Tuesday, October 19, 2010

No More Buck Teeth! The Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot (Original Trilogy Collection) Excels!




The Good: Good sculpt, Decent accessory
The Bad: Light on accessories, Low articulation.
The Basics: A good Star Wars figure, the X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalker from the Original Trilogy Collection shows improvements over earlier versions of the same.


Luke Skywalker is one of the most recast Star Wars action figures in any toy line. As the hero of the original Star Wars Trilogy, Luke bears the weight of the most screentime and is supposed to be the most sympathetic character of the bunch. Largely, he succeeds, though that does not necessarily mean fans truly want a hundred different Luke Skywalker figures. Luke Skywalker in his X-Wing pilot jumpsuit is one of the "essential" Luke Skywalker looks and with the Original Trilogy Collection from Hasbro, the toy manufacturer finally got the figure right. The Original Trilogy Collection was a decent mix of new and recast figures, figures like Momaw Nadon (click here for review!) and Bib Fortuna (reviewed here!) were given upgrades while other characters made their first appearance in this toy line. The X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalker was one of the recasts, though it is arguably just the Power Of The Jedi figure with a better paintjob on the lips.

For those unfamiliar with the Luke Skywalker when he took up the mantle of X-Wing Pilot, at the climax of A New Hope (click here for my review!), Luke donned the orange flight suit and went off to shoot some TIE Fighters and attempt to destroy the first Death Star.

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 X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalker figure released!

Basics

The X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalker is a great sculpting of the familiar hero of the Star Wars Trilogy. Actually, this figure is the identical sculpt and paint job to the Power Of The Jedi Luke Skywalker figure, save that the face was repainted to not paint Luke's teeth! The Power Of the Jedi Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot looks bucktoothed and ridiculous, but this facial sculpt looks just like Mark Hamill. The figure stands 3 1/2" tall and he is dressed in the orange fatigues he wore while working as an X-Wing Pilot. He is intended to look like he is ready to fly and he does. As such, his outfit is actually very clean. The Luke Skywalker figure is cast to look like he will ride in an X-Wing and do nothing else. The figure is made almost entirely of soft plastic, though the head and chest 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 appeared at the climax of A New Hope. The X-Wing Pilot 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 bright blue eyes. As well, there is an exceptional level of costuming detailing, including tools in his boots and the control panel on the front of his jumpsuit! This figure even has the tube that goes into the control panel, which is a great detail! Even the hair on this figure looks appropriately shaggy, like it did in the movie.

Accessories

The Luke Skywalker is realistically prepared for his X-Wing Pilot flight with only his helmet and his stand. The helmet is a 5/8" in circumference helmet with the visor down. It fits precisely over this Luke Skywalker's head and because of the clear visor, his eyes are still visible when wearing it! The detailing on the outside of the helmet is immaculate: it looks worn and has little insignias painted on.

The Original Trilogy Collection figures come with stands, including the X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalker. This stand is the standard gunmetal gray stand with the interlocking tabs to connect to other stands in this collection. 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 good in that regard. The figure is generally well-articulated and has excellent balance when off his stand. This Luke Skywalker figure comes with only six points of articulation, which is a little bit of letdown considering how articulated many of the Original Trilogy Collection figures were. The X-Wing Pilot Luke has joints at the groin socket, shoulders, neck, and waist. Like most Star Wars figures, these are all just simple swivel joints.

Collectibility

The X-Wing Pilot 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 X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalkers, though only a minor improvement from the Power Of the Jedi version of the same figure. Released as Original Trilogy Collection (2004) figure #05, 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 X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalker is a good sculpt made with realistic coloring and average articulation. Despite having only the one accessory, the fact that Hasbro fixed the figure's face knocks it up a notch in my book.

For other Saga Star Wars figures and toys, please check out my reviews of:
Hailfire Droid
The Utai
Nien Nunb

7/10

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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