Rebel. Jedi. Action Figure.
Force Visions is an ongoing series of articles celebrating the greatest visual artists to work in the Star Wars universe.
With a brief like that, there’s only ever going to be one place to start. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the Star Wars art of Ralph McQuarrie.
Aah, Lego. The perennial building toy was a staple of Star Wars toy collections for years thanks to all of us GFFA-crazy kids making our own MOC versions of George Lucas’ ships and characters. These creations were a popular hobby among Star Wars fans and often ended up being featured in fan magazines from the time.
But nothing compares to the real thing – which was why the launch of Star Wars Lego in 1999 was such a huge event for both Lego enthusiasts and Star Wars fans.
EXT. TATOOINE – LARS HOMESTEAD
The giant twin suns of Tatooine slowly disappear behind a distant dune range. Luke stands watching them for a few moments, then reluctantly enters the domed entrance to the homestead.
It’s with full credit to George Lucas, Mark Hamill, John Williams, and the magic of ILM that a few short lines of screenplay could become one of the most iconic moments in cinema.
Reviewing a figure as classic as the original Kenner Darth Vader (which the Retro Collection Darth Vader basically is) is more or less futile.
After all, this is the action figure equivalent of reviewing A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back. Many of you out there have at least one vintage Darth Vader in your collection and know exactly how you feel about the figure.
More than any other review, this is just a question of my own subjective view. And to set the scene for that we need to go back to the 1980s, to a time when Star Wars meant… Brierleys.
When it comes to reviewing action figures of Luke Skywalker there’s only one place to start – the vintage Kenner Luke Skywalker, first released in 1978’s Early Bird box set alongside Princess Leia, R2-D2 and Chewbacca.
There’s just one small issue – I don’t own the original vintage figure. So instead we’re kicking off toy reviews on Plastic Skywalkers with a look at the next best thing – the Star Wars Retro Collection Luke Skywalker.