Sideshow Collectibles ' Han Solo in Carbonite
Like most of Sideshow's larger products, this polystone piece (actually two pieces, as the block and the base are separate) is snuggled between two huge slabs of styrofoam, then boxed, bagged, and boxed again. My box didn't have any dings despite a notoriously ruthless delivery guy, so I'm very pleased the packaging wasn't stress tested. Removing the goods was also easy and straightforward, which is always important to me because in the past I have dumped stuff out while trying to get through the tangles of tape and strips of cardboard.
The backside of the carbonite block and the bottom and backside of the base are covered in a soft, black felt - standard for Sideshow but always something I'm very thankful for. The block is about 12 inches tall, 5 and a half wide, and about an inch deep. The base is about 18 inches tall, 13 inches wide, and 10 inches deep. Overall, a very large piece with enough room for a Sideshow figure (and stand) to stand on the step.
The carbonite looks beautiful. Han looks screen accurate and the side panels on the carbonite block are very crisp, as well. Depending on the photographer and whether or not flash is used, the block will either look a flat charcoal or almost glossy... The best I can tell is the color and sheen are accurate to the original prop.
The base itself is a pretty good representation of the wall in Jabba's palace, although scaled down a tad. The grating in the floor looks good, the control panel on the wall is a little flat but the important thing here is the base doesn't take away from the focal point.
The base has a peg at the top where the carbonite slips on - I believe there is also a magnet, but the peg has a firm enough hold that I can't tell for certain. The floating effect works, it looks like it does in the movie.
My main complaints are the price and the lack of lights. Had Sideshow allowed lights under the grating, or even in the block itself, this piece would be in a league of its own and a great value. It still has a presence without, but the lights would have really made this product a big hit... At a whopping $200, this thing should give us more, and the edition size of 2,000 is pretty high, too.
All that said, if you've got Jabba and his throne, then this thing is really a must have. If not, then I'd wait it out and pick it up on the secondary for much cheaper. Already, in fact, some dealers are letting these go for $30-40 less than Sideshow. That's much more reasonable. The bottom line: While I'm being gradually priced out of Sideshow Collectibles, this is still a great addition to my collection, I'm happy I've got it.