Wednesday, March 4, 2015

As Overdone As Han Solo Figures Are . . . The Echo Base Outfit Han Solo Figure Still Holds Up!


The Good: Decent coloring detail, Good accessories, Wonderful articulation, Great balance
The Bad: Jacket undermines some flexibility, Face mask does not stay on on its own.
The Basics: The Vintage Collection Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) is a decent variant of the familiar Han Solo figure!


As a fan of The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars action figures, I have an unfortunate number of Han Solo action figures, though I don’t mind. The latest one I managed to find was the Vintage Collection Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) action figure and it was, generally, worth the wait in picking up.

For those unfamiliar with the Han Solo, as he appeared at the Echo Base on Hoth, this was one of his first outfits in which he appeared in The Empire Strikes Back (reviewed here!). While Han Solo and Chewbacca worked to fix the Millennium Falcon so it could lift up off the planet Hoth, Han Solo wore a heavy padded jacket and worked with welding tools. This is essentially the same outfit that he would later wear on Bespin, but without the distinctive navy blue jacket and with a long black winter coat instead.

The 4" Vintage Collection Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) was a new Hoth Han Solo figure.

Basics

The Vintage Collection Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) figure stands 3 3/4" tall to the top of his head. The figure is obviously human with the general look of Harrison Ford as Han Solo. This figure is cast with a mix of hard and soft plastics, but looks and holds up remarkably well. This rendition of the Hoth Han Solo features a pretty standard Han Solo head, a molded-on jacket sleeves, and the appropriate boots with the pants tucked into them. Notable details on this version of the Bespin Han Solo include the holster for his blaster that looks remarkable and holds his blaster perfectly and his fingers which are distinct and include both knuckles and fingernails! The real masterwork of molding, though, is in this Han Solo’s belt. The belt is molded to include every buckle, every pouch and every rivet and it looks amazing! The figure’s chest is coated with a soft plastic coat that descends almost to the knees. The jacket is accented by a hood that it textured and colored to look like fur. The coat is just a little larger at the sleeve holes than it should be, so the white shirt Han Solo is wearing beneath the coat is visible near the sleeves, which is ridiculous.

The Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) is colored remarkably well, as good as it can be for a character who is wearing so many solid colors. Despite the monotonal skin coloring on the head and hands, the hair has highlights and the eyes are expertly colored with brown dots with tiny black pupils! The rest of the figure is appropriately monotonal with highlights. The jacket, shirt and boots are solid colors. The brown pants, however, feature the racing stripe on the side, as is appropriate. The lips on this figure are uncolored. All in all, though, this figure looks exceptionally good.

Accessories

The Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) is the Rebel smuggler and comes with his welding tool, face mask and a blaster pistol. This version of the Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) features separate a face mask, which he was seen utilizing as he welded atop the Millennium Falcon. The face mask has a stick that can be held in the figure’s left hand. The face mask does not have a translucent panel and it is cast and painted with monotonal accents. The face mask does not remain on the figure’s head at all. When the figure is holding the face mask’s stick, it cannot actually hold the mask directly in front of the figure’s face.

This Han Solo figure also features a welding tool, which has a long staff that allows him to be away from the welding point. This welding tool is a 1 3/4" tall device that is cast in plastic and accented with white, silver and red accents. The welding tool matches well the rest of the Han Solo figure. He can hold this in either or both of his hands.

The Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) also comes with a pretty standard version of Han Solo’s blaster pistol. It is a 3/4" long plastic gun with dual scopes that fits perfectly in the holster on Han’s right thigh or in his right hand. It does not fit organicallt into his left hand. However, this is an exceptionally detailed accessory with black and silver accents for the various parts. It is actually amazing how much detail Hasbro can squeeze into an accessory as small as this!

Playability

The four inch toy line was designed for play and Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) is exceptional for that. This Hoth Han Solo figure has pretty amazing balance, not tipping over despite being put in very complex poses. In addition, the holes in the bottom of his feet allow him to stand tall on any number of playsets in outlandish poses or attach to pegs on vehicles, including the latest Millennium Falcon toy!

The Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) also has almost lifelike articulation. He has hinged ball and socket joints at the ankles, knees, elbows and shoulders, as well as a ball and socket joint which allows a great range of motion for the head and bust! The groin socket, wrists and waist are the only simple swivel joints. This is the best-articulated Hoth Han Solo yet, despite some of the articulation being inhibited by his jacket!

Collectibility

The Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) is part of the Vintage Collection line that was released in 2010 and he was a pegwarmer at the time. Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) is Vintage Collection figure VC03 and he was not released more than once. As a result, it has barely maintained his value without truly appreciating.

Overview

The Vintage Collection Han Solo (Echo Base Outfit) action figure might be yet another Han Solo figure for one’s collection, but it fits the newer line of well-detailed, highly articulated figures exceptionally well. This is an obscure rendition of Han Solo, but it is well-executed.

For other Vintage Collection figures of characters from The Empire Strikes Back, please check out my reviews of:
VCP03 Boba Fett
VC01 Dengar
VC05 AT-AT Commander
VC9 Boba Fett
VC10 4-LOM
VC11 (Twin Pod) Cloud Car Pilot
VC50 Han Solo (Bespin Outfit)
VC61 Boba Fett (Prototype Armor) Mail-In
VC65 TIE Fighter Pilot
VC95 Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit)
VC111 Princess Leia Organa (Bespin Outfit)

8/10

For other Star Wars toy reviews, please check out my 3.75” Star Wars Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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