Han Solo (Rebel Captain: Bespin) - Heroes Of The Rebellion - 1:6 Scale Figures

Fleeing before a wrathful Darth Vader, the Rebel Alliance scatters, abandoning its secret base on the planet Hoth. With a malfunctioning hyperdrive and the Sith Lord's fleet on his tail, brash pilot-turned-freedom-fighter, Han Solo throws his ship, the Millenium Falcon, into a series of jinks and maneuvers in a vain effort to loose his pursuers. After hiding in an asteroid field and staging an audacious disappearing act right on the stern of an Imperial Star Destroyer, Solo opts to bet everything on the trust of an old acquaintance and speeds the Falcon to Cloud City on Bespin for repairs.

Onboard the fleeing ship, Princess Leia performs her own evasive maneuvers. Deftly fending the Corellian's roguish advances, she entrusts her fate to him nonetheless, knowing Solo's plan is their best chance for escape.

Han Solo is a man with two lives- his past, as a rogue and a scoundrel, and his present, a man with a reason to live and fight, beyond his own selfish needs. In seeking refuge on Cloud City, Solo risks everything on the character of his former associate, Lando Calrissian, the facility's dashing Baron Administrator. In Lando, Princess Leia sees much of the man Han Solo used to be, but the degree to which he has changed and the truth of her own love for him only becomes clear to the Princess when Calrissian betrays them all to Lord Vader.

Prisoners of the Empire, and standing at the edge of the pit into which Han Solo will be lowered and likely die, an understanding passes between Leia and Solo- a promise for the future, and a reason to stay alive.

Everyone involved with the Han Solo (Rebel Captain: Bespin) 1:6 Scale Figure by Sideshow Collectibles (both Sideshow and collectors) got a little too eager about it. Sideshow produced a remarkable 10,000 total pieces of this high end collectible and collectors couldn’t wait to get their paws on what is easily considered the most popular version of Han Solo across all collectible formats. Unfortunately, the figure didn’t come out as expected. While prototypes images of the pieces gave preliminary reason to celebrate, the final production figure left a little bit more to be desired. What’s more unfathomable here is the amount of units Sideshow produced. 10,000 pieces of one 1:6 Scale Figure is definitely overconfident. Even though 20% of them included an exclusive accessory (the awesomely magnetic mynock we might add), the remaining 8,000 pieces are still more than enough to pad the aftermarket for years to come. Between its fair likeness to actor Harrison Ford and the fact that it may never have value on the aftermarket due to it being overproduced, the Han Solo (Rebel Captain: Bespin) 1:6 Scale Figure may easily be considered the biggest flop in the line to date. That may sound harsh and that isn’t our intent, but a few things went wrong with this figure sadly.

What hurts the figure the most is Sideshow’s reliance on the Art S. Buck body type. It’s a buck that has served Sideshow Collectibles well in their earliest years as a company, but now it’s one that the collecting community has fallen out of love yet. It has a wonderful human form, but it doesn’t translate well across many Star Wars characters. Even a tall character like Han Solo appears too lanky and out of proportion in this body type. As a result, the final figure in this case looks off and it’s easy to pinpoint why. Even the oddly functioning shoulder joints and the inability of the arms to bend in natural configurations makes the figure feel contrived instead of realistic. Not all is lost on Han Solo. Sideshow Collectibles fabricated a wonderfully screen accurate costume and included applicable accessory to enhance it. His jacket is fitted as well as his undershirt. And the yellow bloodstripe running down the sides of his pants couldn’t have been done more accurately. The gas mask fits like a glove over his face and stays in place while posing it. The communicator can be placed in his right hand and hooked to his belt. And let’s not forget about the expertly crafted blaster pistol and the real leather functioning holster that complements it. There is definitely a great to deal to appreciate here.

Any collectible figure Sideshow makes (or any licensee for that matter) based on The Empire Strikes Back typically by default becomes a slam dunk hit with the collecting community. But we have to be completely honest and express that Han Solo (Rebel Captain: Bespin) doesn’t meet our full expectations. We have already addressed the main reason for its “failure” but it may be something else affecting out judgment of it. The portrait is mildly disappointing too. The first thing you’ll notice is that the head sculpt seems disproportionate to the rest of the body. This is dramatic because we already know that the Art S. Buck body is already “too big” for Han Solo. So Han Solo almost comes across as a caricature of himself. This just isn’t good when talking about a high end collectible. The likeness ranks about fair too. To be fair, the sculptors ensured to capture the details of Han Solo’s face quite well. His eyes look great and the scar on his chin is visible. As you can see, this figure is a mixed bag. There seems to be an equal amount of good as there is bad to it. And typically that sums up to mean that the collectible just won’t meet the standards of someone who will have to pay over $50 for it. And that brings us back around to our first point. With 10,000 total pieces made, the Han Solo (Rebel Captain: Bespin) 1:6 Scale Figure may be hanging around for the unforeseeable future at lower than average prices. We are looking forward to a redo on this one.