Review of Lando Calrissian
Star Wars sixth scale action figure

Introduction

Sideshow has been doing quite a few armored figures in their Star Wars series over the last few months, but that doesn't mean they've completely neglected the regular soft cloths wearing characters. And who had some of the best looking clothes in the Republic? Why, Lando Calrissian of course!

Lando first showed up in Empire Strikes Back, acting as a modern Judas to Solo's Jesus. He's since gone on to be a major character in the saga, and been part of some of the funniest Robot Chicken Star Wars parodies.

Sideshow has produced the usual regular edition (size 1500) and exclusive (size 750). I'll be looking at the exclusive tonight, but since that only means one extra accessory, pretty much everything I discuss will apply to the regular version as well.

Lando was played by Billy Dee Williams, and it turned into the role he's probably best known for, even after being in over 100 films and shows. It's either that or as the front man for Colt .45 malt liquor. Nothing against malt liquor, but wouldn't you rather be known as Lando?

Lando originally cost $80, for either the regular or exclusive version direct from Sideshow. The deal...seems very fair, and I'm happy to be a part of it.

Packaging - ***1/2
As time moves on, things get better, contrary to what nostalgias will lead you to believe. Case in point - action figure packaging. When Sideshow's Star Wars packaging first came out, it broke new ground with it's wrap around lid and magnetic closures. Now companies like Hot Toys and Enterbay are finding ways to jump over the high bar, and I'm sure that with the next major Sideshow line, we'll see further improvements.

Sculpting - **1/2
This is an excellent Lando Calrissian sculpt - just excellent. In fact, this is one of Sideshow's best human likenesses in quite some time, with wonderful work on the hair, mustache, lips and eyes. The shape of the face, and nose is dead on, and the eyes are just the right distance apart. It really does look both like the character AND the actor as the character.

So why the low score? Because I can't abide by an over sized head, not these days. This one isn't *quite* as bad as the recent Indy in German outfit, but it's still at least 20% too big. Lando gets lucky because he has the cap, making him a little fuller in the shoulders, but it's still not enough to completely hide his over sized noggin'.

You might think me too harsh since the likeness is so good, but I think that actually makes the situation sadder. If the head sculpt was bad all around, its encephalitic nature would simply be one more problem in a sea of problems. Instead, it's the one very obvious problem that really pulls down an otherwise great portrait.

The hands are all sculpted to work with the accessories, and do it fairly well. They also work well with a number of poses.

Paint - ***1/2
You can't fault the paint for a big head, and here Sideshow does a much better job. Much better than many other human figures, although to be fair their paint work has been improving consistently with recent releases.

Here we get an excellent clean skin tone, perfectly painted lips, mustache and eyebrows, and even fairly clean eyes. There's still a little bleed of the other colors into the whites of the eyes, and the hair line could be a smidge cleaner, but these are issues you'll probably only notice under close scrutiny.

Articulation - ***1/2
The Pro body has improved in tightness considerably from it's first release on Obi-Wan. It has all the usual joints you expect, and they are all tight enough to hold most poses.

I was particularly happy with the ball jointed neck, which has a great range of movement.

I'm not too keen on how the hips tend to stick out in front, and this has been an issue I've noticed before but rarely commented on. It's sort of the Crawford Hierarchy of Complaints - get past the most obvious, and a less obvious one seems to crop up. It's not a major issue, but it's an annoyance I don't have with something like the TrueType, for example.

Accessories - ***
Lando has a nice assortment, and the exclusive gets an extra as usual.

There's two blasters - the silver tipped version he's probably most associated with, and a regular Trooper blaster. Both have excellent sculpts and paint (Sideshow has excelled at the Star Wars armory) and look terrific in tons of poses. Even though we've seen the Trooper blaster several times before, it's still a great addition. It has the usual folding stock, too.

He has an extra set of hands as well. The left is better suited to holding the barrel of the guns, and the extra right hand works well with the smaller Bespin Communicator.

Speaking of which, that's the exclusive add-in. Again, nice sculpting and paint work, but it is a bit on the basic side.

Finally, there's the usual display stand. You won't have to use it this time around, but if you like using them, it's an important addition.

Outfit - **1/2
I didn't mention the Lobot Controller in the previous section (you can see it on his left wrist in many of the photos) because I consider that more 'outfit' than 'accessory'. 

It's a nice piece of his outfit too, with a pleather strap and sculpted face. Be careful when swapping hands though, as you can crimp the band or lose the thing altogether if you forget it's there.

He has some very funky 70's style boots, and these are sculpted nicely. They do tend to make it a little difficult for him to stand up in some poses, but it's a minor issue.

There's the shirt and pants of course, both of which are fairly well tailored. The pants use thin velcro as the closure, which works better here than it often does on Hot Toys figures.

The cape is the true highlight of the costume though, with a gorgeous lining, and wired collar that keeps it in place. I dressed up as V for Halloween, and I have to say that someone needs to bring capes back in style. They're just so damn cool.

The big downside here is the belt, which I hate. It's that cheap pleather around the back, and the front tends to ride up the body. It also makes it very tough to keep the shirt in place, even tucked in the pants, and feels really, really cheap. Considering the price tag, the belt is well below the quality you'd expect.

Fun Factor - ***
He's a mighty smooth mama jamma - who wouldn't want him in their collection to take down the evil Empire or stab Han Solo in the back? I suppose I should let that go, since he did manage to redeem himself, but old wounds heal slow.

Value - **
Fix a few of the big issues - over sized head, cheap belt - and you'd get another half star here. But with these issues, he's not as good a value at $80.

Things to Watch Out For -
The only thing to really watch out for is the Lobot Control device. As I mentioned, it can get crimped or lost when you're swamping hands.

Overall - ***
This is one of those figures that had the potential to be exceptional - and fell short because of a couple serious issues. He's not quite as much of a bobble head as the last Indy, and the cape helps fill out his frame.

But it's still annoying, and not necessary. At this price point, Sideshow needs to get this situation corrected, particularly on their human portraits.

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

Where to Buy 
Sideshow was the place to get the exclusive, and you can still get on the wait list . Options on the regular version include:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other sixth scale Star Wars goodies include:

- Darth Vader was perhaps Sideshow's best Star Wars release this year.

- prior to that, there's the Utapau Trooper, the Imperial Stormtrooper, and Captain Antilles

- I wasn't as thrilled with Ki-Adi-Mundi, but Obi-Wan in Clone Armor is easily one of their best. Then there's Aayla Secura, Tatooine Luke and Han Solo.

- Sideshow has had a strong year in 2008 with Commander Praji, the exceptional Palpatine/Sidous and ANH Obi-Wan, and the not quite so exceptional Ilum Padme.

- also in the sixth scale line, I've reviewed Leia and Bespin Luke, the Holo-chess set, Sideshow's Asajj, a terrific figure, Yavin Luke, the Endor Troops, Jabba the Hutt and his throne, Bib Fortuna, Jedi Luke, Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, Bespin Han Solo, regular Anakin Skywalker and Kit Fisto.

- I also have guest reviews of the SDCC Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, and Qui-Gon Jinn.

- in the premium format line, I've reviewed Slave Leia, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Han Solo.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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