Luke Skywalker (Dagobah Landing) - TVC - Basic (VC44)

Luke Skywalker may just rival Darth Vader as the most popular figure in the basic figure line. From one film to the next (and in many cases one scene to the next) Luke Skywalker looks unique and different and his outfits seemed to keep getting cooler and cooler, easily establishing him as our favorite member of the Rebel Alliance. So how does Hasbro keep this pattern running strong? Remarkably, just like Hasbro did with the Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) figure, they find a scene-specific derivation of a classic outfit and base a new action figure off of it. Hasbro made a stellar version of Luke in his snowspeeder outfit in 2009’s Legacy Collection known as Luke Skywalker (BD51) and they took that awesome figure and tweaked it to make a never before made version of Luke as he lands on Dagobah for the very first time. We don’t think many of us ever thought of this version as unique and worthy of its own action figure, but we have to say that Hasbro did right by it and the 2009 figure is in danger of being eclipsed by it. Luke Skywalker (Dagobah Landing) from the incredible The Vintage Collection is another standout figure that will likely be scavenged by many a collector for its creativity and overall neat appearance. When Luke arrived on Dagobah, he was obviously still in his snowspeeder outfit, but he didn’t have his skull cap or gloves on after he exited the X-wing fighter. This is where this figure begins and ends.

Luke Skywalker (Dagobah Landing) is a retool of 2009’s LC Luke Skywalker (BD51) figure and comes with a new head and new forearms. He also comes with a few extra accessories like a fully lit lightsaber (although the blade is the palest blue we have ever seen and because of this we expect a variation down the road) and blaster pistol which nicely complement his previously included lightsaber hilt and X-wing fighter help. The new portrait is excellent, but we don’t think it merits the overly positive response it is getting from collectors. Don’t misunderstand us. It’s an excellent head sculpt, but we think there have been better ones before this. The newly tooled forearms are interesting. They are cast in the orange plastic to match the rest of his flight suit. And to accommodate this, his bare hands have been painted a flesh color on top of the orange molded plastic. As a result, you can see signs of orange inside the palms of his hands a few microscopic chips on the outside of his hands as well. There are also many other changes made to the paint job applications this time around. For example, his boot ties have a much more subtle appearance and do not contrast as sharply against his boots like it did on the 2009 figure. The orange flight suit is still too bright in our opinion, but thankfully it still works and we love it all the same. Where Hasbro has failed on this figure is the much needed dirty paint job. Luke jumped into the swamp for goodness sake. Hasbro should have done something to mimic this “dirt”. This lack of dirt is especially evident in the white ribbed vest section. Hasbro also missed a few details like the rings on his belt for some strange reason.

We find a few additional details particularly special. Luke Skywalker (Dagobah Landing) comes with a functioning “brown leather” holster on his left leg, new for this release. It is of course molded in plastic and not leather, but it’s an amazing detail that we were worried was going to be missed by Hasbro but wasn’t. It does wonders for this version of the character. And Hasbro has also nailed the color of his straps on his legs perfectly. Sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference and it couldn’t be truer for Luke. Even the handle of Luke’s gun is colored brown. This happens next to never in the basic figure line. We count ourselves blessed. Luke Skywalker (Dagobah Landing) will absolutely be one of the most popular figures in all The Vintage Collection. Trust us on this one. He overall looks a bit better than the 2009 figure and it’s easier to make out his face without a skull cap on his head. (And while we think the painted hands aren’t perfect, we like this option for Luke a little bit better than the gloves. Not that this figure is meant to replace the 2009 figure of course, after all, they are two distinct figures in two distinct outfits. There must be a big fan of The Empire Strikes Back at Hasbro who is combing the films for the slightest outfit changes. And to get two of the knocked out in the same collection is pretty cool. We are immediately fond of Luke Skywalker (Dagobah Landing). It makes us want to dig out the 2006 The Saga Collection’s TRU exclusive Luke Skywalker’s X-wing vehicle now. (Maybe we will!) This figure is a must-have. It is very different from what you have already. And besides, it’s in “vintage” packaging. Need we say any more?