Luke Skywalker (Snowspeeder) - TBS [TESB40] - Six Inch Figures

Who remembers The Black Series [Phase III] Luke Skywalker Centerpiece figure set? That was one great looking display piece. But many wondered why Hasbro used a reworked version of the Unleashed Luke Skywalker [Snowspeeder Pilot] figure instead of tooling a super-articulated version instead. Well, we don’t have to worry about that no more. Luke Skywalker (Snowspeeder) is part of The Black Series [The Empire Strikes Back 40] line. Before we begin raving about this beautiful figure, we need to ask a question. Why does Hasbro’s graphics department not follow the vintage Kenner protocol when naming the figures? This figure should be called Luke Skywalker (Snowspeeder Pilot). Luke Skywalker never dressed himself up as a snowspeeder, but he did wear gear specific for a snowspeeder battle. We digress. Thankfully, the misnaming of the Luke Skywalker (Snowspeeder) 6” figure doesn’t detract from its beauty. We’ve always been overly fond of this iteration of Luke Skywalker, and it’s probably in our top three favorite outfits the character wears in the Original Trilogy. We love it more than the X-wing fighter pilot gear. The Black Series [Phase III] Luke Skywalker (Snowspeeder) is an example of the organic evolution of the 6” line as the figure sports two terrific enhancements of past releases. The shoulders have butterfly joints (although inhibited because of the bulky jacket) and new pin-less knee joints, although this update results in standard ball-jointed knees for the figure, not double hinge-jointed knees that we’ve been used to for years now.

Visually, Luke Skywalker (Snowtrooper) is a fantastic looking figure. Admittedly, we’re disappointed in one aspect of the figure, and that’s its deco. The figure doesn’t necessarily have a poor paint job. But Hasbro missed the most critical detail. And that detail is that the orange color used for the jacket varies dramatically from the tone of orange used for the pants. In all fairness, Hasbro only got this correct on one Star Wars action figure. The kit-bashed Luke Skywalker figure from 2007’s TAC The Battle Of Hoth Battle Packs set, a TARGET exclusive has the correct deco. You can see how the jacket and pants differ in color from one another clearly on this 3.75” figure. Unfortunately, as fantastic as Luke Skywalker (Snowspeeder) looks to the eye, it’s technically screen-inaccurate. We wish that Hasbro noted this crucial detail before finalizing the figure. That said, the only other complaint we have is that the figure doesn’t have enough “dirt” on it. Luke Skywalker’s outfit had a significant collection of dirt on it during the Battle of Hoth. But this 6” figure is relatively clean, except for the helmet, which did receive a dirty final paint wash on it. So, we have some deco issues with this figure, but it still comes off as a great-looking Hasbro Star Wars action figure regardless. You’ll have to decide whether or not the missed paint operations will affect your purchase of this figure or not. The costume is screen-accurate, aside from the color, which is perhaps more important than any other detail.

Luke Skywalker (Snowspeeder) comes with a removable helmet, lightsaber hilt, and lightsaber blade. The accessories interact with the figure wonderfully, and aside from wishing they included the grappling hook gun here to take down the Imperial AT-AT, there’s not much else missing from this release. We will say that Luke Skywalker (Snowspeeder) is an extremely odd choice for the 40th Anniversary lineup. We strongly feel that Hasbro should only be placing characters that were part of the classic Kenner lineup in this collection. Luke Skywalker (Snowspeeder) feels like a misfit in this range of celebratory figures. What about Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit), Leia Organa (Bespin Gown), or a Bespin Security Guard? But perhaps most importantly, the biggest misstep is for Hasbro not to include a 40th Anniversary take on the 3.75” version of this figure. 2009’s Legacy Collection Luke Skywalker (BD51) figure is a tremendous release, Hasbro developed an incredible version of this version of Luke Skywalker. Collectors have been asking for years for Hasbro to add it to The Vintage Collection, and yet, we still don’t have it. With Photo Real part of the process, it would make a fantastic update for the line. We hope they’ll pay attention and get this figure out to the collecting community. Despite our reservations of Luke Skywalker (Snowspeeder) being a viable candidate for The Empire Strikes Back 40 lineup, we’re thrilled to see the figure released, and we know most collectors will find it one of Hasbro’s most exceptional efforts in the 6” line. We should expect a “red and black” boxed version of this figure soon.