Han Solo (Bespin) - TBS [P3] - Six Inch Figures (70)

Smuggler. Scoundrel. Hero. Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon, was one of the great leaders of the Rebel Alliance. He and his co-pilot Chewbacca came to believe in the cause of galactic freedom, joining Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa in the fight against the Empire.

Hasbro is quickly learning that characters from the Original Trilogy are the bread and butter of their line. And they’ve been persistent with adding as many new Original Trilogy characters into the lineup. Case assortments are still a long way off from healing themselves, but at least they're putting together a great cast of characters to fill them. Han Solo (Bespin) is a character that collectors of the 6” line have waited for much too long. Hasbro has focused on the many characters from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, but they kept overlooking the main characters much to the chagrin of the collectors of this line. Now those main heroes are entering the line steadily, and the final products are pleasing collectors everywhere. Han Solo (Bespin) has turned out quite well, although the likeness is still a tad iffy. There is a familiarity in this figure’s likeness, but those hypercritical of the line will probably wish for finer results in the head sculpt. The “photorealistic” technology has put The Black Series 6” line on the map, and now these figures are competing with their Asian-company counterparts. Han Solo (Bespin) doesn’t necessarily bring anything new or fresh to the line.

Like many other Han Solo before him, Han Solo (Bespin) is loaded with 28 points of premium articulation. The articulation system that Hasbro employs for the figures in The Black Series 6” line is a tad stale at this point, but no one can argue that it doesn’t provide adequate movement for the figures that receive it. Han Solo (Bespin) can attain a ton of interesting positions thanks to great and mobile articulation and his parts are tooled so that they can accurately accompany the included accessories. In particular, Han Solo (Bespin)’s right-hand fits the included blaster pistol like a glove. The functioning holster works well holding the blaster, but the snap potion that locks it in place doesn’t work as well on our sample. (It doesn’t stay closed.) It’s likely a one-off issue, so there is probably no need to be concerned with your sample. His jacket shell is removable, but like most shells, the figure doesn’t look right once it is removed. It’s the only way that Hasbro can add “jackets” to figures, so this is something we’re going to have to deal with for the foreseeable future. We don’t see Hasbro adding premium and fitted soft-good jackets to their figures ever.

Han Solo (Bespin) has a decent paint job. The facial features look pretty great, and the colors used to breathe life into the figure have been applied very, very nicely. His boots are shiny. His jacket is flat. His eyes glisten, and his hair has texture and wave. If we had any complaints, it’s that these figures still come too lightly accessorized. These expensive action figures should come with many more accessories than they do. Han Solo (Bespin) enters The Black Series [Phase III] line at number 70. It’s difficult to process how far we are into this line now. It feels like we’ve had 100 figures (we probably have reached that mark with exclusives) but we’re not close to triple digits yet in this long-running line. It feels like we’re getting closer and closer to a line look change, but only time will tell. An exclusive version of Han Solo (Bespin), called Han Solo (Exogorth Escape), is 2018’s SDCC exclusive. It’s a slightly repainted version of this figure but also comes with a breathing mask, a hydrospanner, and an interchangeable left hand (as well as the same removable vest shell and blaster). It retails for more but comes with the accessories this character deserves.