What do Chewbacca, Lando, and Han all have in common? Well, they're pilots of the ever-iconic Millennium Falcon, and though their pre-ROTJ chemistry was a bit rocky at first due to Lando being a rich man that had fewer problems than Han before Darth Vader knocked on the door, the two pilots of the Falcon made sure they didn't get their asses bitten again as they defeated the Empire one last time, with Han now going against the shield generators and Lando piloting the ship and destroying the second Death Star. And with their Black Series figures hitting discount, I feel it's time to get these figures in for a 3-in-1 review!
Here is Chewbacca in-hand, being one of the earlier releases for the line. One of the oldest figures in the line, Chewbacca would later see new versions for The Force Awakens, versions from Empire Strikes Back either on his own or with C-3PO, and for some reason, 2 versions based on Return of the Jedi either in a vintage card or the crappy windowless packaging. With better use of paint wash as well as sharper sculpt work, Chewbaccas is updated to better match the more refined Black Series figures we have received in the Archive Collection as well as your standard Black Series releases. He comes with his pouch on a chest harness, a signature trait for the character. Chewbacca doesn't fall short with the details, and we'll see how that also doesn't apply to the figure when we do the size comparisons. And of course, there are some darker brown paint apps to give Chewie a more realistic appearance, something that is fairly common to make the fur seem more organic and not so plastic.
His head sculpt has him in his growling face, which is common for Wookie to do in the movies. His teeth are nicely painted, as are his nose and his eye. There is a bit of dry brushing on the fir, but it is not as present as on the rest of the body. His articulation consists of limited neck movement, shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out, an elbow swivel and bend combo (with a bit of limited range due to the PVC materials and the sculpted fur), 2-3 torso joints that serve as the diaphragm and waist joints, hips that move front and back, in and out, thigh swivels, knee swivels and hinges, and ankle swivels as well as hinges and pivots. His bowcaster is painted gunmetal gray and looks good, though it is a bit annoying to get him in a shooting pose.
Chewbacca's harness is removable since it isn't glued in place while the bowcaster can be a different blaster if the "mustache" piece is removed, but it doesn't look as cool while the torso looks plain without the harness. Not to mention that there is a flatter area intended for the harness to better stay on the torso.
Lando Calrissian is next, depicted in his General suit as we saw during Return of the Jedi. With a new outfit that proves his title in the movie combined with a bit of his swag that was carried over from the outfit he wore in Empire Strikes Back, Lando has a pretty good color combo of beige and periwinkle. The shirt and pants are sculpted well, and I do like that his gun holster is on his shirt next to his badge. There are some stripe pattern paint apps on the pants, but they will be easier to show once the cape is removed. Speaking of, Lando's cape is different from the previous version by now being cloth rather than PVC, so it means it won't get in the way of articulation at the cost of it looking more like he's pretending that his bed sheets are a cape.
His likeness to Billy Dee is good, but my copy has two specs of paint that make it look as though he has birth marks on his face. I can assure you that other copies won't have this issue. Other than that, Lando's looking great and has a nice mustache to go with his combed hair. His articulation is the same as Chewie's more or less, though the diaphragm joint is a little different as it is just one area that moves. He comes with a smaller pistol than the one he originally had in Empire, which is a shame since that was more iconic for his character, but you can remove cape so he can be displayed without it, which he did briefly when he piloted the Millennium Falcon to destroy the Death Star II. And no, IDK if there is a way to swap heads with Han so he can wear his clothes.
And finally, we have Han Solo as he appears in the Endor battle. Han's coat takes up a lot of the figure's appearance, and it looks alright from the outer side, but the inner side is pretty plain. Most figures wearing cloth goods aim to resemble a Hot Toys release rather than sculpt the outfit, but this guy ends up looking more like he's wearing something that was homemade by comparison to a 2000s customizer with much more to learn. The rest of the outfit underneath is more or less what we'd expect, giving him the vest from A New Hope with the pants of his Empire Strikes Back appearance; a good mix of Han's appearances in the first two Original Trilogy movies.
His head sculpt is very good, capturing that smuggler-turned-hero likeness that the character grew to develop throughout the original trilogy. I like that there is a bit of a wash on the hair while the lips are painted a slightly darker flesh tone without making it look like lipstick. His articulation is about the same as Lando's, but one of the thigh swivels is limited because of the belt/holster. The blaster looks nice on his hand, though, and you can also peg part of the holster over it so it can stay in place better. I also like that the barrel is painted silver, characteristic of the scruffy-looking nerf herder. And yes, the coat is removable if you want a more normal Han in your display.
His vest can come off if you want him to look like his pre/post Carbonite appearance, but the shoulders will end up looking awkward so don't.
And that covers the trio of people who piloted the Millennium Falcon! I like how each of them possesses unique sculpts, which is a no-shit sherlock thing to say but it contrasts the way Marvel Legends reuses sculpts too much for their comic characters. I feel these guys were worth getting due to the discounts they received, such as the $10 price range. Do keep in mind that Han Solo was a re-release of an older Black Series figure that was around in 2020, which appears to be unchanged from the figure we get in the ROTJ 40th anniversary blister cards.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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