Han Solo - POTF2 [R/G] - Basic

HEIGHT: 1.8 meters
STATUS: Smuggler, Pirate, Rebel Pilot
CLASSIFICATION: Human
AFFILIATION: Rebel Alliance
WEAPON OF CHOICE: BlasTech DL-44 Heavy Blaster

Han Solo's extraordinary piloting skills, blaster-handling and daring have earned him the reputation as a top smuggler, Solo also owes much of his success to his ship, the stock freighter Millennium Falcon, which he won from associate Lando Calrissian in a cutthroat game of sabacc. The Falcon is widely regarded as one of the fastest ships in the galaxy thanks to the mechanical skills of Chewbacca, Solo's Wookiee companion. The team's services are sought after even by powerful crime lords like Jabba the Hutt, who put a bounty out on Solo after he jettisoned a cargo of Jabba's spice in an effort to flee an Imperial patrol.

Solo and Chewbacca unwittingly became involved in the Rebellion when they agreed to transport Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and their droids to Alderaan for 17,000 credits in an effort to pay off Jabba. To their surprise, this simple smuggling job brought them into the clutches of the Empire, captured on the new Death Star battle station. Through daring and luck, the group rescued Princess Leia and escaped to deliver the Death Star plans to the Rebel base on Yavin. Although reluctant at first to aid in the Rebel's attack on the Battle Station, Solo's timely decision to join the fray enabled Luke Skywalker to deliver the final shot, destroying the Death Star and making them all heroes to the Rebel cause.

1995 was an exciting time for Star Wars collectors. The Star Wars basic figure line returned with a vengeance, and seeing Star Wars action figures hanging from the pegs was so much more important to us than how the actual figures looked. But as with many things that are affected by the buyer’s remorse, collectors soon realized that the sculpts didn’t favor the likenesses of the characters. And the new action figures were a far cry from the authenticity the vintage figures displayed. The figures' inaccuracies were particularly noticeable on the human characters. Even though droids, creatures, and even Darth Vader for that matter were a little bit easier on the eyes, it was humans like Han Solo that made collectors take a few steps back and question what was going on with the line. Han Solo is pretty much an action figure mess. And we’re going to go through all of the reasons why this figure isn’t the proper way for Kenner/Hasbro to approach these new Star Wars figures.

Han Solo is beyond too muscular. He is so bulky that he doesn’t even look like a proportionately muscular superhero. He is so exaggerated in the chest and thighs where it looks unnatural. We all know that Han Solo was a lean Star Wars character. Every action figure in the 90s was about being supersized, but it just doesn’t work for the Star Wars brand. The pose of the body is terrible too. His arms are too far from his body. Plus, the figure's stance is horrible too. What is with this leaning forward/walking position? This posture doesn’t look natural for a figure that only offers six points of articulation where you cannot get the figure into a more natural position. Han Solo also has a pretty terrible head sculpt. It may resemble Han Solo in an alternate universe where he is muscular and bulging out of his clothes, but this head sculpt just isn’t going to cut it. Interestingly, Kenner/Hasbro gave Han Solo a pretty decent paint job. All the colors are well-represented on this action figure.

Han Solo comes with two weapons. A recreation of his DL-44 blaster pistol comes with Han Solo. Sadly, it’s laughably too large. The also comes with a larger blaster rifle, which he didn’t use in A New Hope. All POTF2 figures come with an extra “off-screen” accessory. The weapons fit nicely into his hands, but again, there isn’t much you can do with them because of the figures' articulation and posture. The extra waist joint barely gives additional articulation to this figure that is meaningful in any way. The Power Of The Force “2” line is in its infancy with the first wave. Collectors are just so thrilled about the line being active again that we’re letting the issues slide for now. But we believe these figures are going to age terribly in a concise time. These are exaggerated novelty action figures. Star Wars action figures and collectibles are making a comeback. And the higher their level of authenticity is, the more meaningful they’ll be to collectors. Han Solo isn’t there yet. This version of Han Solo is probably at the complete opposite side of the spectrum where we want this action figure.