Here we have Luke Skywalker in hand. The first notable aspect about the figure is that his tunic is sculpted with all the usual fabric creases one would expect from this moist farmer instead of being made of cloth. Seeing how similar it is to the tunics Jedi typically wear, this was a much needed change after seeing how prior versions ended up looking poofy by comparison. It could still use a wash to appear dirty given how Tatooine isn't normally the cleanest planet in the galaxy, but it's still a much needed change. The rest of the figure generally looks good in terms of sculptwork, from the belt to the pants and boots. Admittedly, I wish that the boots were given a wash so they wouldn't look so plasticky. That admittedly bothers me more than the white tunic. The binoculars can fit onto the hook that the lightsaber hilt normally goes on, though it is annoying with how flexible it can be. Also, I feel that either the neck is too long or his shoulders are lower than normal.
We continue the trend of Hasbro failing to get ANH-era Luke right, with his hair being the wrong color and his face looking a whole lot more baby-face than he really was in that movie. Is this going to be a trend until 2027 when the movie turns 50 so we can get a better head sculpt? Articulation consists of a double neck joint that is a rarity amongst Hasbro figures, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, rotation and bend at the elbows, rotation at the wrists and lateral movement for the right hand versus inward/outward movement for the left hand. The torso is on a pseudo ball joint for fluid rotation and bending the upper body in any direction that a diaphragm joint usually has. The hips are on ball joints, the knees rotate above the usual bend, and the boots rotate as well; the latter I am so thankful for because I initially thought Hasbro glued the boots at weird angles and made the knees work in weird ways. Finally, he has ankle hinges and pivots. He can use his lightsaber without issue, though the blade is a little darker than normal. Removing the peg is terrifying given my prior experiences with some figures, but doing so allows the hilt to stay in the hook. His binoculars require wedging them into the hands, which means flexing them past the circumference of the grip.
Up next, we have Princess Leia. This figure's equally white gown is entirely made of ABS or PVC. While some shading would be nice for a figure this plain, at least the cleanliness of this character works well up until she dives into the trash compactor. The sculptwork at least manages retain a sense of being made out of cloth as one would hope for a collector's item in the 1/12 scale. The hood, in some ways, may look oversized, especially if we compare it to the scale of the one she comes with as an alternate part; however, it is accurate to the prop outfit.
Her head sculpt is better than Luke's, though it is apparently easier to nail Carrie Fisher's likeness in 1977 than it is Mark Hamill's. Her articulation is mostly the same as Luke's, though with double jointed knees instead of boot rotation. In addition to the aforementioned hood accessory (which easy to swap), she comes with the little pistol used on the Rebel Blockade Runner and the larger one associated with Stormtroopers after Luke handed it to her.
The original versions' reliance on cloth goods is something I always felt Hasbro went overboard with, making these feel more like like Mego dolls than normal action figures. It's one thing to make capes cloth goods, especially if they have wires implemented. But the overall figures were not ideal for features like that. In all honesty, I prefer how the newer figures turned out, but Hasbro certainly made Leia much better than they did with Luke. It sucks because I know Luke will easily get a slightly, slightly, slightly, slightly tweaked version of himself with better hair and actor likeness than the 2025 version. I still recommend the updated versions so you don't have to get these.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Luke)
⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Leia)
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