Lando Calrissian - TBS [P3] - 3.75 Inch Figures (Exclusive)

Once a smooth-talking smuggler, Lando Calrissian changed from a get-rich-quick schemer to a selfless leader in the fight against the Empire.

It never gets old seeing one of the original 92 get released or re-released in the Hasbro Star Wars line, does it? Such is true for the Walmart exclusive The Black Series [Phase III] Lando Calrissian. As one of the last 15 figures ever made, he has a strong and powerful connection to the vintage Kenner line. So collectors went bonkers when this figure was released with definitive status. Sadly, we’re not sure how this new re-released one will be interpreted by Star Wars collectors. Firstly, it’s not really a needed figure in the 3.75” range. After all, the original 2011 The Vintage Collection version could be found at Five Below for $5 a pop (for a while no less). Secondly, this time we see a few changes as well. Hasbro drops the word “General” from his name. And in our opinion they also drop the quality paint operations that the 2011 TVC General Lando Calrissian (VC47) figure had. Instead of glorious vintage Kenner inspired packaging, Lando Calrissian gets placed in a mock TBS6 box and gets relegated to the too small collector-focused 3.75” super-articulated Star Wars line, currently and unfortunately now a Walmart exclusive. In all fairness, the other three figures in wave 6 were all great choices. Even if Admiral Ackbar was plentiful in 2010 and 2011 for you during The Vintage Collection era, he is such a prime character for re-release because of how cool he is as well as memorable his overused phrase “It’s a trap!” has become. So, for us, Lando Calrissian is really the only sticking point in this latest wave. Heavily criticized during its original original in 2011, Hasbro still hasn’t addressed the figure’s most major issues in an effort to perfect him. In other words, this is pretty much the same old Lando; mostly worse and in one way better.

If you remember back in 1985, this version of Lando Calrissian was fully called Lando Calrissian (General Pilot). He also came on an awesome card back and came with a cool collectible coin. But both The Vintage Collection version and now The Black Series [Phase III] version haven’t been given the full original name. We really still don’t know why Hasbro has returned to this full designation. Some collectors just don’t care about such things and are more focused on the aesthetics of the action figure. But we don’t think they’ll be completely satisfied there either. If we’re honest, Lando Calrissian has the potential to be a pretty fantastic action figure. He actually is a great action figure (nice sculpt), but he just has a few major issues working against him. His head sculpt still looks a tad bizarre, but this time Hasbro really did a [bad] job on his eyes and he looks like a deer in headlights. This has been common with so many other figures do in this current collecting era. The finer details of his uniform have differently colored paint and they’ve been very sloppily applied. We are disappointed that Hasbro still messed up his mustache. But they’ve also messed up his hairline a bit too. And even worse, his soft-goods cape, while muted to a less bright color thankfully this time around, still has that awful elastic chain that looks as ridiculous today as it did when it was first released in 2011. And as hypocritical and aggravating as this sounds, despite these never-ending issues, Lando Calrissian (or the TVC version) is STILL the definitive version of this character from Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. It’s hard to believe that this Walmart exclusive release and The Vintage Collection release are a half a decade apart already. Where does the time go anymore? It just doesn’t seem possible sometimes.

Lando Calrissian is super-articulated. And for many the best part about him are his ball-jointed hips which are really unexpected for this character. This is not too shabby for someone that just really stands near and then sits in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. Between the inclusion of many premium articulation points, Lando Calrissian has a whole new body shape/silhouette in the basic figure line. While we absolutely adore this figure, we are worried that the older versions we have including 2004’s VOTC Lando Calrissian and 2007’s TAC Lando Calrissian (In Smuggler Outfit) (30 39) may not look right in a lineup along with this figure. His head is much narrower and he is significantly slenderer. This may not be the worst thing in the world (that he doesn’t match in stature to the older figures) as Hasbro will have to update the others at a later date. In short, he isn’t in scale with so many other Lando Calrissian figures already released in the basic figure line. Lando also comes with a holdout pistol and this gun can be housed in a removable holster that drapes across his chest. Previous versions didn’t have a removable holster. This is a very nice touch on the figure. With the advent of technology, Hasbro added incredibly detailed gadgets that we haven’t really paid close attention to until now, like his wrist comlink and the pouches on his belt. But the deco is hit or miss here. Lando Calrissian has a powerfully strong connection to the vintage era. As one of the original “rare” The Power Of The Force figures, he holds extra strong interest in the collecting community. This is absolutely Hasbro’s best effort making him to date and we of course couldn’t be happier having him in our collection. Oh, and if there is any saving grace with this release of Lando Calrissian, that would be that Hasbro fixed his miscolored ankle joints. The Walmart exclusive version comes with the correctly colored black joints this time.