Topic: The Vintage Collection Han Solo (Bespin Outfit) Review

[pedro1138]

Fast draw, fast mouth, fast ship, Han Solo. My first Star Wars experience was turning the channel over and coming across the asteroid chase sequence from Empire Strikes Back. For me that was a turning point in my life, the next day I pestered y grandparents until they rented the movie for me and a lifelong love affair with Star Wars began. For me that sequence of ESB was always epitomised Star Wars. My favourite character immediately became, Chewbacca. I have to admit that Han Solo has never filled the favourite spot in my list of characters, but he has always been in the top five. As such I was always on the lookout for a good Solo figure.

History
As you would expect with one of the main characters there have been numerous versions of Han Solo over the years. I’m not going to go into a long list of all of them but one of the highlights for me was definitely the POFT2 Bespin Han. For many years this was my favourite Han figure. I was later excited to see a Bespin Han listed as a Saga legends release. Unfortunately it was a major let down as it was just a repack of the POF2 figure, a great figure for it’s time but abysmal compared to the figures of today. It was something of a surprise when I came across the new Vintage collection Bespin Han. I had a lot of trepidation opening it, would it be a worthy successor or would it fall flat?

[pedro1138]

Sculpt
The sculpt, as we’ve come to expect from the vintage collection, is fairly good. I’ve heard a few complaints about the arms and in particular the hands being out of proportion. This is true to some degree, but it’s not so bad that it really disturbs the overall effect of the figure. The left hand is in a strange shape, almost as if it is designed to hold something specific but it’s not any of the accessories he comes with. I personally like the gunbelt he’s wearing but I know many wanted an attached leg strap like the Bespin Luke from an earlier wave. My observation over the years has been that Han Solo figures are very hit and miss in the head sculpt department. But, this seems to be mostly a matter of opinion because many figures that I have rejected as looking nothing like Han, other reviews have praised as being totally screen accurate. So in my opinion this figure is a bit of a miss likeness wise, there is a vague resemblance but I don’t think it looks that much like Han Solo.
I’ve kind of brought attention to all the little faults of this figure but over all I think the body and head sculpt are quite good and I like them.

[pedro1138]

Articulation
What killed the repack of the Bespin Han in the Saga Legends line for me was that it had no updated articulation. Fortunately, this release has had the full work up. Han Solo (Bespin Outfit) features the full super articulation package, it all moves and all has a decent range of motion. I do have just one small articulation gripe and it’s a personal one, I hope others agree but if not so be it. I HATE the hip articulation. Normally a ball hinged hip joint is attached from the side as with G.I. Joes, or from above with an extra thigh swivel joint as with the new Captain America figures. Unfortunately the new Star Wars figures have their hips attached from above but they don’t have the extra thigh swivel. Why am I so unhappy about this? Because to achieve a sitting position the thighs must be turned upside down, which in my opinion looks ridiculous. Not to mention that in my experience it also makes it difficult to achieve a decent standing pose. So I hate these hip joints.
Overall the articulation is excellent, I would pass on figure because of the hips but considering how good the rest of the figure is that’s probably a little drastic.

[pedro1138]

Paint
The paint apps on this figure for one of these quite bad. The blood stripes on the legs and the boots are done crisply and neatly. The torso however, has quite a lot of missed lines and some slop mostly around the neck and the shirt. The head paint apps are up to scratch. I had this same problem with a Captain America figure I bought recently, I’m not sure if maybe Hasbro have changed their factory recently but this seems to be a recurring problem of late.

[pedro1138]

Accessories
The Han Solo I bought before this one was the long coat one from wave one which came with a face mask and a welder. This one comes with goggles and a welder so that a progression of sorts I guess. He also comes with his signature blaster, I’m told it is the wrong version and he should have come with the same one as the Dagobah Landing Luke. All three of them are nice sculpts and well painted, although mine had the blaster stuck in the holster and I ripped off some of the barrel paint pulling it out. I’m a little confused as the goggles and welder were used in the asteroid chase sequence and not Bespin. As Han doesn’t really use anything on Bespin that could be made into an accessory and he wears the same outfit in both sequences I will forgive the choice to include them.

[pedro1138]

Packaging
I normally only mention packaging if there is something unusual or new about it. In this case I only mention it to point out that the card art is from the asteroid chase sequence not Bespin. Which is of no consequence other than that it allows me to point out something and write it in this section.

[pedro1138]

Verdict
I would say this figure was solidly average. If you don’t have a problem with the hips maybe you will think I’m being a bit hash. I wanted to like this figure, it’s like that friend you had in primary school that you wanted to like but as time went on you just ran out of excuses for. That’s how I feel reviewing this figure, it should be great but the arms are a little off, the paint apps are a little sloppy and the hips are despicable. Should you get it? Well I did but I hadn’t read this review then......
If you like Han and the phrase from ESB on your BMF has been taunting you like it has me then yes get this figure. If your prepared that there may be some things that bug you about this figure then get it. If your waiting for the ultimate Han then I would recommend maybe checking out some of the other versions of him out there at the moment. Over all I’d give this figure a 5.5 out of 10. I’d love to hear what you guys thought of him.


"Don't tell me you finally learnt to shoot first, Solo."

[DocOutlands]

Thanks for the review!  The inability to sit down properly is kinda crazy.  Still, I'll be getting him - especially if Tunghori offers him as a 5-pack. 

[Tamer]

Great review. Look for it on the IR section on the front page soon.

[JediMindtrix]

I liked your review,I'm still looking to get this figure,and the head sculpt doesn't bother me,because i've seen worse,though I think I would have to do a hand swap because that left hand doesn't look right for Han Solo as you said.thanx