Star Wars 3.75" Vintage Collection: Bespin Luke Skywalker

Before I start on this latest review (and it is very, very late) I want to apologize to those of you who've been following this blog diligently.  I've not posted for about two weeks and with good reason: I recently got married!  Last week, I tied the knot to the most wonderful human being I know, kind and compassionate, gentle and loving.  The best part is she loves that I do all sorts of nerdy stuff like collect toys and play games.  She even checks this page daily for updates even when I don't expect her to!

She is also a real person. :P

In fact, all these Star Wars reviews I have coming up of the new Vintage 3.75" line are her doing--she woke up at the crack of dawn and stood in line for me because I was at work and couldn't make the local release.

So I dedicate this next review--the first I'm doing on this line--to my dear Melissa.

Here's to a wonderful life together!

- Your husband, Ewan

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Hasbro should've named ol' Luke-in-training here "Best-pin" Luke for being what must be one of the best figures not just in the Star Wars line, but also in 3.75-inch history!  Yeah, Bespin Luke may be my favorite Luke Skywalker of the lot not only because he's at the most important stage of character development in the Original Trilogy, but also because he's the one character they could screw up the most easily--anything less than the best for the figure would mean disappointment among fans such as myself.

Still, among all the figures in the 3.75" lines--the Marvel Universe guys and the GI Joes--it's hard to believe a Star Wars figure can really be the best.  After all, he's got to beat guys like the new Pursuit of Cobra Beachhead and the awesome-as-nuts San Diego Comic Con (not so) Exclusive WWII Ultimate Captain America.  However, I certainly think that he doesn't just give them a run for their money, but they give him a run for his money (all in Standard Imperial Credits, of course! ;D)

Can a measly Star Wars figure, especially one of a character from way back (1980), truly be that great?  Maybe he measures up aesthetically but must certainly falls short in articulation and thereby play value?  Well there's only one way to find out!

Like: The face.  Boy does it look exactly like Mark Hamill in The Empire Strikes Back.  The sculpt of the hair and the sandy blond color, the intense blue eyes, the set of his mouth.  They all really bring out the tension of the very moment that he's searching for Han, Leia, Chewie , R2 and 3PO.  That very moment when the audience knows his friends are safe and that all that's left for Luke on the cloud city of Bespin is the trap set by Darth Vader.  This is the face that eventually leads up to the climactic "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" moment.  Tension.  Gotta love it. ;)

Like: His jumpsuit.  The sculpted wrinkles and folds and the color they molded in is just perfect.  The suit has also been dry brushed with a slightly lighter khaki to bring out more detail and it works splendidly.

Like:  The working holster and utility belt ensemble.  It's a separately molded piece form the torso and holds the blaster pistol firmly, while still allowing for maximum swivel/hinge movement of his legs.  Very nice.

The little painted silver button detail of each pouch compartment is also very nice, along with the brown wash thats used to give the belt a worn but sturdy look.

Another plus for the belt is the inclusion of a small hole where you can peg the unlit Lightsaber on the front left of his belt. This is a great play/pose feature which also works with the ignited lightsaber.  Now why anyone would want to peg a lit 'saber onto their belt very near sensitive regions really beats me...Heh. ;)

Like: The unignited lightsaber.  It comes in addition to a lighted one, the very one that was once his father's.  The very one that (spoilers ahead) that he eventually loses to the depths (or heights) of Bespin when Vader slices off his hand.  There.  Now you know.  Vader slices off  (more spoilers) his own son's hand.  Yup, I just spoiled the entire movie.  The entire trilogy even.  Mwahaha.

Like: Luke holds his weapons tightly, while the trigger fingers on both hands fit nicely into the trigger guard of his blaster.

Dislike: He can't go down on one knee!  His legs, despite their excellent sideways movement, rotate forward at a 45 degree angle.  While this in itself is not a problem, combined with the lack of double hinge knees, it Luke can't balance while doing a kneeling pose because he can't form a wide enough base between his knee and his foot.  It'such a pity, especially since he's the first figure that can do forward and sideways splits!

Dislike: The ball jointed neck that's limited to a swivel.  Well, I guess he had to have a flaw somewhere.  Don't get me wrong, the head is a beautiful sculpt, but the hair on the back of his head and the full chin and neck detailing make it tough for him to have more than one expression.  Granted, all action figures have only one (sculpted) expression, but with a head tilt here and a half-turn and-tilt there you get more looks from the figure's face.  And poor ol' Luke here has the problem of only having just the one look.  It's a great one, but it could have been closer to perfect if not for the limited neck/head joint.

Dislike: His arms can't come together overhead.  This is down to the torso shoulder sculpt getting in the way, but the detail is necessary for making the figure look the part.

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 10/10 - The perfect Bespin Luke.  Perfect hair, perfect grim face, perfect eyes, perfect clothes, and one helluva belt/holster.  Hasbro will be hard pressed to ever come up with a better looking figure for this guy.

Poseability: 9/10 -  He can do most anything you need him to, barring the double-handed overhead chop with the 'saber.  He also does lose some points here for a swivel-only head (ball-joint), but you can see they sacrificed this to make the head as aesthetically accurate and pleasing as they could.

And the legs.

Ah, those delightful swivel/hinged hip joints that allow Luke to easily do the sideways and forward splits.  Skywalker indeed.  Pity he can't kneel due to the lack of double hinge knees.  But it's still fantastic that they used the hips on Bespin Luke.  It's even better to know that Hasbro has developed them and that we'll probably see these super flexible leg joints in the future, hopefully in more than just the Star Wars lines.

Fun: 10/10 - One word describes all the fun that will be had with this guy: "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

This is the Luke that faces off with Darth Vader despite knowing he'd be PWNED.  He also represents the last remnant of a brash young Luke that really didn't need to "go save his friends" because they escaped without his help after all.  He's the Luke who learns a secret that I can't imagine he would want to learn, then takes it upon himself like a man to bring Vader back to the light side of the Force.

In essence, this figure is super fun because he represents so many things about this character, the most important of which is the climactic moment that he becomes Jedi, despite losing his first true Jedi duel to Dad.

Value: 9.5/10 - At retail he is already well worth the money because he comes with two lightsabers--one lit and one not.  It's rare that we see figures with unignited lightsabers, so it's a real treat that one comes with Bespin Luke.

Only thing that could possibly make him a perfect 10 for me would be an X-Wing fighter.  Ok, ok, I kid.  But if Luke did come with a free one he'd be a must-buy.  Even if it were vice versa, it'd still be very high on the consideration list because he's just that awesome.  It's great thing that he's been offered as a single carded figure so we don't have to shell out for a vehicle we might not want/have one of already. :)

Overall: 9.65/10 - Like I mentioned at the beginning, Bespin Luke is likely one of the best 3.75" scale figures ever across all the brands bar none.  He's so good that in these parts he's flying off the shelves as word of his legendary hips/boyish good looks spread.  Get him quick at retail while you can still find him, because he'll be one of those figures that you'll have to pay a premium for once he disappears from the pegs of brick and mortar stores.

And I also can't imagine you'd pass up the chance to throw Vader and Bespin Luke together for that one chance to cry out, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I know I wouldn't (soon as I crack open my Vintage Vader. Heheh.) And I'd do it over and over, even if I drove the neighbours mad with my screams of mock paternal denial. :P

Luke Skywalker: The Perfect Jedi

I know many would beg to differ.  But then they've probably never laid hands on Legacy Collection Batlle Packs: Battle for Endor Luke Skywalker before!

Why is he perfect?  Well, he captures more than one look of Luke in the Return of the Jedi.  Need him to rescue Han, Chewie, R2 and 3PO from Jabba's Palace?  Well, he's the man.  Need someone to hop on a speeder bike, chase down some Scout Troopers and take 'em out?  He's there again. Need someone to surrender himself to Vader and then persuade ol' Pops to take down the Emperor?  You guessed it, he's your Jedi.

I'd also like to add before I jump into the review that I'm not reviewing the Ewok with glider and the Imperial Officer that comes with this set for good reason:  I won Luke loose on Ebay for about US$4.25 but lost out on the Ewok, which went for crazy money anyway.  I did win the lil' furball's glider, though he cost about twice what I paid for Luke.

Well anyhow, the sets now on clearance at most major department stores here in Singapore for S$29.90, meaning it comes to slightly less than S$10 or US$7.15 per figure in the set.  Neat, huh?  I might just get myself a set for completion's sake.  Then if I do get my hands on a Princess Leia, I could also deck her out in Luke's gear!  What grand plans I always seem to have...

Oh, and one more thing: I'm doing this review because the Rangerlord made me realize that I hadn't done a non-superhero review in a while--and he's right!  So this one's for you, bro. ;)

Enough babbling and dithering on my part.  On to the review!

Like: Great spread of accessories.  You can't argue with a main Star Wars character that come with a G.I. Joe-like quantity of stuff. He's got a blaster, his lightsaber, a helmet, holster, black tunic, rubber 'belt', and of course his camouflage poncho.

But while sometimes Joes' accessories have nothing to do with the character other than to add more firepower, Luke's stuff has meaning as it is added or removed from his person.

Need a Jedi Luke to battle Vader like at the end of RoTJ?  Strip him down and hand him his lightsaber.  Put everything on him and pop him on a speeder bike for that forest chase scene.  Or if you need him on Jabba's skiff hovering about the Great Pit of Carkoon, then put on his black tunic and rubber waist band, had him his 'saber and a blaster and we're all set.

Like: The great brooding likeness of Mark Hamill.  Of the dozens of Luke Skywalker figures this is one of the few that gets it right.  Now maybe a perfect likeness is impossible but a near likeness is not out of the question at all.  Not only did Hasbro get the likeness right, they got a real nice, grim expression on him.  Anyone who's seen the Original Trilogy will remember how grim Luke becomes as the movies go on.  This figure really captures Luke in one of his more determined moments.

Like: The way his belt fits through the camo poncho to fasten it in place.  The belt's nice and tight but yet keeps the poncho it nice and loose without losing its shape.

Like: That despite his lack of hinges in the hips/legs and lack of double-jointed knees, Luke is still a highly poseable figure.  In fact the swivel hips allow him to stand/kneel better when you do find a point of balance.

His head also gives you very good up and down movement on top of the standard left and right motion.  And of course a great range of motion in the head always, always brings an extra dimension of character to a figure's poses.

Dislike: Swivel only hip joints.  While it's great that he's very well articulated, or has many points of articulation, he can only balance in certain basic positions because of the swivels. And when you're looking for a variety in stances, all you have to work with are really either the right or the left leg in front, with the other behind for the necessary balance.

Dislike: It's minor, but it would be great if he came with someplace to clip his lightsaber. but that would also mean they'd have to include a non-ignited 'saber for him.  Great for us fans, but for Hasbro's business.

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 8.5/10 - It's as dead-on as a likeness as you'll have of Luke Skywalker in 3.75 inch scale plastic. To also capture the sorrowful expression of RotJ Luke who's got the weight of the galaxy on the shoulders is just gravy.

Poseability: 7/10 - He's got a great range of motion but not the best in this scale.
Then again, Jedi from the Original Trilogy were either old men, robots, or Luke Skywalker.  And he knew none of those Younger Obi-Wan Kenobi/Darth Maul moves, so his articulation is perfect or what he needs to do.

Fun: 9/10 - My first Luke (as an adult) and he's perfect fun in terms of look, articulation, and accessories.  And by gosh he' Luke Skywalker!  He's the hero of the OT, the guy we all wished we were (after we get past the Han Solo, oh that rogueish charm), and he's both a Jedi and an X-Wing pilot!  No Star Wars collection would be complete without him or (spoiler alert!) his father Darth Vader.

Value: 10/10 - For what he retails for in a 3-pack he's still worth his weight in accessories.  But to snag him at clearance or loose like I did (for US$4.25) is just daylight robbery.  And when you think of it, he also comes with a pimped out Ewok who thinks he's a COBRA Air Viper, and the army builder Imperial Officer.  He's so worth it, as I mentioned earlier, I might just have to snag a set for the hell of it. ;)

Overall: 8.63/10 - Luke is like having 3 figures in 1.  Most figures don't have all the extra garb and weapons.  Most figures capture one look with maybe some stuff to supplement that moment of movie magic.  Not Luke.  So unless you're trying to recreate his early but unheroic life on Tatooine, or his piloting days with the Rebel Starfleet (you'll prob need an X-Wing and a Death Star too), then you'll want this figure.  He's Luke come full circle and the Skywalker family name redeemed.