Lando Calrissian - TBS [TESB40] - Six Inch Figures

Let’s be honest. The original release of The Black Series [Phase III] Lando Calrissian (39) figure came out pretty darn well. Although it didn’t come with Photo Real facial deco, Hasbro did a relatively excellent job of creating a likeness of the on-screen character with the fan-favorite 6” figure. Like clockwork, Lando Calrissian is part of The Black Series [The Empire Strikes Back 40] anniversary line to celebrate 40 years of the fifth episodic Star Wars film. With classic vintage Kenner packaging, and all-new Photo Real paint operations, Lando Calrissian looks better than ever, and it’s quickly become one of our favorite figures of 2020. Unfortunately, it makes the original release of this figure obsolete. You’re going to want to replace yours with this version. You’ll also notice a few other color variances throughout the figure, but the most significant differences are in the portrait. With a now-excellent likeness, a ton of articulation, and very, very clean paint operations, Lando Calrissian is additional proof that Hasbro has shifted the 6” scaled line into high speed. Incredibly, Original Trilogy characters are receiving these tremendous updates.

We still would like to make the note that the figure isn’t perfect. But you probably won’t care. Lando Calrissian suffers from lankiness in the legs. At first, we had difficulty pinpointing what has bothered us with so many The Black Series 6” figures released previously, but we now know it’s the legs. Some figures are worse than others, but many are often too long for the Star Wars characters in the line. If a Star Wars character comes wearing robes or has other ornamentation to take your eyes away from the legs’ length, you’re not going to see this trend at all. But with a character like Lando Calrissian, we have to concede that the height of his legs is ever so slightly problematic. We believe even a reduction of less than a quarter of an inch would help make these figures look nearly perfect. If you recall 2004’s VOTC Lando Calrissian action figure, you’ll remember how collectors believed this figure was virtually complete except for the swivel elbows. It is a bit painful to see so much attention given to him in The Black Series 6” scale. There are now two releases of the same figure, while The Vintage Collection collectors cry in a corner somewhere.

The sculpting of Lando Calrissian is nothing short of beautiful, of course. Hasbro works hard to create digital files that capture every last nuance of character, and with Lando Calrissian, it seems that they were a little more successful than they typically are. We should also note that Hasbro perfected t figure’s skin color with this updated release. The rest of the sculpt is nice too. His pants and shirt are close-fitting but break where they need to break, and areas with folds and creases look utterly realistic as required. Lando Calrissian comes modestly accessorized. The figure has a molded cape, and it’s removable, Many would like to see how a soft-goods cape would look on this figure. The inside is beautifully detailed and colored in shimmery gold. Lando Calrissian also comes with a DH-17 blaster used by the Rebel Alliance. And they also included the communicator used to alert other Bespin residents to flee before more Imperials arrived to take over Cloud City. The communicator is minuscule, but Lando Calrissian can hold it well in the left hand. Lando Calrissian is one of the few figures in the anniversary line without any card art or name “pill” issues. Good job, Hasbro!