Tag Archives: The Empire Strikes Back

#1894: Princess Leia – Bespin Escape

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

PRINCESS LEIA — BESPIN ESCAPE

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Princess Leia Organa was one of the Rebel Alliance’s greatest leaders, fearless on the battlefield and dedicated to ending the tyranny of the Empire. With her quick-thinking and inspired leadership, Leia ranks among the the galaxy’s great heroes.”

For a number of reasons, December has a tendency to put me in a rather Star Wars-y sort of mood.  Be it the fact that three of the last four films have hit this month, or how I tend to make watching the Original Trilogy an annual occurrence, or perhaps just the fact that I have a tendency to get a lot of Star Wars stuff around the holiday season, whatever the case, I’m certainly in a Star Wars-y mood today.  So, in a vaguely holiday spirit, I’m taking a look at this Leia figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Princess Leia — Bespin Escape is a Target-exclusive entry in The Black Series.  She first started showing up intermittently in the early fall, but seems to have been arriving in full force in the last couple of weeks.  This version of Leia is an oft-overlooked variant from the climax of Empire, during her, Lando, and Chewie’s chase to re-claim the frozen Han Solo.  It’s really just a dressing down of her main Hoth gear that she wears for the majority of the film.  It’s the similarity between those two that generally causes this one to be overlooked.  Nevertheless, its presence during a fairly important section of the film makes it a reasonable choice for a figure, especially an exclusive one.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Her scaling matches perfectly with the ANH figure, which is a nice bit of internal consistency that we don’t always see in this line.  Her sculpt is totally new, but hasn’t remained unique to her, thanks to the almost concurrent release of the proper Hoth Leia.  Regardless of origin and uniqueness, it’s a strong sculpt.  The head sculpt has the strongest Carrie Fisher likeness we’ve seen to date for this line (or any of the smaller ones, for that matter), and they’ve even nicely translated her hair braids.  I imagine this head will be seeing a re-use at some point for a Bespin Gown variant, or at least I sure hope it will.  Mine has an unfortunate error on her left ear, with a small chunk missing out of the lobe, but it’s fortunately not super noticeable.  The jumpsuit’s sculpt is nice and crisply detailed, and looks appropriately like a garment she’s been running around in for a substantial amount of time.  The paintwork on Leia is largely pretty basic; the jumpsuit’s just molded white plastic, and they’ve let the sculpt do all the lifting.  This is one of those times I don’t mind the lack of accenting, as accenting on white can go very badly very quickly.  She does get the printed face; she’s the first Leia to get this treatment, and it works very well for her.  I especially like how they handled the hairline, which is a frequent slip-up on such figures.  Leia is somewhat sparsely packed, with just a stolen Stormtrooper blaster alongside her.  It’s scene-accurate, of course, but something else would have maybe added some extra excitement.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Leia sort of just started showing up, without too much fanfare.  I wasn’t initially sure I was going to grab her, what with the Hoth Leia on the horizon.  However, I was at Target looking for something else, which I was unable to find, and when I came across Leia.  Determined not to let the trip be a waste and impressed by how the figure looked in person, I was swayed into getting her.  She’s a decent enough figure, but I will curious to see how she performs once the Hoth Leia is more readily available.  She’s really the sort of figure that is really aimed at the more hardcore collector.  Which, of course, is me.  So, hey, how about that.

#1885: Zuckuss

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

ZUCKUSS

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Zuckuss answers Darth Vader’s call for bounty hunters to help locate the Millennium Falcon and her crew.”

I’ve established a loose ranking of Empire Strikes Back’s bounty hunters throughout my various Black Series–wait a minute…this isn’t a Black Series review.  That was my Zuckuss review from two weeks ago…this one’s very different.  For one thing, he’s about 2 inches shorter, and for another, he’s 20 years older.  But he’s still Zuckuss, and he’s still getting reviewed.  So there.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Zuckuss was released in Power of the Force II‘s 1998 assortment.  Like with the Black Series releases, he followed his partner in crime 4-LOM, who was released the prior year.  The figure stands 3 1/2 inches tall (befitting Zuckuss’ slightly smaller stature) and has 6 points of articulation.  The articulation is ever so slightly hampered by the nature of the character’s design and its implementation on the figure, which sees Zuckuss’ robes recreated through a thick rubber piece, similarly to the line’s take on Obi-Wan.  This time, however, the robes cannot be removed, due to the figure’s somewhat oddly shaped head.  It’s a shame, really, since there’s a fully detailed body under there, which is a lot of fun.  Oh well.  The sculpt that you actually can see is still a solid offering, to be fair.  The aliens were always where PotF2 shined, and Zuckuss is no exception.  The detail work is nice and crisp, and he’s a fairly spot-on recreation of Zuckuss’ on-screen appearance.  Zuckuss’ paintwork is actually some of the best we got from this line, by virtue of not being as cut and dry as most samples.  The robes in particular really benefit from that dry-brushed weathering that’s been placed all along them, giving them a more real-world-feel than most of his compatriots.  Also, quite impressively, the painted detailing extends under his robe, meaning if you find a way to remove it, he’ll still look all finished and proper.  Zuckuss is packed with his blaster pistol, which is a fairly standard inclusion.  And, as a 1998 figure, he was also packed with a Freeze Frame Action Slide, which shows off Zuckuss and his fellow bounty hunters on the bridge of the Executor.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Completing my Black Series pairing of Zuckuss and 4-LOM got me interested in the characters, and their prior figures.  I’ve been steadily piecing together a PotF2 collection, and, as luck would have it, my friends at All Time Toys just got in a fairly substantial collection from someone.  I never had Zuckuss growing up, but he looked cool enough that I just really felt compelled to buy him.  He’s an example of how good this line could be when Kenner really pulled their A-game.  Definitely one of my favorite figures from this line.

So, as I mentioned above, I got Zuckuss here from my friends at All Time Toys.  They’ve got a solid backlog of Power of the Force figures, as well as Star Wars figures from all eras, old and new.  Check out their website and eBay store to see for yourself!

#1875: Zuckuss

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

ZUCKUSS

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“A Gand bounty hunter, Zuckuss heeded the Empire’s call for mercenaries to locate the Millennium Falcon and bring her fugitive crew to justice, receiving his orders on the bridge of Darth Vader’s Super Star Destroyer.”

I’ve established a loose ranking of Empire Strikes Back’s bounty hunters throughout my various Black Series reviews of them, and if you’ve been following those, you’ll know that my top three slots (IG-88, Bossk, and 4-LOM) have already been covered.  So, where does that leave today’s entry, Zuckus?  I’d probably stick him in the number 4 slot, though it’s largely due to his pairing with 4-LOM.  It just feels odd to break those two up.  And, it would seem that Hasbro agrees, since they always release them in close proximity to each other.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Zuckuss is a Disney Store-exclusive Star Wars: The Black Series offering, who started showing up within the last month.  He is one of three exclusives for the line that all hit at the same time, and he’s another displaced TRU-exclusive, though there was evidently enough time to at least remove the sticker from him.  The figure is 5 1/2 inches tall (Zuckuss was the shortest of the Bounty Hunters) and he has 26 points of articulation.  Zuckuss is a brand-new sculpt, and he falls back a bit more on the earlier Black Series tendency for mixed media affairs.  He’s got an underlying sculpt, with a cloth robe over top, and an overlay piece holding it all together.  It’s all *technically* removable, but it’s gonna be a pain to get it off and back on, and he underlying body isn’t really designed to be seen, so I elected to leave mine in place.  while some of the earlier mixed-media offerings from this line were a bit iffy in execution, I think it works out a lot better with this figure.  The cloth sections are definitely better tailored on this figure than prior figures, and the additional overlay piece helps to keep everything more properly shaped.  As far as visible sculpted pieces, the head and hands definitely show some very strong work; the texturing on the gloves is quite realistic, and the head matches nicely not only with his on-screen appearance, but also pairs well with the prior 4-LOM figure.  The bulk of the paintwork on Zuckuss is on the head, which has a dark wash to help bring out its details.  After so many figures without any such detailing, it’s nice to see Hasbro returning to it.  Zuckuss’s only accessory is his distinctive blaster, which fits nicely in his hand.  It’s a little bit on the smaller side, but given all of the other work that’s been put into this figure, it’s acceptable.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since picking up 4-LOM, I’ve been anxiously awaiting Zuckuss’s release.  After a particularly bad day at work, Super Awesome Fiancee was looking to cheer me up, so she took me to the closest Disney Store, where I had no trouble finding him.  He’s a fun figure, and he brings us one step closer to a complete line-up of the Executor Bounty Hunters!

#1852: General Veers

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

GENERAL VEERS

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“A cool and efficient leader, General Veers led the Imperial assault on Hoth, marching his AT-AT walkers across the planet’s frozen plains and destroying the massive generators powering the Rebel base’s protective energy field.”

Star Wars fans love elevating those seemingly minor characters to unexpected heights, and General Maximillian Veers is just another example of that.  The guy’s in two scenes in Empire but he’s perhaps one of the most popular ranking Imperial Officers within the fanbase, and has a fully fleshed out backstory and all sorts of other media appearances.  And now, he’s even got a Black Series figure, which I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

General Veers is the latest Walgreens-exclusive Black Series release.  Samples have been showing up since early in the summer, but the proper release seems to have just started hitting in the last couple of weeks.  If the precedent set by the other Walgreens-exclusive Black Series offerings is anything to go by, he shouldn’t be tricky to track down.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and has 26 points of articulation.  Veers, rather unsurprisingly, shares quite a few parts with the Tarkin figure.  Hey, same uniform, and same basic build, so it’s definitely a sensible idea (and also goes along with the Walgreens offerings being heavy on the re-used parts).  The torso’s been slightly tweaked, to ensure he has his proper denotations of rank, and he’s got a new head and some gloved hands.  The head features a pretty solid likeness of actor Julian Glover.  It’s not quite as remarkable as the Peter Cushing likeness, but still very, very close.  The paintwork on Veers is up to the new standard with these figures.  The face is using the printed technique, which works well here, and the rest of the standard paint is fairly sharp as well.  Despite his rather brief appearance, Veers is notable for having two distinct appearances in the film.  This figure’s accessories, a standard uniform cap, and a helmet and chest plate, allow for both of those designs to be achieved with this figure.  I definitely prefer the armored look, which adds a nice unique flair to Veers, but I definitely appreciate the extra parts.  He also includes a small blaster pistol, should you want to make him even more battle-ready.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was pleasantly surprised to find this guy at one of my nearest Walgreens.  Veers has always been a favorite of mine (hey, I fall into that “character-elevating Star Wars fans” category; I won’t deny it), and I was definitely looking forward to this figure.  He did not disappoint.  The dual looks really add a lot to him, and he’s just a very fun offering.

#1807: Rebel Solider – Hoth

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

REBEL SOLDIER — HOTH

STAR WARS: THE VINTAGE COLLECTION (HASBRO)

In the hiatus between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Hasbro launched a brand-new style of Star Wars figure.  They were higher quality sculpts, much more articulated than the standard faire, and, coolest of all, they had packaging based on that of the old vintage figures.  The Vintage Collection ran for three series of four figures each, one assortment from each movie in the original trilogy.  In 2010, the line was re-launched, with a more expansive selection of figures.  It went on hiatus in 2012, and was in the mean time replaced by the smaller-scale Black Series offerings.  Following the franchise’s 40th anniversary, however, the line has been brought back from hiatus!  I’ll be looking at the first assortment’s one true “vintage” character, the Hoth Rebel Soldier!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Rebel Soldier is one of the six figures in the first series of the re-launched Vintage Collection.  He, like all but one of his case-mates, is essentially a straight re-release of a prior figure, specifically the clean-shaven Rebel Soldier from 2010’s Target-exclusive “Defense of Hoth” boxed set.  The figure was meant to see a single-packed release as a running change to The Legacy Collection’s bearded Rebel, but that never materialized, leaving this guy exclusive to a boxed item, and thereby difficult to acquire for the purposes of army building.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 22 points of articulation.  While he’s not quite as mobile as some of the more recent offerings from Hasbro, he’s pretty good for a figure who was sculpted almost a decade ago.  He’s well-proportioned, and his uniform is sharply detailed, matching up well with the film.  The helmet is removable, albeit slightly tricky to get off the first time.  I like it well enough, though I’m not super crazy about the scarf, as it seems to make him a little too specific for army building.  The underlying head is distinct enough to look like a real person, while still being generic enough to allow for some army building.  He’s not bearded, which is good, since most of the Hoth Rebels were not.  The skirt piece is cloth, which looks slightly off when compared to the rest of the figure, but allows for much better posability, so I don’t mind it so much.  The paintwork on this figure is clean, and well-applied.  I generally like to see weathering on these sorts of figures, but for the Hoth guys, it’s not as big a deal, since snow’s trickier.  The Rebel Soldier is packed with a blaster rifle, a pistol, and a survival pack, which is a pretty decent assortment of extras, especially given the smaller available area in the vintage packaging.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Rebel Soldier’s been by far the scarcest of the new Vintage Collection, no doubt due to his army building potential.  As such, finding one wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.  I managed to track one down by scouting out an out of the way Walmart that had just put out its case.  I’m glad I got him, because he’s a really strong figure, and the best Hoth Rebel out there.

#1796: Lando Calrissian

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

LANDO CALRISSIAN

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Lando Calrissian has been called many things over the years; con artist, smuggler, and rogue. He never expected to be called a leader and war hero…but then, he never dreamed that the Empire would force him to betray his best friend.”

This deal is getting worse all the time!  What deal?  I don’t actually know.  I didn’t have a decent intro for this thing, so there you have it.  I’ve been pretty steadily working my way through my Power of the Force II collection over the last two years, but with all of the new stuff I’ve been picking up, sometimes they fall off my radar for a bit.  They’re back today, though, and I’m looking the receiver of progressively worse deals, Lando Calrissian himself!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lando was part of the first series of Power of the Force II figures, released in 1996.  He’s based on the character’s debut appearance from Empire.  It’s rather distinctive, and quite frankly, it’s my favorite of his looks.  This figure would mark the second time it would show up in plastic form.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has the usual 6 points of articulation.  Lando, being from the line’s very first assortment, is also victim to the worst of the line’s stylization.  He’s rivaled only by the farm boy Luke for the title of “beefcake,” and that deep lunge of a pose he’s got going on certainly accents his disco-inspired garb quite well.  But really, can we talk about the fact that his poofy and loose-fitting shirt from the movie is seen here stretched to capacity over Lando’s rippling pecks and abs?  Because boy is it.  Like, how does one get oneself jacked like that?  I’m genuinely curious.  That’s a talent, to be sure.  Lando gets a souped up cape to match the rest of him.  This thing is super thick, and super heavy; I guess if his cape is this heavy, that explains how he got so jacked.  The whole thing’s topped off with a head that’s identical to the one on the skiff disguise Lando.  While it’s not a perfect likeness, it’s still one of the better efforts from the earlier PotF2 figures, and it’s leaps and bounds beyond any of the vintage Landos.  Lando’s paintwork is actually kind of unique for one of these figures, what with all the blue.  He looks quite clean, and pops out from the display, as he most certainly should!  Lando is packed with two different blasters.  He’s got the one he stole from a Stormtrooper, as well as one of his own, more suited to his personal flair.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Lando isn’t a figure I had growing up, but when I started filling in the gaps in this line a few years ago, he was definitely near the top of my list.  I ended up grabbing him from Lost in Time during one fo their sidewalk sales, and I certainly was happy to find him.  Lando is perhaps the goofiest, most ridiculous of all the initial PotF2 figures, but that works in his favor, making him perhaps the most memorable, and certainly a lot of fun.

#1792: Princess Leia Organa

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

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA — HOTH

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (HASBRO)

With all of the stuff that’s been dropping in the last few months, it’s been more than a little difficult to keep up with all of the new releases, not only tracking them down in stores, but then also remembering to review them after I’ve gotten them.  In the spirit of clearing out my pile of new things to review, the next couple of days are going to be some figures I’ve had waiting in the wings for a couple of months now.  I’m kicking things off with another Star Wars offering, from the somewhat infrequently looked at basic line.  Let’s have a look at Princess Leia!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Princess Leia is from the second assortment of basic figures under the Solo product banner.  Obviously, Leia isn’t drawn from Solo; instead she’s based on her Hoth appearance from Empire.  She’s in good company, since her brother got a Hoth-based figure in the initial product wave.  Ironically, it’s only Han whose Hoth look is absent from the Solo line.  This figure stands 3 1/2 inches tall and she has 7 points of articulation.  Leia has, like an increasing number of figures in the basic line, some extra non-standard articulation.  Most figures have been getting wrist movement, but Leia instead gets cut joints at the tops of her boots.  I like having the extra movement there a lot; it helps make her more stable on her feet.  I do wish she’d also gotten the wrist movement, but perhaps that’s too much to ask for.  Leia is sporting an all-new scuplt.  It matches well with the previous Luke figure in terms of quality and detailing.  The head, though not the best Fisher likeness we’ve seen at this scale, is a respectable offering, and you can certainly see a lot of her in it.  Leia’s paintwork is mostly pretty reserved.  All of the important details are there, and application is clean and even.  Obviously, the face doesn’t possess the same lifelike quality we’ve been seeing in the 6-inch line, but it’s not a terrible offering at all, and is a step-up from the work we were seeing a few years ago.  Leia is packed with a standard issue rebel blaster rifle, which even has some painted detailing.  That’s always good to see.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When Leia was shown off towards the end of the Last Jedi branding-run, I was definitely interested in tracking her down.  This has always been my favorite Leia look, so I have a tendency to grab all the figures of it that I can.  I didn’t have much trouble at all finding this figure; when the second assortment started hitting stores, I was fortunate enough to find an untouched case of them at a Walmart.  I like this figure quite a bit.  I don’t know that she’s topped the Vintage Collection release as my favorite, but she’s certainly the best version at the lower articulation count.

#1775: Hoth Rebel Soldier

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

HOTH REBEL SOLDIER (w/ ANTI-VEHICLE LASER CANNON)

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“The Empire has located the Alliance’s secret headquarters on the Ice Planet Hoth. During the consequent invasion, Rebel Soldiers hold out bravely against an unbeatable ground assault until a retreat salvages their heroic effort.”

When it comes to Star Wars-related army building, the Stormtroopers and their ilk get the lionshare of the attention—wait, wait, hold up.  I already ran this review a month ago.  Ah, but you see, that was the Kenner Power of the Force II Hoth Rebel Soldier from 1997.  Today, I’m looking at the Kenner Power of the Force II Hoth Rebel Soldier from 1997…with Anti-Vehicle Laser cannon.  That’s very different, and it should most certainly be treated as such.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

So, as the intro touched on, the Deluxe Hoth Rebel Soldier was released in 1997 as part of Kenner’s Power of the Force II line, specifically of the Deluxe variety.  The initial Deluxe offerings were goofy non-canon variants on main characters, but by the time this guy came along, things had become more normalized.  He stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Not entirely surprisingly, this figure has a few parts in common with the standard Hoth Rebel Soldier I looked at last month.  Specifically, these two share the same legs and pelvis.  His upper torso and arms are also quite similar to the basic release, but the pose on the arms is a little less wide spread, and the torso lacks the goggles.  Given the uniformed nature of the characters, it’s a fairly sensible re-use/similarity.  The main change between the two figures is the head.  Where the last figure had his goggles pulled off his face and a beard, this one has his goggles on and a clean shaven face.  This aids him in being a little more generic than the other figure, and a bit more accurate to the Hoth Soldiers as a whole.  Given how much more suited to army building this particular figure is, it’s actually a bit of a surprise he was the one in the deluxe set, rather than the other guy.  The paintwork on this figure is another point of difference, which is actually a little bit surprising.  This one is a fair bit more subdued than the basic release.  It’s not quite as eye-catching, but the application is decent enough.  This Hoth Soldier included the same survival pack from the basic release (with a slightly tweaked paint to match the base figure), as well as the previously mentioned Anti-Vehicle Laser cannon.  The cannon is decent enough, and good for scenery, I suppose, though it’s got the “exploding” effect that Kenner was so keen on for this line.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In doing my usual background research for the basic Hoth Soldier, I was reminded of the existence of this figure, who I recalled always wanting to track down.  He doesn’t really crop up as frequently as some of the other figures in this line, so I wasn’t sure how quickly I’d be able to find him.  Fortunately, while I was visiting 2nd Chance Toys for my birthday, I found this guy in a stack of figures from a collection they’d just gotten in.  Of the two Soldiers, this one’s my favorite, and I’m quite happy to have found him.

#1770: Han Solo – Exogorth Escape

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

HAN SOLO — EXOGORTH ESCAPE

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

“Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon, was one of the great leaders of the Rebel Alliance. In the wake of the of the battle of Hoth, Solo fled with the rest of the RebelForces and evaded the pursuit of Imperial TIE Fighters as he expertly maneuvered the Falcon towards the perceived safety of a crater in the Hoth asteroid belt. Infamous for his bold plans that seemed to always defy the odds, Solo soon discovered that the unstable crater upon which he had landed the Falcon – and its crew made up of co-pilot Chewbacca, Princess Leia Organa, and C-3PO – was in fact the cavernous mouth of a giant space slug known as an Exogorth. In the belly of the beast, Solo and crew discovered an inhospitable environment of noxious fumes and parasitic, swooping Mynocks – bat-like creatures who ate through power cables and drained the energy from even the most impressive ships. With the life of his comrades and beloved Millennium Falcon threatened, Solo was called again to emergency action, and steered the Falcon to safety, barely escaping into space through the rapidly collapsing jaws of the ravenous Exogorth.”

Remember the Solo Han Solo Black Series figure that I liked so much?  And remember how I said at the end of that review when I said I’d be sincerely disappointed if there wasn’t a Bespin Han of a similar quality released within the next year?  Well, looks like I don’t have to be sincerely disappointed!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Exogorth Escape Han Solo was released as a SDCC 2018-exclusive offering for Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Black Series.  Like Thrawn, Jyn, and the First Order Stormtrooper before him, he serves as a sort of a preview for a mass-retail released figure, specifically Bespin Han Solo, who is hitting stores in the latest round of Black Series figures.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  Han’s articulation scheme follows the trend established by the Solo versions of Han and Lando, which is to say he’s got some really great range on a lot of those joints, especially the neck joints.  I definitely appreciate this new style for the line, and it’s nice to have a Han can be more expressive than the rather stiff Smuggler version.  The sculpt for this Han is all-new, and overall one of the line’s strongest offerings.  The head sculpt is the main selling point, based largely on its improved Harrison Ford likeness.  While we got a pretty good older Ford likeness from the TFA version, the younger Han has always been a tough mark.  This figure has one of the best takes we’ve seen to date.  It’s still not 100% there.  The hair seems a little off, and the face goes a little bit more for caricature, but the overall appearance is very, very close.  The body is a fairly balanced sculpt, proportion-wise.  The shoulder’s could probably stand to be a little broader, but that’s a decidedly a minor issue.  The detail work, especially on his jacket, is clean and sharp, and there’s some solid texture work all throughout.  I’m also quite happy that they’ve changed up how they do the non-dominant hands, so that it’s a more sensible grip, rather than the weird claw grip we got with the last two Han releases.  Han’s sculpt is aided by some absolutely top-notch paint work.  He uses the printed face technique, which really further sells the likeness on the head.  The SDCC release gets a little extra shading on the face than the regular release, but it’s definitely a minor change.  The body paint is more basic, but he does get some nice weathering on his belt and holster.  Aside from the minor paint difference on the face, the main thing that separates this release from the regular retail offering is his accessory complement.  Both figures include Han’s blaster, which is mostly accurate to the Empire model of the blaster, apart from lacking silver paint on the barrel.  In an effort to make this figure live more appropriately up to his “Exogorth Escape” subtitle, this Han also includes one of the Mynock creatures that had affixed itself to the hull of the Falcon, as well as his breathing apparatus he wears while walking around the Exogorth’s innards, a hydrospanner, and an extra left hand.  The Mynock is a fun piece, and I really like the slightly transparent wings.  I do sort of wish it had a flight stand of some sort, though.  The rebreather fits nicely over Han’s face, though I would be careful about taking it off; those seams on the strap don’t look too durable.  The hydrospanner is a nice scene-specific piece, which looks good in his off-hand.  The left hand might actually be my favorite accessory in the whole set; there’s just so much Harrison Ford in how the hand is posed.  I can practically hear him telling off Threepio!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was unable to attend SDCC this year (or any year, really; living on the other side of the country has that affect on you), so I didn’t have the opportunity to pick this set up in-person.  Honestly, I wasn’t even sure I was going to get it, since the base figure’s getting a standard release and everything.  But, Super Awesome Fiancee wanted the Doctor Aphra set, so I had to log onto Hasbro Toy Shop anyway, and this guy was just sitting there in-stock.  I’m glad I splurged for the deluxe version.  Bespin Han is hands down my favorite look for the character, and I truly love the extras they’ve packed in with him.  By far, the very best version of Han in this line.  Or any line, really.

#1755: Luke Skywalker – Bespin Gear

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

LUKE SKYWALKER — BESPIN GEAR

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Sensing his friends are in critical danger, Luke Skywalker ventures to Cloud City before finishing his Jedi training. Unbeknownst to him, Darth Vader has prepared an elaborate trap with the darkest of intentions.”

Star Wars being one of the earliest franchises to cater specifically to merchandising, it’s also one of the ones to first introduce a commonplace concept: built-in variants. Not only were we privy to all sorts of situation-specific gear sets for the main characters, they were even given unique default looks for each film.  That Luke Skywalker from the first movie’s not going to do at all after Empire hits; you have to have his fancy new Bespin look!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Skywalker in Bespin Gear was released in the 1998 assortment of Power of the Force II.  He was actually one of the last prominent Luke variants to be issued in this line, and the last of the Empire looks, following the Dagobah and Hoth gear.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  Yes, he gets an extra point of movement at his right wrist, since it was designed to be removable.  This Luke made use of the second standard PotF2 Luke head, which, while still not sporting a spot-on likeness, was certainly the superior of the two.  The rest of the sculpt was new to this figure, and it’s one of the best Lukes that this line produced.  Gone were the insane steroid-influenced proportions, and he’s only got a subtle bit of pre-posing.  The details on the uniform are nice and crisp, and even got the slight damage to his pockets that he received during his duel with Vader.  And, as mentioned above, the figure’s right hand can be removed, allowing for the replication of his injury from the film; this was a first for a Luke Skywalker figure.  This Luke also marked some innovation in the area of paint.  A lot of the PotF2 figures possessed only basic work, but in order to capture Luke’s mid-battle appearance, this figure’s been given a lot of accenting, especially on his jumpsuit.  This helps bring out a lot of the smaller sculpted details, and just makes for a slightly better looking figure.  Luke was packed with his lightsaber and his blaster pistol.  Luke was also one of the figures to be offered during the “Freeze Frame” era of the line, so he came with one of those little projector slides, showing off a still of Luke as he traverses through the corridors of Cloud City.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Have I mentioned Ageless Heroes yet on this site?  <checks backlog> Looks like I’ve touched on it.  Well, to elaborate, it was a comic book store that went out of business when I was 7 or 8.  They had a huge stock of ’90s toys (not a huge shock, what with it still being the ’90s and all), and they were clearing them out at really low prices.  My dad took me there I don’t know how many times, and I picked up quite the collection.  A lot of it was Marvel, but this guy was, I think, the one Star Wars figure I got.  He was actually still relatively new at the time.  The Bespin look has long been a favorite of mine, and this particular figure is definitely my favorite PotF2 Luke.