Review of Han Solo, Trooper Finn Action Figures
Star Wars the Force Awakens Black Series

Introduction

I don't know what the Star Wars Black 6" series distribution is like in your area, but it blows chunks around here. I finally came across the latest wave last week, but only once and I was lucky enough to find them right after they were put out as part of an overall reset.  Just a few minutes later, and I'd still be hunting. The wave includes old Han Solo, Finn in his Trooper gear (or FN-2187), the Flametrooper, and Jango Fett. I'm covering the first two tonight.

I realize calling him 'old Han' is offensive on some level, and as I get closer in age to old Han, I get it. Believe me. But there isn't a better moniker for this particular release that I can think of. Finn is a little easier, and I'll be calling him Trooper Finn most of the time. He did have the number FN-2187 in the film, although only the nerds will recognize that immediately.

These will run you the usual $20 depending on the retailer, and if you're luckier than I, they should be showing up at Target, Meijers, and Toys R Us in your neighborhood.

Packaging - ****
Like all the previous releases, the small, black, classy box is completely collector friendly.  I really like the personalization with these, and the character artwork on the front is a nice touch. They're pretty sturdy as well, show off the figure while it's still inside, and I didn't have any trouble with the interior tray causing warped knees or elbows.  All that and not a single twisty tie or rubber band.

Sculpting - Han **; Finn ***1/2
I'm really hating this Han sculpt, although not perhaps for the reason some might assume. The head sculpt and portrait are actually decent enough, although in photos it can appear that one side of the mouth or the other is warped, or deeper set than the other. That's just a trick of lighting, since both sides are actually quite sunken. Whichever side gets more light will look less sunk, and the deep pouch on the other side will be a shadow magnet. In reality, they've captured Ford's likeness from the film quite well, right down to the size and shape of the nose, jawline, and eyes. If I had one nit to pick it would be the hair, but that's more an issue of paint than sculpt.

No, my issues with Han are from the neck down. They tried to mimic an old man body to go with that old man head sculpt, and missed the mark considerably.  The torso is good, and the detailing on the jacket and shirt look great.  I can live with the monkey paws as well, and while the gripping left hand doesn't make much sense, I can deal.

But those legs! They went with some very skinny legs, trying to capture the look of the costume on screen. While the pants and boots were fairly tight, this combination with the wonky looking hip, knee and ankle articulation results in a serious hot mess. The sculpted folds and wrinkles in the pants don't lay in a natural way, and the weird, boxy, pencil shape look hurts the overall figure quite a bit.

Then there's Finn, who is extremely good. The portrait looks the same to me as the first release, although the eyebrows are slightly different. After staring at the two side by side for 10 minutes, I decided this was more of an issue of paint than sculpt. Either way, this figure is one of the best human portraits we've seen in the Black series, and comparing it side by side with a still from the movie bears that out. I'll go so far as to say it looks more like Finn than the Hot Toys prototype does.

That doesn't mean that some folks won't complain that the head is too small, but if you're going to have a head that looks right on the body AND can fit in the helmet, it's going to end up a little small. I don't think it's too far out of line.

This might be a simple re-use of the head from the first Finn and the body from the regular Trooper, but the combination on screen was enough to make a lot of idiots go bat shit when it was first revealed. I'm not even positive on the body being identical - he is slightly shorter, and I can't quite figure out if it's in the legs or the torso that they squeezed out a few millimeters. It seems like it should be the legs, but holding them in hand, it also seems like the torso on Finn is slightly shorter and wider.  If you have a Vernier caliper handy, you can hunt down the exact differences.

Both stand close to 6" tall, with Finn just below that and Han just over it.

Paint - Han ***; Finn ***1/2
Clean paint work all around, especially with the eyes and costume details.  They could have added a few more operations - the lips on both look unpainted for example - and the quality of the eyebrows on both is a bit weak. But at this price point and this scale, the work is certainly above average.

The best paint feature on either character is the blood smear on the Trooper helmet. This is so critical because it gives you another truly distinct Trooper on the shelf, making the purchase of what amounts to a head/body swap all that more attractive.

I did dock Han a half star for the hair color.  They went with a lighter brown here, but in FA he's at that point where his hair can best be described as salt and pepper, after the pepper shaker got lost. They missed that mark completely.

Articulation - ***1/2
The articulation on both is excellent...until you get to the elbows.

The neck on Han allows for lots of tilt and lean, adding personality to any pose. The rotating hinge shoulders work well, as do the wrists, waist and ab joint. While the hips, double pin knees, and hinge ankles with rocker joints look ugly as sin, they all have an excellent range of movement and are very tight and sturdy.

The same is true for Trooper Finn, and he has similar posability to the earlier standard FO Trooper. He can take some pretty fluid poses, thanks to the majority of the joints. But on both Han and Finn, the rotating hinge elbows don't have the mobility you'd like, making some arm poses impossible. When you can only bend the elbows about 60 degrees, it reduces the number of cool ways they can hold the weapons.

Accessories - Han ***; Finn ***1/2
Han only comes with one, but of course it's critical - his blaster. It fits nicely in the sculpted right hand, or you can pop it into his holster, easy peasy. One has to wonder why the left hand is sculpted in a gripping pose, rather than something more natural, when he has nothing else to grip.

Finn comes with not one but three extras - the small blaster, the large blaster, and his blood streaked helmet.  Either blaster can attach to the side of his leg, thanks to a slot and post arrangement, and the helmet fits cleanly over his head.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
Thanks to the terrific articulation and the great scale - 1/12th can go with just about any other license these days, it's big enough to make handling and posing easier, and it's small enough to make dioramas and vehicles possible - these figures are a lot of fun for adults and kids alike.

Value - **1/2
At around $20 each, you're paying the current average price for a 'collector' themed line of action figures in a 1/12th scale.  Of course, this pricing is largely based on the rise in the price of oil...and I wonder when we might see the cost drop thanks to much lower oil prices. My pet unicorn told me to say that.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - Han ***; Finn ***1/2
I really hate the legs on Han.  So much so that I almost dropped him another half star overall. But honestly, everything else about him is above average, driving me to decide that it wasn't really fair to take that much away from him over those goofy appendages. On the plus side, there's no way you'll accidentally mistake him for any Han figure based on the OT.

This Finn wasn't one I was really all that excited about, but in hand turned out great. It's a simple enough character to create on your own, but it will cost you a lot more than $20.  The human likeness on Finn is one of the best we've seen in the series so far, and getting the blood smeared helmet allows you to have another distinct trooper.  He's definitely a win/win, and not to be passed up.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - Han **; Finn ***1/2
Paint - Han ***; Finn ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - Han ***; Finn ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - Han ***; Finn ***1/2

Where to Buy 
These are popping up at stores like Target and Toys R Us right now for around $20 each. Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has a set that has these two plus the repack of Phasma, along with the new Flametrooper and Jango Fett, all seven for $135.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Black Series 6" figures I've reviewed include the Resistance Fighter, Captain Phasma, and before that we had the Target two pack of Poe and the Riot Control Trooper, the first Poe, the basic FO Trooper (along with the Disney die cast version), Snowtrooper, and Captain Zuvio.

I've covered a ton of the earlier Star Wars Black 6" figures as well, so you should also hit the Search Reviews page to find them and in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!