Lando Calrissian - 1:6 Scale Figures

Once a card-playing scoundrel and a successful smuggler, Lando Calrissian is right at home in the shadowy reaches of the underworld culture that permeates the galaxy. While he has rubbed elbows with hunters, mercenaries, outlaws and gangsters, Lando has style and sophisticated taste, and he settles for nothing short of the best. Lando's friendship with Han Solo goes way back, though it has often given way to rivalry and contention over the rightful ownership of Han's vessel, the Millennium Falcon. When Lando quit the smuggling trade and went 'respectable', he settled down as the baron-administrator of Cloud City and its lucrative gas mining operation on Bespin.

In the days after the Battle of Hoth, the bounty hunter known as Boba Fett tracked the Falcon and its crew en route to the Bespin system, where Lando Calrissian served as Baron Administrator of Cloud City. Darth Vader immediately sought out Calrissian, and struck a pact with Lando to turn Han over to the Empire, and in exchange, the Empire would not interfere with Cloud City. Reluctantly, Lando agreed to the Empire's plan and lured his old friend into the trap. But throughout the ordeal, Vader kept altering his end of the bargain, and Calrissian realized that nothing would save Cloud City from Vader and the Empire's tyrannical rule. He warned Cloud City's populace of the impending Imperial takeover, and aboard the Millennium Falcon, Lando led the escape from the city.

Seeking redemption, Lando joined with the Rebel forces in a daring mission to rescue the Han Solo from the clutches of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. Lando infiltrated Jabba's fortress on Tatooine, disguising himself in the armor of one of Jabba's many faceless skiff guards. Calrissian was in perfect position when Luke Skywalker sprung his rescue mission over the Great Pit of Carkoon, and together they liberated Han and his friends.

During the Battle of Endor, Calrissian again proved his mettle. Now a General in the Alliance Forces, Lando volunteered to spearhead the starfighter attack on the second Death Star while Admiral Ackbar led the capital ships. His past exploits in the Battle of Tanaab helped prepare him for the coming conflict. Lando's unorthodox strategies worked well with Ackbar's more conservative tactics. When the Death Star proved operational, Ackbar was ready to retreat. Instead, Calrissian commanded the Alliance Fleet to engage the Imperial Fleet at point-blank range, offering limited protection from the Death Star's massive superlaser weapon.

Once a Rebel strike team deactivated the Death Star's protective deflector shield, Lando led the starfighters into the station's incomplete superstructure. Lando, aboard the Falcon, flew point into the twisting narrow corridors of the Death Star's innards. Once in the massive reactor core, he loosed a volley of concussion missiles at the Death Star's exposed heart. He then outran the fantastic explosion that followed, and the Millennium Falcon emerged triumphantly from the dying Death Star.

We find it particularly interesting that although Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back tends to be a fan favorite, Sideshow Collectibles takes their time with releasing 1:6 Scale Figures based on this Star Wars source. But a little goes a long way and every figure has paid off so far. Released without a fancy subtitle (like most of their other 1:6 Scale Figures), the simply labeled "Lando Calrissian" is a spectacular display of typical Sideshow splendor and we are floored by how well Lando has been captured in one-sixth scale. The figure is a success in multiple ways. His portrait is beautifully sculpted and although he has a slightly sneered look on his face, he favors Billy Dee Williams' characteristics and traits perfectly. His hairstyle is flawless and his accuratel skin tone has been matched and colored beyond expectations. We doubt we will receive a better likeness of Lando in this scale. The exclusive version comes with the tiny radio device where he warns the citizens of Cloud City to escape before more Imperial troops arrive. It is a miraculously small accessory that could get easily lost. But the amazing this about it is the level of detail Sideshow was able to include with it. This is not simply a "little stick" that they threw into the box. It has been designed with buttons and multiple different pieces and it is just a perplexing little accessory that completely takes us by surprise. Sideshow keeps shrinking their exclusive pieces on 1:6 Scale Figures, but we can't deny just how incredibly well they are indeed made. On top of the exclusive accessory, he comes with a pair of interchangeable hands. He is finally outfitted with two guns including a Rebel blaster and an Imperial blaster. We have seen both of these weapons before so nothing is new in this area. With just the perfetc amount of accessories to accompany him, Lando Calrissian is one of the most exciting 1:6 Scale Figures in the line to date.

Lando Calrissian has one of the most authentic and accurately designed costumes we have ever seen on a 1:6 Scale Figure. The colors are perfect and the physical feel of the fabrics are pleasant to the touch. Multiple kinds of fabric were used too and they all have different textures and drapes depending upon what part of the costume is being inspected. The light blue shirt has been sewn in a linen like material and the navy blue edging details sewn on top of gives it a very stunning ringer looking style. His pants match the edge details of his light blue shirt and they too have been woven in a very light linen material. His chunky black belt is awesome and accurate to the prop seen in the film. We are so impressed with it not only for its amazing design and how good it looks, but also because it has leather parts that make it extra faithful to the one seen in the film. The crevices and pattern on it are nearly identical to what we saw in Episode V. For the first time ever on a 1:6 Scale Figure, Lando has been designed with low-top boots. Examples of this attention to detail is exactly what Sideshow Collectibles is known for and we are extremely thrilled that they gave Lando Calrissian all the attention he deserves. His wristband too is remarkable and although it is packaged on the wrong hand, it can be easily relocated to the correct right hand. The best part of his entire outfit is his trademark cape and let us express up front what a gorgeous piece of fabric it is. It is lined with an outer layer cut from an ultra fine "wool" crepe type of fabric with an inner thicker "silk" layer with a very fancy design. The pattern on the inner layer is breathtaking and it completely looks like the one we saw in the film. It is the perfect length and while it doesn't come with a chain to attach to his head, there is a bendable wire that will hug his neck as needed to secure it to his body. It falls off sometimes when you pose him, but overall it is just beautiful. Clearly the cape itself added extra cost to this figure. But we wouldn't take Lando any other way.

The figure does however have some small issues and they are ones that we have thought would have been addressed and resolved by now. The joints are still loose, and we find this to be borderline "annoying" now. We feel that Sideshow has had enough time to resolve and tighten the petulant issue of loose joints on the new Prometheus body. Of particular issue is his waist joint and it affects his erect posture, so he hunches over a bit. This is quite a shame because he is sculpted with amazing authenticity and this problem takes away from that. With some extra futzing, you can get Lando Calrissian in a pose that will be palatable to your liking, but you will lose your patience fighting with it. His hands have a layer of paint on them (in order to get his skin tone just right) and his hands risk getting chipped if you pose them with the guns. This was a terrible issue with the initial Stormtrooper 1:6 Scale Figures and we sincerely thought that this problem would have been avoided as well. Perhaps it will take more time for Sideshow to address these issues in full. Despite these very small setbacks, Lando Calrissian is an excellent 1:6 Scale Figure. He is the right height, has a lean and muscular frame and he looks just like how the character of "Lando Calrissian" should. Likely to be a little more difficult to find over time due to his smaller total edition size (2250 total pieces), he is a lot rarer than most mini busts by Gentle Giant Ltd.. Getting the 1:6 Scale Lando Calrissian figure makes us want very badly additional characters from Episode V. And with the recent announcement by Sideshow that 2010 will be a year that focuses on the Militaries Of Star Wars line, we hope that Snowtrooper and AT-AT Driver 1:6 Scale Figures will be candidates. While we wait, it will be a distinct pleasure to enjoy Lando Calrissian. And that doesn't mean that he will just "do" for now - he is a phenomenal 1:6 Scale Figure and he proves that Sideshow is making better and better figures as time marches forward.