I really liked this figure.  WHEN IT WAS 1999!  That’s right, kids.  This figure was first released in 1999 under the POTF2 Commtech banner, right when Hasbro was re-introducing OT figures after the Episode I madness.  This figure was pretty cool at the time. it was, by far, the best Han Solo figure available, and it could faithfully execute some pretty nifty poses that were previously impossible.

Since the figure debuted in 1999, it was re-released, repainted, and re-tooled many times over the years.  In 2006, Hasbro went to the well one more time.  The base figure was given a brand new head sculpt, which was an improvement.

When it was released in 1999, I thought this figure was a marvel.  Full disclosure, for those that don’t already know, I had only started collecting in 1999 when the TPM toys hit the market.  An attempt at acquiring a single piece of nostalgia turned into an obsession with frightening speed.  By the time this figure was released, I had pretty much already been using Ebay to catch up on what I had missed since 1995, so I had acquired several versions of Han Solo by this time in short order.  Despite my having only been in the hobby for a very short while, the commtech version was a revelation.  It was lightyears behind what had come before.  And I absolutely LOVED the fact that you could perfectly pose the figure in that snapshot in time when Han was seemingly absent-mindedly picking at the stucco on the wall of the cantina alcove, providing just enough of a distraction to poor Greedo so that he could unsnap his blaster from the holster under the table, well hidden by his left boot as it rests on his right knee.  The rest is (hyper-controversial) history.

What I dislike about the figure is probably pretty obvious, as it centers around the poor overall articulation and dated sculpt.  But that said, it still manages to hang on, if only by the thinnest of threads, because of the ability to achieve the scene specific pose outlined above.

In 2006, especially after the VOTC Han Solo was already available for 2 years, the sculpt’s best days were far behind it.  While the figure is surpassed in the race to get the definitive ANH Han Solo, it still can find a home in your cantina, should you be feeling a bit sentimental.  (Take that, Chris!)