Luke Skywalker (A New Hope Ver.) - Real Action Heroes (Ultimate Unison)

The path of a Jedi is often difficult, filled with conflict and pain. Luke Skywalker's life, which began as a simple farmboy and saw him become the greatest hero the galaxy has ever known, is an amazing example of this. Skywalker spent his restless childhood on the backwater desert planet of Tatooine, toiling away on his uncle's moisture farm. His guardians, Beru and Owen Lars, never told Luke of his true heritage. While Luke believed his father to have been a navigator on a spice freighter, he never suspected that Anakin Skywalker was once a famed Jedi Knight and incredible starpilot.

In case you haven’t been able to put “2” and “2” together, this is our 1977th review, so we just had to choose a standout collectible based on a main character from the very first Star Wars film. Look for similar themes for reviews 1978 through 1985 also. Now that we have gotten the housekeeping out of the way, let’s dig deep into the Luke Skywalker (A New Hope Ver.) [Ultimate] one-sixth scale figure from Medicom Toy. What is it that sets the “Ultimate” figures apart from the standard Real Action Heroes figures? Simply explained, it’s the new sculpted parts which most notably include the portrait and the hands. While the likenesses have been the center of debate and controversy, it’s our own opinion that the Ultimate Unison figures have some of the most incredibly lifelike head sculpts we have seen on the market. In the case of Luke Skywalker (A New Hope Ver.) [Ultimate], we believe the actual likeness isn’t perfect, but yet at certain angles the silhouette is flawless and the characteristics are perfectly nailed. But regardless, this is the nicest Episode IV version of Luke Skywalker on the market today. It even blows Sideshow Collectibles’ Luke Skywalker (Moisture Farmer: Tatooine) completely out of the water as well. With an excellently reproduced costume and a decent array of accessories, the Luke Skywalker (A New Hope Ver.) [Ultimate] figure may be a hard figure to knock out of the reigning high-end collectible spot for this scale.

The Ultimate Unison line is at an instant disadvantage. This is because of the excessively extravagant MSRP. Just a single penny shy of $300, there will be an extremely tiny subset of collectors who will be willing to plop down this much money for a single one-sixth scale figure, no matter how premium it is, especially since it utilizes the Real Action Heroes body. Yes, these are highly detailed and articulated figures, but no single head sculpt and/or newly tooled hands no matter how impressive can make that price tag remotely palatable. With over 30 points of articulation, Luke Skywalker (A New Hope Ver.) [Ultimate] figure is a standout collectible. The Real Action Heroes body can attain essentially every last human pose possible, so this figure looks lifelike no matter which position you choose. Luke’s head sculpt is impressive. The hair may be a tad too dark, but Enterbay (the makers of the Ultimate Unison special parts) has done a fantastic job with recreating the Episode IV likeness of Luke Skywalker on this figure. Even the newly molded hands have actually veins sculpted into them and they’ve also been painted in a way that looks like they’re actually underneath the skin. Medicom Toy included two extra sets of hands which allows you to utilize this figure is so many different ways. Have him hold the included droid caller or have him wield the included lightsaber. These options and more are here for you to enjoy with this one-sixth scale figure.

The neatest feature of this figure is the lightsaber. Would you believe that the hilt unscrews in two parts and there is a spot to place three tiny button cell batteries which provides power to the bulb which in turn allows the blade to light up. There were no sacrifices made, like a too thick hilt for instance, because of this wonderful approach. (Sadly our sample was defective and the light-up feature didn’t work. This should give some indication of the fragility of this option.) Aside from his costume looking too clean and the very high retail price, we think that the Luke Skywalker (A New Hope Ver.) [Ultimate] figure is worth trying to secure for your collection. It’s doubtful if there will be that many figures produced for the Ultimate Unison line. We would personally love to see a lot more get created, but the cost of these high-end collectibles just isn’t feasible and the line likely won’t be able to sustain itself. We’re still not quite so sure why these premium head sculpts cost so much money to produce, but we do know that it’s not something the collecting community will be able to embrace. There isn’t enough other things included here to make almost $300 price any easier to swallow. Despite the negatives, we’re overall pleasantly surprised with the Luke Skywalker (A New Hope Ver.) [Ultimate] figure. Medicom Toy does have to find ways to reduce the costs of these figures. Other foreign companies have managed to provide more accessories and comparable quality for better or similar prices, so they have some competition. They need to play their cards a little more safely now.