Han Solo (Flight To Alderaan) - SW [S - P3] - Hall Of Fame

Han Solo cannot escape his colorful and checkered past, no matter where he goes. Inside Mos Eisley's cantina, he is negotiating a lucrative deal to transport two men to Alderaan -- enough to pay off his debt to crimelord Jabba the Hutt. Before he can leave, the bounty hunter Greedo tries to capture him, in order to get the price that has been put on his head by the Hutt. Ever quick and resourceful, Han evades another near-capture and takes his passengers aboard the Millennium Falcon for their urgent flight to Alderaan.

By the time the Star Wars “Saga” line came around, Hasbro realized that they needed to keep certain main Star Wars characters in the basic figure line at all times. These popular characters always sold through, but sometimes it wasn’t possible to release an all-new version of these characters to keep them in the line or even tweak them to make them relatively new. So Hasbro conceded that “straight repacks” were going to be the answer. They even advertised this by likening to what Kenner did in the vintage Star Wars line by re-releasing the same figures in every film’s specific packaging. OK, so maybe that was a good analogy, but the choices of action figures Hasbro chose to enter into the line again were good, and others were not so good. One such introduction into the line was Han Solo (Flight To Alderaan) (‘03 #27). This figure is proving to be the most over-packed figure Hasbro has produced, but they decided to repack him again less than a year later in the Hall Of Fame assortment.

When this figure was originally released as 1999's POTF2 [FB/CT] Han Solo CommTech figure, collectors were thrilled to have a Han Solo figure that could actually sit down somewhere in a Chalmun’s cantina diorama. Not only can Han Solo sit perfectly, Hasbro gave him hinge-jointed knees and swivel thighs so that collectors can attain the greatest array of movement possible. He is a little too stiff in the upper body, but you’ll probably be impressed with what he can do below his belt that you probably won’t care. Han Solo was at the time a truly exciting update to all of the past versions. A new athletically streamlined body has been tooled as well as an all-new head sculpt. If Hasbro could just tweak those bulky hands and increase articulation, we think that we’ll be all set. But how does he fair in 2003 and 2004 as part of the Star Wars “Saga” [Phase III] Hall Of Fame lineup? Actually, Han Solo (Flight To Alderaan) isn’t nearly as bad as you might think he is. Don’t misunderstand us please. We’re over him. But if Hasbro wants to keep Han Solo in the basic figure line, then this is the way to do it.

Let’s talk more about the figure. Hasbro tooled a functioning holster and blaster which fit together beautifully. It is one of the perks to purchase this figure. Not only does the gun fit like hand in a perfectly sized glove, it doesn’t look too bulky for the figure either. It looks so realistic and we’re impressed with its appearance and detail. As you know, Han Solo’s upper body is a bit frustrating, but the gun does fit into his left hand very well too. And with the updated lower body articulation, you can pose Han Solo in a variety of ways, most of which look screen accurate and natural. The other included accessory is the removable vest. This is another nice feature because you can remove the vest (with a little determination we must add) and have a completely different take on Han Solo (like changing out of Stormtrooper armor from the icky trash compactor for example). Obviously there is more play value here than may first meet the eye. Han Solo (Flight To Alderaan) is an old figure in new packaging. That may be all you need to determine if you need this figure or not.