Mini Steps: The Evolution Of The Luke Skywalker Minifigure – Part II

This farm boy from Tatooine turned Jedi Master would become the hero of the Rebel Alliance during the time of the Galactic Empire. As a result of his presence throughout the Original Trilogy as well as the Sequel Trilogy, Luke Skywalker has become the most numerous LEGO Star Wars minifigure with over 50 unique variants. In the first installment of his evolution we covered his Bespin/Dagobah variants, and now it’s time for his Pilot versions.

Along with his gunner, Dak Ralter, the first Luke Skywalker Pilot minifigure was released in 7130 Snowspeeder during the first wave of LEGO Star Wars sets. He shared the same orange jumpsuit and used the Rebel Pilot helmet mold with his own unique printing. This version of Luke came with the same yellow head that was used on many other Lukes from the time. Unlike Dak though this version of Luke would also be included in 7140 X-Wing Fighter, 7142 X-Wing Fighter, and 4483 AT-AT. Just as with some other minifigures from the color transition period, a re-colored Luke with dark bluish gray hips would be released in 4500 Rebel Snowspeeder.

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Opting to go with a different Luke face print for the updated flesh color head, the pilot included in 6212 X-wing Fighter, 7666 Hoth Rebel Base, and 10178 Motorized Walking AT-AT used the same torso and helmet printing as the prior version. In later releases of set 6212, Luke received an updated face print this time with pupils which created another variant.

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Now that Luke had an updated face print it was time to update the rest of the minifigure. Released in 8129 AT-AT Walker and 9493 X-wing Starfighter was Luke with a new torso print that he would share with other Rebel Pilots as well as the first updated helmet print in over a decade. This helmet had significantly more detailing and would become the standard for most of the remaining versions.

Although the helmet print was set, the rest of the printing still had room for change and so change it would. Exclusive to 75014 Battle of Hoth was the first Pilot Luke to feature printed legs and dual-sided head printing. The legs were shared with many other Rebel Pilots, but the head with its orange printed visor on one side and stern face on the reverse would only be found in this set. This version’s torso printing was also updated and would go on to be used for other figures as well. The following year only the head would be changed for the version in 75049 Snowspeeder.

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As is common practice for Rebel Pilots, the next version of Luke would recycle torso and leg printing from other minifigs. He would also borrow the head from some non-Pilot versions of himself. However, this version came with a dual-molded helmet. While Stormtroopers have continued to use this style of helmet, this Luke can only be found in 75218 X-Wing Starfighter. The following year a similar version was released that used the same torso and legs but reverted back to the regular helmet style. He also came with a new head print. This version was found in 75235 X-Wing Starfighter Trench Run, 75259 Snowspeeder – 20th Anniversary Edition, and 75288 AT-AT.

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Just as we discussed in the Leia Mini Steps feature, after twenty years of the theme LEGO celebrated with retro-style minifigures and Pilot Luke was one of the lucky six. Designed to mimic the original figure, this Luke featured a yellow head, a helmet printed similar to the 1999 version, and a torso with the 20th Anniversary logo. Although the 20th Anniversary Snowspeeder set seemed like a more appropriate choice for his inclusion, this Luke was found in 75258 Anakin’s Podracer – 20th Anniversary Edition instead.

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The most recent version to be released kept the same head and helmet printing from a prior iteration but updated both the torso and leg printing. It was previously exclusive to 75301 Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing Fighter, but it will now also be available in 75313 AT-AT.

Which of these variants do you own? Are there any more improvements that could be made to this figure, or do you think any future variants will just be minor changes in printing? Pilot Luke has never received arm printing, so this could be a possibility for a future UCS or 18+ set.

Make sure to use the LSW Collector mobile app available for Apple and Android devices to track these and all your other Star Wars minifigures!