I got my SH Figuarts Luke Skywalker figure today. And wow, is this thing cool! Before I get into the review I'd like to say, 1/12 scale is just fantastic. Its definitely the Goldilocks scale of Star Wars figures. You get the articulation and attention to details of 1/6 scale but half the size, making it cheaper and easier to display. Right now is a great time to collect 1/12 figures because you have so many options as far as manufacturers. Black Series, Revoltech, Bandai kits, SH Figuarts and I'm sure I'm missing someone. They all offer something to the 1/12 table. That's why I won't compare the SH Luke to the TBS one because they're not in the same ballpark, or even on the same planet.
I'll start with the packaging, I like it, its much more compact than what I'm used to. It actually arrived in an envelope at my door. It makes shipping and storing a lot easier. I was able to take him out and put him right back in the package with no problem at all.
Now to the figure I'll start with articulation. I'm not a HUGE fan of articulation, I air on the side of aesthetics. Which brings me to the shoulders. The first thing I noticed was how the extra shoulder articulation disrupted the lines of his tunic. But its absolutely necessary to get those two handed lightsaber poses. The joints are nice and tight, again super duper articulated, he even has toe articulation. Which is very nice.
He comes with 3 sets of hands. R/L fists, R/L relaxed hands, R/L gripping hands. He also has two faces and two hair styles. You can actually take his face off and give him a different hair style, giving you four options. His hair is actually gold, like metallic gold. I understand what they're doing, in some light it really does look like blonde hair sheen, but in other light it's gold hair. He has a lightsaber hilt and blade. The top of the lightsaber is attached to the blade so you change the lightsaber tops as opposed to adding the blade, and it looks great because its seamless. Lastly he comes with a Return of the Jedi Darth Vader/Anakin head, that looks amazing! Its supposed to fit on the SHF Vader, but I don't have him yet so that sucks but I wonder if it will fit the Bandai kit Vader and if it doesn't I'll make it fit.
The figure itself is just great, they really captured the human form. Its not just a head torso, arms, and legs, the way they all come together is perfect. There's so much more I can say about this figure, but in short, I highly recommend this figure if you are a stickler for details, or if you want a definitive 6" Luke. If anyone has any questions please ask, I'll do my best to answer them. When it comes to something like this you should be as informed as possible, to see if its right for you.
