As we have been going back in time doing reviews for past figures, we’ll start hitting up some that are no longer relevant.  This figure is annoying for many reasons, not the least of which is that it is unfortunately not yet completely irrelevant.  When the figure first came out, we all knew it was basically terrible.  It was another in a long line of misses for Luke in this iconic outfit.  This one did show some promise, but because it re-used a wonky sculpt from the previous TAC release (the one with the shmata and the bone accessory), and because of the ridiculous barrel-chest, this figure never really gained any traction, and wasn’t going to be anything approaching a definitive Luke Jedi Knight figure.  Finally, in 2010, The Vintage Collection came through and we got the awesome VC23 Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight).  VC23 essentially renders moot this BD16 figure….almost.  The problem is that one feature of BD16 makes it the best available figure for a specific look.  Unfortunately, this is like introducing Enes Kanter as the best available Knick.  It’s technically true, but it doesn’t mean you should go out and buy an Enes Kanter jersey.  Also, Enes Kanter was waived on Thursday.  I bet you didn’t know that.  So now you have to go get another jersey.  That’s exactly how you should feel about this figure:  Like you own an Enes Kanter Knicks jersey even though he’s now a free agent, and you decided to wear it while visiting Istanbul.  Have you ever been in a Turkish prison? 

Given that information, it should come as no surprise that I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time reviewing this figure.  It is based on a TAC mold, which already had points of articulation that were very poorly sculpted. The legs and arms were very thin, the elbows, knees, ankles and shoulders were quite bulbous.  The waist here is very thin while the chest is huge.  The hands are weirdly positioned, and Luke kind of has a mild case of the gorilla arms, (which I understand you can contract if you own too many 6” figures).  The best thing about the sculpt is the head.  It’s not exactly a ringer for Mark Hamill, but it’s not too shabby, either.  The paint could be applied a little better on the head to bring out the likeness more, but it’s okay as it is.  There’s actually a variant with a lighter shade of hair, but I don’t have it.  Chris probably does, but he may still be in his bacchanalian coma following the Super Bowl, so we’ll have to wait to find out.

This figure is specifically designed to be a post Tatooine Luke, due to the gloved hand and minimal clothing.  As Chris pointed out in the aforementioned VC23 review, Luke loses bits of clothing over the course of the film, until he is left with this simple black shirt and pants.  He wears this outfit when he surrenders to the Imperial troops and gets a ride on an AT-AT to meet with Vader.  By the way, I probably saw ROTJ about 25 times before I realized that Luke was transported on that AT-AT.  I just thought it was a superfluous nod to ESB by Lucas when it was walking near the shield generator platform.  I never got that Luke was escorted out of the AT-AT and onto the platform to the awaiting Vader.  Anyway, here we see Luke with the binders.  The accessory is included, and works well enough, although they are bit clunky.  The figure, sadly, does not come with an unlit hilt, which is an important prop from the point the officer gives it to Vader, then while it rests on the Emperor’s throne, and then later when Luke tosses it aside.  That’s an oversight here, which was corrected with VC23.  He does come with a lit saber, of course.  But here’s the important part:  Luke’s silly barrel chest was so designed in order to accommodate the switch out chest pieces.  One is a flat black front, and the other has the shirt flap exposed.  The flap opened after a couple of blasts from Palpatine’s Sith lightning.  It kind of reminds me of the time I was attacked by a man of tremendous stature while driving towards 10th Avenue out of the Lincoln Tunnel.  We were fighting for lane position, and he lost.  So he got out of his car, walked over to me, reached in through my window, and ripped my shirt right off.  It was kind of amazing.  I think that’s probably how Luke felt when he saw that his tunic became unbuttoned during Palpatine’s attack.  He was probably thinking, “Man, this really hurts a lot, but why did my shirt pop open like that?”

So that piece is what makes the difference.  This Luke figure is not good.  But the VC23 figure, which annihilates it, cannot fully render it as complete garbage, because even in it’s suckitude, it’s still the best open flap “Death Star Escape” Luke available.  You have some other terrible choices for an open flap Luke, including one of the most awesomely horrific figures ever made.  So while VC23 is basically your definitive DS2 Luke, Hasbro need only retool the chest (and maybe add a wraparound Sith Lightning accessory) to give us the definitive DS Escape Luke.  That would allow you to throw this one in the garbage.  Until then, we’re sorry to report that you must keep it.  The figure gets a 5 out of 10.  It wasn’t very good to begin with, and time hasn’t been kind.

Build-A-Droid 

Luke Skywalker (First Release) contains the head and third leg for the astromech R3-M3, which could be seen rolling down a corridor of the Death Star as Obi-Wan was preparing himself to face Darth Vader.  Source:  A New Hope.

OR

Luke Skywalker (Carry Forward 1) contains the head and third leg for the astromech R3-A2.  This droid can be spotted in Echo Base.  Specifically, it was in the background just before Major Bren Derlin had to inform Princess Leia that the blast doors needed to close for the night, with Luke still outside.  Source:  Empire Strikes Back.

OR

Luke Skywalker (Carry Forward 2) contains the right arm of BG-J38.  This worker drone droid served as Jabba the Hutt’s personal dejarik and hologames droid.  Source:  Return of the Jedi

Verdict: No Action 

As stated, this figure is almost, but not quite, obsolete.  Get it only for the open shirt flap option.  We need Hasbro to retool VC23 so we never have to acknowledge this one again, but who knows if/when that would ever happen.

Verdict Guide:
Re-sculpt = The figure is not definitive, and a new version should be developed.
Re-issue = This version is definitive (or close enough), and shows sufficient secondary market demand to warrant a straight repack.
No Action = This release does not require new attention.