Review of Jedi Luke Skywalker - Star Wars
Premium Format Statue

Introduction

I've reviewed a lot of Lukes. I've reviewed a lot of Jedi Lukes. I'm at a loss as to what to say in an intro that I haven't said before. I mean, it's Jedi Luke - we all pretty much know the gig.

So let's just jump right on in. Sideshow is continuing their very cool Star Wars Premium Format series with Luke Skywalker - Jedi Knight.

Not surprisingly, there is a regular edition (limited to 1000) and exclusive edition (limited to 700). The exclusive, which I'm reviewing tonight, includes a second right hand with blaster. The regular retails at $290, while the exclusive is $300. Check my Where to Buy section for some lower prices on the regular edition.

Packaging - ***
The box does job 1, keeping everything inside very safe. The exterior has some nice product photos, a bit of text, and the exclusive sticker.

One complaint some folks might have - depending on how much of a realism fanatic you are - is with the lighted saber, which is clearly a photoshop job. Your statue is not going to look like that when you get it home and on the shelf.

Sculpting - ***1/2
While folks have complained about the hit and miss quality of Sideshow's sixth scale figures over the last couple years, it's tough to argue with their work on statues, especially when it comes to head sculpts. The larger scale treats them well, and they return the favor.

This is a very good portrait of Mark Hamill as the older, wiser, and banged up Luke Skywalker. There's some nits you can pick - the cleft is a big over done, and the head is just a smidge large on the body (I've met Mr. Hamill though, and he does have a big head) - but this is the best sculpt of older Luke that I've seen.

The body is posed in a crouch, and it's a good choice. It's not extreme, but still dynamic, and the arms, legs and head pose all work together in a very realistic way. The proportion of the limbs and torso to each other is also very good.

It's worth noting the boots again - doesn't seem to matter what the scale, Sideshow always nails the boots.

Paint - ***
The paint work is clean and neat, and Sideshow is doing some of their most realistic work in this scale.

Skin tone is good, and the hair is the darker brown that Hamill had in the later films. The eyebrow and lips look great, and the pupils and iris' are good as well. The eyes are even, with no sign of any 'lazy eye' syndrome.

However, Luke suffers from the same problem that seems to plague Sideshow - paint bleed into the whites of the eyes. You don't want uber white eyes, since that's not realistic either, but the staining is so clearly the skin tone that it makes the issue far too obvious even in person.

Articulation - Bupkis
No surprise for regular PF collectors, but there's no articulation. This is a true statue. Knowing this in advance means it has no effect on my overall score or opinion of the figure, but thought I'd include the category as an FYI for those that might not realize it.

Accessories - Regular, Bupkis; Exclusive ***
As you'd probably expect, there's no 'accessories' with the regular statue, but the exclusive includes a swappable right hand. The extra hand is ungloved and gripping a blaster. It's well sculpted and painted, and the swap works easily enough. It's not an extra that you may really feel the need to get however, since he looks better with the lightsaber.

Light Feature - ***
There are three AA batteries in the base, with a switch on the back. Luke's foot plugs into the base, and the saber lights up. It's not the brightest we've ever seen, and it certainly won't look like it does on the box, but it's very bright right near the hilt, and there's a bright spot light at the very end.

One of the things we're missing here that we've gotten with other light up PF's is the ability to use a power cord rather than batteries. They didn't include a AC adapter, nor did they give you a spot to plug your own in.

Outfit - ****
The cloth costume is very well done, with great tailoring, high quality material, and excellent stitching.

One of the features of this Premium Format statue that sets it apart - and really helps boost it's overall score - is the flexibility of the costume. Normally, you don't get to do much with the cloth outfit on a PF, but here, you get an option.

The leather belt, gray cloth belt, and gray vest are all removable. There's a velcro slit on the lower left side, allowing you to separate the front and back pieces and then slip it off the right arm. Velcro holds the two belts in place.

Remove these pieces, and the shirt can be folded over. It snaps in place, either up or down, and looks great in either position.

The outer belt is a little loose with the other pieces of clothing removed, but you can tighten it up a little by using the velcro closure behind the buckle. The first photo of Luke without the vest shows the belt tightened up a bit - the second one shows what it looks like if you leave it as it comes stretched out over the cloth belt. It tends to sag, especially in the back.

This sort of flexibility in displaying the figure is a big plus in my book, allowing you to personalize the look at least a little.

Value - **
Sideshow's PF's have been creeping up over $300 a lot lately, but most have had a lot of extras. Here, there's the light up feature, but the overall statue isn't particularly complicated, making it tough for me to justify quite this much money this time around. Had we gotten an AC adapter (or at last the option to use one), I would have been more willing to up this score a bit.

Things to Watch Out For -
When you plug the light saber hand in, it's a tight fit. At first, mine wasn't working, but it was simply because I hadn't gotten it on far enough. You'll want to be very careful though, and when you swap to the blaster, be sure you don't damage the metal post.

Overall - ***1/2
This statue could have been a three star Overall, particularly with the bleed in the eyes and the slightly high price. But this PF has something most others don't - display flexibility. Giving you the option of either using the vest or not was a terrific idea, and they executed it extremely well.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - Bupkis
Accessories - Regular Bupkis; Exclusive ***
Light up Feature - ***
Outfit - ****
Value - **
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Star Wars PF reviews include:

- the last one was Yoda with the Clone Trooper.

- I have been trying to cut back, at least on Star Wars PF's, so before that it was a full year earlier: Slave Leia.

- prior to that, I looked at Boba Fett, Darth Vader, ANH Leia, ANH Obi-Wan, and Han Solo.

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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