When the POTJ Rebel Fleet Trooper premiered, there was alot of talk about his innovative new knee articulation. The new Jabba's Palace Luke uses the same type of articulation in his elbows, a first for the line, if I'm not mistaken.

For my part, I think it's a pretty good compromise of looks and posability. I've been able to get him into all sorts of gesturing poses, and a couple nice action poses as well.

My only complaint is the open right hand that just can't grasp the lightsaber for a nice two-handed pose. I wouldn't mind seeing this figure sometime down the line (in a 4-pack or something) with a gripping hand, or ideally interchangeable hands (open/shot/gloved).

What do you all think of Luke's new elbows?

I bought this figure today, the only Hoth wave figure to be found at the store, and I have to say I'm pleased with this Luke. Here's the rundown of his vital stats:

Articulation: Waist, Hips, Ball Jointed-Shoulders, Neck (turns at shoulders and pivots at jawline)

I was very surprised to see the extra neck articulation (guess I missed it in the previews) The scarf pivots, too, so that's a little bit of "bonus" articulation as well. The neck looks a little bit goofy, but that's a trade-off I'm willing to accept for the extra posability. The shoulders are very well done--Hasbro is getting really good at these.

On the negative side, there really could've been some articulation on the wrists or forearms, there's plenty of leeway for it in the sculpt.

Accessories: Plastic-hilt lightsaber with removable blade, Goggles, Scarf (well, sort of), Ice Chunk Base.

The accessories are a bit of a grey area for me. The goggles looked nice in the package, but once I got 'em out it was too apparent they were just the Mechanic Chewie goggles in new colors, and therefore a little too large to look good anywhere near Luke's face. Still, it's a cool bonus and something they didn't have to give us at all.

The lightsaber looks real nice, as I pulled it out I couldn't help noticing a largish knob on the hilt, obviously put there to plug into Luke's belt in deactivated mode. Except...there's no hole on Luke's belt, or on Luke anywhere so far as I can see. Guess there was a miscommunication at the design phase.

The scarf isn't really an accessory, but it does pop out of his head (and leaves a large hole in Luke's head).

The ice chunk base is the standout accessory, I knew it was meant to attatch Luke to the Wampa's base, but it works just fine as a stand-alone--Luke's feet "clip" in rather than plug into pegs, so it gives a nice feeling of being sunk in the snow. Upside down, it looks like the "frozen into the ceiling" scene from the movie.

Sculpt: There's nothing here not to love. The neck is a bit off to accomodate the extra joint, otherwise there's nothing even to nitpick. The bulk of the outfit is conveyed beautifully at the belt area. He has a wonderfully detailed holster, and the face is dead-on, scarred in the sculpt even!The buttons and badges are right on, as is the wrist commlink. I can't praise this sculpt enough.

Paint: On top of the beautiful sculpt, the paint job is fantastic. The blood on the face is the first thing that jumped out at me, and though it looks like it could be easily screwed up, mine is flawless. The rank badges,  buttons, belt snaps, boot cinches, and wrist commlink are all clean and crisp. The lightsaber hilt is two-toned correctly, and the ice base has a light white applied over the translucent blue.

Overall: I like this figure, I like him a lot. I would be happy if Hasbro slightly retooled the face to eliminate the scars and release a "clean" version somewhere down the road. It's a solid, well done piece.

In the QnA over at GalacticHunter, Adam made reference to the fact that Rieekan would be included in the Deluxe Assortment (including The Wampa, new Jabba, and Escape Pod Threepio, and three other unnamed releases.) Question number 9 here.

This is the first I've heard of Rieekan as a deluxe figure...I'm sure the tactical display he comes with is nice and all, but I hadn't been under the impression it was "deluxe" nice.

Has there been offical word that Rieekan is indeed a deluxe figure?

Do you think Hasbro made a grave error in slating nearly fifty "new" figures (counting reissues) for release in this non-movie year?

Last year, a movie year, we had about sixty figures (including the POTJ that kicked off the year,) and we were swimming in summer figures by the time Christmas rolled around. Why in the world would Hasbro repeat the same mistake?--compounded this year by the fact that nothing much has hit the shelves yet due to last year's leftovers.

These numbers still blow my mind. Fifty figures this year? What were they thinking? Most folks have barely seen the first twelve or so '03 figs show up in stores near them. Contrast that to last year at this time, when the first 35 Saga figures were pretty readily available across the US. (And remember, that was the second month of Saga's life.)

Do you think Hasbro has bitten off more than they (or us, or retailers) can chew?

One of the big trade-ups in the switch from POTJ to Saga was the promise of better, larger accessories in the bigger bubble. Right out of the box, we had Bespin Luke (and his incredibly cool antenna accessory), and CCC Chewie (with the detailed and fun pile of Threepio junk). Since then...?

The new Hoth Han has a hodge-podge of recycled bits, even Mynock Chewie's mynock is essentially rehashed. Carkoon Boba Fett's large "accessory" is just a base, not very stimulating play-wise.

What gives? Did Hasbro reel us in with their best ideas and then fall back on the same old mediocrity?
 
Do you think we'll ever see neat accessories with our standard figures again?

Hey everyone. I've been skimming the forums here for the past couple weeks and I really like what I see, a lot of familiar faces (well, names really) and a nice vibe.

Can't wait to join in the conversation.