Kenner 12" Large Size Luke Skywalker

This is Kenner's 12" Luke Skywalker Large Size Action Figure.

Like the Darth Vader in my previous post, he's also from 1978.

This is the figure that replaced my broken Darth Vader and I've kept it all these years. At the time, I would have preferred to have replaced Vader with another Vader but it was not to be. So, I settled for Luke... Vader's son. I just didn't know he was Vader's boy at the time.

Having grown up on 12" GiJoes and Mego figures, I was a bit surprised to open this figure and find that his articulation was very limited...like a Ken doll. He's built like a Ken or Barbie doll, as well, with a hard plastic torso and rubbery arms and legs that only swing forward and backwards. Also, like Ken and Barbie, he has limited elbow and knee articulation. There's some sort of "clicking" armature inside that allows very limited bending movement.


Still there's something about Luke's head sculpt that I still like to this day. It's not trying to be uber-realistic and it's definitely not a generic sculpt. Mark Hamill is in there, albeit somewhat stylized. I definitely prefer this kind of sculpt versus a sculpt that's trying to be realistic and has gone wrong...as most of Hasbro's 12" figures from the 1990s exhibited. However, I do enjoy realistic sculpts, also, when they really hit the mark.

To be complete, Luke should have a white tunic, tan pants, white boots, black and silver "utility" belt, a blue lightsaber, and grappling hook.

If these accessories were released with a figure today, screen accuracy junkies' heads would definitely explode.

Overall, this is a nice rendition of a now iconic character. Today, there have been many 12" versions of Luke Skywalker produced by Hasbro and more recently by Sideshow Collectibles. However, this was the first 12" scale Luke and still deserves recognition despite it's doll-like qualities.