However, there are still some online retailers with the regular edition
available, and you can get on the Wait List for one at the Sideshow site as
well.
Since this figure went up for pre-order, there has been pre-orders for Anakin
Skywalker, Mace
Windu, Bespin
Han Solo, the young Obi-Wan
Kenobi, Kit
Fisto, and most recently, Qui-Gon
Jinn. Only Qui-Gon is still
available direct from Sideshow, although getting on the wait list for
any of these can prove fruitful. I myself missed out on this exclusive
version of Luke the first day, but managed to get him by putting my name on
the wait list.
Packaging - ****
So let's start this out with the packaging. And let's start out by
saying that while Sideshow ALWAYS produces great packaging, they really,
truly outdid even themselves this time around. If the entire run follows
this pattern, I'll be one very happy camper.
The package is narrower than usual, since the accessories are now stored
in the front half of a double sized box. Yep, this box is about twice
the depth of a usual Sideshow package. The front half folds neatly
against the back half, with two flaps at the spine, and wrapping around the
right side. On the interior of these two flaps (which make up the left
and right side of the package) is a ton of great info on the film and the
character.
As an indication of the level of quality and care that went into this
entire figure, check out how the box flap on the right is held closed.
A cardboard tab? Oh, heavens no. A velcro closure or two?
Nay, nay, my friend. Magnets. Yes, you heard right - there are
magnets embedded in the box flap and box that snap it shut. No torn
velcro, no box damage from repeatedly opening and closing, and big points
for Sideshow.
Not only that, but this package is completely and entirely collector
friendly. There are two trays, one in the back half and one in the
front half. Both halves are opened with a tap on the top of the box,
and there is no tape. The trays slide out easily, and when you lift
off the plastic cover, the figure and accessories all pop out without any
twisties, dental floss, or tape holding anything in.
There is a small piece of clear plastic tape at each corner of the
plastic trays, holding the top to the bottom. I tossed mine, but you
can easily pull them back and replace them if you're that anal.
While folks might not always consider packaging that important, with high
end collectibles like these it is. The quality and style of the
package is an indication of the good things inside, and you'll find your
anticipation for the figure build just checking out this box. That's a
hallmark of excellent packaging, and Sideshow hit this homerun clear out of
the park.
Sculpting - ***1/2
There has been much debate over the Luke sculpt. Let me state for the
record that I was VERY concerned about this one. Since it's their
first figure, everyone will be scrutinizing it, and using it to gauge their
interest in the rest of the line. As everyone should know by now,
human likenesses are always the toughest to pull off, and to be completely
honest, Sideshow has their hits...and misses. The expression they
choice, with the mouth slightly open, also caused quite a stir, and many
assumed it would simply not work. And I was worried.
I'm happy to say that the predictors of doom and sorry were way off the
mark. Mat Falls, one of Sideshows best sculptors, did the work here,
and while the expression still isn't my favorite, this is clearly an
excellent Luke sculpt. I'd say it's the best we've ever gotten (and
easily blows the Medicom and previous Hasbro attempts completely out of the
water), but that's not good enough for some folks. So instead let me
say that this is Luke, and while I'm marking it down a half star, it's not
because of the general quality of the likeness. Sideshow has misses,
but this is definitely not one of them, and the care and time they've put
into this figure really makes me look forward to the rest of the line.
So why isn't it a four star sculpt? Well, as I said, I'm still not
thrilled beyond belief with the choice of expression. The mouth is
only open very slightly, and the eyes aren't nearly as walleyed appearing in
person as they are in some photos, but this look doesn't really work well
for as many poses as I'd like. It works great based on the reference
material, when Luke was in Jabba's Palace, wearing the robe, hood over his
head. Once he steps away from that specific moment in time though, it
doesn't work quite as well. It's not that it doesn't look exactly like
Luke, but that this expression isn't as universal as I would have preferred.
There's plenty of detail here as well, with nicely cut in hair, the
appropriate moles, scars and wrinkles, and enough facial texture to add to
the realism. However, this is definitely a sculpt that looks best shot
with some natural shadow. Put that flash up in his face and let it
pop, and he's going to look pretty damn surprised. I've seen photos of
him that makes it look like someone just told him Leia was his sister, but
in hand he doesn't appear quite as shocked.
He hands he comes wearing are the gloved right hand, and open left.
The open left works great for the Jedi mind trick poses, while the black
glove is his trademark look for this particular film. There are
additional hands included, which I'll discuss in the accessories
sections. All the hands are made from a softer plastic, not too soft
to hold the accessories well, but soft enough to place them within his grasp
without damaging them.
One of the things that tends to set Sideshow apart from many of the other
sixth scale makers is the use of these type of sculpted, specific hands,
rather than generic versions. All of them here look great, but I must
admit that the open left hand is slightly large in scale to the rest of the
body, and to the other hands.
Some feel the head is too big. If he's nekkid, I'd agree. In
just the jumpsuit, it is a little. But once the vest is on, and
certainly with the robe, it looks perfect. A mistake to make when
translating sizes to sixth scale is to assume everything should scale down
equally, and because some things simply can't - like the thickness of most
materials - then some physical proportions can't either. Women for
years have complained about the weird proportions of the nekkid Barbie, but
the only reason for this is to get the clothes to hang on her realistically
when dressed. If the head was small enough here to look right on the
nude body, it would be too small when dressed - catch 22.
Paint - ****
I've said this a million times, but it's always worth repeating - a great
sculpt can be ruined by poor paint, and a mediocre sculpt can be made great
with excellent paint.
The paint ops here are excellent, with no slop, no heavy coats, no shiny
finishes, and great definition and cut between various colors.
Of course, there's not a ton of paint ops like there is on a 7"
fully plastic action figure. Here, the work is all in the head and
hands. But what is here is critical to the quality of the figure.
Some folks were worried that we'd get a glossy finish ala Pammy
Voorhees. Nope, no problem there. The skin tone and finish is
very realistic and even. The eyes are slightly glossy, giving them a
wet appearance in the right light, and they are straight and clear.
The lips are the right tone, and do not appear like he's wearing lipstick,
but are very natural in color.
Another great bit of work is the paint around the charred back of the
right hand. The color gradually lightens in an uneven pattern as it
moves out from the damage, and looks very realistic.
Mine does have one weird, stray, small black spot on his cheek. I'm
not sure where it came from, but fortunately it's tiny enough that in normal
viewing (i.e. not the lens of a camera) it's not noticeable.
Articulation - **1/2
Just when you thought everything was going to be sunshine and puppy dogs,
along comes the articulation category. And if this figure has one area
of issue, it's here.
However, it's not about scale. Luke is actually shorter than the
average Sideshow figure (check the photo with Connor), and should fit in
quite well with the rest of the line as they are released.
The average Sideshow figure (like Connor) is around 12.5" tall, or
just a smidge under that. Luke is just a smidge under 12", so
there's about a half inch difference. The big boy body from Sideshow
will actually be even bigger, which means that unlike Medicom, where your
Vader, Stormtrooper and Luke are all about the same height, you'll actually
get figures in this series that match up scale-wise.
The biggest issue with the Sideshow body here is the length of the
forearms. Because of the tight fitting clothing, they are simply too
long, and in some poses can look gangly and odd. This is my biggest
complaint, and hurts this score the most.
Another issue for me is the hands, or how they attach and detach from the
body. The pegs for the hands are very short, which means they pop off
extremely easily, even when just posing him. That's pretty annoying,
and needs to be corrected if possible. I do love the wrist joints
though, because of the greater range of movement than just a standard ball
joint.
He also has a ball jointed neck, along with every other point of
articulation you expect in the usual sixth scale body today. The wonky
ball jointed hips cause some issues with the tight fitting jumpsuit, but
I'll discuss that more in the outfit section.
Accessories - ***1/2
There's no shortage of accessories, even if you don't pick up the exclusive
version.
Luke has a display stand of course, just like all Sideshow figures, with
the traditional Star Wars logo emblazoned on it. The stand works fine,
although there's no need for it unless Luke will be doing some pretty fancy
moves.
He comes with three additional hands. There are two more right
hands, one burned on the back, showing the mechanical innards, and one
normal but designed to hold the blaster or other any other gun. While
the site said this would be a 'lightsaber grip' right hand, it's clearly
designed for the blaster. I haven't seen a regular edition version yet
to see if the extra undamaged, ungloved right hand is the same as this one
or not, or if it is simply a tight grip. There is one additional left hand,
in a fist to hold a saber or other accessory like the bone.
There are two lightsabers - one ignited, and one not. The one that
is not ignited can fit on a hook on the left side of Luke's belt. Some
folks may have preferred a removable blade, but by having the blade
permanently attached, they were able to make the scale of the hilt (and the
thin sections near the end) much more accurate.
The regular edition also comes with the bone that helped Luke take out
the Rancor. The paint and sculpt are very realistic, and the scale
here is pretty good as well.
Finally, the exclusive edition comes with the Skiff Guard Blaster, from
the big battle with Jabba. The sculpt and paint detail on this
accessory are excellent, and while it wasn't something I was too concerned
about, I'm glad I did manage to pick it up.
Outfit - ****
This is where this figure really shines over some of the more expensive
figures like Medicom.
The outfit starts with his black jumpsuit, with Calvary style flap on the
chest. There are snaps where appropriate, but the flap folds over,
just like in the film, and has the correct gray material on the
underside. But unlike the Medicom version, you can actually get it to
stay in position. How? Sideshow added a thin wire around the
edge, that you can bend into the exact place you want the flap to
remain! Excellent idea, and really helps the pose.
The jumpsuit tends to bunch up around the ball jointed hips, but there is
a fix for this. Remove the clothing, and wrap some toilet paper
tightly around the legs and joints. This will fill him out a bit, and
you can mush it around a bit to get just the right look when the clothes are
back on.
Over the jumpsuit is his boots and belt. The belt if pleather, with
a hook for this saber, along with another loop and one small sculpted pack
in back. The belt fits tightly, but buckles well.
The boots are a nice sculpt, if a little plain. The jumpsuit fits
inside well though, and they form fit the legs nicely.
He has two additional items he can wear as well - his cloak and his
vest. The vest is not exactly like the screen version, at least not as
I remember it, but I actually prefer this look. In the movie, it seems
to me that the vest was much narrower, allowing more of the black shirt to
show through the center. Here, it wraps together tightly almost all
the way to the neck. You could actually fold over the lapels I suppose
if you wanted to make it look more like that, but I prefer this look.
The belt around the middle is a separate piece, and snaps together tightly
in back.
Finally, there's his cloak. It has a single hook at the neck, and
flows over his shoulders to just above the floor. The hood is quite
large and could have been difficult to pose and work with, except Sideshow
came through again. They put another wire all the way around the
opening, allowing you to position it in ways that look natural, but would be
impossible to obtain due to the thickness of the material. It also
means that the hood can remain pushed down tight against his shoulders,
since the wire is tough enough to hold it in place.
The tailoring on all the clothing is excellent, and the addition of the
wires was a very smart and useful idea. My only issue with the entire
costume was that there is no hem on the bottom of the robe, and it may begin
to fray. Other than that, everything is of the highest quality.
Value - ***
This is one of the nicest sixth scale figures in terms of quality and
value I've picked up in a long time. At $50, he's a great deal,
considering the number of accessories, the quality of the outfit, the innovative
details, and the terrific packaging. All of the figures so far have
remained $50 - $55 each, and that's an extremely good price considering the
current sixth scale market. Are these worth twice the cost of the
average Hasbro 12" figure? Do you even have to ask?
Fun Factor - ***1/2
While this figure is intended as a collectible, it's also a damn good
toy. Oh, perhaps the belt or the lightsaber blade might not stand up
to the attention of a six year old, but older kids who are a little more
careful could have a ton of fun with this figure. Generally though, I
wouldn't recommend spending $50 on a toy that your kids will use in the
sandbox - stick with the Hasbro stuff for that.
Things to watch out for -
There's not much. You should be a little careful with the wires in
the outfit, so that you don't break them or poke them through the
material. Also, the very end of the lightsaber hilt - not the blade,
but the hilt - where it is the thinnest can break pretty easily of you don't
take some care.
Overall - ***1/2
This figure isn't perfect. It isn't the second coming of Jesus
Christ, or even a better mouse trap. It is a damn fine sixth scale
figure though, and while I have a handful of issues - choice of expression,
hands falling off, long forearms - it bodes extremely well for the upcoming
line.
The outfit is excellent, and the head sculpt is much better than I had
anticipated. I'd been quiet on the subject from the prototype figures
because I had a bad feeling, but it was unwarranted. I would have
preferred a slightly less specific expression, but there's no doubt this is
an excellent Hamill/Skywalker sculpt.
The nice bundle of accessories, excellent packaging, and terrific overall
quality make me very glad that I've been putting in my pre-orders on the
rest of the series. Some may still end up less than stellar, but I
also have no doubt that some will turn out even better than Luke.
SCORE RECAP:
Packaging - ****
Sculpt - ***1/2
Paint - ****
Articulation - **1/2
Accessories - ***1/2
Outfit - ****
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - ***
Overall - ***1/2
Where to Buy -
For this first figure, Ebay might be your only choice at this point.
Unless:
- you get yourself on the Waiting
List at Sideshow and get lucky.
- Dark Shadow
Collectibles doesn't have any of Luke left, but they do still have
several of the others that are now sold out at Sideshow still available for
pre-order. They have some on pre-order as low as $42!
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