Luke Skywalker (Stormtrooper Disguise)/Han Solo (Stormtrooper Disguise) - Heroes Of The Rebellion - 1:6 Scale Figures

With the rise of Imperial power in the galaxy and the fall of the Jedi Order, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi retreated to the isolated deserts of the planet Tatooine. Loyal to the Republic, Kenobi was silently observing the young farm boy Luke Skywalker from afar, whose future was unknowingly linked to the survival of the Jedi and the Rebellion. When Obi-Wan saves Luke from a band of Tusken Raiders, he begins to mentor young Skywalker in the ways of the Force, and together with starship captain Han Solo, his copilot Chewbacca and the two droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, they set out for the planet Alderaan to help the Rebel supporter Princess Leia Organa.

When they arrive at Alderaan's coordinates aboard the Millennium Falcon, they find the planet obliterated by the Empire's dreaded Death Star. Suddenly, an Imperial fighter flies by the Falcon, and as they chase after it, they are caught in the Death Star's tractor beam and pulled aboard. The rebels take cover in the hidden smuggling compartments, and when Imperial Stormtroops board the Falcon, Luke and Han disable them and steal their armor in order to infiltrate the Death Star and orchestrate their escape.

In Stormtrooper disguise, Luke and Han take the droids, Obi-Wan and Chewbacca into the docking bay command center. There they use R2-D2's technical compatibilities to locate the tractor beam, and Obi-Wan sets out for the reactor core to power down the beam and free the Falcon. Still plugged into the command center, R2 discover that Princess Leia is being held captive aboard the Death Star. With Chewbacca acting as their prisoner, Luke and Han pose as Stormtroopers to free Leia and eventually make it back to the Millennium Falcon for their escape.

It was only a very short matter of time before Sideshow utilized their awesome Imperial Stormtrooper sculpt to make new collectibles. Starting off as a big tease, Sideshow eventually announced that the Luke Skywalker/Han Solo (Stormtrooper Disguise) 1:6 Scale Figure set was going to be the Star Wars exclusive at the 2009 San Diego Comic Con. The set is awesome and it is one of Sideshow's finest moments (yes, they have many of these steller moments). This remarkable pair has been eagerly anticipated by Sideshow collectors and it was a very clever choice to use these figures as exclusives! Exclusives are always more limited and Sideshow made quite a statement by making this edition size only 2000 total pieces. But extreme exclusivity coupled with a large price tag defends the argument that this is what a high end collectible should be (and that they should indeed see limited release). Sideshow Collectibles improved where they could on the original 1:6 Scale Imperial Stormtrooper body and then added a whole new level of authenticity and made a spectacular product. These 1:6 Scale Figures are full of the charm the onscreen characters had and it is quite an accomplishment to have "live" characteristics be forever immortalized in plastic. 1:6 Scale Figure two-packs are not all that common and Sideshow is wise to utilize this platform for truly special and unique sets that make the most sense. There was quite a bit of fuss that the original 1:6 Scale Imperial Stormtrooper figure was too dull, but Sideshow listened to those comments carefully and have given these figures a brand new shiny gloss. It is quite impressive and remarkable how a little clear gloss makes this armor look! We actually wish our regular Imperial Stormtroopers figures had this now. We really thought that the 1:6 Scale Imperial Stormtrooper figure couldn't be perfected, but Sideshow has broken our expectations in half and given us a beautifully executed product. Both Luke's and Han's portraits are simply unbelievable and you may be critical of the skin tones, but these are two figures which simply must be enjoyed in person.

It is clear that photographs are unable to capture or appropriately grab the life that is evident in the faces of these figures. If you do not own these and have no plans to add them to your collections, then you'll just have to believe us that these look even better in person. You will likely be already familiar with the armor design. Sideshow did a fantastic job with the regular Imperial Stormtrooper the first time, so besides the new gloss finish, the armor is exactly the same. It is important to note that the accessories are NOT the same. Sideshow took a new approach for the Rebel heroes in these outfits and has sculpted the Stormtrooper helmets with an infinite amount of detail. The detail in completely mind-boggling and it has come out better than we had ever hoped. Not intended to be utilized as functioning helmets, they are simple counted as accessories here to give the figures a whole new level of authenticity. We love this convention because after all, if they could wear their helmets, they would just be two more Imperial Stormtroopers! Luke's and Han's hands have been designed especially well to hold these helmets and this is a big plus. There is nothing worse than being given a great accessory that is impossible of being held by the figure. Sideshow ensured that all parts interact well with each other. The standard Stormtrooper blaster has been included and fits in the right hand attachment very well on both figures. Luke Skywalker's utility belt is unique from Han's and has a place to store the commlink he used to communicate with C-3PO as well as the famous grappling hook he used to swing across the bridge with Princess Leia. (See photos for reference.) Another amazing feat Sideshow was able to accomplish with this figure set is that Luke Skywalker is shorter than Han Solo. We are not sure how they did this, but the height difference is effective in driving home the point that Luke was indeed a little short for a Stormtrooper (but that would also imply that Han Solo is too tall for a Stormtrooper). We congratulate Sideshow on this effort to make these figure true to scale and as authentic as possible. They are truly an amazing duo of Rebel Alliance heroes!

We expect more and more of the armored body figures to continue to come out of Sideshow. Since edition sizes are getting smaller and smaller with every release, Sideshow needs to amortize costs over multiple releases instead of just one single character now. This is absolutely fine by us because if it means that more Clone Troopers and Stormtroopers will be coming down the pike, then so be it! It will do nothing but make the 1:6 Scale Figures collector a very happy person. It is quite amazing to us how these figures are significantly more expensive than the figures Hasbro made for us, but when compared side by side, well, there is really no comparison. Not to cut down the Hasbro line because there were some fantastic 1:6 Scale Figures to come out of their line, but Sideshow is just brilliant when it comes to the products they release and they 1:6 Scale Figures are really worth every penny. Always approaching their 1:6 Scale characters with reckless abandon from the concepts to the final execution of them, Sideshow is almost limitless on the possibilities of potential 1:6 Scale Figures we will see over time in the line. We hope the choices get more aggressive and less expected. And we hope to see more and more body shapes and types released in the line as well. Variety is the spice of collecting and Sideshow has salted their line in many ways thus far. (We want them to remain steadfast in this pattern.) Completely sold out, we suggest trying the Wait List at Sideshow Collectibles, but with a tiny edition size of 2000 pieces, we assume that the best of these sets are basically gone. At $199.99, it's a bit more than two 1:6 Scale Imperial Stormtrooper figures, but remember that you are getting unique parts as well as new portraits of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. (This is no consolation, right?) But if you are a 1:6 Scale fan, then this is a must-have set for your collection, especially those who love anything from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope! This is a very nice collectible set. Sideshow Collectibles did right by collectors here.