1) Basics of Mould Families

A Detailed Breakdown Of The Sculpt Variations

Most collectors will be familiar with the rather obvious sculpt difference on the HK Small family, mainly concerning the lightsaber hilt hanging from Luke’s belt. But in actual fact, all three mold families have a unique sculpt, it’s just that the differences between the HK Large family and the MIHK family are much more subtle, in fact they’re basically the same, but one has more defined detail than the other.

It is important to note, that when I say that all the mold families have a unique sculpt, I’m not just referring to the Lightsaber hilt, but everything (head, arms, legs & torso). This next section shows all the parts that make up Bespin Luke from each family and shows the subtle and not so subtle difference between them.

Head

Identifying the differences between the three head sculpts is difficult as they are very similar. It’s made harder by the various hair colour and eye prints used, which look different and there for make it difficult to focus on the actual sculpt detail. Looking at the actual detail of the hair would seem the obvious solution and most likely source of differences, but if you look at the picture below, or likewise have a close look at the three sculpts in the flesh, you’ll see the hair detail is basically identical on all three.

To me, it’s easiest to describe the three as small (MIHK) medium (HK Large) and large (HK Small) although the sizes are very similar. The easiest way to spot notable differences is from the front. The picture below show’s some of the minor differences.

Point A – The curvature of the top of the head. The MIHK sculpt has an almost perfect curve. The HK Large sculpt is not as clean as the line shows. Finally the HK Small sculpt is also not a perfect curve and the hair line is fractional higher than that of the others making the head look larger.

Point B – The area of hair inside the circle has clear detail showing two lines in the hair, this detail is not present of either the HK Large or HK Small sculpts. Also the small line inside the circle indicates differences in the shape of the hair line.

Point C – Again the line indicates differences in the curvature of the hair line. The MIHK sculpt hair line ticks out to a point, this makes the face appear fatter. The HK Large sculpt is basically flat, while the HK Small sculpt is again different.

Point D – Again the hair detail within the circle is different. The MIHK sculpt has notable hair detail that the other two lack. The HK Large sculpt has a large groove that the that is not present on the HK Small sculpt.

There are other subtle differences here and there, but these to me are the easiest to spot.

Torso Front

The differences are much easier to spot on the Torso than the head, The MIHK sculpt is very similar to the HK Large sculpt but with less defined detail, were as the HK Small sculpt is notably different. These differences are shown below.

Point A – The bar at the top of the right breast pocket on the HK Large is very bold, the MIHK sculpt is no where near as defined and the HK Small sculpt is thinner. (the left breast pocket are different).

Point B – The pocket clasp on the HK Large sculpt is thinner and more rounded than the thick square sculpt on the MIHK. The clasp on the HK small is very thin and rounded.

Point C – The depression line that goes diagonally across the right breast pocket is basically the same on both the MIHK and HK Large sculps (slight difference in definition again). The angle on the HK Small sculpt is much steeper though and has a clear second edge to the depression (shown with the orange lines).

Point D – On the HK Large sculpt the small line on the waist belt appears very slightly to the left side of central line of the shirt above it, on the MIHK sculpt this line appears very slightly to the right of the shirt line and finally on the HK Small sculpt it appears kind of central.

Point E – The small crease is notably different on all sculps. The HK Large sculpt has a left facing crescent shaped crease. The NIHK sculpt has the same kind of crease but it extends down to the belt. On the HK Small sculpt, the crase is more straight and more right-ward facing.

Point F – The belt buckle is again an good focal point for differences. The HK Large buckle sculpt is very neat and has clear angled edges. The MIHK buckle sculpt is more sloppy and the angled edge is gone and more rounded. HK Small sculpt has the angled edge back but the whole buckle it’s self is on a steeper angle.

Torso Back

The torso back has several differences in the general drapery of the shirt which can be clearly seen, however it’s much easier to simply focus on two areas which show notable differences.

Point A – The small ‘tear drop’ crease below the belt differs on all three sculpts. On the HK Large and MIHK the tear drop is a perfect drop with both side inverted (again the HK Large is more clearly defined in detail than the MIHK). The drop on the HK Small sculpt has one side inverted and the other rounded as shown by the lines with in the circle.

Point B – The pocket. The HK Large and MIHK sculpts are basically the same, where as the HK Small sculpt has a keyhole shaped clasp.

Right Arm

As with all the rest, the arms in the case of the HK Large and MIHK Sculpt are basically the same with the main difference being that the MIHK sculpts are less defined in detail.

Point A – The small band on the wrist is thin on the HK Large and MIHK sculpts and thick on the HK Small sculpt. The groove around the band and up the arm are deeper on the HK Large than they appear on the MIHK sculpts.

Point B – The HK Large hand is the slimmest of the hands, the MIHK hands appearing slightly fatter and the HK Small hands are quite fat and also feature grooves down the figure edge which aren’t present on the other two sculpts.

Point C – The shoulder pocket on the HK Large and MIHK Sculpts are thin and pointed at the bottom. The HK Small sculpt has a fatter pocket with a squared off bottom.

Point D – The band around the elbow joint is much more defined on the HK Large sculpt than the MIHK sculpt. This band on the HK Small figures is slightly thicker and has deeper grooves around it.

Point E – The ‘tear drop’ crease at the back of the wrist is a different shape on the HK Large and MIHK sculpt than the HK Small sculpt, which is also deeper. Again the MIHK sculpt is less defined than the HK Large sculpt.

X Point – the points marked X Point 1 and X Point 2 written in red are marked separately as they are not are difference in the same way as the difference mentioned above.

As is explained earlier about the COO families and the molds for each, we know that there were two molds used for the HK Large figures, the two X Points are referencing two small imperfections that where present in one of these molds. These imperfections are:

X Point 1 – The band around the arm top is cut sort before the joint.

X Point 2 – A small portion of the elbow band is missing and kind of smoothed over.

These imperfections can only be found on the HK Large figures and are random because of the way the figures where produced. Basically any figure variation within the HK Large mold family can either be found with or without these imperfections on the right arm.

Left Arm

The left arm is similar in differences as the right arm.

Point A – The crease circled is pretty the same on the HK Large and HK Small sculpts but not a far reaching on the HK Small sculpt.

Point B – Same as with the right hand, the HK Large and MIHK similar, with slightly different thumb nail detail. The HK Small hand is very different, much fatter and a grip that it no where near as deep as the other two, this makes him pretty poor at holding his Lightsaber.

Point C – The Pocket on the HK Small figures is smaller in height than the other two sculpts which again are very similar.

Point D – The elbow bands are much thicker on the HK Large and MIHK sculpts than the thinner HK Small sculpt.

Point E – Same as on the right arm, the ‘tear drop’ crease is the same on the HK Large and MIHK just less defined on the MIHK, and the HK Small is a different shape and much deeper.

Right Leg

The differences on the Right leg are not quite as obvious as the ones on the left leg, in fact the right leg probably bears the least noticeable difference of all the body parts, but there is still a few.

Point A – The creases at the top of the leg are the same on the HK Large and MIHK sculpts with just the usual lack of definition on the MIHK. On the HK Small sculpt, the bottom crease is pretty much the same as the others, but the top crease is notably different.

Point B – The knee band on the HK large and MIHK are thicker than the HK Small.

Point C – The boot on the HK Large and MIHK have a thin rather poorly defined rim around the bottom, where as the HK Small sculpt has a clear rim all the way round.

Point D – Probably the most noticeable difference on the right leg in comparison to the Lightsaber hilt of the left leg, is the gun holster. The HK Large and MIHK are the same, but the HK Small is a lot fatter.

Point E – The length of the holster clasp is longer on the HK Small sculpt than the other two.

Point F – The little boot crease is lower on the HK Small sculpt than it is on the HK Large and MIHK sculpts.

Left Leg

The left leg is the one body part that has clearly different points for all three sculpts, with the exception of the head. All the other body parts in the case of the HK Large an MIHK sculpts have basically been the same with the only real difference been the less defined detail on the MIHK Sculpt. The left leg however has at least one notable difference which separates all three. This is found at Point A.

Point A – The top curve of the leg is clearly different on all three sculpts. The focal point is on the front, the gap between the end of the curve and the bottom of the belt. On the HK Large sculpt, the gap is small. On the MIHK sculpt, the gap is large and on the HK Small sculpt the gap is non existent as the curve goes all the way down to the Lightsaber hilt. This difference can also be noted from the side view. The HK Small sculpt is also much flatter on top than the other two which are more rounded.

Point B – The Lightsaber hilt is the most notable difference between the HK Large, MIHK and the HK Small sculpts. The HK Large and MIHK are very similar, they have no notch on the bottom and the general detail is different than that of the HK Small sculpt, which has a notch at the bottom.

Point C – As with right leg, the knee bands on the left leg are thicker on both the HK Large and MIHK sculpts and thinner on the HK Small.

Point D – The HK Small sculpt has a prominent angular crease on the back end of the boot which is not present on the HK Large and MIHK Sculpts.

Point E – The HK Large and MIHK sculpts have two small creases above the COO. These creases are much longer and completely different on the HK Small sculpt.

Well that pretty much sums up the Bespin Luke sculpt differences.

The important thing to note concerning the three sculpts is that they are unique to the mold family from which they are from. They never mix and match, for example, you won’t find an MIHK small head on a HK Small figure. I have never seen any carded examples with any mixing of the parts, but have seen a couple of the wrong heads on the wrong bodies on the net. It is my opinion that this is a result of a head swap and that the figure never came off the card like that.