{"id":24449,"date":"2013-08-12T01:14:43","date_gmt":"2013-08-12T06:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24449"},"modified":"2013-08-17T01:05:21","modified_gmt":"2013-08-17T06:05:21","slug":"star-wars-black-01-x-wing-luke-skywalker-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24449","title":{"rendered":"Star Wars Black #01
X-Wing Luke Skywalker Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> I\u2019m not going to buy all the 6\u201d Star Wars Black figures. I\u2019m not a completist by nature though I\u2019m currently acting as such with MOTUC at Mattel\u2019s behest (and it\u2019s mostly a fun ride, really)<\/em> and their DC Classics line because I love the old DC like little else (and also at Mattel\u2019s behest, but I do enjoy getting a new DC fig every month and there\u2019s no big items to jack the price up. )<\/em> <\/p>\n

Star Wars Black, returns me to a much more familiar dilemma. The line looks fabulous \u2013 it might even make non-Star Wars fans want to collect it \u2013 and it\u2019s popular enough that it doesn\u2019t need to be sold via subscription. I can buy whatever I want, provided I can find it. Looking at the first wave, I had to have a 6\u201d scale R2. And I kinda wanted a Sandtrooper. They\u2019re fun. And I would want a Luke too, but…<\/p>\n

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Maybe not X-Wing Pilot Luke. Honestly, I don\u2019t know which Luke is \u201cmy\u201d quintessential Luke. His classic togs from A New Hope? I think I prefer the Bespin outfit to that one. And, of course, he always did look cool clad in all black. I\u2019m still not sure. And, truthfully, this may sound a bit divergent from this review because, look, here\u2019s X-Wing Pilot Luke up for review! I obviously bought it. But I bring it up because parts of this review may sound like I shouldn\u2019t have and I think the reason may be more me than the figure. Keep that in mind. <\/p>\n

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Despite my unwillingness to be a SWB completist, I bought all four from the first wave. Partially because they all look like great figures and I wanted to test drive the line a bit. And partially because the pre-order I was waffling over got filled before I made the call. Oops! <\/p>\n

Once I got Luke open, I feel like I may have done a disservice to myself in buying the Sandtrooper first. I haven\u2019t opened Maul yet, but I think the Sandtrooper is the standout from the first wave. I\u2019d almost call him near flawless. And while X-Wing Luke is really good, he doesn\u2019t stand out quite as well.<\/p>\n

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The best part of the figure is easily the sculpt, of course. Like the Trooper, the figure just looks like they nailed all the details in twelfth-scale. Again, we\u2019re reminded that Hasbro can reuse this pilot ad nauseam, so it makes since to do the sculpt justice, but I applaud them for it nonetheless. The body is fantastic. <\/p>\n

The head sculpt, I\u2019ve gone back and forth on. I do think it\u2019s a decent likeness. There are some angles I found when I was photographing that really looked like a young Mark Hamill. The hair looks dead on too. But there\u2019s just something not quite right about it to me and I think I\u2019ve figured it out. <\/p>\n

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Marvel Legends, DC Classics, & MOTU Classics, three lines closely associated with where Star Wars Black is trying to go aren\u2019t based on likeness and true-to-life accuracy. They can get by on soft sculpts and painted faces easily. I don\u2019t know that that will be as true for Star Wars (particularly Harrison Ford who seems impossible to get just right\u2026) thanks to companies like NECA who just recently put a tiny little Arnold Schwarzenegger on my shelves. <\/p>\n

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Luke does look great, but he kinda looks like a comic book version of Luke Skywalker \u2013 animated or simply drawn instead of a photo realistic little Mark Hamill. Now, that may be what collectors wand and want Hasbro intends. I\u2019m okay with it and I\u2019m not going to knock this figure for it, but I do wonder how much cooler this figure could be if they handled the likeness execution a little differently. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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The paintwork on Luke was pretty nice overall. There was some slopply lines on the helmet and one eye appears to be slightly smaller than the other (don\u2019t look, you can\u2019t \u201cunsee\u201d it), but it\u2019s still on the well done side for this scale. A light wash on the uniform might really bring out the detail, but I love the orangey goodness as is. (Maybe that\u2019s why I bought X-Wing Luke, there just aren\u2019t enough good figures clad in orange). The only real knock on the paint is the face & hair contributing to Luke having an animated look. <\/p>\n

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Articulation is again the highlight of the figure, though I wanted a little more. Here\u2019s the good: ball-joints at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists (two different angles, great for posing!), hips, and the inverted ball-joints in the ankles that I so love. There are also swivels at the neck, thighs, and boot cuts, double-hinged knees, and a great mid-torso joint with some amazing range. <\/p>\n

The only thing I\u2019d like to see more of is my usual lament: bicep swivels and a waist swivel. The torso joint and the ball-jointed elbows just don\u2019t quite pull off the movement the same as the aforementioned joints. I could probably live without the waist swivel, but I really want those bicep swivels (the Sandtrooper got \u2018em!). There is some blockage due to the pilot gear around his legs, but to end on a good note, Luke can definitely sit in a vehicle\u2026 should there ever be any…<\/p>\n

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Luke included three accessories: a helmet, his blaster, and a lightsaber. The helmet is the most complicated of all three. It\u2019s cast in clear yellow and heavily painted and tampoed to match the prop. The helmet fits great and doesn\u2019t look bulky on the figure, but he\u2019s more fun to pose with it under his arm or holding the chin strap since he\u2019s unable to hang out in his ride. As I mentioned above, the helmet is a source of much more sloppy paint the figure with some wave lines and missed tampos. Like the Sandtrooper, it gets away with some sloppiness based on use & wear since it\u2019s also painted to be a bit dingy, but it ends up clashing with the uniform a bit as a result. <\/p>\n

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The other accessories fantastic. I prefer to hook up Luke with his blaster since this is less a jedi costume and more that of a soldier. Plus his right hand is molded to be used on a trigger and because the pilot\u2019s uniform doesn\u2019t feature a spot for a sidearm. It is a little gummy like the Sandtrooper\u2019s gear, but not as bad due to the compact size and it looks great thanks to a detailed sculpt and the silver paint getting clean lines. <\/p>\n

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Finally, the signature accessory of the line: a lightsaber. This is another nice piece; it looks accurate and has decent paint applications. While the articulation is fantastic for dual-handed lightsaber poses, I tend to skip all that. Hasbro smartly made it so that the beam can be removed (they\u2019ve been making lightsaber accessories for a few years) and the saber can be hung from his belt. That was a nice touch and it also means that, if you give Luke his blaster to hold, everything but the beam* can store on the figure. I love that! <\/p>\n

* – I suppose you could let it dangle there turned on, but that might be dangerous for future Skywalkers…<\/em><\/p>\n

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Looking back across this review, I\u2019m not sure where I\u2019m coming down on it. I think I like it a lot more than I would normally because the good sculpt and articulation really helps make it a fun figure. It\u2019s just a fun figure of something I might not normally buy. And that\u2019s dangerous if I\u2019m going to skip being a completist on Star Wars Black (Carbonite Han aside, right?). NECA has got me to buy multiple Dutch figures and while Luke might not be as a good a figure as Dutch, I think Hasbro has got the right stuff to make buy a few more Lukes (or Hans & Leias) than I expected to at the outset of this little exercise. <\/p>\n

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For more Star Wars Black reviews, check out our
\n Star Wars Black Collector’s Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Either way, I\u2019m compelled to buy two with every purchase. So when I picked up Lando, I also somehow found myself at checkout with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24614,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24614","url_meta":{"origin":24449,"position":3},"title":"Star Wars Black #02 Darth Maul Review (18 Pics!)","date":"August 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Film & TV"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19783,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=19783","url_meta":{"origin":24449,"position":4},"title":"Sponsor Announcement: Past Generation Toys Giveaways","date":"July 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This week @ PastGenerationToys.com PreOrders Preorder Marvel Legends Series 3 (Now with Images) Preorder Mattel's New 52 DC Universe Unlimited Action Figure and New 52 DC Universe Batman Unlimited Action Figure Living Dead Dolls Series 24 Now in Stock Batman The Dark Knight Rises DC Direct Busts and Statues Shao\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sponsors"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19503,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=19503","url_meta":{"origin":24449,"position":5},"title":"16bit.Com Reviews: Star Wars “Bespin Battle” Battle Pack!","date":"July 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This week, IAT will spotlight our favorite sites! Today\u2019s reviewer has been a force in the Star Wars collecting community for decades and done work for some of the best sites out there including 16bit.com & GalacticHunter.com! A special thanks to Adam Pawlus for kicking off Guest Review Week! 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