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

This farm boy from Tatooine turned Jedi Master would become the hero of the Rebel Alliance during the time of the Galactic Empire and eventually go on to start a new Jedi Order. 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.

If you haven’t already, go check out our previous installments before reading on – Bespin/Dagobah variants, Pilot versions, and Jedi Luke. Next up is Luke Skywalker in original Tatooine garb!

Like many minifigures that have seen numerous renditions, the first farm boy Luke was released in 1999. Interestingly he was the first LEGO Star Wars minifigure to come with leg printing. His torso printing was unique with some basic shirt detailing and his silver belt buckle. He shared his head with other Lukes from that year and had a tan standard hairpiece. This version was found in 7110 Landspeeder, 7190 Millennium Falcon, and 4501 Mos Eisley Cantina.

A similar version was released in the 2014 Updated and Expanded Visual Dictionary as a pre-cursor to the 20th Anniversary figures that would be released years later. At a quick glance the two may be hard to tell apart, but on closer inspection, both the torso and leg printing was updated compared to the prior version.

The next stage of Luke’s evolution came in 2007 when the minifigure underwent its first overhaul. Both the torso and leg printing had a complete redesign this time featuring hip printing that helped to carry the look down. This version came with the same flesh head that previous Luke figures in other costumes had. The standard hairpiece used by the prior version was swapped out for what was traditionally a female hairpiece but had been used on Obi-Wan, Anakin, and young Boba Fett. This version was found in 10179 Millennium Falcon and 10188 Death Star.

A nearly identical version – which was exclusive to 8092 Luke’s Landspeeder – was released in 2010 with the only difference being a change in the mouth and addition of pupils to the head print. The following year Luke received a new hairpiece, but this time it was one created just for him. With the body the same as the two prior, this would serve as a transition point to future versions. He would combine this “tousled” hair with a new head print to create the variant found in 7965 Millennium Falcon before going back to the previous head for the version in the 2012 New York Comic Con Exclusive.

Confused yet? Well, stick with us because we have a few more variants to cover. In 2014 the basic design was once again updated. For the first time white legs with tan printing were used, and the torso received back printing. The torso also centered the buckle and reverted it back to a more octagonal shape. Tousled hair was the way of the future and would remain on the rest of the Tatooine Lukes. This leaves only the face prints to differentiate each variant.

With the creepiest of face prints, the version found in 75052 Mos Eisley Cantina, 75056 Star Wars Advent Calendar, and 75059 Sandcrawler had a dual-sided head with eerie smile on one side and a scowl on the other. Two years later a version with a smile/stern dual-sided head would be released and go on to be found in seven sets making it the most used variant. This same Luke would suit up with a utility belt and grappling hook for 75229 Death Star Escape and poncho for 75271 Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder.

Up until last week that would have been the full list, but with this week’s launch of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga we have one more to add. Blue Milk Luke features the same body as the above versions and comes with the signature dual-sided blue milk mustache head print! Whether or not this figure will pop up in future promos is anyone’s guess.

That makes eleven variations for Luke in his Tatooine attire. Only time will tell if another upgrade comes along or if it will just be head print swaps from here on out!