Han Solo And Chewbacca (Death Star Escape) - POTJ - Silver Anniversary (1977-2002)

Twenty-five years ago, we were introduced to the heroic adventure fought a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. This incredible saga known as Star Wars exploded into our lives, captivating us with its epic struggle between the forces of good and evil. As a celebration of 25 years, we offer the essence of Star Wars – courage in the face of overwhelming odds, the strong bonds of friendship, and the inevitable confrontation between good and evil – within these special figures.

Blasting their way out of trouble, Han Solo and Chewbacca face adversity with only a blaster and a bowcaster. Their deep bond of friendship and respect has helped them narrowly escape danger throughout the galaxy. With courage and recklessness, the two heroes of the Rebellion battle for their lives against the evil Empire.

Hasbro spent a good chunk of the end of 2001 creating figures and other figure sets to commemorate 25 years of Star Wars. Right on time in January 2002 as the Power Of The Jedi line was on its way out, Hasbro released three two-pack sets based on major scenes in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. All of the figures were all-new sculpts. But they were heavily influenced on the figures we received from The Power Of The Force “2” era…. without the bulkiness. The figures weren’t terrible exactly, but they needed a whole lot more work (and less exaggerate action poses) before collectors were ready to fully embrace them. They were however warmly welcomed because of the Original Trilogy influence and focus. As diorama window boxes they’re pretty much flawless, but in all honesty, they fail as toys. The figures look absolutely atrocious by themselves and are dependent on all of the other contents that they’re packaged with to look good. Most collectors left them in the boxes so they wouldn’t have to deal with their awkwardness, but some of the more adventurous collectors wanted to know a bit more about them. So here we are.

The Han Solo And Chewbacca (Death Star Escape) may be the strongest of all three sets, but it also is the one with the most screen accuracy issues. What’s interesting is that you’re not able to pinpoint this version of Han Solo to any of the scenes in Episode IV…. Except for maybe his appearance in Chalmun’s cantina, and even that it is a stretch thanks to his aggressive action pose. If this is intended to be the “Death Star Escape” diorama from Episode IV, well, Han Solo was still wearing the stormtrooper belt. That isn’t the case with this figure. And if Hasbro was accidentally inspired by Han Solo from Docking Bay 94 (mistakenly of course, that interpretation doesn’t work either because he was wearing his flying gloves in that scene. The Han Solo in this set doesn’t have gloves and doesn’t have a stormtrooper belt. So it’s Han Solo, but not from any scene in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. That’s alright. This Han Solo works well in this two-pack despite his screen inaccuracies. He looks fantastic next to Chewbacca. And his likeness isn’t terrible, but it still has a long way to go. But the removable vest and streamlined body are huge improvements. We’re generally happy with the final results.

What is really impressive in this set is the Chewbacca figure. Yes, he is minimally articulated, but his sculpt is phenomenal. What’s more, Chewbacca has the most perfect expression on his face and his deco is very, very impressive. His posture work very well too. He towers over Han Solo and is in a crouching position which is very reminiscent of the stills we saw for years that have promoted the 1977 film. Chewbacca comes with a new bowcaster accessory that he can hold with both pre-positioned hands. He looks amazing holding it. There is very little we can complain about with this set. Both figures have been given a piece of flooring from the Death Star and this environmental display stand comes with foot pegs to help the figures stand up unassisted. The packaging also includes a backdrop which shows the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. Overall, the Han Solo And Chewbacca (Death Star Escape) two-pack from the Silver Anniversary (1977-2002) line is better than we expected. Just keep in mind that these figures aren’t meant to do much more than stay on the display stand and look pretty. These aren’t true action figures exactly. There stuck in one position really.