Plodding along at 3764 as I write this.  Nothing to worry about…

Yet…

Yesterday, we reviewed the POTF2 Commtech Greedo.  The companion to Greedo is this Han Solo figure.  There’s a new Episode IV VC Han Solo one that is coming very soon (some may already have it in hand), which, if all goes well, will put all other existing versions to pasture.  We shall see.  In the meantime, this figure from 2000 is one of my favorites of all time.  I still display it in my cardboard Cantina, and will continue to display it in the Haslab booth, at least until the new version arrives and I determine it does its job better. 

As mentioned in the Greedo review yesterday, Hasbro was making great leaps in figure sculpting and technology around the time Episode I came out.  While the OT figures took a bit of a backseat during the TPM craze of 1999, Hasbro leveraged the sculpting advances as well as the Commtech chips for their final wave of POTF2 figures. 

This figure was so much better than all the previous Han Solos, it was ridiculous.  Like Greedo, there isn’t much arm articulation aside from swivel shoulders, but they are preposed in a way that is highly useful.  While pre-posing is frowned upon today, it was the standard way to get beyond the straight-limbed 5POA situation in which we were existing at the time.  The right arm extends naturally into a firing position.  But it is his left arm that helped make this figure special.  Keeping the arm down presents a natural-looking and casual belt-holding position.  But rotate the shoulder up, and you can re-create the iconic Harrison Ford moment where he’s picking distractedly at the plaster on the wall in the Cantina Booth.  Brilliant!

As for the legs, knee articulation for the day was rare and limited.  But like Greedo, Solo has hinged knees, allowing him to sit in the cantina booth.  But it doesn’t end there.  For screen accuracy, Hasbro knew Han needed to cross his foot over his knee, exactly as he does in the film.  And so Hasbro added a “Thigh Swievel” ^™©® just above the knee, allowing for this pose to be achieved.  Amazing stuff, especially “In The Year 2000” as voiced by Andy Richter.

The body proportions, the improved headsculpt, the articulation, the attention to detail, and the well proprotioned blaster and holster made this figure one of the best of the POTF2 line.  I found that it managed to hold its own for a long time, and still finds a place in my display 25 years later.  That’s a testament to how excellent it is, but also is quite damning that Hasbro has struggled to do much better over the years.  Yes, later Han Solo figures were improvements, and it’s hard to argue that VC42 (which itself is basically a slight update to BD30) isn’t a better figure, but it should have been even better - and so we’ve been needing a new one for a long time.

I’ve always loved this figure, and even if supplanted by the upcoming TVC version, it will still hold a special place in my collection, picking away at cantina plaster like a boss.

6/10