I’m a sucker anytime I can get some cool, new Empire Strikes Back product. It remains one of my all-time favorite films alongside Avengers: Endgame and The Godfather. Hasbro has not so quietly been stepping up its game with the Star Wars Black Series line to the point I don’t think I need to worry with getting any more SH Figuarts versions barring a Bespin Luke Skywalker.
Today, I’m looking at Luke’s second outfit change from Empire Strikes Back — his Snowspeeder gear.
Packaging: After years with the same package setup, Hasbro changed it up for a more dynamic (and slimmer) package setup. I like this new look, which makes better use of the window and uses an accent color for the various films/shows. Empire Strikes Back gets the blue accent.
On the left side is a portrait drawing of Luke maybe after seeing Leia, Han and the others gets away in the Millennium Falcon after his squadron’s distracting efforts. The bio perfectly explains Luke’s attire and his role in that moment. It’s short, but precise.
Likeness: I needed to pull out my SWB Series 1 X-Wing Luke to fully appreciate all the differences between this attire and the X-Wing garb.
It’s definitely not a case of a refined paint job and that’s a wrap as there’s plenty of changes. The Rebellion just liked that orange and white color scheme.
For starters, the Luke head sculpt is better. Even with the helmet on, this looks like Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker instead of a great Luke Skywalker head like the X-Wing version if that makes sense. The helmet comes off, but the cap is permanently attached.
Sensibly, overall the Snowspeeder attire is bulkier with a neck collar, thicker sleeves and pants and an outer coat. The boots are also thicker to allow for greater movement along Hoth. Ditto for the gloves. It’s kinda neat seeing all the intentional efforts to dress the Rebels warmly.
The sculpting is impressive on all the extra bulky wardrobe and really like how nice the boots turned out. Unlike the X-Wing, the panel tubing connects into the pants instead of the jacket.
Paint: Hasbro did a great job on the paintwork. Luke’s helmet has a good amount of grime to show it’s been through some damage.
All of the detailed elements like the chest panel, belt and boots all turned out Snowspeeder Luke turned out really nicely.
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Scale: I appreciate the consistency from Hasbro here as Snowspeeder Luke is the same height as X-Wing Luke.
Articulation: I won’t really be able to appreciate this figure until I get the Snowspeeder — important people would use this as an opportunity to share their Amazon wish list, right? — but this is the standard SWB articulation setup. I now regret not army building the Snowtroopers to have someone to match up with Luke.
The harness restricts Luke from doing a split, but this really isn’t his active fighting attire. It’s to pilot a ship and maybe trudge through the snow to take down an AT-AT. He’s got more than enough movement for me and the butterfly shoulders allow for some nice light saber holding poses.
Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker has:
- neck
- ball-jointed shoulders
- elbow
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- torso
- hips
- thighs
- knees
- ankles
Accessories: We can definitely count the helmet since it comes off.
If it didn’t have the cap, this would be the ideal Snowspeeder version Luke. Maybe I’ll try to swap the head with another one…just not the Bespin one.
He does come with his standard blue light saber. The arms close in enough to allow for two-handed light saber poses although he really doesn’t use it that long in this attire. Now if only there were a six-inch scale AT-AT for him to scale.
Worth it? I got Snowspeeder Luke for $20. That’s the going rate for the line and there’s no reason for him to be more expensive or cheaper
Rating: 10 out of 10
I ended up liking this figure a lot more than I expected. I’ve been impressed by the enhancements Hasbro has done with the Star Wars Black Series and this is another example why it’s becoming one of my favorite lines to collect.
Where to get it? Amazon has him in and out of stock, but to guarantee him, Entertainment Earth is probably your best bet since they still have him up for pre-order.
