Solo was perceived by many to be a disappointment at the box office, although it still made almost $400M worldwide.  There was a lot of bad press coming out prior to the film, and of course there was the whole schism in the community over The Last Jedi which premiered a mere 5 months prior.  Maybe it was fan burnout, maybe backlash, or maybe it was just that Disney spent a lot more on it than they originally planned due to production issues.  Whatever the case may be, I enjoyed Solo.  A lot.  And I still feel a bit bad that it was the only Star Wars film that I saw but once on the the big screen.  I also haven’t yet acquired the Blu-Ray for some inexplicable reason, making it the only Star Wars film that I don’t own.  Because of that, I don’t have a particular emotional investment in the toys from the film, since I don’t know them that well.  But I do have the Visual Dictionary, and that keeps the flame alive.  (I insist Hasbro make all the Sabacc players from Fort Ypso on Vandor-1.

That said, I feel a bit underwhelmed on the rare occasions that TVC graces us with a figure sourced from Solo.  By my count, this is the 5th TVC figure we’ve received from the film so far.  Besides the relative apathy towards the film, a second major contributor to my lack of enthusiasm is that all five of these figures were already released in the 5POA line.  So while I loathe that line, I had to acquire the figures in order to keep my collection going.  And with each TVC release, rather than being excited about an all new figure, I can’t help but feel underwhelmed because it is merely an upgrade of an inferior product that I just bought about a year ago.  A third factor is that we collectors are now conditioned to be skeptical of any possibility of “world building” for the new media.  If this figure came out in May of 2018, along with a launch of 12-15 figures, and a few vehicles and deluxe sets, I’d be a lot more inclined to get many multiples of Lando.  But it’s a wonder we even have 2-3 figures for him to interact with a year later, including the 5POA line, with no more on the horizon.

Now, I did say that I very much enjoyed Solo.  And in particular, I thoroughly enjoyed Donald Glover’s performance as Lando Calrissian.  Of all the 5POA figures, the one that I was most interested in was Lando.  It was a pretty good figure.  Frankly, standing next to this one, it holds its own.  But of course, you only need spend 4 nanoseconds with the TVC version to realize how easily it crushes the 5POA version.  Lando, like many of the recent TVC figures, is “hyper-articulated”, or Jedi-level articulated, which is to say it includes ball jointed everything, including waist and wrists.  The only notable articulations missing from this figure are rocker ankles.  Because of this, Lando can be posed in a a wide variety of poses, both action-oriented and subtle.  My only complaint would be that the figure seems to be made of a plastic that’s a bit rubbery, so engaging the joints can be a bit nerve-racking.  Not sure if that means the figure will lose form over time, or if it means that being less brittle will help it withstand more abuse.

I see an outstanding likeness to Donald Glover in the face sculpt and paint application. I give Hasbro props for this effort.  It’s a terrific looking figure.  The yellow shirt is bright and vivid, while the two-toned cloak (inside and outside) and black and white scarf are also done perfectly.  Unlike the 5POA Lando figure, they are two separate pieces, which is good because he wears them both together as well as just the scarf at different parts in the film.  He’s got a separately sculpted holster, which has a point glued to the hip.  That’s too bad, as it would be nice if it were a removable peg to allow greater range of motion of the right leg.  It’s the only articulation point that is hindered by the design.  The blaster fits nicely into the holster, although at first I had to work it through the muzzle sheath a bit, but the rubbery plastic has some give and it fits fine.  The blaster is a silver color, and Lando grips it with his right hand most assuredly.  All the accessories interact well with the figure.

Lando Calrissian is a great addition to The Vintage Collection.  It’s a shame there aren’t more figures from the Solo film in any 3.75” format, let alone in the super-articulated line.  The five we have just don’t cut it, and Hasbro has not announced any plans for more characters in the near future.  Hasbro has a VERY long way to go to inspire collectors to scoop up figures from the new media, since there is such a lack of product for the few existing figures to be displayed with.  Still, I love this figure.  I wish it was a little less rubbery, and that the holster wasn’t glued to the hip. Otherwise, it’s darn near perfect.  I’m giving it a 9/10.