Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) - TVC - Basic (VC03)

Hasbro has the uncanny ability to find the most brief and obscure costume changes in the Star Wars films to make so many of our favorite characters and keep the line fresh and new. We of course love this because it adds so much diversity into our collections. While we wait and wait and wait for a modern and super-articulated update to the Han Solo (Bespin Outfit) vintage figure we need (and to which Hasbro says is coming shortly), they have managed to squeeze in a few other “holdover� choices in its place or to allow for more time in the interim until they can perfect it. (And they’ve also managed to rerelease the old 2001 Han Solo (Bespin Capture) figure as the 2009 LC Saga Legends Han Solo (SL16). But don’t let us get off track with that irritating mistake.) The 30 (77-07) line gave us the awesome (but very scene specific) Han Solo With Torture Rack (No. 38). It was a great choice and an awesome figure. But a Han Solo figure with fly away hair, a painful look on his face and an un-tucked shirt is hardly an acceptable update for the official Han Solo (Bespin Outfit) modern figure need. And we have also received quite a few different versions of the Han Solo (Hoth Outfit) figures too. But behold, Hasbro’s clever toy makers were clearly fixated on the Millennium Falcon “mechanic� scene where Chewbacca attempts to start up the engine on the massive vehicle which causes a small explosion and a lot of smoke and Han screams “Turn it off! Turn it off!� This is the only scene in the movie where you can find Han Solo in his Bespin outfit while wearing his Hoth parka coat. This mixed outfit is a version of Han Solo that we didn’t pick up on to be completely honest with you. But we couldn’t be more thrilled that the figure has received a coveted spot in the basic figure line.

For all intents and purposes, Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) is a retool of the 2008 TLC Han Solo (BD 1) figure. And while that particular figure is not one of our most favorites incarnations of Han Solo by any means, it’s reinvention into The Vintage Collection brings about a new appreciation of it for us. And we think it should have been reserved for the TVC figure first. It is important to note that the 2008 TLC figure also has its roots from the 2006 VTSC Han Solo (In Trench Coat) figure. Clearly Hasbro is making great use of their library of parts. Not too much has changed from the basic frame of the 2006 figure to this new one. But between the new paint jobs on the figure and belt, the newly added outer coat, the new arms and the newly tooled welding accessories, Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) brings a lot more new to the table than old. All the various parts work well together and besides a slightly awkward slant when standing, this Han Solo figure is quite an impressive visage. We have to remember that Hasbro still needs to find ways to contain costs periodically throughout the various Star Wars lines and this Han Solo figure was a perfect way to take advantage of this. And yet Hasbro has still made this figure look completely brand new. We are just thrilled with the final result. We don’t think of a better way that Hasbro could have used so many older parts and make something so incredible. And just because Hasbro reuses parts doesn’t mean that they don’t apply extra pizzazz into the parts they incorporate to make the new figure unique. If you look at Han’s coat, it is clearly one of the best designed accessories the line has seen. You’ll have to hold the figure in your hands to appreciate it.

Whether this stirs up more controversy on the age old brown versus blue debate, Han Solo’s coat has been cast in a rich chocolate brown. It looks yet different from any other previous color we have seen to date. Fans will be thrilled to know that since this coat is worn open, they have painted in a white lining of the coat. It does wonders for the outerwear and we are privileged that Hasbro took this detail into consideration. It almost seems like a running joke at this point that the color of his coat changes so often, but hey, it keeps the line invigorated. But despite the exact shade of color, it has been expertly sculpted and really does a lot to make this rather generic Han Solo figure look exceptional. The complete outfit on this action figure looks spectacular and we have to say that it may be one of your most favorite figures from the first wave of The Vintage Collection. Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) also has a brand new head. It is quite an excellent likeness to Harrison Ford and it is in exact scale and in complete proportion to the rest of the figure’s body. The expression on the face is extremely generic and this should make most collectors happy. Since we really don’t get to see his face in this seen very well if at all, it may be the safest bet to give him the simplest look on his face. Many fans noted that the legs of the Han Solo (In Trench Coat) figure were too thin. But because of the way The Vintage Collection figure has been executed, the previous issue of spindly legs really doesn’t come into play here. The awesome coat covers this up nicely. You’ll be interested to know that Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) is the very first The Vintage Collection figure that has no “true vintage� counterpart. Wow, how is that for an oxymoron….or an anachronism for that matter? No matter, this is a figure that needs to get into your collections stat!