To say I like Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts Star Wars line is an understatement. I like like it. Love it. And when they dip into the Original Trilogy characters? Oh, man — hawg heaven.
The situation with Tatooine Luke from Star Wars: A New Hope has been a weird one. I can’t even remember if Hasbro showed theirs first or if Bandai solicited theirs earlier, I just know that while I did buy the Black Series figure, I was really wanting the Figuarts. Because Star Wars. I gotta get them all to make sure that I’m really happy with what I do end up putting on the shelf.
Guess which one is going on the shelf.
The packaging here is your standard S.H. Figuarts packaging. Window box, pretty pictures, bunch of stuff I can’t read.
Out of the box is where this figure really shines, though. Wait, what a dumb statement. You know what I mean. Plastic, meet hand. Bliss.
The sculpt on the clothing is amazing. The wrinkles, the ridges on the boots, the belt pouches and doodads. The face looks like Luke, but at this point I just think Mark Hamill has one of those faces that is nigh-impossible to replicate. Like Harrison Ford. But because of the hair and clothing, there is no mistaking that this is Luke Skywalker. This along with the paint, which looks sparse but is actually kind of a dirty wash all over, makes this the new Luke figure to beat.
The hair does have that gold color to it, but it’s not as obvious as Jedi Luke. I can see what they are going for with the “shimmering in sunlight” look, but in every other kind of setting it looks odd. Not a huge deal, just slap on some paint, but it seems to be a deal-breaker to some.
Luke comes with two interchangeable faces.
One is a fairly neutral, serious face. This is how I usually picture Luke in my head, so this one is my favorite. The other head is smirking, snickering. It looks good but it’s just not my version of Luke. In fact, I have to go back and watch the movie again to see where this even happens. I don’t hate it but I probably will never use it.
And as I say with every Figuarts review, the pics make the face prints look rough. This isn’t noticeable in person.
The good news though is that it’s not as bad as Bandai’s production pics. The hairline was raised up too high and made it look way off. I was able to replicate this by not placing the top peg in the peghole under the hair, instead placing the peg in front of it. So it’s possible, just not advised.
Along with the extra faces, the figure comes with a blast helmet. It’s not a traditional-type helmet, where it fits over the head, but instead it’s a replacement head piece for the faces. I don’t even know if that makes sense, but essentially the helmet splits, the face plugs in, and then you close it back up.
In those images you can see the gap where the split happens. This is because for some reason the smiling face doesn’t fit as snug as the neutral face. And guess which face I had in the helmet for those pics?
You can see how the whole process works in my video review:
Then there are the usual array of hands: gripping, fists, and open. All look great and work well. Popping them on and off isn’t a problem, producing a satisfying “pop” sound when they go on.
The included lightsaber has a nice silver sheen to it, with added paint where appropriate.
The blade is removable and the hilt attaches to Luke’s belt via a rectangle hole and peg.
But the best accessory is the training ball with blast effect. This thing is genius. The blue deflect piece has a clip on the back that grasps the blade of the lightsaber and is a lot more stable than you would think. The ball has a hole in it for a stand to hold it up and alleviate some weight off of the overall setup, but I have not had a single problem so far.
Articulation is what we’re used to with the Figuarts line. Basically, everything you need. Holding the lightsaber with both hands takes a little work, but it does look good.
Surprisingly, Luke can even sit, which would come in really handy if some company wants to give us a landspeeder. HINT HINT.
The ball in the waist helps achieve the sitting look, as the hips don’t come up completely 90 degrees. But Luke is a kid. He slouches. Damn kids.
Again, a complete articulation rundown is in my video review.
But, Robo, you ask, how does he compare to the Hasbro Black Series Luke? Size-wise, pretty close. Look-wise, light years better.
It all comes down to the head and tunic. Just getting that puffy, poofy, tissue paper-looking shirt out of the display is a win, but there is also the far superior head. But that comes down to paying $60 compared to the $20 of the Black Series version. You get what you pay for.
And just for my own amusement, here is Figuarts Luke with the MAFEX R2-D2, who has taken premium placement on my Star Wars shelf.
All in all, the S.H. Figuarts Luke is worth it, and the last Tatooine Luke you’ll probably need. Unless they release another with the Stormtrooper belt, blaster, and grappling hook. With a Han with the same equipment. After releasing a perfect ANH Han Solo along with Chewbacca. But that’s just me daydreaming, pay me no mind.
