The Good: Good balance, Decent detailing, Virtually indestructible
The Bad: Expensive for the size, No real collectible value
The Basics: The 2010 Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite mini-ornaments are worth picking up on clearance and make for a nice addition to fans’ collections!
As I come to the end of a monthlong series of reviews wherein virtually all of my Star Wars product reviews have focused on The Empire Strikes Back, I have finally made it to the final 2010 Star Wars ornament, or rather ornament set. In addition to the ship, scene and two character ornaments in 2010, Star Wars fans were encouraged to buy a mini ornament set of two, the Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite mini ornament set!
Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite is the random mini ornament release from Hallmark from the Star Wars Hallmark ornament collection. Released in 2010, this has been easily available and one suspects that even with the anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, it is generally well-available, even after the holiday!
Hallmark Keepsake has a line of collectible ornaments from major franchises, like Star Wars and Star Trek. From the Star Wars line comes the Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite mini-ornaments. Fans of the Star Wars Trilogy will easily recall Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite. For those unfamiliar with Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite, the characters come into play at the climax of The Empire Strikes Back (click here for my review of the film!). On the floating city of Bespin (Cloud City), the armored bounty hunter Boba Fett hunts down Han Solo to bring the smuggler back to Jabba the Hutt. Solo is used as bait by Darth Vader to lure Luke Skywalker to Bespin. But to keep Solo subdued and ready for Fett to transport, the smuggler is frozen in a carbonite block. It is the armored bounty hunter and the frozen block of Han Solo that are the subjects of the two mini-ornaments!
Basics
The Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite ornaments recreate the bounty hunter and the frozen smuggler in solid plastic. The diminutive ornaments, released in 2010, are the hero and the villain almost exactly as they ought to be. Han Solo is essentially a gray and black block with the impression of Han Solo pushing out of it. The ornament features red accents on the sides to indicate the lights on the carbonite block. The ornament is just about an inch tall, as is the Boba Fett mini-ornament.
Boba Fett is rendered with as much detail as one might expect for a 1” version of the helmeted bounty hunter. His pants are appropriately olive and his breastplate has minimal coloring detail to indicate wear. He is molded with his helmet on, so Hallmark avoids any problems with skin tones. Fett is cast holding his sawed-off blaster in a two-handed grip. In other words, he looks like a functional bounty hunter! Details on the ornament are less robust than on the full ornament which was released years ago. So, in addition to Boba Fett looking clean, things like the badge on his shoulder are not terribly detailed and the wookie scalps on his other shoulder are hardly obvious. Still, for the scale, both ornaments look good.
Hallmark charged around ten dollars for the mini ornament set originally and it has sold fairly coolly at that price, with most on-line vendors not jacking the price up much beyond that as a result. It is one of the few Star Wars ornaments I have been able to find after the holiday.
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite could have a function like a sound chip or light effect, but neither does. This is just the mini ornaments, a low-cost (comparatively) option for those who might not want to shell out for the full-sized character, vehicle or diorama series' of Star Wars ornaments. Both of the ornaments simply hang, though I suppose they could be used as earrings . . .
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Star Wars Christmas Tree, Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite are ut of scale but a more affordable option than the full Fett ornament (there is no Han Solo in Carbonite full-sized ornament). Both of these ornaments has a brass hook loop embedded into the top center, slightly back, of the character's skull or center of the top of the Carbonite block. From those hooks, the mini ornaments hang balanced. Both of ornaments sway when rocked, but otherwise they sit stable in the right position!
Collectibility
Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition original U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (click here for my review of that one!). Since then, they have branched out into other popular franchises like Star Wars and The Wizard Of Oz. The Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite ornament are not at all limited and has not appreciated in the secondary market yet, which makes sense because many Hallmark stores still have him on their shelves. At this point in the Star Wars ornament collections, the primary characters have all been done and there is another Boba Fett ornament on the market. Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite were mass produced in 2010, though the exact numbers have not been released, making the set a very common one on the market today.
One suspects with the sheer volume of Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite merchandise available that the 2010 Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite Hallmark ornament might be better for fans who want it for display than investors looking to turn a buck later on.
Overview
Like most Star Wars ornaments, Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite has nothing to do with the Christmas holiday and is only ideal for those looking for a less expensive option than the full Star Wars ornaments. Still, Hallmark did well with these.
For other Hallmark ornaments of Star Wars characters, please check out my reviews of:
2010 Lando Calrissian Limited Edition ornament
2010 Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot
2009 Greedo Limited Edition ornament
2009 Han Solo As Stormtrooper
2008 Emperor Palpatine ornament
2005 Slave Leia ornament
1999 Max Rebo Band mini-ornament set
6.5/10
For other ornament reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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