2023 TVC Wave 4 (New TVC Wave 30)

[Nicklab]

I had originally ordered 3 x Tusken Warriors.  But since the deluxe version got announced I canceled that order.  Now I'm having difficulty ordering 2 of them, and it's still perplexing why Hasbro would let people preorder to Tusken Warrior, but not anything else in the wave.  SMH...

[77Skywalker]

Darth Vader looks inviting.

[McMetal]

Did Clone Captain Howzer ever go up for preorder anywhere yet? That’s not a Walmart exclusive, just part of a regular wave, right?

Thx!

[Ryan]

Did Clone Captain Howzer ever go up for preorder anywhere yet? That’s not a Walmart exclusive, just part of a regular wave, right?

Thx!

Pretty sure he has not, just like the rest of the wave (Bunker Han, Piett, & ROTJ Vader).

[Jeff]

Folks are starting to get early samples of the new Endor Han and the reviews are pretty bad.  Sounds like his parts are mostly recycled from the 2018 TVC SOLO Han Solo figure with only a new head, upper torso, and vest - everything else is reused and makes the fiugre seem kind of dated.  Boo.

[Rob]

I don’t mind them reusing and recombining parts to make interesting new stuff like that Jabba’s Denizens pack, but lazy kit bashing for a figure that we have 8 versions of… blah.

[Muftak]

I hear the complaints, but I will take this upgrade over the 2006 Endor Han release ( which was itself a kitbash of the 2004 version) they have given us way too many times, and which I really didn't like in 2006 either.

I was trying to take ROTJ pictures last week for the 40th anniversary and was really feeling this figures absence.

[Nicklab]

Everything is relative with new figure releases.  And this new Endor Han Solo is no exception.  Compared to the previous Endor Han Solo which was originally based on the VTSC figure?  This new one is a massive improvement.  Is it what a lot of people hoped and dreamed for?  Not completely.  But I have to sometimes take the stance that perfection shouldn't be the enemy of a good figure.

This figure drew on parts from the 2018 SOLO version of Han Solo for the legs and lower body.  Some have criticized the hip articulation as well as the holster.  I can appreciate that.  But there's also the law of diminishing returns.  Just how much can you refine a pair of legs whose main distinguishing characteristics are the boots (kind of non-descript) and the Correllian blood stripe?  It seems like a complete re-design wouldn't necessarily yield the greatest return on investment for Hasbro.

And I keep seeing some unreal expecations from some in the TVC community.  There was a ton of criticism about the Walmart exclusive Endor Leia that came out a couple of years ago.  It was a massive improvement in terms of deco over the VTSC Leia.  But more extreme voices in the TVC community railed against it because it didn't have articulated wrists.  How many of them took the time to examine just how small those wrists are?  And that engineering a figure for that kind of articulation has certain requirements in order for a joint to be structurally sound.

Would I like Hasbro to give TVC a greater sculpting budget so that they could make a new ROTJ Han Solo from the ground up?  Sure.  But the line is struggling to manage costs versus sales.  And compromises are occasionally made.  I would rather get this new Han Solo than have to keep the old one in circulation.

Side note?  Hasbro Pulse in the UK and EU are listing the new Han Solo being available to order on June 7th.

[Jeff]

Everything is relative with new figure releases.  And this new Endor Han Solo is no exception.  Compared to the previous Endor Han Solo which was originally based on the VTSC figure?  This new one is a massive improvement.  Is it what a lot of people hoped and dreamed for?  Not completely.  But I have to sometimes take the stance that perfection shouldn't be the enemy of a good figure.

Usually I'd be on the understanding side... but as a Han Solo figure stan, I think he deserve NEW at this point and not 'kinda new but mostly recycled'.

Like Rob said, I'm much more tolerant of these reuse/kitbash figures if Hasbro is making Jabba background guy #14 who we're happy to finally get after 40 years.  When they do it for Han Solo, it just feels cheap.  Yes, this version is better than the 15+ year old sculpt they keep trotting out, but that's a really low bar.  A version with ALL-NEW legs with rocker ankles and better hips would have been ever better. 

Maybe I'm just salty that every carded TVC Han figure since that 2018 TVC SOLO Han has been a repack/kitbash figure - photoreal updates to old TVC sculpts; repack of 2014 Black Series Carbonite Han, new head on old body ANH Stormtrooper Han, and now this kitbash ROTJ Bunker Han.   

Sorry.  Maybe Hasbro will make it up to me with an ALL-NEW ANH Smuggler Han in the near future.

[/end Han Solo figure fanboy rant]

[Jeff]

Up for pre-order at EE

Bunker Han -> https://ee.toys/TSESVX
DS2 Vader -> https://ee.toys/K4M92K
Weequay -> https://ee.toys/434E6M

#ad #sponsored

[Rob]

This Han is on Amazon now… I could be mistaken but that’s the first time I’ve seen it there. 

https://amzn.to/3PUJhie

I wonder if Vader shows up soon…

[Mister Skeezler]

This Han is on Amazon now… I could be mistaken but that’s the first time I’ve seen it there. 

I wonder if Vader shows up soon…

Thanks! I just ordered a couple. Vader is there, but only from 3rd party sellers at the moment.

[Muftak]

I got the Vader last week from a friend who ordered a spare and didn't need it.

Found a solo Solo (with crushed bubble but good paint) at one WalMart yesterday, and a solo Weequay at a different WalMart.

With those 3 figures, I don't think I have anything left I am looking for or have preordered with the exception of the Boba Fett Throne Room.

Maybe something will pop up at SDCC that I want.

[Jeff]

This Han is on Amazon now… I could be mistaken but that’s the first time I’ve seen it there. 

https://amzn.to/3PUJhie

I wonder if Vader shows up soon…

Vader -> https://amzn.to/43pQSIA
Weequay -> https://amzn.to/3Odbu2u

Vader is in-stock from 3rd parties, but if you click and view other sellers you can order from Amazon for $17 (back-ordered).

[Rob]

Are you thinking about Clone Captain Howser?  He is likely in this wave and is the same as "2022 VC210 Clone Captain Ballast" from that Amazon Bad Batch 4-pack but with a new corrected name cardback (Howzer instead of Ballast).

Pulse has Howzer up now... seeing what you said about him here... do we know definitively if this is a repack of the one from the 4-Pack without major changes? 

The photos on pulse and the toy I have from the 4-pack look the same, except for the deco on his leg in this one spot...