ATTN Hasbro:  It’s Absolutely Time For A New Episode IV “Farmboy” Luke

You may recall back in July of last year that I wrote THIS ARTICLE where I said that an Episode IV Luke Skywalker would be my new action figure crusade now that my previous crusade, Emperor Palpatine, has been produced.

I am always nervous about voicing too loudly my personal action figure wish list. We firmly believe that our role here is to give voice to the consensus of our readership, and not to individual passion projects. The latter can be dangerous, and I believe it was factor in causing One Of The Most Notorious Peg Warmers In The Line’s History. It's why when I write an article campaigning for something here, I make it clear that I'm speaking for myself and only myself, and encourage our readers to voice their opinion in the comments, so a clear picture of demand is portrayed.

Having said that, after yesterday's Submit Your Top 25 article for @SWTVC's March Madness bracket, I feel the desire for an all new Episode IV Luke Skywalker transcends individual wants. Because of the massive amount of Star Wars media, I will never say "community consensus" with respect to which figures are in demand. There is no such thing anymore, but I was amazed by not only how many of our readers placed an ANH Luke in their Top 25 list, but how many had that figure in the top 5 overall.

That leads me to make a statement that I have made only one time previously:

I would stake the future of the Vintage Collection on the economic viability of an all new Episode IV Luke Skywalker.

Within the context of the hobby, that is as solemn as swearing on my father's grave. Part of the reason I'm so confident is that this Luke would have the "Boba Fett" affect where collectors are going to order solid cases. I would personally order two, but there's even more. The tooling could be quickly reused. A standard carded figure could be released to satisfy the O96 requirement, then there could be a subsequent boxed deluxe release with the blast helmet, poncho, electorbinoculars, tools, and rifle. It would be one Luke to rule them all.

Hasbro could actually follow this pattern with many core characters.

One last thing, Hasbro, any definitive Episode IV Luke must be able to sit. Between the cantina and the Landspeeder, (and the Lars homestead and Ben's house) sitting is key to this figure, which is potentially problematic with a long tunic.

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