Han Solo (Endor Strike) - SW [S - P3] - Basic (’04 #19)

Han led a strike team to the moon of Endor, to destroy the shield generator protecting the second Death Star high in orbit. Han had to get inside the Imperial bunker to disable the generator. Commandeering the uniform of an AT-ST driver, Han pretended to be an Imperial trooper. Using a communicator, he told the forces in the bunker that the Rebels were fleeing into the woods and reinforcements were needed. The troopers opened the bunker, and Han and his team attacked. With the help of the native Ewoks, the Rebel strike team defeated the Imperial forces and destroyed the generator, paving the way for victory at the Battle of Endor.

Every once in a while Hasbro comes up with an extremely clever action figure that you may not realize at first that the character never appeared in the film that exact way, thus making it an “Expanded Universe” release. This absolutely applies to Han Solo (Endor Strike) from the Star Wars “Saga” line. One of the final three figures from that line look, Han Solo (Endor Strike) may surprise you in a few different ways because of how sneakily Hasbro blended him into the line as a character that was seen during the Battle of Endor (while we only see a static electronic monitor version of him in actuality) as well as utilize an all-new sculpt while you believe he is a kit-bashed figure instead. He’s not what you think he is! As the Star Wars “Saga” line wraps up to welcome The Original Trilogy Collection, this figure has been carried forward into the OTC line due to its relative scarcity in the Star Wars “Saga” line as well as giving collectors another chance at a decently made action figure.

At first glance, you will likely and confidently believe that Hasbro reused the AT-ST Driver from 2002’s Star Wars “Saga” Imperial Forces Toys R Us exclusive multipack. But you may be shocked to realize that they aren’t the same figures, and Han Solo (Endor Strike) is an all-new figure. They are certainly a few parts that resemble each other and the articulation points are nearly identical, but every last one has been retooled/resculpted so that they are completely unique in their mold status. We’re really surprised that Hasbro went through the trouble to tool these new parts, but now there are two unique updated AT-ST Driver body types in the Star Wars “Saga” line alone. These body styles are definitely not ideal for a definitive AT-ST Driver action figure, but it’s certainly a nice update from the POTF2 style. A lot of extra work went into Han Solo (Endor Strike) which we find particularly interesting since its an action figure that we didn’t see in full in Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. We literally only could see Han’s obscured face and on a screen, not even “live”.

Han Solo (Endor Strike) comes with ten points of articulation. The figure has a swivel head, two swivel shoulders, two swivel elbows, two swivel gloves, a swivel waist and two swivel hips. The figure can sit, but with limited upper body movement and even less lower body movement, Han Solo (Endor Strike) is far from being an ideally articulated action figure. The removable helmet is all-new, but more importantly the head sculpt is completely new and possesses a decent likeness to the former rogue scoundrel recently promoted to notable leader in the Rebel Alliance. The helmet has a pretty good fit which makes sense since it's exclusively for Han Solo and it looks proportionate to his head, so overall this whole interaction has been produced very well overall. He also comes with a comlink permanently sculpted and unpainted in his left hand, and an E-11 blaster has also been included for good measure. Han Solo (Endor Strike) doesn’t fully impress, but it’s an interesting take on Han Solo and one that is just off-screen from the film. It’s really a decent release.