From Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, recreate your favorite moments leading up to the Battle of Hoth with the Sideshow Collectibles Commander Luke Skywalker – Hoth Sixth Scale Figure.

Fearless and vigilant, the Rebel leader comes to life with an incredibly screen-accurate portrait of young Skywalker as portrayed by actor Mark Hamill. Bundled up in authentically replicated cold-weather fatigues, featuring hand-tailored insulated clothing and an additional portrait with headgear and snow goggles, Luke is prepared to head out into the freezing wilderness surrounding Echo Base armed with his trusty lightsaber, blaster, and macrobinoculars. There's no telling what dangers he will encounter while on patrol...from a nearby 'meteorite' crash, to hungry wampas, to a full blown Imperial invasion – the Commander of the Rebel Alliance had better be ready for anything!

It’s almost unbelievable to even imagine this, but Sideshow Collectibles may have just raised the bar on their 1:6 Scale Figures line by releasing the Commander Luke Skywalker (Hoth) 1:6 Scale Figure. It’s so good in fact that many may believe that this was released by Hot Toys. It’s evident that Sideshow has been working very hard behind the scenes perfecting their one-sixth scale figures. Commander Luke Skywalker (Hoth) stands as a successful testament that they are committed to excelling at new ways to make these characters as authentic to the Star Wars films as possible. You may not think that they’ve broken a ton of new ground here, but between the streamlined and better-fitting costumes to the eerily realistic portraits, Sideshow is proving to collectors that they are more confident than ever to be a leading force in the design of high-end one-sixth scale figures. Commander Luke Skywalker (Hoth) has been approached brilliantly so he can be displayed in multiple configurations, both on and off screen, with little to no interruption of the figure. For example, for the exclusive release Hasbro has included three separate portraits. While we think that the portrait without any head gear should have been the exclusive “accessory” here (since it’s not part of the films technically), Sideshow could have easily played with the idea to just sculpt one portrait with removable accessories, thus affecting the authenticity of the aesthetics and how they place on the head. But instead of futzing with multiple pieces/parts, they provide collectors with three “finished” portraits based on different scenes from The Empire Strikes Back. Sadly, it’s the “wampa attack” portrait that is the Sideshow Exclusive here. That is sure to frustrate those unable to secure the exclusive release of this figure. Commander Luke Skywalker (Hoth) should spark interest in those who have grown weary with all of the clones in the line. This feels “new” all the way around!

The costume has been breathtakingly assembled. The textures are “true to life” meaning that they actually feel like you think they would feel if you have the opportunity to touch the real costumes. The quilted coat on Luke is just stunning. As we mentioned earlier, Sideshow Collectibles attempted to really authenticate the costume design in a hyper-elevated manner. As a result, the costume parts are quite fitted. The only issue we take with the coat is that it’s so close-fitting that it pulls at the snaps like it want to open up. As you pose the figure, you just need to pull that part of the coat together again and the issue goes away. Trust us, it’s almost not even worth commenting on this, but it is a noticeable issue. The manner in which Sideshow stained and weathered the coat is just superlative. The areas where the stitching creates the quilted pattern have collected dirt. Yet it isn’t obvious where it pops out at you and distracts you. It is another seamless part of how they decorated this figure. With so many Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit) collectibles and figures created throughout the years there has been an almost equal amount of ways that his uniform has been colored. We believe that Sideshow Collectibles has come the closest to getting everything as perfectly as possible. If anything, Luke has alternating color in his shoulders that we don’t see reflected on the 1:6 Scale Figure, but other than that we’re thoroughly impressed with how they completed this figure with regards to his deco. All three portraits are dead ringers for actor Mark Hamill. No matter how excellent the portraits, there will undoubtedly be collectors who won’t see the strong resemblance we do. (Liking/favoring portraits is more of a personal taste thing than anything else. If they don’t strike you then there is usually no middle ground.) With a $199.99 MSRP, Commander Luke Skywalker (Hoth) sadly feels unattainable for many, but if possible, this is a piece for which you should save your pennies.

Commander Luke Skywalker (Hoth) could be accessorized more appropriately. Although Sideshow has give us two portraits where Luke is wearing the cold weather caps, they have created two separate antennas to add as an alternate when Luke needs to get reception while patrolling the icy tundra that is Hoth. These may be two of the tiniest accessories Sideshow Collectibles have ever produced. Be careful not to lose them! They’ve included only a handful of alternate hands, but all are useful for the various gestures you need to recreate or hold the included weapons in this release. Weapons include a lightsaber hilt, fully lit lightsaber (with a blade that has been given an all-new bumpy texture – it’s quite fascinating actually), macrobinoculars and a blaster pistol (that fits beautifully in his leather holster). Also included is a very nice display stand (these are getting nicer and nicer as time goes on) which includes removable Hoth components (basically snow) for alternate display. In short, everything here is impressive, attractive, exciting and collector-focused. We really haven’t been this satisfied with a figure in the 1:6 Scale Figure range since General Grievous. Commander Luke Skywalker (Hoth) is sure to be a big hit with the collecting community. We feel somewhat obligated to nitpick over a few very small things. You cannot recreate the appearance of Luke when he was the stop-motion animation puppet. (This is the style where he is wearing goggles and has his scarf wrapped around his face. Sideshow Collectibles does provide the “wampa attack” portrait to Sideshow Exclusive collectors, but this portrait comes without the goggles (which aren’t removable from the non battle-damaged portrait). It’s certainly not the end of the world, but intense collectors nitpick. That’s really the only nitpick we have. Commander Luke Skywalker (Hoth) is a fabulous release. He’s one of Sideshow’s finest and a must-have 1:6 Scale Figure is we have ever seen one.