New JD Review: VTSC Han (Trench Coat)

[Jesse James]

I'm kicking off my Vintage The Saga Collection reviews this week...  And oh mama, these are sweet figures to own, even at the price.  Lots of figure goodness to be nitpicked upon.  These are the kinds of figures I LIVE to review though in this line.  They're why I collect honestly...  Of course it's better when you get them for $5 to $7.     $12 sucks butt.

Anyway, first up...


Vintage TSC Han Solo (In Trench Coat)

Clicky the image to read the full review...  My hat's off to our own Jared too, who takes the highest-res, best photos of ANY site on the net.  We're unmatched there, so as he keeps working, the SW collecting community as a whole really gains a valuable tool in Jared's image galleries.  Nobody comes close folks.

Anyway, Han...  Where to start?  Super articulated, good for many scenes in a couple films, nicely accessorized...  Awesome sculpt, though there are flaws...  For instance without his vest on youc an see a noticeable gap on his lower back due to the torso articulation.  Also the "hovering holster" is back that plagued the VOTC Han Solo figure.  I'll live with it but it looks odd not physically attached to the thigh.

Anyway, I love this Han...  The torso articulation was maybe overkill and I'd be happy without it honestly (just standard swiveling articulation at the torso is fine), but still it's novel to have it and does add a lot of poseability to the figure.

The blaster isn't proper, but Endor Raid Han's are a dime a dozen.  I have a couple I got just for the bombs and pistols as I recall as they were on clearance.

The coat though, THAT thing kicks ass.  Working pockets on it?  Fuggetaboutit!  It fits, it's not bulky, it's nicely sewn/decorated (the camo pattern on it is perfect), and it's everything I have personally wanted in an Endor Han Solo action figure.  I've wanted Endor Han for ages too, so this is a figure I've NEEDED in my collection, and now it is here. 

Is Han perfect?  No...  Others in the wave hold that distinction though.  Han is pretty great though.  Super articulated, maybe too much so (*gasp* Blasphemy!) with the torso...  Super accessories...  And who doesn't want one for Carbon freezing on Bespin, or for fighting on the Skiff, or for raiding the bunker on Endor, or for sneaking up on your Biker Scout (oh I'm giddy to get to that one!)? 

This figure is fantastic...  If it weren't for price, the review would be that much better.  Hopefully Hasbro sees fit to use this sculpt again.  I'd re-buy it down the road I'm sure if it came with different gear, or whatnot.  It's just that good.

[CorranHorn]

JJ,

Another great review! Well written and you covered all the aspects one would expect for a figure like Endor Han (cloth vs plastic, detail, etc), but I feel you missed out on one aspect having to do with the torso articulation. Taking a look at the sample pic in the review and knowing from my own figure, the torso articulation causes Han to lean to the left somewhat as shown in the pic below...



This looks rather awkward with or without the coat on and I think could have been avoided if the two parts of the torso joint were tweaked to fit better together (something that would have fixed that back gap problem you spoke of). For a $10-$13 figure, that's a flaw that shouldn't get past QA. Nonetheless, overall it's a damn good figure and your review brings that to light.

Cheers!

[Mitsukara]

Wow! Very in-depth review, I enjoyed it quite a bit You addressed several points in the details I'd missed, like about the way the legs differ slightly from VOTC Han's. Very informative and helpful, and it makes me want this figure all the more

And the more I look at the face, the more I think maybe I'll leave him alone altogether and abandon my notions of headswapping with Carbonite Han- Carbonite Han is awesome, but so too is this head I think. The hair seems slightly off, but the facial detail is great and a very good likeness to Harrison Ford.

[Jesse James]

Thanks guys...

The reason I didn't mention the "lean" (I noticed it too), is that I think in part Hasbro intended it...  He sorta has a cocky slouching look.

That said, my sample I can move perfectly straight and it holds the pose, it just doesn't seem like its the NATURAL pose intended for it...  I'm not sure.  At the end of the day the torso articulation is really cool but I could've done just as well if they had simply done a normal swiveling torso articulation point instead of trying to get flashy.

However, at the same time the Carkoon Fett is there if one were so inclined to try and mesh the two together...  I dunno.

[Brian]

Another great review Jesse, I always look forward to reading them.  I really like this figure, and its one I've been looking forward to being re-done for quite awhile now.  I can't quite decide which figure I like better, the VOTC or VTSC version.  I guess it doesn't matter, I'm just glad we have both .  Now we just need a new Hoth, and maybe even Bespin, version of the ol' scoundrel.

[Jesse James]

Thanks Brian...

Tough call on the debate between VTSC and VOTC Han...  Personally the edge for me goes to VTSC at this point.  The gap in his back is my only major complaint/detraction on the figure.  Sometimes I think the legs look a bit stickish but then I think it's just my eyes really.

The articulation is unmatched on a Han figure, the coat is as good as softgoods gets in this scale, especially when you consider the complexity of it (working, scaled pockets...  That's amazing).  The holster "hovering" is a flaw on both figures, so I don't really count it as a knock then on VTSC that hurts it much. 

VTSC Han is more versatile as well...  Throw the Leia Collection Bespin Han jacket on him, and yet another Han is born of this one figure.  Honestly if Hasbro re-used the body to this Han, and just slapped a jacket and new arms on him, he'd be a perfectly acceptable SA Bespin Han to me that I'd gladly shell out more money for.  If they'd rework that gap in his back and re-release him as Carkoon Han (redo the right leg to not have the holster thigh-strap too I guess) and again I'd re-buy this figure.

I think VTSC Han's gonna get my vote out of simple re-useability.  I like this figure.

[Darth_Anton]

As always, great review, however, I'm not a big fan of this figure. Overall, I think it's the weakest of the VTSC. I think it's to similar to the VOTC Han in looks, especially the head sculpt, although it is a seperate sculpt.

[Mitsukara]

Now that I've got one in hand, I have to say I love this figure. The headsculpt isn't quite as good as I'd hoped but it's not bad and looks quite a bit like Harrison Ford; I won't be doing a swap though, because I'd have to repaint both necks for that to work at all, and oddly Carbonite Han's head is quite a bit larger than this Han even though the ball joint is supposed to be about the same size.

The main reason I'm posting, tough, is about the "leaning" issue- the way the Torso naturally tends to sit, he does lean, but I find- not sure if this is bad for the joint or anything though- that you can push his torso up and to the right a bit and it can sit straight up. So the lean seems kind of adjustable, to me. *shrugs*

I'm very pleased with this figure, indeed. If the lapels of the coat didn't tend to flare up on the inner side, and his holster stuck to his leg somehow, he'd be perfect I think. Well, and maybe if his hairdo were more ROTJish- it looks kinda weird here, as I said Carbonite Han's headsculpt is better in my opinion, with this one just being "pretty good." But I digress, because this figure doesn't deserve complaints

[Jesse James]

Yeah the head to me was basically passable...  It's a good likeness to Ford, but maybe not Ford circa 1983...  It's not bad, not great, it's ok though...  The Carbonite Saga Han is good, better really, but if the eyes are painted the same I'm content with the VTSC as is then.

Still that is a better head overall, I agree.

[JACKOFTRADZE]

Great review Jesse!

I like this figure but my biggest complaints lie in:
The shiny belt. The VOTC one was flat and looked more real.
The Waist ariculation makes him look fat and does not work well at all.
The coat is so-so. Even though its not as acurate I like the vinatge one better.

I feel he is the weakest of the 5 but still a good figure.

Make a Han Bespin please!

[Mitsukara]

After messing around with him some more, I've realized that a headswap between this guy and Carbonite Han would require some artful customizing to be done in a non-awful way. Carbonite Han's head is somewhat bigger, but the biggest problems are the completely different skin tone- the hands could be swapped but the necks are an issue- and that the ball joints are in completely different places! Carbonite Han has the ball set about halfway into his head, but VTSC Han's ball goes most of the way up in his head. This means a headswap results in a Han with a giraffe neck and bad skin, who's also got a pretty big head to boot.

I like the fact that it matches up to the VOTC in a way, showing age progression and all, but I really would've been a lot happier if Hasbro had just used the carbonite head with an improved paintjob in this case. Not only is the face likeness better, but the hair was accurate- this Han's hairdo really isn't exactly right for Han in any movie, much less ROTJ.

Also, the belt really doesn't fit right- the hips seem to be too small and so the glue is really all that holds the belt on. If you pull it off- I got brave and did it carefully- it simply won't stay on unless you tuck it under the vest, and then it'll fall off the first time you move him anyway. Thus, I re-glued mine pulling it off left an ugly spot anyway.

This figure is really great, and I really like it, but it falls short of perfect- though some/many/the public to the point of lynching me may disagree- due to the way the VOTC parts have been reused, and because of some funnyness in the waist articulation. In no way is he bad, and he's easily one of the absolute best Hans out there- but there's room for the bar to be raised, too.

[VF/501]

Actually Mitsukara, the Carbonite Han head is anatomically correct in scale to the VTSC Han body.  The "giraffe" neck is not there.  Try look at an anatomical chart of the human body and you will see that the neck is in scale with the new head. (I recently took an anatomy/physiology class).

In contrast the VTSC head is too small and it makes the neck look too short.
A head swap between the two is definately the way to go, and aside from the easily fixed skin color difference, it looks great.

PS.  A Saga Jabba's palace Luke head (just have to dremel the new socket on the deeper side), and a Saga RFT vest painted golden yellow makes a great SOTE Luke.

[Mitsukara]

Well, having done an actual headswap I still have to say he looks a little funny. The neck isn't truly giraffe but it seems to be a little longer than Harrison Ford's based on photo comparison, and it's longer than any other human figure I have. It doesn't truly look unrealistic... just a bit weird. Perhaps part of what makes it seem long is his low collar, though.

If you pose him right, it looks okay... and if you pose him wrong he looks bizarre. Having the trenchcoat on helps his case though.

I'm not sure if I'll want to leave it or not... it'd be perfect if I could just shorten the neck a little though. perhaps, since a new paintjob is needed anyway, I could actually cut off a small bit of the upper neck and lower the ball?... and then to use the VTSC head on another figure, perhaps the top of the head could be filled in somehow to make it rest higher on a different ball joint.

For your pleasure or disgust, a photo comparison- sorry for the horrible scanner picture again- with the real thing:


That sounds like a cool idea for a SOTE Luke, but it's a bit out of my price range- I'm actually planning to make a SOTE Luke out of POTF2 parts to make him match up with the other SOTE figures. I want to do something cooler than the age-old "Take a Jedi Luke and a yellow cereomonial Luke vest and put them together" thing though- accuracy is a good thing I'm thinking SOTE legs, Carbonite Han torso and arms with extended sleeves and part of the collar sanded down so I can paint it black- his SOTE shirt had a ROTJ type collar- and then a ceromonial Luke vest. But that's another subject altogether.

Again, I don't mean by my criticisms to imply that VTSC Han is in any way a bad figure- he's one of the best out there IMO, he just missed a few little points that could've resulted in perfection.

[Roton7]

I just got this figure, and I have to say that it's better than I thought it would be! Honestly, it's my 3rd favorite next to the Scout and Luke.

[Jesse James]

I've found the best way to appreciate Han is with his vest on and then it's just up to you if you like the coat or not to put it on him...  The figure's made for the vest to be on it, as it hides most all the ugliness there is with the sculpt on his torso such as the gaps for the ball/socket joint, the gap at the back, and his shoulders which could've been sunk in further but weren't.

With his vest on, none of those problems are really all that visible at all.