The Good: Amazing sculpting and coloring detail, Decent enough accessories, Good balance
The Bad: Underwhelming articulation and overall "feel" of the figure.
The Basics: Not perfect, but very close, the Luke Skywalker as seen on Dagobah with interchangeable limbs is a pretty cool figure, even if one head isn't the best it could be.
Star Wars fans, like me, must come across sounding like a very demanding bunch to outsiders. We're not happy when we don't get what we want and we're not happy sometimes when we get what we do ask for. To wit, among the many sculpts of Luke Skywalker in action figure form, there have been several sculpts since Kenner rebooted the line in 1995. When they made their first new Dagobah Luke Skywalker as part of the Power Of The Force line the figure looked nothing like Luke Skywalker and fans have been dumping those toys ever since. So, when Hasbro opened their Original Trilogy Collection in 2003/4 with Luke Skywalker (on Dagobah), fans ought to have been thrilled that the figure was realistically scrawny and came with multiple limbs to create more complex movie-related poses. But as I sit here considering the figure, I find myself impressed with the overall quality of the figure, but still not wild about either playing with or displaying this impressively-sculpted and colored figure. Like I said, Star Wars fans are ridiculously picky.
For those unfamiliar with the Luke Skywalker as he appeared on Dagobah, in the middle of The Empire Strikes Back (reviewed here!), Luke journeys to the swamp planet Dagobah. There, Luke Skywalker trains with the Jedi master Yoda and learns the ways of the Force. He does things like handstands and runs with Yoda on his back and the former could not be represented realistically with the action figures . . . until now!
The 4" Luke Skywalker figure is pretty impressive and because it is so well-detailed, it is easy to use this to replace every prior Dagobah Luke figure released! Still, while every aspect of Luke is done exceptionally well, there is something about the regular head that doesn't quite look right.
Basics
The Dagobah Luke Skywalker is a great sculpting of the familiar hero of the Star Wars Trilogy. Here, he is cast in his gear from Dagobah and because the swamp planet is dirty, he has realistic muck on his arms. The figure stands 3 1/2" tall and he is dressed in the brown and drab olive fatigues he wore while working out on Dagobah. He is intended to look like he is working out and the exposed arms do a good job of that. The outfit is actually very clean, so it contradicts the dirt on the interchangeable arms! The Luke Skywalker figure is cast with the ability to look realistically like he is doing a hand stand from the fingers splayed and the hair hanging down. The other head and arms are ideal for having Luke Skywalker in his running poses with Yoda on his back! The figure is made almost entirely of soft plastic, though the heads do seem to be more solid than the rest of the toy.
This toy is a decent sculpt, looking generally like Luke Skywalker as he trained on Dagobah. The Dagobah Luke Skywalker is well-detailed in his coloring detail, except when it comes to his skin tones. There is no shading on his face, and his lips are not colored at all. However, he does have teeth colored in and bright blue eyes. As well, there is an exceptional level of costuming detailing, including laces on the shoes and ribbing on the shirt! As well, the Luke Skywalker does have intense little blue eyes with appropriately black pupils. Even the hair looks good and like it is wet, which it constantly was in the Dagobah scenes.
The non-headstand head, though, is a bit more round than Mark Hamill's more angular face. This, unfortunately, brings the sculpt down a bit. Even so, the arms are not terribly buff, which is nice for the figure's sense of realism.
Accessories
The Luke Skywalker is realistically prepared for his Dagobah training. This Luke Skywalker is outfitted only with replacement arms and head and the straps for the backpack, as well as a stand that connects with the stand from other Dagobah Trilogy Collection figures!
The heads and arms pop off and may easily pop back into the appropriate sockets. The heads are a very standard Luke Skywalker head and another which has the hair spiked up so when the figure is upside-down, it looks like it is realistically hanging from his head. The arms also pop in and out and the handstand arms have splayed fingers, whereas the running arms have hands which are mostly closed and can be made to look like they are holding the straps on the backpack.
The Dagobah Luke Skywalker also comes with the framework for the backpack, straps which go across the figure's chest and give the appearance of Luke wearing the training backpack (the backpack actually comes with the Yoda figure, reviewed here!). There are holes in the figure's back which allow the backpack and Yoda to connect with Luke.
The Original Trilogy Collection figures come with stands, including the Dagobah Luke Skywalker. This stand, however, is a three and one quarter inch long by two inches wide brown patch that looks like swamp ground. The stand includes hand prints embedded into it, which allows Luke to do his handstand right on the stand! As well, there is a peg, which fits the hole in either of Luke's feet!
Playability
The four inch toy line was designed for play and Luke Skywalker is great in that regard. The figure is generally well-articulated and has excellent balance when off his stand. The Luke Skywalker has good balance and looks good while doing his handstand. This Luke Skywalker figure comes with only six points of articulation, but Hasbro makes good use of them! He has joints at the groin socket, shoulders, neck, and waist. Like most Star Wars figures, these are all just simple swivel joints, except the head. The head is on a ball joint, so this Luke Skywalker actually nods in addition to turning his head from side to side!
This is a great figure for posing or for play. As well, it does have decent balance on or off his stand.
Collectibility
The Dagobah Luke Skywalker is part of the 2004 Original Trilogy Collection four-inch series, a series of Star Wars action figures that was not very common at all, but largely recast figures that had been previously released by Kenner. Hasbro sought to improve the old figures by having a greater attention to detail, coloring and accessory detail and proportion. As such, this Luke Skywalker is a distinct improvement as far as balance, detailing and accessories from the earlier Dagobah Luke Skywalker. Released as Original Trilogy Collection (2004) figure #01, this figure is a good idea for those creating an ultimate collection of each major character. It is hard to imagine how this figure might be improved upon, save with more articulation.
Overview
The Original Trilogy Collection Dagobah Luke Skywalker is a wonderful sculpt made with realistic coloring and good articulation and accessories. It is, arguably, the best Luke Skywalker in Dagobah fatigues figure made to date and likely ever.
For other Saga Star Wars figures or Luke Skywalker action figures, please check out my reviews of:
#19 Cloud Car Pilot
#20 Lobot
Luke Skywalker With Desert Sport Skiff
Hoth Attack Luke Skywalker
8.5/10
For other toy reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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