Han Solo, Chewbacca And Stormtrooper (Captured At Cloud City) - TSC - Commemorative DVD Collection

Added: June 27th 2018
Category: Saga Collection, The
Reviewer: Paul Harrison
Score:

Name: Han Solo, Chewbacca And Stormtrooper (Captured At Cloud City)
Collection: The Saga Collection
Number: N/A (Walmart Exclusive)
Source: The Empire Strikes Back
Availability: September 2006
License: Hasbro

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Tracked to Cloud City on Bespin by the bounty hunter Boba Fett, Han, Chewie, and their companions are captured and imprisoned by Imperial troops. While they await their fate in a dismal cell, Chewbacca is tortured without reason by a hypersonic pulse device. Litte do they know that they are merely bait for the Emperor's true prize – the young Jedi Luke Skywalker, who even now speeds towards Bespin in the hope of rescuing his friends.

Hasbro brought forth The Saga Collection, a The Original Trilogy Collection "2.0" so to speak, after the Revenge Of The Sith line came to an end in late Fall 2005. Hasbro quickly realized it had to get back to a basic figure line that served as an umbrella for all of the various Star Wars sources out there. So, with color-coding and clear delineation of movie and Expanded Universe sources, The Saga Collection became the most organized Star Wars line to date. The line included some of their greatest hits, but also focused on introducing all-new action figures to the collecting market. The line look borrowed heavily from The Original Trilogy Collection while adding in the smooth contours of the Revenge Of The Sith line. Because it jettisoned right out an era that focused on Episode III, The Saga Collection was unequivocally Revenge Of The Sith focused. But Hasbro knew how to balance the new Star Wars with the Original Trilogy, and created one of the greatest collector-engaging lines of all time. Although launched in December 2005, Hasbro issued the line to help prepare for a very monumental release of the Star Wars Original Trilogy on DVD. For the first time, the films would appear in their original and unedited versions. So, in a way, The Saga Collection was a commemorative line within itself. As usual, Walmart stepped up to the plate to take on the Commemorative DVD Collection multipacks as the retailer’s exclusives. And aside from a great price, the sets offered little to no value for collectors. But at least they reissued some different figures this time around.

The Han Solo, Chewbacca And Stormtrooper (Captured At Cloud City) three-pack is nearly identical to 2004’s OTC Han Solo, Princess Leia And Chewbacca set, (Princess Leia was obviously switched out for a Stormtrooper here.) So, as a collector’s item, it bombed. But for those looking to have a companion product for their new “unaltered” Original Trilogy DVD Collection, this wasn’t a bad deal. This set is relevant from a certain point of view because they directly supported the 2006 home video (DVD) release of the Original Trilogy. But thanks to the inclusion of outdated figures (and not updated in any meaningful way), the sets feel lackluster at best. Han Solo is a slight repaint of 2000’s POTJ Han Solo (Bespin Capture) figure. At the time it was the very first Star Wars figure from Hasbro to come with two ball-jointed shoulders. It was an early attempt by Hasbro, but they have held up within the last couple of years. It isn’t the worst version of Han Solo we have seen, but it’s time that Hasbro tools an all-new version so that it can keep up with the new figures introduced into the line each year. He comes with a removable vest shell and a blaster pistol which can be stored in the functional holster on his right leg. The paint operations are decent on Han Solo and don’t stray too far from what we have seen Hasbro do with this sculpt in the past. Nonetheless, you will find some paint operation differences on this figure as you probably will on all figures every time they get re-released. This Han Solo figure is no exception.

Chewbacca is a repaint of 2001’s POTJ Chewbacca (Millennium Falcon Mechanic) figure. Aside from some updated paint operations, the figure is the same as previous incarnations. This time he comes without most of his accessories. It’s a decent likeness to everyone’s favorite Wookiee, but it’s aging poorly at this point, and it’s time for Hasbro to retire it altogether. We feel similarly about the Stormtrooper. It has seen too many releases at this point as well. Its articulation is inferior by today’s standards, and it’s far from screen-accurate despite it holding up well when it was first released in 1999. The Stormtrooper is a straight repack of 2004’s OTC Stormtrooper (OTC #16) figure, but it has been released countless times before that in the same manner too. This time the Stormtrooper comes with the E-11 blaster and the blaster rifle. No rifle stand is included this time. But the figure hasn’t aged well, and that is the biggest glaring issue here. We can overlook a set like this getting released in The Original Trilogy Collection, but Hasbro should have a higher set of standards for The Saga Collection. Sadly, some retailer exclusives will always suffer since Hasbro is determined to utilize the previous tooling in a set like this. If there is a silver lining here, these commemorative multipacks only retailed for $9.99 each. This total breaks down to each figure costing $3.33. No matter how you slice it, that isn’t a terrible price per figure by any means. But since we have received a set almost exactly like this in The Original Trilogy Collection line, it doesn’t feel like it’ has much hope to do well at retail.

Collector Notes

Han Solo, Princess Leia And Chewbacca (Captured At Cloud City)

Assortment Number: 87225/87223

UPC: 653569188377

Retail: $9.99 USD

Market Value: Click here to check the latest prices based on Click here to check the market value on eBay! listings.

Han Solo

Status: Han Solo is a slight repaint of 2000's POTJ Han Solo (Bespin Capture) figure.

Articulation Count: 10 points (8 areas of articulation)

Articulation Details: swivel neck (1), ball-jointed left shoulder (2), ball-jointed right shoulder (2), swivel left elbow (1), swivel right elbow (1), swivel waist (1), swivel left hip (1), swivel right hip (1)

Accessory Count: 2

Accessory Details: blaster pistol, removable jacket shell

Date Stamp: 2000

Chewbacca

Status: Chewbacca is a repaint of 2001's POTJ Chewbacca (Millennum Falcon Mechanic) figure.

Articulation Count: 10 points (10 areas of articulation)

Articulation Details: swivel head (1), swivel left shoulder (1), swivel right shoulder (1), swivel left elbow (1), swivel right elbow (1), swivel left glove (1), swivel right glove (1), swivel waist (1), swivel left hip (1), swivel right hip (1)

Accessory Count: 2

Accessory Details: bowcaster (2 parts)

Date Stamp: 2000

Stormtrooper

Status: Stormtrooper is a slight repaint of 2004's OTC Stormtrooper (OTC #16) figure.

Articulation Count: 13 points (10 areas of articulation)

Articulation Details: ball-jointed head (2), ball-jointed left shoulder (2), ball-jointed right shoulder (2), swivel left elbow (1), swivel right elbow (1), swivel waist (1), swivel left hip (1), swivel right hip (1), hinge-jointed left knee (1), hinge-jointed right knee (1)

Accessory Count: 2

Accessory Details: E-11 blaster, blaster rifle

Date Stamp: 1999





The Saga Collection Commemorative DVD Collection

Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader And Obi-Wan Kenobi (3 Generations Of Jedi)

Han Solo, Chewbacca And Stormtrooper (Captured At Cloud City)

Luke Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine, R2-D2 And C-3PO (Triumph Of A Jedi)



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