Star Wars The Black Series Luke Skywalker (Dagobah) Figure

By Hervé St-Louis
May 22, 2021 - 15:27

When Luke Skywalker sought Yoda to learn about the force, he travelled to the world of Dagobah, a swampy planet peopled with odd creatures and traps. There he learned to master the force and become a better Jedi. The Black Series Luke Skywalker (Dagobah) action figure is a re-offering of the Star Wars The Black Series Luke Skywalker and Yoda (Jedi Training) Figure that came with a smaller Yoda action figure and a harness with a basket into which Luke could carry Yoda on his back. This action figure does not have the Yoda toy nor the basket harness combo. He only come with a lightsaber.

Likeness

There has been many sculpts of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. This is one of the good ones in terms of the 3D face paint technology used. The action figure looks like a younger Luke Skywalker. He wears the same ragged clothing that the character wore in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

Sculpt

The sculpt of the head is good. Luke’s hair is wet and the face is good. He has a small build and although this is a 1:12 action figure, he looks like he’s 5’9. Of all my Star Wars action figures, including other Luke Skywalkers, this is the shortest one.

Paint

The highlight of this toy is the 3D face painting technology used to give as realistic as possible a look to Luke Skywalker. What the 3D face painting technology is about appears to be a painted model developed in a 3D modelling program with face paint applied to the model and exported so that it can be printed on the physical toy in a factory. Instead of having hand painters add features to the action figure, the paint is pasted onto the toy directly, minimizing error but also adding degrees of realism. The only drawback is a misalignment of the printer’s head on the surface of the toy.

While there is dirt and blushes on the front of the action figure, there are none on his back. It looks plain and odd. This is a weird cost-cutting measure that can only be explained by the fact that the Jedi Training version came with a backpack carrying Yoda and that as the exact same toy, Hasbro did not feel like updating its paint application for this variant.

Scale

Luke Skywalker is short. He is shorter that G.I. Joe Classified Scarlett (the shortest of that line) or a Articulated Icon Ninja action figure. In fact, he is shorter than other Luke Skywalker action figures in the six-inch range. He still fits well with a Hans Solo action figure, but he feels just a tad taller than a five-inch action figure.

Stability

Luke is stable but you have to pose him leaning a bit forward to get the best stability with him. When you push him backward to straighten him a bit, he often topples over. That’s unfortunate. His feet are also very short which does not provide enough coverage to support his weight and anchor him on the ground. There are no side to side pivots in his ankles which does not help keeping him balanced.

Articulations

Star Wars Black Series action figures have uncommon articulations that favour the display of the sculpt over enhanced motion. Thus, Luke has no bicep curls. He still has double-joint elbow articulations, however, all pivoting motion are done at the elbow level. His neck and head are both articulated with both being on a ball-peg. This adds a lot of motion to his head. He has a an abdominal crunch that does not look very good. It is just below his pectorals. His waist does not twists.

His left hand has an up or down pivot while the right one has side to side. The hip articulations are good with enough range of motion. He also has thigh curls which are hidden at his front-facing pockets. Although he has double knee articulations, they are impaired by the sculpt of the lower thighs that cannot allow them to have the full range of motion possible. Much like the elbows, there is a rotating feature for the knees in lieu of the shit curls. Finally, the shoulders have full motion range with very limited shoulder butterfly joints. They are useless and almost unnoticeable.

Plastic

The Star Wars Black Series have some of the best plastics from any Hasbro line. The plastic appears to be much more durable than the one used on G.I Joe Classified action figures. It does, however, make articulations stiff and much more difficult to use.

Props

There is no extra Yoda or harness with this version of the Dagobah Luke Skywalker. He is the same sculpt as the original, of course but sold for less. Still, he comes with the same gun that often comes with Hans Solo and a lightsaber. The lightsaber is a unique sculpt that could attack to a belt if the figure had one. There are two models of guns used with Hans Solo and Luke Skywalker. The easiest way to differentiate them is to look at the barrel which is thinner with the Dagobah Luke Skywalker.

Packaging

Like all 40th anniversary Star Wars the Empire Strikes Back action figures, Luke Skywalker comes in a bubble package on a card back with a still from the film on the cover. The inclusion of Yoda in the picture is not a good thing as some collectors who are not facing the toys physically may think that the Jedi master comes with the hero. Given that this action figure is a rerelease of the other action figure set that included Yoda, this can create a lot of confusion.

For nostalgia buffs, the packaging is by Kenner, the old toy maker that used to make Star Wars toys in the 1970s and 1980s. Of course, the toy is much better than what was available back then. The plain packaging is environmentally friendlier than full cardboard boxes.

Cost

In many places, this action figure retails for the price of a full Star Wars Black Series action figure. I was able to find him at Toys R Us for much less. He was $24 CAD which is a steal. He’s about the same price as he would be in the United States, but in Canadian dollars. In US dollars, that would be $20. Since then, Toys R US sells him for $29.99 CAD. Whatever discount or offer they had, has ran its course.

Availability

This action figure should be easy to find as it was released in 2020. I obtained mine at Toys R US Canada. It is also available at many other online retailers’ stores. I do not know if he can be found at large retail store chains as they don’t always have the full range of products or only have exclusives.

Rating: 9.5 /10

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Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12

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