REVIEW: 5001621 Han Solo (Hoth)

[smokebelch]

Name: Han Solo (Hoth)

Theme: Star Wars

Year: 2013

Pieces: 5

Minifigs: 1

Price: (free as part of 'May The Forth Be With You' promotion)

Intro: I've always been impressed with the amazing reviews found here on eurobricks, and I've always wanted to do one myself... So thought I'd give it a go and start with a nice easy one!

Here we have the Han Solo in his Hoth Outfit from Empire Strikes Back- which is this years promotional figure free with certain purchases from the Lego store.

There has been a lot of debate/ controversy over the actual colour of Han's Hoth jacket over the years. Originally the Kenner action figure from 1980 had a dark blue jacket, which is the colour the jacket 'appears' to be in some shots of the film. When you actually see the prop jacket from the film it quite clearly is dark brown, and there have been many different action figures over the years since with either brown or blue jackets.

To date Lego's version of Han has only been outfitted with the blue jacket, with just a change in design of hood to differentiate the two... But now we have a brown jacket version- which from what I have read on forums so far continues to cause debate over the 'true' colour of the coat.

For what its worth I think I ultimately prefer Blue as the jacket colour, but thats mostly due to the memories of the old Kenner action figure which I still own from my childhood!

Polybag:

Usual Polybag with the Yoda header seen with all the current Star Wars products this year.

Polybag Front and Back

Its worth noting that despite the colour on the packaging the hood does match the jacket colour correctly- very strange that they left the image as is on the front...

Polybag Contents

Minifig:

Not much assembly required as only the minifig in the set. We get Han resplendent in his Hoth outfit, along with a spare hairpiece so you can show Han with or without his hood.

Unfortunately Han is weaponless in this set, so he's gonna have to rely on Chewie if he comes across any Probe Droids!

Front, Back, and Alternate Faces

Han has a really nice double sided face. One side has a great 'And I thought they smelled bad on the outside!' grimace on it, the other has his face covered and his goggles down for when he has his endure the freezing temperatures on Hoth.

Comparison with Blue Coat Han

My original Hoth Han is boxed away at the moment, but here is the New version (right) with the last Han (left) also with the new style hood.

Han and his Tauntaun* (*Tauntaun not included in polybag!)

And a couple of shots with Han and his Tauntaun in action!

Ratings

Now I know that from feedback I've seen that a lot of people think this figure is a bit of a letdown after the last couple of 'may the forth' promos. I would agree that he would probably have fit in better in the last Hoth set that got released, rather than an exclusive promotional figure.

But that said I really like the figure so I've rated him highly, and as an original trilogy collector Im glad to have him in my collection.

Playability: 10/10 Hard one to rate, but ultimately I think minifigures are endlessly playable so Im giving full marks on this one.

Design: 10/10 No new parts, but I think the design on this latest update of Hoth Han really nails it. The double sided head is excellent as well.

Price: 7/10 Well technically this is a free figure when you spend over a certain threshold- though these are already appearing in the wild. I got mine from a trade, so depending on what you spend to obtain this figure I would adjust the price scale accordingly.

Minifigure: 10/10 Well the whole set is the minifigure, personally I really like him- so full marks again on this.

Parts: 8/10 Nice that you get the spare hair piece so you can have Han with or without hood, but a blaster is sorely missed here.

Overall Score: 45/50

Well thanks for reading my first review- let me know what you think of both the review and the figure.

And I thought they smelled bad... On the outside!!

[Leo604]

Thanks for the review!

P.S. Little minor mistake at the end with your rating, you wrote 45/10 instead of /50.

[smokebelch]

Thanks for the review!

P.S. Little minor mistake at the end with your rating, you wrote 45/10 instead of /50.

Doh! Cheers, just corrected it

[Spider-Man]

Great pictures as usual! The figure doesn't look exceptionally special, but he does look great on that tauntaun! Awesome review

[Esurient]

Awesome review! The mini figure looked great! I am so envious of you! You got the set already!

[Brickington]

Great Review! Now I think I will go and buy this set! Have you ever thought of joining the Reviewers Academy?

[Faefrost]

Great review, thanks! I'm looking forward to this fig. And the more I think on it, the more I think it is actually not bad as a May 4th poly. The May 4th and similar bonus figs after seem to be unusual variants. Stuff like a chrome trooper, or TC14. Given the debate over the color of Hans Hoth costume over the years, this seems like a reasonable variant. Maybe not as sexy as a whole new rare character, but still within the boundaries.

I love the printing in the fig. The goggles face reminds me of the Anakin Skywalker cold weather fig from the 8085 Freeco Speeder. I really like it. More so than the standard slightly dull Han smirk.

[Lobot]

Thanks for the review smokebelch, and the beautiful photos

Nice figure, but it's a shame he doesn't have a blue jacket...........

[Nightshroud99]

I actually really like this figure, I'm more fond of it than last years' TC Protocol droid. Thankfully I haven't bought many of the new Star Wars sets so I can pick this up come May.

Thanks for the review.

[theDeanoRama]

Great review and shots (as usual) you really nailed the DoF in the tauntaun shot. What are you using for the snow, flower?

[smokebelch]

Thanks for all the nice comments on my review

Nice to see some love for the minifigure too- I really like it though i agree it doesn't quite have the 'wow' factor as some of the previous may the forth figures.

Great review and shots (as usual) you really nailed the DoF in the tauntaun shot. What are you using for the snow, flower?

Icing sugar for the snow... we'd run out so I had to make a special trip to the shops for some for the review. Really can't beat it for Lego snow- though it does manage to get everywhere!

[Galaxy Explorer]

smokebelch your pictures really sealed the deal for me on this minifig. The one with Solo riding the Tauntaun really captures the feel of LEGO Star Wars- it looks so official.

I'm looking forward to this figure as I think he'll make a perfect addition to this year's Battle of Hoth. I missed out on the 2010 AT-AT, so I'm due for an updated Han.

Thank you for the review!

[Thego]

I don't really get the theory that this Han could be in a set. He's clearly an "Easter Egg" figure and, other than perhaps being included in a DK Lego book, May 4th promo is the perfect place for him.

[Calanon]

Thanks for this review! This may change my mind on whether it is worth it or not.

[Zzz]

Really can't beat it for Lego snow- though it does manage to get everywhere!

Like the sand? On Tatooine? That is so rough and irritating? Sorry, mate, you got me there!

Great review - thanks a lot! And I am also one of the SW nerds that always thought the parka is blue. I learned the truth now and you just sold that minifig to me. I want it. (Hoping for a good deal on the 4th!)

[TheLegoDr]

I feel weird that I didn't even notice the snow in the pictures...

I do like this figure and I haven't purchased any SW sets this year to be sure I could get the promo figure. I won't buy enough to get multiples like TC-14 last year, but I will be in for one for sure.

Thanks for the review. It's a great looking figure.

[Little_russian_AFOL]

Very good review, nice photos, many text. Thank you for that review!

P.S. In the words of Schwarzenegger, КОКАИНУМ

[Bobskink]

Nice revieuw and nice pictures.

I like that they did someting new with his face.

[AngryChair]

I agree the pictures at the end of the review really sealed it for me. I love the face printing on this figure. Good review!

[Lyichir]

Love the fig (high-quality like most Star Wars figs, and with a hilarious facial expression to boot), but I wish Lego would finally change Han's hairpiece. In recent years Lego's made more accurate hairpieces for Luke, Anakin, Obi Wan, and even Leia (and she's used a unique hairpiece from the beginning). The classic male hair just doesn't look scruffy enough for Han, and it's not an issue of budget; there are now existing hairpieces which would be a better fit for him than what he's used since the theme's inception. So unless focus groups only recognize him as Han when he has the classic hair, it baffles me why they haven't given him something better already.

[Werlu Ulcur]

Why can't we get that with a tauntaun?

Still, even tauntaunless I would love to have one. Thanks for the review!

[smokebelch]

Cheers for all the comments- glad you like the review

[xboxtravis7992]

Silly question, but is the figure itself from Mexico or China? I understand if the hood piece is from China but I am curious as to if the rest of the fig is from Mexico.

[smokebelch]

Silly question, but is the figure itself from Mexico or China? I understand if the hood piece is from China but I am curious as to if the rest of the fig is from Mexico.

Not 100% sure if its from China or Mexico, but it is the slighty different quality ABS like the collectable minifigs so I would think its China. No printing on the neck as well which usually means its China.

[xboxtravis7992]

Not 100% sure if its from China or Mexico, but it is the slighty different quality ABS like the collectable minifigs so I would think its China. No printing on the neck as well which usually means its China.

Thanks for responding.

Have you checked the arms? Usually there is a little indent on the China figures not present on the Mexico/Danish ones. Here are some links to pictures Huw Milington took showing the difference:

China: http://www.flickr.co...157622329075437

Mexico/Danish: http://www.flickr.co...57622329075437/

That arm test is my standard go to for checking the figure's origin.

Update: Noticed some of the photos you took show numbers on Han's wrists... So it looks like he is probably from China then. Still, Han looks like a great figure anyways.

Edited April 25, 2013 by xboxtravis7992