Chewbacca - SW [S] - Basic

If there is one figure that disappoints in the Star Wars [Solo] line, it’s Chewbacca. Something went wrong with the Chewbacca Force Link 2.0 action figure. It’s not that it doesn’t resemble Chewbacca, it does very much so. But between the seemingly incorrect color of his fur to the partly inaccurate sculpt, Chewbacca misses the mark in a few ways. This is sad because he is a main character in the Solo: A Star Wars Story film and will likely be an action figure that will be highly sought after by fans of the film. It’s difficult to pinpoint what went wrong with Chewbacca. It feels like Hasbro mastered the figure’s key features. Chewbacca is tall. Chewbacca is bulky. Chewbacca comes with a removable bandolier. Chewbacca comes with a cool new weapon. Chewbacca’s head sculpt looks just like the onscreen character. But despite all of this, Chewbacca doesn’t come off as a great action figure. And he doesn’t resemble the classic Original Trilogy character. We believe that an action figure of a character like Chewbacca needs more articulation. And it would have been wonderful to get a super-articulated and revised younger version of him. After all, we will see this version of him in the new Solo: A Star Wars Story film.

In all fairness, Hasbro hasn’t had the greatest luck making 5POA versions of Chewbacca. The first version made from 2013’s SW [DV/ROTS] Han Solo And Chewbacca (Death Star Escape) Mission Series Set looked like Chewbacca had rabies. It was only downhill from there. The 2015 TFA Chewbacca Armor Up figure came with a nice play feature, but the figure’s likeness wasn’t that wonderful either. Also, the 2017 SW [TLJ] Chewbacca Force Link figure was far from perfect too, but at least it came with a porg accessory. So here we are in the next Disney Star Wars installment. While it’s fresh to see a new style of Chewbacca, we wished that Hasbro would have tweaked things significantly before considering this figure for release. Chewbacca’s newly styled bandolier is interesting. It crosses his chest as well as his back and the two ends meet in a V-shape on both front and back. Interestingly, there is already a variation on the bandolier. The first version is smooth and the second version is tooled with ammunition slots and some of the slots are filled with bullets. However, Hasbro left the revised version unpainted, so it still looks off a little bit. Could there be a third version in the works? Possibly.

As of the publication of this review, Force Link 2.0 is still defunct. We’ll never understand how Hasbro didn’t ensure the application would be functional in time for the line look launch. It not only affects the play value of the action figures in this line, Hasbro has sold something that doesn’t work to their customer base. We think that is awful. However, Hasbro has updated their site to let everyone know that the application should be fully functional by May 1st. In our opinion, they should have re-released the same technology that was available in the Star Wars [The Last Jedi] line. (In fact, a ton of figures in that line are activated by the Force Link 2.0 device. Ironically, it’s only the new figures that do not work.) Does Chewbacca have any redeeming qualities? We aren’t sure about that. We do wish that Hasbro would have revisited this action figure from the ground up in a super-articulated action figure. This version of Chewbacca doesn’t meet our expectations. Lastly, we want to point out that Chewbacca has been cast in a very brittle plastic. The fingers on his right hand broke off when we attempted to place the gun inside of them. You’ve been warned.