Review: Star Wars Black Series Han Solo from A New Hope, Galaxy Collection Wave 22
- Mephitsu
- Aug 28
- 6 min read
"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid"
Han Solo, as seen in A New Hope, was one of the earliest Star Wars Black Series releases, released in 2013 as part of Wave 2 of the fledgling 6-inch series line. The figure would remain the definitive version of Han with a re-release in 2017 on a Kenner-inspired cardback, and a further tweak in 2021 with facial print tech applied to the old sculpt as part of the Power of the Force 2 celebratory wave. Some 12 years after the original figure, Hasbro have now returned to Han’s first appearance in the saga and done a full new update to our favourite smuggler.
The new Han Solo is part of Wave 22 of the Galaxy Collection, a wave that also featured his faithful Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca, who has also been sculpted as a brand new figure. The wave also included both Ezra Bridger and a Death Trooper from Ahsoka, and was rounded out by a Gaming Greats release of Nightsister Merrin from Jedi: Survivor. Han is packed into A New Hope themed box using a deep orange accent colour across the main text elements and the side art. He is number 10 in the Galaxy Collection for A New Hope, connecting into the 2024 updates of Princess Leia (08) and Luke Skywalker (09), which now creates a nice block within the wider side montage of the foursome.
The back of Han’s box positions him as the Captain of the Millennium Falcon, and how he comes to believe in the cause of the Rebellion and joins both Leia and Luke in the fight against the Empire. Han is packed in an inner tray and against a coloured card back that uses the same deep orange colour as the main artwork, within this is an embedded image of the Millennium Falcon cockpit.
Han is as seen through the majority of A New Hope, wearing his scruffy off-white open collar vest over which sits his black jacket, which, on the figure, is cast as an individual rubbery plastic piece, as it was in 2013. The trousers, cast in blue, feature the red Correllion bloodstripe down each side and tuck into a pair of gloss black boots.
A simple black belt is sculpted at the top of the trousers, painted with a silver buckle, and over this sits Han’s larger gunslinger belt. Like the jacket, this is an individual, softer plastic piece that is fastened around Han’s waist and also around his right thigh. The brown plastic of the belt is accentuated with a bright silver buckle and silver rivets, with further components around the belt picked out in black and silver.
Harrison Ford is a difficult likeness to capture, particularly when Hasbro are working off original film footage and not direct scans of the actor as he was in 1977. To that end, and like Mark Hamill, the Black Series releases of Han have been hit and miss to date, with the Bespin and Endor releases being the top picks to date for Empire and Return of the Jedi, respectively. This new 2025 Han provides a 1977 A New Hope Han Sculpt that is on par with these later likenesses, if not surpasses them in terms of how much like a younger Harrison Ford they have got.
The face is rounder than the original ANH sculpt, giving it a more youthful look, and it is perfectly printed using the facial print tech to add the additional realism that is now standard to the Black Series figures. The hair too is a good match to A New Hope, with plenty of depth to the sculpt and a paint app that uses two tones of brown to enhance the realism further.
vs the 2021 POTF2 re-release of the original 2013 Han Solo (right)
There is no re-use from the 2014 model at all, even the vest and gunslinger belts, which look very similar to the originals, have been resculpted and recast. While the older release was impressive at the time and when a 6-inch line was a novelty, comparing the new and old figures side by side shows the strides forward the line has made and the improvements on this newest figure. These include a more realistic build for Solo, where the older figure was a bit too gangly.
Han has a single accessory, his DL-44 Heavy Blaster. This is slightly smaller than the original, but with the same level of detail worked into the texture of the grip, the body of the weapon, and the upper sights. Sadly, it does lack any paint apps. And considering the older figure did manage a painted brown grip, silver barrel, and gunmetal finish, this feels like a step backward. While Han is shown as right handed, we have been given trigger finger hands on both left and right, allowing Han to shoot ambidexterously. When not in use, the blaster can be holstered and secured in place with the flexible strap that comes over the grip and connects into a socket to create a seal.
It is also worth noting here as well that the original release also came with a Stormtrooper utility belt and blaster to recreate the scenes on the Death Star. While I am sure these parts will still work from the original release, Hasbro has now glued the gunslinger belt in place and made the thigh strap tighter so the ability to swap these out easily is gone.
Han has 17 points of articulation, all of which are pinless. He includes the new leg configuration with the thigh swivel removed, and rotation added at the knees. That means the legs work on just three joints each, not four, but with no immediate lack of movement and removing that issue a lot of figures had with variant paint tones from upper thigh to lower thigh. Han can kneel, and sit, and is fully stable on his ratcheted ankles - although these are less robust than some we’ve seen recently.
The upper body has no torso joint and relies instead on a ball joint at the waist. This means we lose ab-crunch posing, but again, we gain aesthetically with no visible cut in the torso. The arms include butterfly shoulders tucked away under the outer jacket, giving Han a full range of arm motion to gesture or wield his blaster. The head is dual-jointed at the neck base and where it connects to the head. Again, this removes the need for a central visible joint, while also allowing the neck to be cast in the same flesh colour as the head. It also has a wider range of motion, particularly able to mimic Ford’s iconic smug look with his head cocked to the side.
Wave 22 as a whole is pretty much one of the strongest waves to date in the Galaxy Collection, and Han Solo is a large part of this with a very impressive re-working of the character using the more modern engineering, articulation and decor we are now used to. The release is not quite perfect, but it comes close, being let down solely by a lack of decor on the blaster.
The step forward compared to the original release is significant, giving us a definitive A New Hope Solo to sit alongside a new Chewie - and the two together are amazing. It also means Han and Chewie can now team up with the 2024 releases of Luke, Leia and R2-D2. We are now just waiting on poor Threepio to have his modern upgrade.
Keep Track of all the Star Wars Black Series figures from Hasbro at our comprehensive
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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