For the past few years Hasbro has released a preview figure for the upcoming new Star Wars film in some sort of unique packaging before the figure hit shelves later on. This year Hasbro released Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and Jedi Training Rey from the upcoming Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. Let’s take a look!
It seems like a good long while that we Star Wars fans have been clamoring for “old man Luke” from The Force Awakens. It looks like he’ll actually wear a few different things in The Last Jedi, so I’m glad we are getting the TFA look prior to kicking off the Episode VIII merchandising blitz.
It would have made a lot of sense to get the Rey in Resistance uniform from TFA with this Luke, but that figure is on the way and this one looks pretty nice, so I’m good with it.
The packaging is a gatefold box in black and silver. Not too special, but unique enough for carded collectors, I suppose. I do like that Luke is listed as “Jedi Master.” I feel so silly having called him “old man Luke” for such a long time.
Rey comes with her staff, the blaster she got from Han in TFA, and her lightsaber. The blaster is the new accessory here and it’s painted in a great shiny metallic silver and fits snugly in Rey’s hip holster. The staff and saber feel like reuse from previous figures, but that’s fine. They work great, though the saber hilt is a little rubbery.
Luke comes with his hooded cape, and, boy, is it a pain in the rear to try and make look good on him. The cape in the film is actually pinned to Mark Hamill’s shoulders, so Hasbro was already going to have a hard time making this thing lay naturally on the figure.
There are two loose strings on the inside of the cape and I think you are meant to affix the cape to Luke with these. I wrapped them around the figures arms and that worked pretty good. I also applied some water to try and get the hood to lie down naturally on the figure’s head, and that was semi successful. Shoving the cape under Luke’s hair helps a little too. I’ll definitely want to see what Rickhor409 comes up with for this one.
I think the sculpts are very nice. The clothing folds and wrinkles look natural and all have different textures. I found it interesting that they actually matched the texture on the darker parts of Luke’s tunic to match the texture of the cloth cape. It makes the thing flow together a little nicer.
I think the likenesses work well and the Luke really conveys the weary expression we’ve seen from Luke in TFA and The Last Jedi promo material.
Luke has his metal hand, but it’s a really dark color. I feel like it was lighter in the film, so I might hit this with a silver drybrush eventually. This hand is also extremely gummy, so it’s tough to get him holding things well.
Luke does not come with a saber, but if you have a Return of the Jedi Luke, you can hang his saber from this Luke’s belt loop.
The articulation is Black Series standard:
- Swivel/hinge shoulders, neck, elbows, wrists, hips, and ankles
- Ball/socket neck and torso
- Double-hinged knees
- Thigh swivel
Both figures move well, Rey having better leg range of motion than her TFA version, though Luke’s leg movement is restricted by the soft, but long plastic skirt.
Paint work is decent outside of the somewhat cartoony eyes. The face printing tech cannot come to this line quick enough for my liking. Still, everything seems centered and correct for the most part. I think Luke’s tunic could use a little wash to dirty it up a bit. Parts of the beard could stand to be whiter as well.
Overall, the set is decent, though I suspect the main advantage will be that we got these characters slightly early. Rumored lists for Force Friday indicate Rey and Luke in wave one. Will they be re-releases of these two figures? I think it’s highly probable.
Still, I’m glad to have them in my hot little hands as early as possible, and it’s nice to get that TFA Luke finally. I can’t wait for General Leia now! Also, Rey is a super fun figure to play around with as the saber/blaster combo is something I love in my Jedi.
