"Laugh it up, Fuzz-ball." If you're as big a fan of the Medicom Star Wars line as I am then Medicom’s Han Solo figure does not disappoint. However, Medicom has still been letting down its fans with their latest crop of releases, and it may be just that preventing Han from jumping into hyperspace.
Sideshow had this piece listed for $180USD and it has since sold out and now wait listed. On eBay, you're looking at about $190 shipped, although luckily I managed to get mine with free shipping for $150 (it was a buy it now and the dealer had one left). I have a feeling a lot of people are holding off on Han hoping for a price drop, but I don't think you will see him for much less than $150. However, with the poor economy the way it is now, who knows.
The box is pretty much the standard stuff that you are used to with Medicom's Star Wars line. It's a good size and flat black; nothing new here. I'm a fan of the minimalistic packaging, but there isn't much info or graphics at all for you box art fans.
Medicom continues in their tradition of stiffing us with accessories on the new SW releases; you get the blaster, droid caller (his walkie-talkie device) and pistol gripping hands. I think by now it should just be a standard to have at least 3 sets of hands, especially for a $180 figure!
The blaster does look great; it's well-detailed with good paintwork. The hands look good too; I'm especially fond of the left pistol gripping hand which allows for those double handed blaster holding poses, a hand I wish came standard on all pistol-wielding characters instead of those infernal relaxed ones.
The clothing is outstanding. Medicom has always been top notch in this area and here is no 
exception. Although the outfit isn’t 100% screen accurate, I'm not super finicky as long as things look good, and overall everything looks pretty great. I'm sure hardcore SW fans will have some other things to say about it though.
Anyway, let’s take a look at each piece of Han’s outfit. The shirt is pretty nice although the collar appears a bit larger than in the movie. I think this design choice was in part to hide the neck a little more. The open V grandpa collar style is there and the color looks good. The shirt is a little oversized, especially the sleeves, perhaps to give a little extra fabric when you bend his arms. I think they should have used a slightly thinner stretch material.
The vest is very nice. It fits well without needing much adjustment. The bottom pocket at the front of the vest is oversized, but doesn't look out of place. There are pockets on the front and some on the back which look really good.
The pants fit very nicely and have the red stripes printed on the sides. Looks great and I have no issues there.
The belt looks very leathery and the buckle is decent looking, but on closer inspection it is obviously plastic. The holster however looks fantastic and is probably the best part of the outfit. It is super detailed and works perfectly. The belt also has a bunch of little 
plastic gadget holders on it and a clip for the droid caller. Medicom have successfully made these plastic bits look leathery and the metal clips are sufficiently shiny to look metallic.
When I first saw the boots I was worried; every Medicom figure I own with knee high boots has trouble posing but this time, Medicom seems to have used a new, softer plastic material for the boots! It’s awesome! You can actually get the feet to hold positions inside the boot and they look great too (to boot)!
As always the RAH is ultra-poseable; Han is able to stand perfectly and he can hold pretty dynamic poses on his own without a stand. This can be attributed in part to the softer plastic in the boots, but mainly it’s because the RAH joints on this figure are ultra tight! They are the perfect stiffness. Medicom seems to be using a lot more metal in the joints of their Real Action Hero figures and its finally starting to have an effect. This RAH body feels way tighter than previous ones. The legs do look a little bit short, but if you have some spare ankle extenders, it will fix that right up. People are complaining that the RAH looks slender in the shoulders but I think it looks very good on this figure. Solo didn't strike me as a gym rat and its standard scale fits in with the rest of Medicom 1/6 line.
I haven't undressed Han to check out the body because not only did we just meet, but I know that 
his holster/belt is going to be a bitch to put back on. Hence, I can’t tell you how many joints have metal parts. However, considering the wrist joint has metal pins, I’m assuming the other main joints do too. The silver pins, although visible when you look, don’t really bother me, but it is less realistic. (If you have any info about metal RAH joints please email me at sixscale@yahoo.com).
Take care when removing Han’s hands. I haven't seen the design on the hand pegs before and they do bother me. The peg is really fat under the pin and then thins out to the regular pin size and those suckers are on tight. I don't understand why Medicom isn't using a standard wrist peg size. Each release seems to have a different wrist peg these days which gets a little annoying if you like switching your hands around. I think the best hand pegs Medicom has produced so far are the ball joint pegs as seen on Bruce Lee, Piccolo, and Gokou RAH which gives you so much articulation. With Han, it looks like they are experimenting with peg sizes. What gives?!? Like me, you might get a bit frustrated trying to get some cool blaster poses because Han’s wrist pegs have no up and down motion. Without that motion, the blaster is at the mercy of the elbow joint angle.
Who’s scruffy looking? It’s a great head sculpt!!! Every other reviewer talks about how hard it is to catch Harrison Ford’s likeness and they have been right before, but Medicom has nailed it this time. I 
think the head sculpt is a little bit stylized on purpose as Medicom likes to do, but it is unmistakably Ford. The skin tone is good and the hair is well textured and painted. You even get a couple of sculpted loose hair sticking out on the front. The eyes don't have the same amount of realism as we are getting used to from Hot Toys’ releases, but they fit well with this figure. The chin scar is there as well and overall, it’s a fantastic sculpt that improves upon but stays true to the Medicom SW line.
My biggest complaint is the neck and where it joins to the head. They have gone for a slightly bigger head than what Luke has, but instead of sculpting in a part of the neck the head cuts off at the hairline. This means the neck post connects straight into the jaw line. There is a really obvious line because of this. As well, the neck color is slightly lighter then the facial tone which hurts the overall look. You can get much better side to side tilt on the head which is cool, but when looking at him directly from the side, the neck looks really thin.
If you have been collecting this line already, you’re not going to be disappointed with Han. In fact why are you reading this? Go get him now!!!! I personally love this figure and he just looks so good on the shelf next to Luke and the gang. Medicom does amazing work on their anime properties but the Star Wars line is fighting them for the “Best Medicom Line” title. The body is super tight, the detail work and head sculpt are drool worthy. This figure shows a lot of promise for future human 
releases from Medicom, but I just hope they resolve the neck issues and beef up the accessory count!
Okay, I’m going to give the figure two scores, one as an unbiased reviewer and one as a Medicom SW fan. I started my 1/6 collection with a Medicom Storm Trooper but the company had disappointed me so much recently that I had boycotted them for the last few months. Now Han has put me back on the fan wagon hence the double rating, so please indulge me.
If you haven't been collecting this line before, you’re going to have a Han Solo that is a little out of scale with non-Medicom figures. Also, the skinny neck, lack of wrist articulation, lack of accessories and high price tag are going to knock a couple of points off the final score. Although I do think this is the best 1/6 Han Solo on the market, I’d give it an 8/10.
If you are a fan of this line as I am and have been faithfully collecting this line, Han’s negatives are blown away by the overall look and feel of the figure. Factor in the improved tightness of the RAH body, and the amazing head sculpt, I give this a fan boy score of 10/10.
Review and images by eRock
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