Review of Luke Skywalker - X-Wing Pilot Outfit
Exclusive Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

It's coming. In less than three weeks, the world will be treated to the on going saga of Han, Chewy, Leia, Luke, and a bevy of new characters in the beloved Star Wars film franchise. The opening weekend box office for this film will crush all that have come before, I guarantee it. Will it be great? Hell, I don't know if it will even be good, but I certainly have my fingers and toes crossed, held in place with superglue.

Sideshow and Hot Toys are both doing sixth scale figures, although it seems that Hot Toys has more of the new film focus.  Sideshow has just released another Original Trilogy figure in their Red Five X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalker, a pretty common Luke variant over the years.

There's two versions of this figure, regular and exclusive. I'm checking out the exclusive release that's available only through Sideshow for $240, while the regular can be had for a few bucks cheaper at various online retailers.

Packaging - ***
Nothing too surprising here.  It is the usual five panel box with the wrap around lid and magnetic closures.  Inside is a double plastic clam shell tray holding the figure and accessories safe. There's some plastic wrap on the head, hands, feet, and chest, but it isn't wrapped so tight that you need to cut it loose. It's all collector friendly of course, and you can pop him in and out of the package easily with no damage.

Sculpting - ***
Much has been said about this sculpt, and it follows the usual banter for any Sideshow release. Once the leader and innovator in the industry, they are forever playing second fiddle to Hot Toys.

This portrait is clearly Luke, although it's not an outstanding Luke by any stretch.  It does fulfill the realistic aspect, and Sideshow has much improved over the last half dozen human releases when it comes to skin texture and realism.

It's not quite as lifelike as I'd prefer, although you couldn't call it a zombie expression either. This isn't really an outfit that screams for an overly expressive look, and they found a reasonably happy medium.  I would have liked to see a little more concern in those eyes - he is going off to potentially die - but it's not a deal breaker.

It does take a hit when it comes to accuracy. Mark Hamill is a tough one to capture, as evidenced by the repeated failures of any company that tries. Part of that is his relatively nondescript appearance and part of it is due to the drastic changes to his face due to his car accident (as the story goes). The work here reminds me, accuracy-wise, of what we recently saw with the Hot Toys Han Solo - it's close enough that I can recognize the head separate from the body (and therefore, without context), but it's not a home run. It's more accurate to A New Hope Luke than it is to Empire Luke, whether you believe the difference in his appearance was due to the accident or merely aging. For me, it's the nose that messes it up, and he seems to suffer from 'average white guy nose' syndrome, missing out on the slight personality his snoze had. Still, it's one of the better ANH attempts we've seen.

BTW, much ado about nothing has been made over his moles.  Yes, they are obvious if you blast his kisser with bright light AND get all macro on him, but under normal conditions they are not that obtuse.

The other issue with the sculpt is the normal hair, included for the helmet-less look.  This hair is a tight fit over the head, and yet, it doesn't sit very snug on the forehead itself. Over the ears, neck and jaw - tight fit.  At the forehead - big gap. That hurts some of the realism as well, bringing this score down. Of course, if you stick with the helmet look (as I expect most people will), it won't be an issue.

As you'd expect, Luke is shorter than the average 1/6th figure, coming in at an appropriate 11 1/2" without the helmet.

Paint - **1/2
The highlight of the paint job, at least with the portrait, is with the skin and moles. The work is quite clean and realistic, improving the look of the face itself.

However, other areas tend to drag it back down.  The eyebrows and lips are good, but the hair lacks depth and variation.  I was also unaware that Luke had to partake for medicinal purposes, but clearly that's the case - just look at those eyes! The bleed into the whites is quite bad, and very noticeable even in hand.

Fortunately, the paint work on the various plastic items (helmet, chest pad) offset some of this, but let's not forget that the work on the portrait is always the most critical aspect.

Articulation - ***1/2
The underlying body is tight and solid, with a great range of movement in all the joints.  While this isn't a particular outfit that lends itself to extremely deep stances or wild ninja moves, it does take natural, flowing normal poses quite well. There's only so many ways to repose him - particularly without any light saber or blaster - but you should have no trouble getting a nice display option.

The one area that is restricted due to the costume is the ankles. While I really like the boot sculpt, the plastic is too thick to allow the ankles any mobility. This isn't an issue for short to medium stances though, which is where this character's sweet spot lies anyway.

Accessories - *1/2
Here's a huge problem - even with the exclusive release, poor Luke is pretty threadbare in this category.

I'm not including the helmet here, as that will go in with the Outfit score.  But there are 7 hands for the exclusive release, five if you get the regular. The normal five include a set of gloved relaxed grip, a set of gloved fists, and a gloved splayed right. If you pick up the exclusive you get two more bare hands with slightly different grips to hold the helmet and crumpled gloves.  Those crumbled gloves are the one other extra that comes with the exclusive.

Each of the hands has its own wrist peg of course, and they swap easily.  The crumpled gloves fit in the hands nicely, and it's a good look to use when the helmet is off. The gloved hands sport an over sized sculpt though, especially the relaxed grip versions.

Under the helmet is a Friar monk style hair piece, and he comes with a second full hair piece to swap into place.

There's also a basic display stand with a crotch support...and that's it. C'mon, not even a blaster or a light saber?

Outfit - ****
The bright shining star here is the outfit, which consists of the helmet, jumpsuit with rigging and panel, and boots.

I've heard some weird comments on the helmet. Comments to the effect that it is difficult or 'over engineered'. Actually, it's quite easy to work with, and is a pretty smart design.  The top slips off, the two halves come apart - that's it. And it does it easily and cleanly. I popped it on and off several times as I swapped back and forth, and didn't have any issues.

The mic is on a adjustable metal post, so you can place it in front of the mouth where you think it looks best. Even the chin strap is easy to work with, held in place on one side with a magnet.  I did have a little trouble getting it to center on the chin every time, but it's doable. The paint work on the helmet is top notch, and the adjustable visor works smoothly.

The boots are an excellent sculpt, and they do rest flat and wide on the ground, giving him lots of stability in medium and short stances.  The jump suit looks great as well, with good tailoring and top quality material.  It could be worn in slightly more - not necessarily worn with damage or dirt, but simply worn in to allow it to be slightly less stiff - but it's not a major issue.

The chest piece and rigging look good as well, and he has a ton of little tubes and tools.  There's ten tubes on the waist alone, with more on the right ankle and right shoulder. These are all removable, so pay attention to them as they'd be easy to lose.

Fun Factor - ***
The underlying body allows for some good posing, and the ability to swap between the helmet and no helmet look adds to your fun.  This isn't a frustrating process either, and it never felt like I might break or damage anything when working with him.  Still, lacking the saber or blaster means there's still only so much you can do, and the specificity of the costume takes away some of the fun of posing as well.

Value - *
This figure will cost you $240. Yes, you heard that right.  Even if you go for the regular release (which means you lose out on the crumpled gloves and bare set of hands), you'll spend at least $220. Keep in mind that this is similar pricing to the recent Hot Toys Han Solo, who had a ton of extras. This is more expensive than the uber-outfitted Deadpool from Sideshow themselves, and far more expensive than something like the Asmus Aragorn, another figure with a butt load of extras. Even Sideshow's own Hoth Luke, with TWO head sculpts, came in at just $200...and was released just a few months ago.

It's hard to see where the cash went, considering the lack of accessories. While the outfit is sweet, it's not something we haven't seen before, or at least something very similar - remember Bossk? Sideshow produced him two years ago, wearing a similar pilot uniform, and he cost $80 less. And had two head sculpts. I'm sure the assumption is that the helmet drove the costs up, and while it's a nice item, it's not something that validates this high of a price point. If Hot Toys produced this figure at Hot Toys quality and charged $240, I'd be annoyed. That makes this, with a mediocre portrait and few accessories, all the harder to take.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. The helmet works quite easily, but do pay attention to the microphone, since bending that little wire too many times - or too far - could be an issue.

Overall - **1/2
The quality of this figure is reasonable, but not exceptional. The outfit is the real winner here, with an average sculpt and mediocre paint job. At $180, I'd have a lot less to complain about, but at $240 he's wildly over priced.  There simply aren't enough extras or accoutrements to justify that price tag, and the rest of the figure isn't up to the standard necessary to bring in that type of green.

I can see other collectors swinging a half star up or down based on what actually matters most to them. For the more price conscious, this score will drop, but for those looking for Luke in this outfit, with the helmet on, the score could rise. Either way, this isn't one I expect to fly out of stock, and waiting awhile might net you a great deal.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***
Paint - **1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - *1/2
Outfit - ****
Fun Factor - ***
Value - *
Overall - **1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has the exclusive version for $240.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other key recent sixth scale releases around the Original Trilogy include the Hot Toys Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo and Chewbacca, as well as Sideshow's recent Speeder Bike and Scout Trooper. Sideshow's most recent Luke was their Hoth version.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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