Luke
Skywalker (Snowspeeder)
Like one would expect
from a Star Wars Transformer, Snowspeeder Skywalker's vehicle mode is pretty
much flawless. There's really no robot mode extras to speak of whatsoever,
and the proportions are spot-on perfect when compared to the movie model.
All of the appropriate mold detailing is there, and there's lot of cool
"worn" paint details as well-- the orange stripes near the rear end have
parts where the paint was "worn away", and there's "burn marks" paint apps
here and there across the toy. The overall color scheme is pretty dull,
but hey, that's the way the Snowspeeder's always been colored, so you can
hardly fault them there. Both of the guns are actual missile launchers,
which can fire your standard spring-loaded missiles if you press the button
near the back end of them. (There's also a small, rear gun that can rotate
in place, but obviously it's way too small to fire an actual missile.)
As with all SWTFs, the toy comes with a miniature replica of Luke Skywalker
which can fit snugly inside the pilot cockpit. He also has one retractable
landing gear near the center of the underside of this mode.
Luke Skywalker is one
of the more literal "shell-formers" to come along in a long time. His transformation
basically consists of just "cracking apart" his vehicle mode and revealing
the Mech mode underneath, with all the Snowspeeder parts hanging off his
back pretty unceremoniously and without really locking into place anywhere.
A kibble-less TF he's definitely not, and that's my primary complaint with
the toy-- there's not even an attempt to really intergrate his vehicle
parts into his robot mode, beyond the cockpit becoming his chest and parts
forming his shoulder panels. His arms and legs are also a tad skinny by
Transformer standards, though this is rather common among SWTFs. His torso
is pretty long proportionally, as well. He can move at the neck, shoulders
(at two points), elbows (at two points), wrists, hips (at two points),
knees (at two points), and ankles. That WOULD make him fairly posable,
if it wasn't for all that back kibble getting in the way and making him
back-heavy to boot. On the plus side, his Mech mode face sculpt is pretty
good (and has TONS of paint apps), not being quite as "human" as the previous
Luke Skywalker SWTF while still definitely evoking an image of the
character. Luke can carry both of his guns in his hands in this mode, and
they stay in their holes fairly well. He also comes with lightsaber because
he's Luke Skywalker, but it doesn't store in vehicle mode, which bugs me
a bit.
Poor Luke just can't
catch a break when it comes to SWTFs-- both of his toys have been some
of the worst in the line and full of kibble that just hangs off everywhere
in robot mode. At least his vehicle mode looks great, though. Not recommended
unless you're a huge Star Wars/TF completist.
Review by Beastbot