And here I was silly enough to believe I was happy with the Jedi Luke Skywalker I had. Oh no. Turns out I was sorely mistaken.
I had originally passed on the S.H. Figuarts Luke because I was afraid of scale issues. I had seen the Avengers figures and knew they were small, so I figured the Star Wars figures were the same. But then the review pics started coming in and I knew I had been wrong. To Amazon!
A couple of days later a padded envelope hit my doorstep, and inside was this small package.
In fact, when I picked up the envelope I almost thought I had received the wrong thing. But nope, the box is just small. And you know what? I’m good with that. Less wasted space, both inside the package and in my bin. So I’m happy here.
When I freed Luke from his plastic prison . . . wowwy wow wow wow!
I was, and still am, blown away. Why didn’t you guys tell me S.H. Figuarts were this awesome? That’s right, I’m blaming y’all. There’s no way I would have delayed this eye-opening experience on my own. I have seen the light and am now a devoted Figuarts follower.
At least when it comes to human Star Wars characters. Let’s not get carried away. I’m not made of money.
That figure isn’t without it’s nits, though. Let’s get those out of the way before I gush some more.
First and foremost, the hair is gold. Not a tint, not a wash. This is straight-up metallic gold. I can kinda see what Bandai was going for, and it does kinda work when it’s not under the bright review lights, but this is going to need a repaint or a brown wash. Some Dullcote. Something.
A distant second is the likeness. It’s not perfect. But I’ve resigned myself to the fact that A) We’re not ever going to get exact likenesses in 6-inch scale and 2) Hamill and Ford just have those kinds of faces — the kind that are hard to capture in a smaller scale. Sure, Hot Toys gets close, but the price difference is pretty huge. But here I can tell who it’s supposed to be, so I’m good. It’s as close to a perfect 1:12 Luke Skywalker as I’m probably going to get. Color me satisfied.
The figure also comes with an alternate head.
I know the iconic scene this head replicates, but I’ve personally never been a fan of windswept hair. Fortunately the hairpieces are swappable. The back of the head, the bangs, and the face are all separate pieces that peg together. When pegged, there is no fear of anything falling off. So you can switch them up to get this:
Looks okay, but for the shelf and playtime I prefer the calm hair with the calm face, maybe the random gritting face for battle.
I demonstrate the hair switching in my video review, along with a full breakdown of articulation. This thing has excellent articulation, all useful, right down to the toe joints. And I can usually take or leave toe joints.
For other accessories, Luke comes with an unmasked Vader head, a lightsaber hilt, a removable lightsaber blade, and three sets of hands.
The hands are two fists, two grip hands, and open relaxed hands. Switching them out is easy, although the small peg did make me nervous at first. The right, gloved grip hand is open to allow the lightsaber hilt to be held with no problem. The left grip hand is closed and can only be slid over the bottom or top of the hilt.
The lightsaber hilt has a rectangle peghole, and the belt has a rectangle peg. So it can hang from the belt no problem.
For an ignited look, the emitter on the top of the hilt actually comes off, and the blade has an emitter on the base. I can only guess this was done to avoid having a hole in the top of the hilt and allowing for a little extra detail. But the emitter is definitely going to get lost in my mess of Star Wars extras. I already have a pile of model kit accessories that I need to stash somewhere. But I ramble. The ignited lightsaber looks great.
Finally, the unmasked Vader head. This almost, ALMOST, got me to throw down a pre-order for the re-release of the Figuarts Vader, but I couldn’t do it. Looking at pictures, he just looks small. I’m happy with my model kit Vader. But this head does look fantastic.
There’s isn’t a lot of paint to speak of, but the little that is there is nice and clean: the silver on the belt, the difference of the matte black of the clothes, and the gloss of the boots. I’m not quite sure how the face detailing was done. I’ve read it’s molded that way, with the eyes and such. I can’t confirm that but they do look awesome. Even the lips have some color and gloss.
And now for the thing that sold me the most, the point that made me hop online and buy this figure with a quickness. The scale.
Like I said way at the top, I was content with the Black Series Luke, I really was. But when I saw that the Figuarts was right in line scale-wise with the rest of my Star Wars collection, I had to jump. The superior detail, the better articulation, the more eye-pleasing colors. The likeness. The eyes. The proportions. Had. To. Have.
Even the lightsaber is more detailed. The colors are more vibrant, and the blade is a darker shade of green.
And he looks good with Han, one of the better Black Series figures, in my opinion. Not that it stops me from wanting that S.H. Figuarts Han they teased a while back.
I hear you, though. “But Robo, of course the overall figure is going to be better; it costs three times as much. Is it worth it to drop that kind of cash?”
Yes, yes it is. A thousand times yes. Believe me, I thought the same. But as soon as this plastic crack hit my grubby hands, I knew I was a goner. Even though I will still buy the Black Series (and the model kits and some MAFEX) because somehow I’ve become a 6-inch Star Wars junkie, this option is just too good to pass up. And that’s what it’s all about now. Options. I can type all day, but if you’re good with the cheaper option, that’s great! Options. A tiny part of me almost wishes I hadn’t gone to the streets and bought this gateway figure. But now that I have, there is no turning back. And I’m attempting to take as many of you as I can with me. We’ve gone from begging for 6-inch Star Wars to swimming in (say it with me) options.
The only thing I wish it had was another chest piece to give it the flap down, final duel look, like the Black Series figure. That was brilliant. And then an ungloved right hand just to replicate all his looks through the movie. But as-is, I’m completely happy.
I can’t recommend this figure enough.
