My dad got this for me back in 2000; I was a very happy boy that day. The battle at the Great Pit of Carkoon was one of my favorite Star Wars scenes, and so having a set of one of the skiffs (That included a Return of the Jedi Luke to boot!) was a delight.

The skiff is very simple, as in the movie. The colors never looked off to me; still don't. The pieces used do a very good job capturing the shape, although it's a bit small (Though granted, four-stud-wide one-seater cars were still the standard at this time). Making it six studs wide would have given more standing room, but I understand why they didn't; the slope pieces necessary to do the nose at that width didn't exist yet. The boat/space windshield piece used was a clever touch; it captures, in angularized form, the nose of the skiff without cutting down on standing room (which was already at a premium) very much. I have unfortunately lost this piece on mine, and the crude substitution I had to make is no match. The gang-plank, a 1x8 tile, is a bit narrow and tricky to get a minifigure to stand on, but it's in proportion to the rest of the set, and it being a tile makes it easier for Luke to hang onto. The tan 2x2 round bricks on the bottom serve two purposes: Giving the appearance of hovering over a sandy surface, and serving as the magnetic lifters that picked up R2 and 3PO (Though a Technic axle-pin hybrid or 1x1 pin would be needed for 3PO).

As for the figures.. We only get two, but that's good for the price. Including Lando as well would have been nice, but he was still in minifigure limbo at the time (LEGO was hesitant about moving to using flesh tones, but at the same time didn't want to end up being racist by making a Lando with the same "Skin tone" as everyone else). We get Luke, now using the same face as the Episode 1 Obi-Wan figures to represent his ROTJ serious face, and in his black Jedi tunic and pants. His hands are both yellow, but that's actually accurate given when in the movie this set takes place. The synth-flesh on his prosthetic wasn't damaged until partway through this battle, and he didn't pull a glove over it until after taking off for Dagobah in his X-Wing. He is armed with his awesome green lightsaber, ready to slice his way through Jabba's thugs. This was the only set to have him at the time. Also included is Han Solo, sans vest (as per the movie) and armed with a black spear, which LEGO felt fit the proportions of the vibro-axes in the movie better than their poleaxe piece. Chewbacca was still exclusive to 7190 Millennium Falcon at the time of this set's release, so I don't mind him not being in it. Skiff guards would have been good, but that's asking a bit much of the price. There may have been a Sail Barge set being designed at the time that got scrapped later; I don't know.

Overall, a very nice set to have. Would I recommend getting? Yes, if you want an old-style ROTJ Luke and can find it for close to the original MSRP. Certainly I wouldn't recommend paying $30 like I've seen some eBay listings priced for.

There are no surprises with this set. As a star wars fan this is a great collector item. You get two great minifigures in Luke and Han (after being defrosted). This is a small set, but worth it if you are a collector.

I absolutley love this set, mainly because it was my introduction to lego. It was either my first or second set (not really sure) and since then I've purchased a second on ebay and used it with Jabba's floating palace. I'm a big fan of the utter simplicity of this set, and the side rails, which were never used after this set, are nice rare pieces to have. I like how the old minifigs had yellow skin, which to me just makes them seem so much more lego like.

Here you've got Han and Luke trying to escape the pit where there about to be fed to. For $5.99 (VERY LOW PRICE), you can re-create the scene with the skiff. Sure it doesn't have any more fancy minifigs, but you've got two classics right here! This includes two weapons, Luke's green lightsaber, and a spear for Han.

i got this for Christmas awhile ago and i loved it. it has luke with his lightsaber, and han with a spear.

pros-
small
inexpensive
one of a few return of the Jedi sets released

cons-
no chewy, boba fett, lando, not even a sarlacc
luke doesn't have fake hand
cant walk the plank.