Review of Han Solo - Solo: A Star Wars Story
Star Wars Black action figure

Introduction

The Star Wars juggernaut if fully engaged, and the new films are going to be cranking out several times a year for the foreseeable future.  Next up is Solo: A Star Wars Story, which takes us back in time to tell the tale of Han's early days. The previews have been a mixed bag, but I'm going in with an open mind.

The first figures for the movie have started to hit, although tickets aren't yet on sale. In this deluge are several 6" Black series releases, including the young Han of course. I'm checking him out tonight, and I suspect I'll be hitting up at least one or two more from this flick in the coming days.

You can find this guy at Target right now - they seem to have beat most other retailers to the punch, at least around me. Of course he's available online as well, and you can expect to pay around $20 - $22 for him, similar to the rest of the series.

Packaging - ***1/2
Standard stuff, and it's completely collector friendly. The large window shows off the figure and blaster, and the back has some basic character info. I've been a fan of the character artwork on the front bottom corner, and we get another great looking gray scale drawing.

Sculpting - ***1/2
The overall quality of the sculpting on the 6" Black series has gotten quite a bit better over the last year or so, and almost every figure hitting now is extremely well done for the scale. Remember, these are 1/12, and Han is almost exactly 6" tall.

The detail work on the hair is great, and it's a particularly hard style to capture in plastic. The likeness to the new actor - Alden Ehrenreich - is quite good, especially in the eyes, lips, and shape of the jawline. The nose isn't *quite* there, but it's close enough to know who this is without much prompting.

The work on the rest of the body shows the improved quality as well. There's lots of textures, and the smaller details on the belt and jacket look fantastic. The arms seem a little thin scale-wise in comparison to the torso, but overall Hasbro really has stepped up their game on this line, and this is an excellent example.

My one nit - those big hands. Because they are sculpted in gripping poses, the oversized hands are all the more obvious. I don't mind it too much with the gun grip right, as the scale seems reasonable and it works well with the blaster, but the curved grip left looks huge, and doesn't work particularly well with most action poses.

Paint - ***1/2
Another area where Hasbro is bringing the A game is the paint. They've improved their processes, particularly with the eyes, and smaller details are looking sharp. The skin has depth, and variations - like the lips and eyebrows - are subtle.

Like the face, the smaller details on the costume and accessories are very clean. Again, it's all about scale. This is a small figure, and he's not particularly expensive. Getting this sort of clean, crisp paint work at this scale and price point is a huge plus.

I did have a couple rub marks and shiny spots - you'll notice a particularly obvious one on the left eyebrow - that are visible even in hand. But it's still a very minor issue compared to the overall quality of the paint application.

Articulation - ***1/2
There's plenty of joints, and they all have great range of movement.

The ball jointed neck could use a little more tilt and lean, but you can still get lots of personality in every pose. The rotating hinge shoulders work well and hide the joint, and the rotating hinge elbows and wrists combine to create great arm poses.

The rocker ab joint turns and leans, while the rotating hinge hips, cut thighs, double pin knees, and hinge/rocker ankles all work great. You can get natural, flowing relaxed stances and deep, dynamic action stances, all with little effort.

Accessories - **1/2
Unfortunately, this is the one area where he falls short. He comes with one extra - his blaster. It's extremely well done, with a ton of tiny, tiny detail, but it's still only one accessory. It fits neatly in the holster on his hip, and you can snap the strap closed when it's in place.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
While I wish we had an accessory or two more - he has to interact with something else in the new movie - the articulation allows for lots of great poses. Kids will love the play-ability too, and he's sturdy enough to handle any sandbox situation. You might want to free up all the joints with a little heat at first, but once they are moving cleanly you can hand it over to the young 'uns for some fun.

Value - **1/2
At twenty bucks or so, he's coming in at the average mass market price for a figure in this scale and style.  Between the Black figures and Marvel Legends, Hasbro owns the action figure aisle these days.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing!

Overall - ***1/2
I continue to be impressed by the new Black series releases. I've picked up several for the new movie, including the terrific Range Trooper (I may have to review him as well), and the overall quality is finally where it should be. The series is becoming what I always hoped it would be - a perfect rendition of the key characters in a perfect scale.

I make no guarantees on the new film, however. The first preview was shaky, but the later ones improved. So much weight rests on the shoulders of Alden Ehrenreich, and whether he can channel a young Harrison Ford. Will we believe it? Or will he crash and burn at the feet of millions of crazed fans? We'll soon find out!

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has him in several configurations, but you can get him by himself for $22.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I haven't covered a lot of Star Wars Black Series figures in the past few months, but just happened to hit up the Sand Trooper and Dewback last week. Prior to that was the Ackbar/First Order Officer two pack, and you should hit the Search Reviews page to find other earlier reviews and in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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