“But I was going into Tosche Station to pick up some power converters!”
Two of the most iconic looks from Star Wars A New Hope were the original costumes of Luke and Leia as worn for the majority of the film. In the Star Wars Black Series, these figures had been previously released in 2016 with the outfits relying on a majority of soft goods to recreate the on-screen looks. While these two figures had some tweaks along the way, including a revised head sculpt for Leia and face print tech for Luke, they still felt outdated vs the current output of the Black Series.
Wave 20 of the Galaxy Collection was released in late 2024 and within it were fully revisited figures of Farmboy Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa from A New Hope. This time round the figures were rebuilt without any soft goods, using sculpted clothing. Both Luke and Leia were part of the wider Galaxy Collection for a New Hope and used the established orange accent colour on the newer format squared-off box with artwork to the right-hand side that connects to a wider montage.
Luke is number 09 and follows on from his sister Leia at number 08. The newer boxes now also feature a colour-coordinated backing card complete with a background image - for Luke this is a view of the sands of Tatooine.
Luke is a brand new figure with no re-used parts from the older 2016 release. It includes a sculpted white tunic which is split at the waist by a belt, disguising the waist joint, and then flowing into a short skirt piece in softer plastic. The legs are cast in more of a cream finish with the wrapped knee high boots in light brown. There is no weathering on Luke despite his time on Tatooine, with the only paint added on the belt in dark brown with silver rivets and silver & black on a cannister to one side.
vs 2019 Carded Luke Release (right)
The head sculpt is a new likeness, and while much improved on the old Farmboy Luke figure - even with the facial print update from 2021 - Hasbro are still struggling to capture Mark Hamill to the same standard as we see on the Leia from the same wave. The mop of hair is also not quite right with a darker finish to Luke’s straw coloured hair during A New Hope and lacking a bit of shape where it should kick out in unruly curls at the back.
The accessories for Luke start with a long pouch on the rear of his belt. This is not fixed in place and rather hooked over the belt piece. This represents the actual screen costume where the long tool pouch was worn in the early scenes at the Lars homestead, but then is removed once he sets off to find R2-D2 and then onward to his adventure with Obi-Wan. This is an interesting and indepth level of accuracy considering its at the back of the figure and is a nice touch to choose your own belt configuration even if you can’t immediately see it.
Luke also comes with his Macrobinoculars, cast in black with silver detailing. These have been updated from the earlier release where they clipped onto Luke’s belt. The newer version has a socket at the rear that can then hang on the hook on Luke’s belt.
The same hook can also be used to hang the lightsaber hilt that is also included. This is the latest version of Anakin’s saber with a silver body, black fins on the grip, and a gold switch. A translucent blade clips into this for a lit lightsaber which then can be held in either or both of Luke’s hands.
Articulation supports the use of both of these accessories with 17 points in total, all pin-less. The arms include elbows that bend beyond 90 degrees to hold the binoculars to Luke’s eyes, and with butterfly shoulders to support two handed saber positions. The legs feature a single knee joint which now also rotates in place of the older thigh swivel, and ankle rockers which are ratcheted and secure when Luke is posed. The legs will reach seated positions thanks to a split in the skirt piece - so Luke is compatible with the Landspeeder if you wish to have this new Luke driving into Mos Eisley.
Like Princess Leia, Farmboy Luke is a strong argument on having sculpted clothing rather than soft goods. He improves massively on the original release, and unlike Leia there is not much in the loss of articulation with the 2024 Luke able to do more or less everything the older figure could. Accessories are OK and are an obvious choice.
It might have also been nice to include Luke’s poncho and/or cycler rifle to create more options for display - but these pieces all exist in the line already and are compatible with the new Luke. With Luke and Leia now updated and enhanced I hope that Hasbro will follow suit with some of the older classic characters who are now pushing 10 years old - most notably A New Hope Han Solo.
Keep Track of all the Star Wars Black Series figures from Hasbro at our comprehensive
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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