Editor’s Note:  This review has been updated with our second look at TVC, and an update for the 2021 Photo Real release.  The Photo Real review follows the original review and the updated review.

Original Review:  Chris - 04/22/2012 06:52 PM

What can be said about this figure?  It’s like a would-be 80 yard touchdown run that ends with a fumble at the goal line.  So much of the figure works well.  The articulation and detailing are top notch.  Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit) sports ball joints at the neck, shoulders, elbows, torso, hips, knees and ankles.  The only swivel point of articulation comes at the wrist.  The detailing and sculpting is nicely done.  The cross hatch pattern of the Hoth thermal wear is captured, and the silver snaps on the pouches and holster add a touch of extra realism. 

The shoulders seem to protrude too much.  It’s a minor negative and not worth dismissing the figure over.  The elephant in the room is the [expletive deleted] scarf.  First, Luke only appears with the scarf wrapped around his head for all of three seconds of the film.  No exaggeration.  Pop the movie in and see.  Second, the scarf wraps across his face once.  It doesn’t wrap around his head several times as the accessory does.  Almost immediately, Luke unhooks the scarf and lets it dangle from his thermal hat, which is how Luke appears for the majority of the time in the “Hoth Outfit.”  The scarf is exactly like the scarf Zam Wessel uses in Attack of the Clones.  The Vintage Collection Zam Wessel figure was designed so that it could be display exactly as described.  With the scarf across her face or hanging from the side.  It’s a shame the Luke Skywakler (Hoth Outfit) didn’t have this type of flexibility.

Here’s where the train really jumps off the tracks.  If you remove the scarf and goggle accessory, the figure almost doesn’t work.  Part of the scarf is sculpted onto the thermal hat.  So, for lack of a better word, it looks stupid without the lower scarf.  It’s a sin this figure wasn’t planned out better so that it wasn’t so limited in its application (again about three seconds of screen time).  You can easily modify this figure with a bit of cloth or the scarf from the Saga Luke Hoth plus a pair of goggles from another figure, but you shouldn’t have to start customizing figures the second you open the package [Editor’s Note:  Or ever, Chris.  Or ever.]  An otherwise good figure is undone, but with a fairly silly mistake.  6 out of 10.

Updated Review:  Bret - 9/08/2018 07:05 AM

I watched the Luke Hoth scenes in order to take some of the diorama shots for this gallery.  Chris points out that the exact configuration of this figure is seen on screen for 3 seconds.  In the old days, if this figure was simply molded this way (no removable accessories), we’d be happy that we got “First Seconds in Empire” Luke.  However, because the scarf accessory is removable, you are really left wondering how only a tiny bit of thought and tooling would have probably made this an all-time figure.  As soon as Luke undoes the single layered scarf from his face, he also moves the goggles off his eyes to above the bill of his cap.  Since the multiple layered scarf is molded directly with the goggles, you can’t do anything with the figure past those first 3 seconds to recreate any moment thereafter.  The scarf hangs down the right side of his face for most of the rest of Luke’s scenes.  Exceptions are when he’s hanging from the wampa cave ceiling and the scarf hangs towards the floor, and after he exits the cave, and tries to wrap his face with the scarf again, but this time without the goggles, which he lost after the initial wampa attack.  In fact, here’s an instance where an old Hasbro figure ends up being superior to this one - the Saga Hoth Luke that comes with the ice cave piece (shown in the gallery), which has an articulated scarf (AN ARTICULATED SCARF!) that can swivel either down his shoulder or above his head when gravity does its thing.

At no point does Luke have no scarf and no goggles, which is the only thing you can do, by removing the entire accessory.  What you’re left with is not only screen inaccurate, but also a bit wonky looking, as it exposes the odd removable coat collar, and is just aesthetically off-putting.  Including a couple of small, swappable scarf variations and separate goggles would have been the way to go here, and it was a lost opportunity.

Why such a big deal?  Because the rest of the figure is pretty outstanding.  The sculpt is highly detailed, the paint is right on, and the articulation, which includes a ball jointed chest and ball jointed hips is almost full-on Jedi-like (only ball jointed wrists are missing).  The figure can be posed in many dynamic positions.  The blaster fits nicely in the holster, and also in Luke’s hand.  You get an unlit hilt which fits in the belt peg hole, and you get a fully lit saber.  Luke can not only perform a THWG with both the saber and the blaster, but he can even do the rare and elusive THOHCHOG (Two Handed Overhead Chop Grip).*

My complaints, aside from the scarf debacle, are that the shoulders look like an 80’s dress with shoulder pads, and the gloved hands look like Mickey Mouse hands (the fingers are too puffy). 

Beyond that, it’s an excellent figure, and unfortunately is nowhere near definitive.  Due to the multi-layered aspect of the scarf, it doesn’t even accurately reflect the first 3 seconds of the film.  After that, you got nuthin’.

With a couple of very minor tweaks to the sculpt (pointy shoulders and puffy non-ball jointed gloves), this would be an outstanding figure.  If you gave options for the scarf as described (hanging, scarf, and single layer across the face) along with separate goggles, we’d have a definitive Hoth outfit Luke.  Right now the figure goes for fairly low prices on eBay.  It may very well be the best Hoth Luke out there, but it’s not definitive.  Pick one up if you feel Hasbro won’t ever revisit.

*I came up with this acronym all by myself, with absolutely no help from Trooper31, no matter what he says.

Updated Review (For Photo Real release) Chris - 05/19/2021 07:05 AM

When a figure fails to stick the landing upon release, it’s a bit painful because it could be years before it’s updated, if ever.  It’s beginning to feel like “if ever” for Hoth Luke, but the reasons why this sculpt falls short of the mark have been well covered above.  We’re here today to discuss the changes for the 2021 Photo Real updated release.

As with the Endor Han Solo figure from the same wave, the card has changed.  The “Hoth Outfit” parenthetical sub reference has been shortened to just “Hoth”.  I was puzzled by this yesterday, but it’s clear that it’s to accommodate the multilingual cards.  Whereas “outfit” would need to be translated, “Hoth” is “Hoth” in every language on Earth (except for German where it’s “Superkaltplatzderwampanmonster”).

Updated Photo Real paint apps have been applied to the head sculpt, and I have to say it looks uncannily like Mark Hamill. The problem is that to appreciate these fancy new paint applications, you have to remove the ten miles of scarfing, and the figure looks stupid without it.  A more practically noticeable update is that the mismatched elbow and ankle joints have been corrected. Finally, the paint apps on the boots are different.  I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.  Just different.  On the negative side, the overall paint applications are a sloppier than the 2012 release.

This is a decently dynamic figure, and it’s a shame the original misfires have not been corrected.  Whether or not you need this incremental update is up to you.