HAN SOLO and Princess Leia
Power of the Force Princess Leia Collection
Item No.: Asst. 66935 No. 66938
Manufacturer: Kenner
Number: n/a
Includes: Princess Leia figure
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: 1998
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back

Bio: The formidable sight of Darth Vader strikes a reflex reaction in Han Solo's trigger finger, but the Dark Lord's power proves too great and princess leia and her band of Rebels are taken captive. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Commentary: Packaged with a Princess Leia figure, and released about a year after the individually carded version of the character, this Han Solo took his Bespin jacket and made it cloth. That's right-- it's removable! The first-ever removable Bespin jacket Han Solo looked more than a little scrawny without his coat, but it still sold well for a good long time. The figure only has five points of articulation, but that wasn't the end of the world. His straight legs and fairly non-action pose won him a lot of admirers, and the jacket really wasn't too bulky. Especially when you compare it to other figures. Sadly, the brief experiment that was the Princess Leia Collection lasted but one assortment and Kenner never had a chance to refine this concept further. We see some soft goods figures here and there, but it seems that with the exception of baggy cloaks, figure costumes are generally best recreated in plastic. Han is on par with his other 1990s-era siblings, which means he's OK, but his likeness on this figure certainly isn't the strongest we've seen. It is, however, one of the first non-beefy Han figures that might actually fit in with today's releases. Almost. He's still very much a figure of his time.

Collector's Notes: Due to the glut of product, you could find this set on clearance if you were lucky. The mold wasn't reused and the figure has yet to be reissued, and it seems unlikely that this figure will make another appearance in the line given the depth of sculpts we've seen since this one. One thing that's particularly notable is Han's jacket. I've mentioned this before, but you might notice that it's black. Not blue (like in the 1980s) and not a light grey or charcoal (like we see today). Why is this? Well, I asked someone at Galoob toys during this era, as their Hoth and Bespin Han figures were black (and before Kenner's) and they said this: "The official line is that Han wears black." This sort of thing is exactly what allows fans to get into debates over the color of some garments, plus a lot of costumes will discolor over time, which doesn't help things. While it looks great on the figure, one thing most fans can agree on today is that Bespin Han most certainly doesn't wear black if the figure is meant to be an authentic recreation of the movie designs. [ MORE IMAGES ]

Day 659: February 24, 2008