Friday, June 23, 2006

Figure of the Day: Day 48: Han Solo

HAN SOLO Escape from Mos Eisley
The Saga Collection
Item No.:
Asst. 85770 No. 86810
Number: 035
Includes: Blaster Pistol, Display Stand
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $5.99-$6.99
Availability: May 2006
Appearances: Primarily Star Wars: A New Hope

Bio: The Mos Eisley Cantina has been a popular hangout for a lot of smugglers over the years, but none were as bold as Han Solo. Just as Han makes a deal to take a two-man, two-droid crew to Alderaan, the bounty hunter, Greedo, stops him in his tracks. Reluctant to go down without a fight, Han smooth-talks Greedo but later has to take quick action and blast him. Now he faces the challenge of escaping Tattooine and avoiding Imperial entanglements. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Who likes TV trays? We're back in this favorite spot because it was easy.

Commentary: At first glance, this looks a lot like a Han Solo figure that's been offered several different ways since 1999. It turns out, it's very similar, but Hasbro took that old figure's body, repainted the figure in (arguably) better colors for his uniform, repainted the gun, and gave him an all-new head sculpt. The end result is a figure with 10 points of articulation, a holster, and a gun, and it's just different enough for you to care. For fans on a budget, it's more of the same-- but for real variant hounds and those who collect them all, this is a must-buy. The head sculpt, while not quite a perfect Harrison Ford, is an improvement over many past figures although perhaps not enough to warrant buying what is essentially the same figure for what may be close to the 10th time. But with the display stand, new head, newly decorated costume, and the red holograph figure randomly packed in (at press time) all figures, there's probably just enough compelling about this version of Han Solo to make you bad. It's not as good as the 2004 Original Trilogy Collection "Vintage" figure, but then again, nothing really is.

Collector's Notes: A reasonably new figure, Han Solo can be found with a little bit of work. Mostly designed for hardcore collectors and kids, passive fans will have a hard time coughing up the money to buy yet another figure. At press time, it is not known for how long this will ship, but its new display stand and head sculpt, as well as the black silver-tipped gun are what set it apart from earlier, very similar versions of this Han Solo figure. At press time, there are no known plans for a rerelease of the 1999 sculpt of this figure.


Day 48: June 23, 2006

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