Tag Archives: Han Solo

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0019: Han Solo

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , ,

HAN SOLO

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES ARCHIVE (HASBRO)

Check this out!  Doing three whole Flashback Friday Figure Addendums in one year!  I haven’t actually done that since I launched them in 2017.  Weird.  It’s once again a Black Series figure that’s getting the treatment, thanks to Hasbro going back and redoing a lot of the pre-face-printing figures with the appropriate upgrades.  The last few I’ve looked at have been from the main line, but today I’m switching over to their Archive line, with my first Archive figure that I actually got the first time around.  So, let’s look at The Force Awakens Han Solo, whose original release I looked at back in March of 2016.

A lot of (very much deserved) praise has been heaped on the new cast members introduced in the Force Awakens, but one of the coolest things about the movie was the return of some of the “old guard” from the Original Trilogy. The most prominent returning hero by far was everyone’s favorite scuffy-lookin’ nerf-herder, Han Solo. For a number of reasons, Han, along with most of the other returning characters, was absent from the first few waves of Force Awakens product, but the merch based on him is starting to hit in full storm. Today, I’ll be looking at his much anticipated Black Series figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Han was released in the fifth series of the latest iteration of Star Wars: The Black Series. He’s marked as number 18 in the line, which makes him the last figure in this particular series numerically. The figure stands just over 6 inches tall (which is the same as his A New Hope figure) and has 27 points of articulation. Some of the movement, most notably his hips, is a little restricted, but he can certainly pull off just about any pose that the real Harrison Ford can. Han’s sculpt is totally new, and it’s an amazing piece of work. The proportions look great, certainly better than the last Han, and the detail work on the clothing is just fantastic. The jacket in particular has some amazing texture work, which adds a lot of character to the figure. The shirt and underlying belt are a little on the soft side, and I’m not sure I’m a fan of the pose on his left hand, but those are my only real complaints. The real draw of this sculpt is the likeness. Harrison Ford has a notoriously hard to capture likeness, but this is perhaps the best one we’ve ever seen. There are a few angles where it looks a bit off, but the overall appearance is very close. Now, you may be thinking that, based on the pictures, he really doesn’t look as close as I’m saying. Well, here’s where the paint comes in. For the most part, the paint’s great. The clothing (particularly the coat) has some really great work, which really sells this as a real person. My first nit is the eyes; they aren’t terrible, but they’re a little sloppier than I’d like. However, the major issue here is the hair. The application of the paint is alright, but there’s no getting around the fact that it’s simply the wrong color. Instead of being mostly grey with maybe a few streaks of light brown, it’s light brown with just a few streaks of grey, resulting in him looking a fair bit younger than he should. It’s really annoying, because it seriously throws off an otherwise really great figure.* Han only includes one accessory: his signature blaster, which is a totally different mold than the one included with the Series 2 Han.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I found out this figure was hitting stores, I was anticipating him being a chore to find. So, I was pleasantly surprised to walk into my local Target and find him hanging on the pegs, hiding behind a pair of Jango Fetts. I’m not sure I can adequately describe just how much I like this figure. He’s hands down the best Han Solo figure I own, and possibly one of the best Black Series figures to date, and certainly the best of the Force Awakens figures. Yes, the hair thing is annoying, but this figure outshines all those issues, and is just a ton of fun to mess around with.

I think, perhaps, the most dated part of the whole above review is how Jango was the figure I was pushing aside to find this guy.  Believe it or not, when this series hit, the Prequel resurgence hadn’t quite hit in full force yet, and, with the general hype machine that was still going behind The Force Awakens, Han was actually the more desirable figure.  How times have changed on that one.  Beyond that little diatribe, my review of this figure is pretty spot-on, I think.  This was definitely Hasbro’s best Han Solo sculpt for the line at the time, and even now is still a pretty high contender.  I think he gets edged out by Bespin Han, but that’s really it.  I was critical of the original figure’s paint, and clearly that’s the one thing Hasbro wanted to fix, so I must have been onto something there.  And fix it Hasbro did.  The new paint is absolutely night and day.  There was apparently some sort of contractual thing preventing the hair on any Han Solo merch from being a proper grey when it all hit in 2016, but it would appear that’s been lifted, and this figure’s all the better for it.  The new face paint is also perhaps the best upgrade from the entire line, and they’ve even improved on the already high quality paint on the body.  He’s really just an all-around win.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3101: Han Solo with Smuggler Flight Pack

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

HAN SOLO with SMUGGLER FLIGHT PACK

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Many labels can be applied to Corellian-born Han Solo: pirate, gambler, smuggler and Rebel hero. It is doubtful that the last title would have applied at all had he not agreed to transport Ben Kenobi, Luke Skywaker and two droids to Alderaan in his Corellian freighter, Millennium Falcon. After unwittingly becoming part of a mission to rescue Princess Leia, Solo was drawn more and more into the cause of the Rebel Alliance, becoming one of the most significant figures involved in the rebellion against the Empire. He played an essential role in the Battle of Yavin, and led the strike-team on Endor’s moon that facilitated the destruction of the new Death Star. He escaped form countless dilemmas simply because of his daring and skill as a blasterslinger and pilot – talents he retained form his days as a smuggler/gambler. He also retained a couple of other things, one of them being his trusty smuggler pack, a tool which served him extremely well during inner-atmospheric piracy jobs.

Designed and built by Solo with the help of Chewbacca, this item is basically a weapons-jet pack with a huge mechanical grappling claw attached at its base for massive lifting and cargo transport. It was assembled from old swoop parts, discarded starfighter pieces, and construction-machinery robotics. Much like the Millennium Falcon itself, the pack does not appear impressive or dangerous – concerning its appearance Solo often becomes defensive: “Well it isn’t supposed to look pretty!” However, the swoop engines provide break-neck propulsion while two repulsors engage a silent hover mode that allows atmospheric flotation up to a maximum of one-hundred meters depending on the cargo. The pack allows Solo some flexibility; he can dock the Falcon and then speed in below sensors with the smuggler pack, picking up any cargo or booty before transferring it back to his ship. Twin laser cannons, appropriated from a badly damaged stock light freighter, swing over his shoulders to create a high-powered defense module. The grappling claw has magnetized pinchers which can be de-magnetized at the flip of a switch. It is extremely durable and able to lift objects weighing up to fifteen metric tons.”

Well, with a bio like that, I hardly need much of an intro here, now do I?  Especially after more or less covering the weird Deluxe line-up thing for Power of the Force II with last week’s review.  So, you know, this one’s very similar to that, but it’s Han instead of Luke.  How about that?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Han Solo with Smuggler’s Flight Pack was part of the first Deluxe Series of Kenner’s Power of the Force II line, added in 1996.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Much as was the case with the Stormtrooper and Luke, Han’s sculpt is quite similar to the Series 1 Han.  Not exactly one of the line’s finest or anything, but it’s got this sort of charming quality to it, I suppose.  The only change of note between the two releases is the addition of a second vest to the torso.  You know, in case the single vest wasn’t enough, right?  Gotta add that second.  But certainly don’t add any extra sleeves.  That would be too much.  His color work is more or less the same as the earlier release.  There’s some orange and silver added for the new vest.  Doesn’t feel super Star Wars-y, but it’s not un-Star Wars-y, either.  The application’s pretty clean and consistent, so that’s good.  The big selling point for all of these was the big gimmick accessory, and that’s consistent with Han here.  He’s got his “Smuggler’s Flight Pack,” which the bio presents as a pre-existing thing that’s sort of a signature of Han, despite the whole “not showing up anywhere other than this toy ever in the whole canon of Star Wars” thing.  But, you know, there it is.  It’s big, it’s goofy, and it makes it virtually impossible to keep the figure standing.  I guess it’s kind of fun, but it also really doesn’t feel like a Han sort of thing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Deluxe Han really never appealed much to me as a kid.  It’s only recently that I’ve really started picking them up, and it’s really only because of ease of access.  Han came into All Time as part of a larger collection, and the seal on the bubble had broken, so he was a rather easy grab.  He’s goofy, and odd, but he’s still an intriguing look at that road not travelled.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3061: Han Solo – Bespin Capture

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

HAN SOLO — BESPIN CAPTURE

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE JEDI (HASBRO)

“A smuggler before he joined the Rebel Alliance, the daring Han Solo stayed alive by keeping his guard up and his blaster ready. Unfortunately, when he arrived on Cloud City with Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO, Solo had no idea he was walking right into a trap… and a fateful confrontation with Darth Vader.”

In the wake of The Phantom Menace‘s tie-in line not quite performing the way Hasbro had hoped, they rolled what remained of that line into a full-franchise covering line dubbed Power of the Jedi, which also boasted updated takes on a few of the Original Trilogy designs as well.  The main characters got a little bit of coverage, mostly serving as a continuation of the slightly improved figures from the end of Power of the Force.  There were two Han Solos included, one of which was based on Han’s super fly Empire attire, which is the one I’m taking a look at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Han Solo (Bespin Capture) was released during the first year of Power of the Jedi‘s run, hitting during the second round of figures.  He was the first of the two Hans in the line, and the first Bespin Han since 1998.  In the subsequent year, we’d gotten the updated Cantina Han from A New Hope, so the aim of this one was really just to bring the Bespin design up to that same quality.  The figure stands a little over 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  While he didn’t get to keep the knee articulation from the Cantina Han, this guy still got some slightly improved articulation, with universal joints at the shoulders, as well as swivel joints at both elbows.  Han’s sculpt was an all-new one, though the head is clearly based on the same sculpt as the Cantina Han, much like how all of the late run PotF Lukes had the same updated features.  The likeness isn’t bad for Harrison Ford, especially compared to other sculpts from the same era.  The body sculpt is a pretty strong piece itself; the proportions are generally pretty well balanced, and the detailing is pretty sharp.  The jacket is perhaps a touch long for its proper length, but it’s not terrible, and the fact that it’s a separate piece does add a lot of depth to the overall look.  His paint work is generally pretty solid.  The colors are more on the subdued side, and apart from a little bit of slop on the right sleeve, the application is pretty clean.  Han was originally packed with his blaster (which can be stored in his holster) and a pair of cuffs.  Mine is lacking the cuffs, but he’s still got the blaster, which is a much smaller sculpt than prior versions.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As a kid, I remember really wanting this figure, but Power of the Jedi was one of those line’s that never really had consistent distribution, so I never saw one in person.  Over the years, I kept my eye out for him, and I eventually got a hold of one a couple of years back, courtesy of the House of Fun in New Jersey.  He’s a pretty solid little figure.  I don’t generally get Power of the Jedi stuff, but this guy’s one that feels like a nice extension of PotF, and he’s honestly just my favorite Bespin Han.

#2703: Han Solo – Hoth

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

HAN SOLO — HOTH

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES ARCHIVE (HASBRO)

“Han stuck with the Rebel Alliance and helped establish its new base on the ice planet Hoth. After Luke didn’t return from a routine sweep of the planet surface, Han headed out alone into the frigid cold to find him.”

Luke wasn’t the only one to get the deluxe Hoth cold-gear treatment for The Black Series in 2015, and he’s likewise not the only one to get the Archive treatment in 2021.  Both times around, Luke was accompanied by his good buddy Han, in his own set of cold-weather gear.  And I’m taking a look at that Han figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Han is another figure in the third assortment of Star Wars: The Black Series Archive.  Like Luke, he too was originally released in a deluxe set in 2015, where he was originally packaged alongside a Tauntaun.  Unlike Luke, he’s one one release between these two; the figure got a head swap and was packed with Hoth Leia for a two-pack in 2018.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 25 points of articulation.  Han’s articulation scheme is rather similar to Luke’s, being a rather archaic offering compared to other figures.  The mid-torso joint works a bit better on this guy than on Luke, at least, but otherwise, it’s pretty much the same, right down to the cut joints for the wrists.  Han’s sculpt is a straight re-use again.  It’s not the worst sculpt, but it’s far from one of Hasbro’s best.  The actual body’s not bad; the details are a bit sharper than Luke’s, and the proportions aren’t quite as off.  The real issues have to do with the head.  Firstly, like a number of the Han heads, it sits too high on the neck joint.  The actual head is actually made up of three separate pieces, for the head/hat, the hood, and the goggles.  This is accurate to the film, and gives the sculpt some extra depth, but introduces its own set of problems.  The main head is rather under-scaled when compared to the rest of the body, presumably to compensate for all of the other parts.  The face has an okay likeness of Ford, at least.  The hood and goggles are decent pieces in their own right, but in the case of the hood, designing it to be removable costs the aesthetics a bit.  There’s a rather noticeable seam on the back of the hood where it’s designed for removing, and due to the head sitting as high on the neck as it does, it doesn’t actually sit flush with the rest of the coat.  Since it’s, you know, supposed to be the same garment, and all, that’s kind of a big deal.  With careful posing, it doesn’t look quite as bad, but it’s still off from every angle no matter what.  It all winds up being a rather silly venture anyway, since there’s no reason to actually remove the hood, since it’s not a look that’s ever seen in the movie, and it really just ends up looking goofy.  Without an alternate head, or a hood piece pulled down, there’s no practical reason for the hood to be a removable piece.  He’d be better off with the hood permanently attached.  The figure’s paint work is a notable change-up from the original release.  In addition to getting the face printing to differentiate him from the original release, this figure also takes the opportunity to correct the jacket’s color from the blue of the original release to the proper brown.  The 2018 release made this change too, but this is the first time we’ve gotten the hood in the right color.  Han is packed with his usual blaster pistol.  It’s a little light, but it’s consistent with what he originally had (minus the Tauntaun, of course).

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Han’s original release was the same deal as Luke, being more difficult to find, lower quality, and just a bit too expensive at the time.  I did *almost* get one during Amazon’s first Prime Day, when he went on sale, for something silly like $5 off, but, again, it was hard to make it worth my time.  I mostly snagged him because I was getting Luke.  Honestly, he’s not as good as the already rather mediocre Luke figure.  The hood and head is a huge issue, and in general, he’s just not a terribly fun figure to mess with.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for Black Series, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2643: Han Solo – Endor

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

HAN SOLO — ENDOR

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Han Solo volunteered to lead the mission to destroy teh new Death Star’s shield generator. He and his strike team landed on the forest moon of Endor, where they encountered Scout Troopers and Ewoks.”

While Luke and Leia got drastically re-designed looks for Return of the Jedi, Han wound up with an appearance that was generally pretty re-tread-y of his first movie attire.  It doesn’t make for thrillingly different figures, and that’s probably why when we do get Jedi-inspired Hans, they’re almost always from the Endor segment, which does at least throw a trench coat over his main look, just to mix things up a bit, I suppose.  That’s the look that finally got him in on the RotJ bandwagon for The Black Series, and that’s the figure I’m looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Han Solo (Endor) is another piece of the second assortment of the relaunched Star Wars: The Black Series.  He joins the similarly themed Luke and Leia figures from the same set, and is figure #5 in the RotJ sub-set.  Like the last two, he was also available in the “Heroes of Endor” boxed set earlier last year.  The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  Structurally, a lot of this figure is shared with the Bespin Han figure from 2018.  I was overall pretty fond of that figure and his sculpt, so you’d think the re-use wouldn’t bug me…but it kinda does.  Mostly, it’s because they keep some of the stuff I didn’t like about it, and don’t really fix the handful of issues that were present.  The head proper is very similar to the last piece, but to my eyes it looks like the jaw’s a touch more prominent on this one.  I don’t know if that’s intentional or just mold variation, but it doesn’t really help the issues of the prior figure looking kind of narrow-shouldered for Han.  Nor does the new hair sculpt, which is just generally a bit poofier than the prior piece, again making the head look larger compared to the shoulders.  Additionally, the jacket piece has been swapped for a vest, which doesn’t have the same high-sitting collar as the jacket, which makes the neck look longer and thinner, which just makes the head look larger and thereby makes the shoulders look again smaller by comparison.  He also gets a new set of arms, which wind up looking rather on the scrawny side themselves; given how thin they are, but yet how baggy the sleeves are, Han must really not have any muscle mass to speak of under those sleeves.  The whole thing is topped off with the trench coat, which is a cloth piece to match Luke and Leia’s ponchos.  Trouble is, the coat just exacerbates the issues with the body, honestly, because it’s clearly tailored for a figure *slightly* bigger than this one.  This results in it dragging at his feet and hanging down over his hands, making it look not unlike Han is a small child who has stolen his father’s coat.  It’s not a very imposing or impressive look, and ultimately just adds to his gooniness.  It honestly looks a bit better when placed on the Bespin Han, if I’m honest. Of course, even then, the jacket is also missing the pockets on either side, and the pattern generally seems a bit too dark for what Han wears in the movie, so it’s always a bit of a compromise.  Even Han’s paintwork ends up a little rougher than previous entries, with some rather sloppy application on the shirt and belt, even going down to the strap for the holster.  The face also feels like it has a bit too much color going into it, making it look like Han is a bit flushed.  Han’s only accessory is his usual blaster pistol.  It’s the same piece as the Empire version, but this time with the proper color scheme.  It’s too bad they couldn’t also give him a few of the detonators or something, just to make the package a little more exciting.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Han’s Endor look has never been one of my favorites.  Even in the films, after the coolness of the Bespin look, this one seemed like a bit of a step down, at least to me.  It doesn’t help that it always seems to have rotten luck with figures.  This figure is, unfortunately, not an exception, either.  There’s no real smoking gun as to why this figure doesn’t work compared to the other two; it’s just a lot of small stuff that ultimately adds up to a figure that’s just not so great.  It’s a shame, because this one feels like one that could have really shined, but it’s instead the weakest in its respective series.  Oh well.  At least it’s another Han Solo for people to buy.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for Black Series, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2366: Jabba the Hutt (w/ Han Solo)

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

JABBA THE HUTT (w/ HAN SOLO)

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

For the (first) Special Edition release of A New Hope, one of the primary new features was the re-insertion of a cut scene from the original film, which would have introduced viewers to the gangster Jabba the Hutt two films earlier.  In the scene as it was shot, instead of the huge slug we’d all come to know, Jabba was portrayed by actor Declan Mulholland, who was pretty much just a guy in a lot of furs.  For a number of reasons, the scene was excised, and its important bits were retooled into Han’s confrontation with Greedo, leaving Jabba as an ominous figure not fully realized for two more films.  When the scene was added back in, a Jabba more in line with the creature seen in Jedi was digitally added in to replace Mulholland (something Lucas has maintained was always his plan, though Lucas isn’t exactly the most trustworthy source on such things, since he frequently claims that whatever the current final product may be was always his plan).  Ultimately, thanks to the Greedo scene still being there, the scene’s kinda redundant, slows down the movie, and removes a chunk of Jabba’s menace, and to top it all off, the Jabba CGI model is just nowhere near as convincing as the puppet was.  And that’s not even touching on that magical CGI leap that Han has to take in order to jump over Jabba’s tail… Where was I?  Right, the toys.  They made some toys of this absolute masterpiece of a scene, and I’m taking a look at them today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Jabba and Han were released as one of the Power of the Force II line’s creature sets in 1997, in order to coincide with the release of the Special Editions in theaters, alongside the similarly Special Edition-inspired Ronto with Jawa and Dewback with Sandtrooper.

JABBA THE HUTT

The main focus of this set to be sure, this Jabba was the only release of the character in the PotF2 line, and is notable for being the only one to be directly based on the CGI model of the Special Edition.  Small victory there; it wasn’t allowed to spread any further.  The figure is about 4 inches tall by about 7 inches long.  His only really reliable movement is at the shoulders; there’s joints at the mid-section and in the tail, but they’re all linked together in a mechanism-driven movement, which doesn’t really have much motion, truth be told.  I think some more straight-forward joints there would have been better served.  As it stands, he actually can’t even properly get into his basic RotJ sitting pose, which is a bummer if you want to make use of him in the Jabba’s Palace playset.  The sculpt on this guy is clearly tailored after that previously mentioned CGI model, which is evident from Jabba’s slightly skinnier proportions, especially in the head, and his larger eyes.  The texturing on his skin also has that same sort of droopy, almost melted quality of the early CG model.  I guess you can’t really fault Kenner on that; he’s possibly a little better looking than the source material, truth be told.  Jabba’s paint work also draws a bit more from the updated design.  While the original Jabba model had the sort of two-toned thing we see going on here, it was far more subtle.  For the CGI look, it became more pronounced, and that was further emphasized on this guy.  It’s not *awful* but it becomes even more noticeable when compared to his vintage counterpart, which didn’t go for the two-toned thing at all.

HAN SOLO

The creature sets liked to throw at least one standard figure into the mix, and I guess you could do a lot worse than a standard Han Solo.  That’s what this is: a pretty standard Han.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation (no waist joint for this guy).  His sculpt comes from the same basic lineage as the standard ANH Han from the beginning of the line, but he’s a lot like the Gunner Station Han, in that he tones down a lot of the previous Han’s wonky proportions and pre-posing.  Honestly, where it not for the leaps and bounds made by the Cantina Han two years later, this would easily be the best ANH Han in the PotF2 line.  As it stands, he’s at least in that nice mid-ground spot.  Honestly, it’s kind of a shame he only came packed in this set, because I’m certain it led to him getting far more overlooked than he should have.  I certainly did.  His paint work is probably his weakest point.  For some reason, he’s awfully pale, and my figure also has a stray mark of brown across his cheek, which is more than a little distracting.  Han included a unique version of his blaster, which was in a dark blue this time instead of the usual black.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I remember seeing this set when it was, new, but even as a kid, I wasn’t much of a fan of the updated Jabba, so I never did get one.  That said, I’ve been filling in my PotF2 collection a lot recently, and ended up with the Jabba’s Palace 3D playset, but no Jabba to go with it.  Luckily for me, All Time got one of these traded in, and so I’ve finally added it to my collection.  There’s not really much to write home about on either of these figures, but they do have sort of this quaint “wow, we didn’t know how far the edits would eventually go” quality about them.

#2285: Han Solo

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

HAN SOLO

STAR WARS: GALAXY OF ADVENTURES (HASBRO)

At launch, Galaxy of Adventures‘ primary focus was on the latest installment in the Star Wars franchise, Rise of Skywalker, but it was not without a few throwback figures.  For the second assortment, they stepped the Original Trilogy content up, adding two of the trilogy’s core characters to the line-up.  It’s hard to imagine any Star Wars line without a Han Solo, and fortunately we don’t have to do that for Galaxy of Adventures, because here he is!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Han is one of the two new figures in the Series 2 pack-out for Galaxy of Adventures.  As of right now, he’s only available in this particular assortment, but I fully expect that he’ll be mixed into another case packout this year, since that seems to be the way Galaxy of Adventures is going to be working.  While Luke was based on his Return of the Jedi appearance and Vader was definitely an amalgamation, Han is in his A New Hope attire.  It’s actually a little bit surprising, since his smaller GoA figure was in the Bespin look, but either one makes for a strong Han appearance.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 23 points of articulation.  His articulation is pretty much the same as all of the other GoA articulation, meaning that he’s quite posable, and also quite steady on his feet.  There’s a slight restriction at the right hip, where he’s got the holster, but it’s actually not as bad as it is on most recent Hans.  You can still get him to sit without too much trouble.  Han’s sculpt follows the stylization of the rest of the line, and I really feel that Han translates the best of the human figures.  Something about his design just really jibes well with the aesthetic.  It helps that he’s also got one of the most expressive faces in the line to date; that cocky grin is perfect for Han, especially his earlier incarnation.  It’s not a Ford likeness, but it’s a good character likeness for Han, and not even trying for the Ford likeness honestly puts him ahead of most versions of Han that aim to be more realistic.  Like other figures in the line, he’s just generally got a very clean appearance about him, which works well in figure form.  Han’s paintwork is by and large pretty clean; there are some slight spots of bleed over on the stripes of the pants, but other then that he looks quite good.  Like the Rey from the two pack, the coloring on the face is stepped back a notch from the first series, making for a slightly better look in my eyes.  Han is packed with his usual blaster, which fits nicely in his hand or his holster without issue.  He also has a spring-loaded arm, much like others in the line.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Han was on my list of figures I wanted even before I’d tried out the rest of the line, mostly because his prototype was just one of the better ones they showed off in that initial wave of photos.  He was definitely high on my want list.  Fortunately, Max was able to score one for me just before the holiday season.  He’s a very solid figure, and easily one of my favorites from the line so far.

#1980: Force Link 2.0 Starter Set (w/ Han Solo)

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

FORCE LINK 2.0 STARTER SET (W/ HAN SOLO)

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (HASBRO)

When Hasbro launched their tie-in offerings for The Last Jedi, they launched alongside them a new play gimmick…well, an old play gimmick with a shiny new coat of paint, anyway.  Dubbed “Force Link,” it allowed for all compatible figures and vehicles to enhance their playablitity with sound effects and dialogue.  The whole thing required a reader to activate, and I reviewed that reader back when it was first made available. It was an amusing enough gimmick, but the whole thing ran into trouble just a few short months after its release, since Hasbro had failed to build in figures beyond the TLJ offerings planned when the reader debuted.  Not wanting to completely abandon the concept, but also not wanting to make all of the prior figures obsolete, they used the launch of Solo to offer up a “2.0” version, designed with updates in mind.  This, of course, meant another reader, and thereby another starter set, which I’ll be looking at today.

THE SET ITSELF

The Force Link 2.0 starter set was released alongside the rest of the Solo-themed product in April of last year.  Not quite the grand hurrah of prior toyline launches, but there it was.  The set includes the new version of the reader, as well as standard Han Solo figure.  Both of these items remained unique to this set throughout the line’s run, unlike the first starter set.  As with the first set, the three AAA batteries needed for the reader’s operation are not included.

FORCE LINK 2.0 READER

If you read my review of the first Force Link reader, then there’s not much new about the basics of this one.  It operates using the same NFC partnering between the reader and the figures.  The basic physical design is also the same, albeit with some slight cosmetic changes that better match it to Solo‘s aesthetics.  This mean’s it’s operation in conjunction with the figures is also the same, for good and for bad.  It’s still a tight fit on the wrist, and getting the figures to work as Hasbro intended doesn’t so much go; I again found holding the figures up to the reader directly to be more efficient.  There’s one new feature, which is kind of the selling point of the 2.0, but is also it’s biggest problem.  The new reader is tied-in with a Force Link app (which can be downloaded onto mobile devices), allowing for periodic updates.  This is supposed to fix the issue of the prior reader’s fixed selection of characters to interact with by allowing for new figures to be added via these updates.  So, what’s the problem?  Well, right out of the box, the reader is compatible with the Han Solo it comes packed with…and no one else.  No launch figures, no 1.0 figures, nothing.  Every figure beyond Han will simply give you a “Firmware Update Required” message.  You have to download and launch the app, pair the device to your phone and go through a rather frustrating interface process, all to start a very lengthy firmware update (Hasbro says it can take up to an hour, and mine stuck right to that).  The fact that they couldn’t even have the 1.0 and initial figures ready to go is a real problem, and it’s further hurt by the updates not actually being available when this thing hit shelves.

HAN SOLO

The second half of this set is a Han Solo.  But not just any Han Solo; it’s actually the standard Solo Han Solo.  Yes, unlike the first Force Link reader, which supplied us with a Kylo variant, this time Hasbro decided to make it a more worthwhile figure.  For those planning to buy the set, this is great, since they don’t have to worry about some extraneous offering.  For those not?  Well, it kind of means that Hasbro made a Solo line without a single-carded Han Solo, which, in retrospect, may not have been their finest move.  Moving past that, though, how is the line’s standard Han Solo?  He stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation.  He’s rather similar in design to the Han included with the Falcon, but obviously with the jacket added.  He uses the same head, legs, and hands, with a new torso and arms.  It’s a nice, sharp sculpt, and definitely my favorite of the various Hans available in the line.  His paintwork is clean, which is good, since you actually can’t see him in the box.  In fact, he’s probably the best of the Hans…again.  He’s packed with his usual blaster pistol, which he can hold or keep in his holster.  His Force Link sounds are:  “They call me Han Solo.”  “We’ve got company!”  “Blast ’em!” “This better be worth it.” “I don’t run from a fight.”  “Huh, I’ve got a really good feeling about this.” “Okay, stay sharp!” “Wa-hoo!” and then a blaster sound.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It took a $10 off coupon to get me to buy the first Force Link starter set, so it’s probably not a huge surprise to find out I wasn’t eager to drop full retail on a second one, especially so soon after the first.  So, I clearance-waited on this one, which paid off quite nicely for me, since I was able to snag it for $4 just after the holidays.  Not great for the prospects of the concept continuing, of course.  I can see Hasbro really trying with this set, with the potential for updates instead of having to buy a new reader with every movie, and the avoidance of double-dipping on Han figures like they had with Rey and Jyn.  Unfortunately, the need to update right out of the box, coupled with how mind-numbingly frustrating the update process can be really hinders the fun factor on the reader.  The Han’s a nice figure, but he was stuck in a $30 set, and that’s a real hard sell.  And, ultimately, the fact that you couldn’t get a Han Solo figure in his own toyline without dropping $30 minimum really shot the line as a whole in the foot, which is a real shame, since they weren’t bad figures at all.

#1957: Han Solo

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

HAN SOLO — THE SCOUNDREL

STAR WARS: GALAXY OF ADVENTURES (HASBRO)

“A smuggler and a scoundrel, Han Solo proves that he can also be a hero when he rescues his friends and helps in the Rebellion against the Galactic Empire.”

Accessibility is always a major concern with long-running brands, and Star Wars has always wrestled with the best way to keep their most prominent players consistently represented and available to an all-new audience.  Pretty much in tandem with that, Disney is working to keep the Star Wars universe fresh and on-going while still giving new fans a chance to get up to speed.  Put them together and you have Galaxy of Adventures, animated re-tellings of old-school Star Wars stories, with a toyline of heavy hitters to match.  Today, I’m diving into the line with a look at “The Scoundrel”, Han Solo!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Han was released as part of the second round of Galaxy of Adventures figures, which started hitting stores just after the new year.  All of the figures in this line are reissues of prior offerings, most of them pretty recent.  Han mixes things up ever so slightly, not by being a new figure, but by being a slightly older one than most of his pack-mates.  Rather than the post-Force Awakens product of most of the line’s sculpts, this one is a Saga Legends release from 2015.  Somewhat surprising, since we got a Bespin Han figure from the Last Jedi line, but that one wasn’t a great sculpt, and this one was always a little difficult to find so yay, I guess.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation.  His sculpt predates the move to ball-jointed necks for the heads, so just a cut-joint on this guy.  It hurts his posability a little bit, but on this style of figure, it’s not a huge impact. The sculpt is actually a pretty nice one.  Of the lowered-articulation figures, this is definitely the best younger Han Solo.  The likeness on the head isn’t a spot-on Ford likeness, but it’s still one of Hasbro’s better attempts.  The figure also has a very easy time staying on his feet, which is always a definite plus for a Star Wars figures.  On a whole, despite being a slightly older sculpt, it’s a much better offering than the TLJ Bespin Han sculpt.  The paint work on this figure is pretty basic, but pretty decently applied, and a good match for his colors from the film.  Han is packed with his signature blaster, which can be held in his hand or stowed in his holster.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I wasn’t collecting Star Wars figures regularly when the Saga Legends version of this guy hit, and he was kind of rare, so I never saw one.  I did my best to make due with the Last Jedi release, but it wasn’t as good a figure as I’d hoped.  While the Galaxy of Adventures stuff hasn’t largely been up my alley, I was definitely happy to see this guy crop back up.  He’s a nice figure, and will definitely be my default Han on the shelf for the time being.

#1931: Han Solo

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

HAN SOLO

STAR WARS MIGHTY MUGGS (HASBRO)

Let it be known, I have *not* forgotten about Mighty Muggs!  Everybody else may have, but not me.  I’m stubborn like that.  Also, I haven’t forgotten about Solo.  Because, once again, stubborn.  What do you get when you put those two things together?  A total loss of faith in humanity’s ability to have nice things?  No, wait, that’s not quite right.  Solo-themed Mighty Muggs!  Yeah, that’s the one!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Han is number 10 in the Star Wars Mighty Muggs line, making him numerically the first Mugg in the third assortment of the line.  The whole assortment was Solo-themed, and this guy follows suit, meaning he’s based on Alden Ehrenreich’s Han, rather than Harrison Ford.  That being said, the more cartoony nature of their designs means that, aside from the costume choice, he could theoretically pass for either actor.  The figure stands 3 1/2 inches tall and he’s articulated at the shoulders and the neck.  He’s built on the exact same body as all of the other modern Muggs l’ve looked at.  It’s kind of the line’s whole thing, so no surprises here.  Han does get a new hair piece, which is stylized to match the rest of the line, while still maintaining the proper look for Han’s usual fabulous hair.  As is the new standard for Muggs, Han has an expression-changing feature, with three expressions featured.  Han gets cocky grin, sheepish grin, and annoyed sideways glance.  He’s the first of the ones I’ve looked at to not have any sort of a raging expression, but that actually feels totally appropriate for Han.  The basic cocky grin is probably going to be my go-to, but I think there’s a lot more versatility to these expressions, which I definitely dig.  Han has no accessories, which isn’t a huge surprise, but is a slight let-down.  I would have liked to have gotten his blaster, especially since all of the Jedi characters have gotten their light sabers.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After the first assortment, at the beginning of last year, Mighty Muggs seemed to just spontaneously disappear from every retail store.  Han here is the only one of the later assortments I ever saw, found at the Walmart around the corner from All Time Toys.  I was happy to find him, but kind of got distracted by other things.  Remember how I mentioned yesterday that Ghost Rider and The Fallen had been sitting on my desk for five months waiting to get reviewed?  Well, this guy’s been sitting on my desk for even longer.  I literally just opened him up 10 minutes before writing my review, which is cutting it much closer than I usually do.  I’m glad I finally got around to opening him up, and I feel a little bad about letting him sit for so long.  Some researching I did for this review also led me to find that apparently this line has *not* been abandoned by Hasbro, as a new assortment quietly appeared on Amazon.  Hopefully they actually find their way out!