Han Solo - LC - Basic (BD30)

After rescuing Princess Leia, Han battles his way back to the Death Star’s hangar. The stormtrooper disguise came in handy, but now it’s his bold nature and his blaster that will free him from the Empire’s clutches.

Meh. We don't mean to come across immediately negative at the opening of this review, but the Legacy Collection Han Solo from the A New Hope wave is going to split the collecting community. We apologize for being so blunt right from the get-go, but Han Solo was a figure that should actually excite everyone to see released, but the final product may not meet everyone's expectations. This doesn't mean however that this figure hasn't delivered as well as it should have. [Like his wave mate Chewbacca], Han Solo utilizes a very good (and older) sculpt but then he is made inferior with the inclusion of gimmicky (and inaccurate) accessories and disproportionate features. You all remember the vintage small head/large head Han Solo figures? It seems as if Hasbro was intent on paying tribute to the "large head" [corrected] variant from back in the day. The new Han Solo has a huge head and the likeness is actually not bad at all. The size of it makes the overall figure appear somewhat goofy, but we love it nonetheless. It is a bit of a shame, because this is almost the perfect version of an Episode IV Han Solo and we feel that the new portrait makes it better than the VOTC figure. A revisit of the Han Solo (Death Star Chase/Escape) was certainly necessary and this figure is meant to be the update to it but we think Hasbro needed further tweaking before it was considered finalized and packaged for release. And since its ancestor is the VOTC Han Solo, you can rest assured that this figure does have great articulation and the finest of details. It's the finalized product/accessories that have the issues. While this may seem paradoxical, it is the best way we can explain it. The figure fails excellently. How is that for an oxymoron?

The removable Stormtrooper gear just doesn't work. The helmet is huge (obviously necessary to fit over his large head) and the Stormtrooper chest armor doesn't lay as close to his body as we had hoped. The two Stormtrooper pieces make Han feel incomplete. If Hasbro decided to take the figure in this direction, couldn't they have given us a few more pieces to play with for more versatility? In fact, the helmet looks to be a repack of the one that was included in the 2009 TLC Machook/Keoulkeech/Kettch Walmart exclusive Comic Packs set, maybe with just a few changes, so you can imagine just how ridiculously large and out of scale the helmet is. When posed next to your other Stormtrooper figures, you will instantly know something is very off. However, if you display your Han Solo without all the removable Stormtrooper pieces, you will indeed have a pretty cool figure that is scene specific because he honestly is not a terrible figure despite his "poor" accessories (unless you still take exception with his head). His Stormtrooper belt is not removable and his thermal detonator stays attached only with the assistance of an elastic band. We don't recommend removing the elastic band however because the thermal detonator barely stays on without it. Of course this is a very frustrating thing but we suppose it isn't the worst mistake Hasbro could make on our action figures. This is meant to represent Han Solo as he is changing out of the stormtrooper armor after getting out of the trash compactor. You should probably consider the accessories as props here.

Han Solo ranks highly in our eyes, but he isn't perfect. He is colored well and sculpted well (for the most part) and needs moderate enhancements to make him ideal.His shirt seems yellowed but his arms are bright white. (It looks odd for sure.) Close to definitive, we expect that a couple of more tweaks from Hasbro will make this figure the end-all Han Solo action figure. Perhaps Hasbro is pumping a dry well when it comes to reinvigorating the same characters in the line when we look at a release like Han Solo. We think all of their energies should have rather been focused on developing a new Han Solo (Bespin Gear) or some other version of Han Solo in terrible need of an update. It didn't work out that way this time but we have our sights on what possibilities will be coming down the pike. While we wait, this Han Solo figure will still be a wonderful influence on your collection. He certainly isn't the worst figure by any means, but he will likely irritate you in a couple of ways. We are thankful for the attention A New Hope has received in 2009 including wave 5 in The Legacy Collection and all of the action figures released in the waves have been very impressive. Han Solo is still a solid figure even when compared to all the "better" ones released in the Legacy Collection. We firmly believe that many of you will enjoy him. We do, but we are just wishing for more. It seems that Han Solo could have been a bit more approaching perfection if some things had been changed for the better. Until they are perfected, we will just have to wait.