Editor’s Note:  This is a repack of TLC (Blue) BD31.  The text below is copied from that review, with the exception of included the droid part.

We’ve recently reviewed the brand new VC143 Han Solo (Stormtrooper) figure.  It is obviously better than this figure in every way possible.  It would have been preferable if that TVC Han Solo had just used the VC140 Rogue One Stormtrooper sculpt, but it would have needed retooling to include the holster, in addition to a Han Solo head, of course.  Such a strategy would have effectively given us that OT version we want, so long as you didn’t remove the helmet.  But it’s just as well.  It’s pretty much the definitive (or close enough) Han in Stormtrooper disguise figure.  That leaves this TLC version in some sort of limbo. 

Again, as we’ve mentioned in a few reviews recently, the character has had a strange history in the action figure line.  This particular figure represents the first time it was made available as a single carded main line offering.  It’s previously been available in cinema scenes, anniversary multi-packs, comic packs, and even cereal mail-aways.  This sculpt wasn’t anything new at the time, as it had debuted in the atrociously painted Marvel comic packs.  In the beginning of the run, Hasbro felt the need to add bizarre colors and shading to try to replicate the inked appearances in the funny pages.  It was a disaster. These packs were solely responsible for the destruction of Pompeii, as well as the disappearance of Amelia Earhart.  Hasbro tried to correct the blue coloring on the body, but left the red lenses on the helmet.  This resulted in the Black Death, in addition to the cancellation of Firefly.  Fortunately, they finally released it again in correct movie colors here.  And the comic pack series, after ditching the weird colors, went on to become one of the most popular figure formats in the history of the line.  Let that be a lesson to you, Hasbro!  No paint gimmicks and stylized sculpts!  Just give us movie-quality figures for our collections!  (Mumble mumble, Stupid Resistance figures, shakes fist at nothing.)

The sculpt is one of the better stormtroopers available (other than VC140), but it still suffers from issues with rigid hands that struggle to hold the blaster and limited articulation.  The articulation suffers not from lack of joints, but from poor range of motion of the hips as well as the very narrow stance.  It’s hard to maneuver this figure into a dynamic fighting pose.  Again, these problems are solved with the release of VC143.

When compared to his wave-mate, BD30 Luke Skywalker , he has some odd differences.  His weapon is pure black, which I like better than the weathered version Luke has.  The canister from the back of his belt is loose, which makes it easy to lose.  The canister has the peg, while the belt has the hole.  It falls off with almost no effort.  Meanwhile, the canister on the Luke figure is designed with the peg on the belt and the hole in the canister itself, and is much more effective at staying put.  Han’s helmet is painted better than Luke’s on my sample.  But as we know, Hasbro has struggled mightily to get the stormtrooper helmet to look right (removable or not).  They’ve solved the issue brilliantly with the release of the new Han (VC143) and the Rogue One Stormtrooper (VC140).

Overall, it’s by no means a worthless figure, even if you own the new TVC Han Solo (Stormtrooper).  It looks good enough, flaws and all, as a stand in for some army building as well as fodder for a battlefield.  It could work pretty well in an Emperor’s arrival diorama with troops standing at modified attention.  I’ll score it as “surpassed”, rather than obsolete.  If you have this figure already, definitely use it somewhere in your general display, but replace it specifically with the new Han.  If you don’t have it yet, get that new Han and keep it moving.  5/10, just like its wavemate, Luke.

Build-A-Droid 

Han Solo contains the left arm and flame effect of L8-L9.  This prototype combat droid participated in a multi-gladiator fight-to-the-death in the arena pits of the planet Rattatak.  L8-L9 was destroyed by another gladiator named Asajj Ventress.  Source:  Clone Wars (non canon).