Monday, November 28, 2011

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 1,684: Han Solo

HAN SOLO Millennium Mint Coin Collection
Power of the Force Millennium Mint Coin Collection
Item No.:
Asst. 69675 No. 84022
Manufacturer: Kenner
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, stand, coin
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: 1998
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back

Bio: Han Solo became caught up with the Rebel Alliance, courtesy of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa, whom he helped rescue from the Death Star. ( Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam's room.

Commentary: This Han Solo figure isn't as interesting as his accessories. The figure is the same as the 1997 Bespin Han Solo with some added paint on his boots, but this really doesn't add to the figure and its six points of articulation. What does make a difference is a small splash of silver on the barrel of his gun, which was a new and unique detail which we still don't see a lot of on new Han figures to this very day-- the latest release was unpainted.

His sculpt is good, but it's a 1997 figure meaning it's going to be unquestionably bad for most of you. I like it because I'm a fan of the now-defunct Kenner house style, which basically meant we got simple figures, often with big guns, for about five or six bucks. He can stand and sit, plus his display stand makes it a lot easier to keep him from toppling over. In the stand is a place to display a coin, based on a 1980s sculpt but now cast in gold with a new flip side. This predated the 30th Anniversary Collection figures and their coins by about 10 years, so it was a nice glimpse into the thought process inside Kenner which is probably very similar to ours. That is, "Hey, remember that thing? We should do that again."

As a display piece, this is a neat item-- only 7 different Millennium Mint Coin figures were made, so the entire set could go on a small display and not look too awkward. Hundreds of these things would have been weird, although I do wish Hasbro adopted the idea of a stand for the coin AND for the figure for the more recent collections... it's nice to actually see these things. If you have the guts to buy toys from the 1990s, this isn't a bad one-- although if you have the Mynock Hunt Han Solo (1998 Battle Pack) or the aforementioned individually packaged Bespin Han Solo, this one offers little new in the figure department... but oh! Those accessories!

Collector's Notes: He's cheap if you want him, which you probably don't, but the coin stands are pretty cool. If you want it, you should be able to get it for $7 or even less-- this old stuff has little in the way of fans.

--Adam Pawlus


Day 1,684: November 28, 2011

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