Han Solo In Carbonite - Premium Format Figures

Former smuggler and space pirate, Han Solo is the rugged, devil-may-care captain of the Millennium Falcon. Fast thinking and quick with a blaster, Han is noted for his narrow escapes from dangerous situations, many of which are the result of his own brash and arrogant behavior. His skill with a blaster and uncanny luck are equaled only by his extraordinary piloting abilities.

After winning the Falcon from fellow gambler and friend Lando Calrissian, Han extensively modified his ship to become one of the fastest space vessels in the galaxy. For this reason, he is hired to transport Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and young Luke Skywalker on a mission that will forever alter Han's roguish course. After helping to rescue the Rebel leader Princess Leia from the clutches of the evil Empire, the charming yet insufferable pilot finds a focus for his flyboy talents. No longer a reckless vagrant, Han Solo becomes a general in the Rebel Alliance and is recognized as one of its most deserving and courageous heroes.

With the Rebel base on Hoth under siege, Han Solo and Princess Leia escape to Bespin's Cloud City. Darth Vader dispatches a number of bounty hunters to locate and capture the fleeing Rebels. Boba Fett, the Mandalorian bounty hunter, tracks the Millennium Falcon to Cloud City, and alerts Lord Vader to their location. Darth Vader orchestrates a clever trap, forcing the cooperation of Lando Calrissian, the administrator of Cloud City, wherein Han and Leia will be used as bait to lure his true prize, Luke Skywalker. Darth Vader intends to immobilize Luke by freezing him in carbonite, rendering him safe for transport, and tests the process on Han Solo. It is a clever deal, as Boba Fett is rewarded for his aid in the Rebel capture, and is also allowed to take the carbonite encased Han Solo back to Jabba the Hutt, and collect the bounty offered by the vile gangster as well. Han Solo suffers the painful injections and near torturous preparation process, and once encased in carbonite, is loaded into Fett's Slave I ship, and delivered to Jabba's palace where he remains frozen in perfect hibernation until Leia, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, and Luke Skywalker can rescue him.

Well, Sideshow Collectibles has really gone and done it. While they have been guilty of creating some collectibles that just don’t meet the mark for collectors, they have show tremendous growth in the last few years and are finding ways to make their high-end collectibles better than ever. And most other licensees can’t hold a candle to their body of work. Criticized for going cheap with 2009’s Han Solo In Carbonite 1:6 Scale Figure Environment, Sideshow seemed to have traveled a completely different road in the opposite direction with the most impressive Premium Format Figure interpretation of Han Solo In Carbonite. How did Sideshow Collectibles manage to keep this puppy under $500? The piece is nearly astonishing and in fact, it’s almost too much to take in at once. Much bigger and much better this time around, the Han Solo In Carbonite Premium Format Figure will probably be the most talked about high-end Star Wars collectible for 2012. It’s pretty much everything you wanted it to be and more. The nice compact base with much wanted electronics is a huge step up from what we were offered with the 1:6 Scale Figure Environment version. It doesn’t take up much square footage which is always nice in a day and age when our collectibles rule the roost. And the actual carbonite block is so incredibly well designed that we’re still astonished with how well Sideshow Collectibles has worked dual functionality into it. The carbonite appears silver when it needs to and then glows red exactly how it was seen in Return Of The Jedi during the thawing process. And if things couldn’t be made better, there are electronics on each side of the actual carbonite block and this is specifically something we have been clamoring for Sideshow Collectibles to include.

We think it’s best to refer to the Han Solo In Carbonite Premium Format Figure as a “system” rather than a collectible. Perhaps it’s possible to refer to any Premium Format Figure with electronics as a system, but some never before utilized and overtly complicated technology (at least not in the Star Wars lines) was applied for this release. You’re going to be enthralled. Let us break it down for you. The actual carbonite block can be powered with either three included alkaline batteries for hanging separately on the wall by itself without the base, powered by batteries while hanging on the base (without the base electronics or functioning lights) or hanging on the base with the entire piece fully lit. But in order to light the base, it’s going to require that you use the included power adapter. There is no getting around this. It’s alright however because we have never seen so much glow on a Premium Format Figure before in our lives. Forget the Emperor Palpatine On Imperial Throne figure because that has nothing on this piece! But the power it supplies to this gorgeous display is something you’re definitely going to want to us. The power adapter lights up the floor of the base with amber lights. Again, we haven’t seen such an impressive use of lighting. The lights look professionally installed, almost like track-lighting. It’s absolutely gorgeous. You can look at our gallery, but no camera on Earth can capture what this work of art looks like in person. The rest of the light-up electronics are in the actual carbonite block itself. As you know, the silver carbonite can convert to the red “thawing” phase with the flick of a switch. Two circular buttons, one on the bottom left and the other on the bottom right “control panel” can be pressed to illuminate the electronics in the top panel where Han’s life alert vitals can be read. The illumination here is also stunning.

Not everything can be entirely perfect though, can it? We don’t intend to alarm you as there really aren’t any terrible flaws with the Han Solo In Carbonite Premium Format Figure, but honesty is our policy and we’re slightly surprised with the hollowness of the base. It is fantastically sculpted and expertly decorated, but it really feels too light for a so-called Premium Format Figure that should be utilizing the best mediums out there for collectors. Obviously Sideshow Collectibles designers needed a relatively empty base so they could assemble the various wiring and electronics. They definitely score high points for that, but perhaps some filler should have been used to give the base a more weighty result. This detail of course borders insignificant when you consider the magnificent beauty of the rest of the piece, but we have the need to feel like our $300 went towards something physical besides paying for the artists’ designs. The likeness of the actual carbonite block is essentially perfect, but something about the way it looks when fully lit up seems ever so slightly askew. Again, it doesn’t look bad or anything, it just makes you think “hmm” for a moment or two. We’ve received a modest amount of Return Of The Jedi specific Premium Format Figures since Sideshow Collectibles has started this line. They only seem to be getting better and better. We’re particularly very fond of 2010's Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) Premium Format Figure and would have loved to pose it alongside this one, but Luke is more Death Star II specific, even though he comes with some Tatooine specific looks (we need the darn cape Sideshow). That being said, Sideshow Collectibles continues to impress us with what they are bringing forth in the Premium Format Figures line. There is a great deal of stuff to be proud of here and we hope those of you that haven’t patronized the line yet start doing so with this glorious piece.