Editor’s Note:  This review has been updated with our second look at TVC…

Original Review:  Chris - 3/10/11 01:47 AM

No review given at time of original gallery posting.

Updated Review:  Bret - 06/25/2018 07:05 AM

Another fantastic TVC figure, and another testament to the depth that was once a hallmark of the line.  We recently reviewed VC03 Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit), which I applauded because it was an effort by Hasbro to give us a very scene specific action figure, which you would think should stand zero chance of ever seeing the light of day.  That figure showed Han with his Hoth parka unbuttoned and open, which only happened in the very short scene when he was repairing the Falcon in the Echo Base hanger.  Here we have a Luke Skywalker pilot figure that is very specific to just a few seconds of screen time.  In fact, there’s a flaw in the design that actually limits the accuracy of the figure even more than originally intended. 

So Luke is wearing his Hoth Pilot outfit during his flight to Dagobah.  After the X-wing crash lands on Dagobah (in a stroke of incredible luck, only a very short distance from Yoda’s hut), Luke pops open the canopy (at the 1:10 mark in the video below).  When he does so, he is in the act of removing his gloves.  This figure is gloveless, and for the remainder of the scene, this is accurate.  However, Luke also has the tinted visor already recessed into the top of his helmet when the canopy is opened, so while he is wearing the helmet after he initially emerges onto the nose of the X-wing to survey his surroundings, the figure is technically inaccurate.  The helmet should have had the visor tucked back.  From the time he removes the helmet, the figure stays accurate, including the holster/blaster assembly (normally not included in X-wing pilot figures).  After about 30 seconds of slight inaccuracy (while he’s donning the helmet), Luke wears this exact outfit (after he takes the helmet off) for about 2 minutes.  It’s not quite as amazingly limited as the aforementioned Han Solo figure, but still very cool that we have this version.

The articulation is amazing, the head sculpt and facial likeness are very good.  The paint and uniform sculpt are dead on.  The details painted on the blaster are awesome.  It’s great that the figure includes a saber hilt and lit saber, even though Luke, while in this outfit configuration, doesn’t ignite is lightsaber.  As I mentioned, the only thing that I would have preferred to have seen here is a helmet with a raised visor.  If there were an extra set of gloved hands, a removable holster, and a harpoon gun, it could probably pass as an ultimate Luke Skywalker (Hoth/Dagobah) pilot figure.*

This is a great figure.  I’m very fond of the arcane, scene-specific figures that Hasbro used to have the time to produce.  It seems those days are long behind us, but we can hope that they someday return. 

Verdict: No Action [Caveat: Resculpt as basic Snowspeeder Pilot Luke (same figure, with different hands, accessories) - Medium Priority] 

Here’s a figure that goes for quite a premium on eBay.  While it is scene-specific, and doesn’t qualify as a basic Snowspeeder Pilot Luke, people seem to kind of go nuts over this figure.  I would say that a repack is in order at some point sooner rather than later, although it should come with a visor-up helmet, which would technically make it a resculpt instead of a repack.  Might as well ask for switch-out gloved hands, a removable holster, and since we’re doing this, a harpoon gun.  So while this figure is pretty awesome, it falls annoyingly short of the intended target, even more so than the previously reviewed “Yavin Ceremony” Han.

*If there’s anyone out there who can quickly sketch out an ultimate Snowspeeder Pilot Luke, that would be neat.  Maybe a diagram with all the necessary parts and accessories.  I’m not sure if this figure should come with medical rope, but that would be a nice bonus.

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.