure all of the Rebel pilots look like they’re cut from the same cloth. It’s fantastic to have Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) as a single-carded figure in The Vintage Collection. The card art looks pretty good too. The 2006 figure came with a dark blue name pill and figure backer area. Now, Hasbro updated those areas on the card back in light blue (the correct color of 1979's STAR WARS Luke Skywalker: X-Wing Fighter Pilot original vintage Kenner figure). The reference image looks cleaned up, and the card back features the rest of the figures from wave 23. Overall, we hope that Hasbro chooses to individually card the other two excellent Luke Skywalker figures from the Special Action Figure Set as well. It would be incredible to finally have the remaining figures in The Vintage Collection packaging too.