Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,592: Han Solo (Stormtrooper, The Vintage Collection)

HAN SOLO (Stormtrooper)
The Vintage Collection Action Figures Target Exclusive
Item No.: No. E5153
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #143
Includes: Blaster, helmet
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $12.99
Availability: April 2019
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio: Han Solo, known only as Han until being given the surname Solo by chief recruitment officer Drawd Munbrin, and also known as Cadet 124-329 when serving as an Imperial cadet, was a human male smuggler who became a leader in the Alliance to Restore the Republic and an instrumental figure in the defeat of the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.  Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This is a big improvement.  Han Solo (Stormtrooper) gets his first-ever Kenner-branded release as one of the real shining upgrades of exclusives.  The helmet is shiny and the proportions seem better - the forehead band isn't touching the eyes. It's shiny.  It's wider.  Han's head may be a new sculpt - the hair is a separately molded piece glued down, and the face has that wonderful printing tech on it.  This is one of the best Han Solo heads I've seen at the size.  You probably need this figure.

The body is a mishmash of existing parts.  Compared to The Legacy Collection Han Solo - the last movie super-articulated figure from 2009 - there are a bunch of changes.   The stomach dots are now painted.  The grenade on the back of the belt is non-removable.  The hips are the Sandtrooper joints with lateral movements.  The rest of the articulation is par for the course, complete with 2009 copyrights on the shoes. Oh, and that holster? Still trash. You can't get the gun in there despite it being molded in the shape of the gun. I assume it's the paint.  The blaster  has a lot of paint on it though, and that's a big improvement.

Normally I gripe about a $7.99 figure returning as a $12.99 figure.  Hell, I'll still complain about it - but after 10 years of inflation and massive improvements in the Harrison Ford portrait, I'll endorse your spending $13 on this.  It's a premium over inflation, and I'm sure some of that is because Hasbro knows you will pay a premium for black and silver packaging, but it's good. Hasbro knows it's good.  You know it's good.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.   It's in the men's clothing area.  Because Target hates collectors.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,592: June 6, 2019