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.

Thanks everyone.

Corran, the images are indeed on a circular piece of posterboard connected to a knob that turns. My original idea was to use a push-pin thru the front of the console, just above the screen itself to both hold the wheel together and act as the knob, but during construction I found out the friction was causing the push-pin to become separated from the circular piece every time, it would come loose after a few turns and stop working.

After a bit of tinkering, I came up with an alternate mechanism--there is now a much larger knob connected to the back of the wheel, firmly glued into place. The angled section of the computer fits flush to the angled back corner, and the knob connected to the back of the computer sticks out a hole in the outer wall of the playset. The "pin" that holds the wheel in place (and that you can see in the lower part of this picture: )

is now made from an earring I found at the dollar store that looked vaguely like the controls on the computer. I attatched the other earring to the computer too, to make this one look less funky.

No plans on making the elevators work, though I did figure out a way they could be made to work and retain the ability to come apart level by level (if, say, Hasbro were to devise a real toy based on the design.) For my taste, the tubes were too shallow to try sticking figures in them and making opening doors.

This thing is holding together like a rock--each level simply sits on top of the one below it, but they're so wide it's pretty easy to pick it up by the base and carry it like an enormous birthday cake. The next level should be interesting in that regard, because I'm splitting it down the middle and building it as two dioramas that fit together. The column that will hold the Tractor Beam controls will sit atop the seam, essentially making level four a three-piece construction.

Next we have the main hallway outside the Hangar Bay itself:



this is the other side of the Command Office doorway, which actually connects out into the hall:


and the elevator hub:




I originally designed this level to have a guardrail around the large open area in the hallway, but it got way too cluttered looking so I removed it.

I am a bit torn about the idea of the HOF series. I love the idea of a 12-different figure casepack, it's the sort of thing I've been insistent about (come fall every year, Hasbro should bundle the year's offerings into a couple 12 figure cases and sell through till Christmas. It would work.) Here the idea is hindered by the fact that none of these figures were ever hard to find. Commtech Stormies can still be bought by the four-pack at the old Fan Club Website, and the Wizards mall stores blew them out for  insanely cheap prices. I'm betting the R2 will be the initial SAGA version (EFX Rehash).

At retail, it's a double edged sword also. This is the perfect case for Hasbro to sell to a drug store/grocery store chain with no space. I'm sure these figures will sell in those places--imagine two pegs filled with the variety of this case.

I just fear WalMart, Target, and TRU placing orders for these in lieu of genuine new figures, and the glut that would follow.

Will I buy them? No.

Matt hit the nail on the head, the Vader/Kenobi scene and the Luke/Leia scene will have places in my Death Star.

I bought an extra (clearanced) Luke/Leia set just for the base last year and stuck a pair of stormtroopers on it to complement the real sets.

Right now I've got them all opened and lined up on a shelf, along with an open Silver R2 paired with TC-14 to commemorate the "silver" anniversary.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback and support. I'm glad this thing has been a hit within the community.

Matt, I spend about 10 hours a week working on it, give or take. I seem to be able to turn out a level a month so far, but I actually started the project in June, and spent a solid month planning things out level by level so that everything would fit just right. A lot of the work time now is spent on designing the decals, since this is my first opportunity at photoshop-type applications. The plan has always been to finish by December, and that looks like it'll happen.

I'm still looking for something to use as those wall sensors, I've got plenty of room to stick 'em, but I love those little cannons...

The console is built from a foamcore skeleton covered with black posterboard skin. Basically, the leg pieces are two pieces of foamcore joined face-to-face, the back one slightly taller than the front. A third wedge-shaped piece is placed on top at the angle made by the different heights. Then the posterboard covers the joints, with stickers and scavenged car model pieces to complete the look.

The next level to come will be the Docking Level, featuring the Command Office (above Leia's Cell) with an opening/closing door and rotating computer screens. The elevators continue up into the docking level also to give the illusion of a straight ride (though they are non-functional). A curving hallway joins the two sides, with the Docking Bay Doors (and a large decal of the Falcon in Hanar 2037) in the rear center.

I don't think I could build another Death Star, though. This one was all about seeing my wishlist of rooms and features come to life, someone else would want other things and <poof> the magic would be gone for me.

(Of course, if enough money were offered, I'd stop being an idealist real quick...)  

Imagine if you will, a scene from the "Ultimate" edition of ANH on DVD in 2006:

Greedo threatens Han, while Han silently pulls his blaster from the holster. Then, just as you instinctively cringe to watch the poorly edited "Greedo shooting first", your draw drops as an entirely new image plays out: Greedo shoots with precise aim, but Han rolls smoothly to the right, clears his blaster above the table, and burns a hole in Greedo's chest.

All of it clean and clear (the way George really wants it) redone on stage with Harrison Ford's face painstakingly mapped onto a double's head.

Would the scene be passable in your eyes then?