VOTC Han Solo - greatest Han ever!

**bigbarada** · 06-23-2004

Well, I didn't feel like waiting for my Wal-Mart to order these figures, so I picked up the new "vintage" Han Solo off of ebay.

Packaging: Easily the best card design of the modern figures (1995 up to now), primarily because it is not a modern design. Hasbro is incredibly faithful to the vintage cards with a few necessary exceptions (the LP - Long Playing Toy logo is gone along with the 20th Century Fox copywright info which was on the front of the vintage card, among minor details).

I actually have a beat up old, 12-back Han Solo that I can do a direct comparison with (I've provided a photo) and you can see the differences in the quality of the reference picture. Although the VOTC reference photo seems to have a slight yellow-shift in the colors causing Han's skin to look a little more orange than fleshtoned, the image is far superior in detail and sharpness. The vintage photo has less shadow detail and is darker (partially because of a magenta color-shift), but it does produce a more high-contrast image and might even look like a superior photo at first glance. Closer inspection will reveal that it is not.

Assuming most people don't have a vintage card to compare to (it was a total fluke that I have the one I have), I don't think the average collector will even notice or care about any possible color shifts in the printing.

Overall: A

But enough about the pretty packaging, let's talk about the figure:

Articulation: In the old days, everyone "knew" that articulation was always a counter to detail and accuracy. In other words, the more articulation was given to a small figure, the less room there was for details. Well, Hasbro has made that notion obsolete. Han has ball-socket joints for his shoulders, elbows, knees, feet and head; he has standard joints for his hips, wrists and waist. And none of it comes at the expense of providing us with the best looking 3 3/4" Han Solo figure to date. A+

Accuracy: I was expecting a great sculpt, I wasn't expecting a work of art. The only thing that initially disappointed me was the fact that his vest is sculpted onto his body, it's not a separate piece like the last few Han's have had. Not a big deal at all, it was an unnecessary feature on the older figures, since Han looked silly without the plastic vest and he oftern looked like a hunchback with the vest. Again, the best 3 3/4" likeness of Han Solo, period. A+

My overall score for this figure is an A+! Anyone who was skeptical over yet another Han Solo, can rest assured that if you own only one ANH Han Solo, this is the only one worth owning.

**JEDIpartner** · 06-23-2004

Nicely done and thanks for the comparison photo, friend!!!

**bigbarada** · 06-23-2004

It was really bugging me that I couldn't put my finger on why Han's skin looks so orangish in the reference photo. So I took the picture into Photoshop and tried desaturating the yellows in his skin, but that just turned him green. I then desaturated the reds, and that seemed to work.

So here's another shot of the reference photos. The "before" shot is the way the card actually looks, the "after" photo is the desaturated version where I pulled out some of the reds. Am I the only one who is noticing this?

**Grievous** · 06-23-2004

This figure sounds great, thanks for the review! But, something that I find odd about these new cards are how they aren't exactly the same as the vintage ones. If you look at Han's left arm, you can see his hand on the 1978 version but not the new one. There was something like that with the Obi-Wan as well, I think with his head being cut off slightly.

**Kidhuman** · 06-24-2004

BigB, nice review and I cant wait to get this figure. Mine is on preorder and I am a tad envious right now. Thanks for the comparison shots, they look great.

**aceguide** · 06-24-2004

Thanks for the review.

I am glad to hear it met expectations. Ever since I saw this one pop up he looked to be the best. Now I can't wait to get my hands on it!

**bigbarada** · 06-24-2004

Originally Posted by Grievous

This figure sounds great, thanks for the review! But, something that I find odd about these new cards are how they aren't exactly the same as the vintage ones. If you look at Han's left arm, you can see his hand on the 1978 version but not the new one. There was something like that with the Obi-Wan as well, I think with his head being cut off slightly.

His hand does seem to be cut off in the photo. I think because the new bubble is wider than the original 1978 bubble, so the Han photo had to be moved over slightly.

Now that I have him out of the package, the only thing I worry about is having his joints loosen up to the point where he can't stand or do anything other than act like a deflated balloon. It's the same thing that used to worry me about the old GI Joes, so I guess it's just the trade-off you get for having all that articulation.

**lucidebass** · 06-24-2004

Thanks for the info. Great review! Now I am chompin' at the bit, waiting to get this one. The photos look incredible. Anyone know when its suposed to hit stores? I just hate the idea of paying shipping plus extra just to get it sooner, but I'm not sure I can stay patient for this guy...

**plo koon 200** · 06-24-2004

I just hope that I can find him and the other 11. I will likely order the case that comes with the Stormie off the net once it goes for sale. I hope it hit stores July 1st because that is my birthday.

**JediTricks** · 06-24-2004

BB, cool review but what about the clamshell softcase?

Also, I see what you are getting at with the color issues, but it could just be that the older card was made with different inks or the pigment lost its luster as it aged or the new one is made with a more advanced printing process or that the source image turned slightly orange over time or the new scanning process caught something the old didn't or the software simply added an orange hue or there was a color-sep issue or even perhaps that Hasbro did it on purpose to differentiate this card from the original. There are a million and one variables on this, but yes, the new image is too orange. If you look at the Falcon in the background, it appears to be significantly brighter and higher in contrast, my guess is the designer simply kicked up the contrast and didn't re-balance the colors to match.

Grievous, if you look at where the Han photo lines up with the box with the figure's name, you'll see that the new version has the Han element slightly to the right (our right) and higher than the original.