Han Solo (40th ANH) — Star Wars The Black Series 40th Anniversary

Overview

Han Solo at #04 in the 40th Anniversary lineup is the Black Series tribute release of the original-trilogy smuggler-turned-Rebel-hero — Harrison Ford’s Han at the A New Hope era for the line that celebrated the film turning 40. Released February 2017 in Kenner vintage-inspired packaging that replicated the original 1977 cardback art design. Mainline non-exclusive at $19.99. 19-joint articulation — high count for the line. Seven accessories: a blaster, a removable belt, a Stormtrooper blaster, a Stormtrooper belt, a black vest, plus an extra pair of hands with gloves on them (counted as components). The figure is the 3rd time Hasbro has released this Han Solo sculpt — first as the 2013 Black Series Han Solo #8 (figure id=2310), then the 2014 Toys”R”Us-exclusive Cantina Showdown 2-pack (figure id=2324), now the 40th Anniversary individual release in commemorative packaging.

The Triple-Release Sculpt

This sculpt has a substantial production history across the broader Black Series line. The first release was the 2013 single-boxed Black Series Han Solo at #8 in the original Black Series numbering. The second release was the 2014 Toys”R”Us-exclusive Cantina Showdown 2-pack (paired with Greedo for the iconic Cantina scene reenactment). The third release is the 2017 40th Anniversary version with the commemorative Kenner cardback.

There are minor paint differences between all three released figures — these appear to be due to elapsed time between production runs and not intentional repaints by Hasbro. For collectors who want to differentiate the loose figures, examine the date stamp on the back of the thighs: the 2013 basic Black Series Han carries the original date stamp, the 40th Anniversary version carries the updated 2017 stamp. Visually, the figures are otherwise near-identical.

For Han Solo completionists, the question is whether the packaging variation alone justifies a third purchase. For collectors building the complete 12-figure 40th Anniversary set, this Han is essential. For collectors evaluating per-figure value across all three releases, the 40th Anniversary version’s primary distinction is the Kenner cardback packaging.

The Seven-Accessory Loadout

The accessory loadout is one of the most generous in the entire 40th Anniversary line. Han Solo ships with: a blaster (his signature DL-44), a removable belt with holster, a Stormtrooper blaster (the E-11 trooper rifle), a Stormtrooper belt (with appropriate Imperial-issue holster), a black vest (the Stormtrooper-disguise costume layer), and an extra pair of hands sculpted with pilot gloves. Plus the standard ungloved hands attached to the figure.

This loadout supports multiple distinct display configurations:

• Standard Han — gloved hands swap to ungloved, signature blaster, civilian belt with holster, no vest. The Mos Eisley Cantina configuration.
• Pilot Han — gloved hands installed, signature blaster in pilot configuration. The Millennium Falcon cockpit configuration.
• Stormtrooper-Disguise Han — black vest equipped, Stormtrooper belt and Stormtrooper blaster, gloved hands. The Death Star prison rescue configuration where Han wears a Stormtrooper armour disguise.

For collectors building scene-specific dioramas, the multi-state configuration flexibility is the figure’s strongest value proposition. The ability to depict Han across three distinct A New Hope sequences from the same figure purchase is structurally meaningful — most Phase 3 figures support one or two display states at most.

The Exchangeable Hands

The exchangeable hands let Han be displayed normally (ungloved hands attached) or wearing his pilot gloves (extra pair installed). Standard hand-swap engineering using ball-jointed wrists that pop the hands off cleanly and accept the alternative hand sculpts. The pilot gloves are a screen-accurate detail — Han wears these specifically during Millennium Falcon cockpit sequences and during certain combat configurations across the trilogy.

For collectors who care about scene-accurate display, the hand-swap system supports the gloved-vs-ungloved configuration choice. For collectors who don’t care about this detail, the extra hands sit as spare components in the storage box.

The Stormtrooper Disguise Configuration

The black vest, Stormtrooper belt, and Stormtrooper blaster combination supports the Death Star prison block infiltration scene where Han, Luke, and Chewbacca rescue Princess Leia while disguised in stolen Imperial armour. This is one of A New Hope’s most iconic sequences and the configuration depicts a specific narrative moment in the film. For collectors building Death Star prison-block dioramas alongside Princess Leia at #03 and Luke Skywalker at #01, the Stormtrooper-disguise Han completes the rescue-team configuration.

The vest is a soft-goods component that fits over the figure’s standard outfit — adding the Stormtrooper armour-layer suggestion without requiring complete costume swap. The Stormtrooper belt replaces the standard belt for screen-accurate Imperial-issue equipment positioning. The Stormtrooper blaster is the standard Imperial E-11 rifle that Han carries during the disguise sequences.

For collectors who want the standard ANH-era Han display, the disguise-configuration components remain available but unused in the storage box. For collectors who want the disguise display, the components combine for the screen-accurate prison-rescue configuration.

The Blaster and Trigger Finger

Han’s blaster fits incredibly well into his right hand — the finger sits right on top of the trigger. Same trigger-finger engineering detail that distinguishes the better Phase 3 and Phase 4 releases. For Han Solo specifically, the trigger-finger detail captures the screen-accurate gunslinger character configuration — Han is canonically depicted with deliberate weapon-handling stances that the figure’s engineering supports.

Both weapons (Han’s signature blaster and the Stormtrooper blaster) fit very well in the hands. Both blasters can be stowed away into their respective holsters — the standard Han holster for the DL-44 and the Stormtrooper belt holster for the E-11. The dual-state weapon display flexibility extends across both weapon configurations.

The Harrison Ford Likeness

The figure is sculpted beautifully and captures the likeness of Harrison Ford very well. Detailed reviewers’ assessment is positive on the sculpt quality — the head sculpt captures the actor’s specific facial structure at the A New Hope era, with the appropriate hair configuration and the screen-accurate facial expression. For a 2013-source sculpt that has been re-released across multiple packaging variants, the head likeness has held up well across the production runs.

For collectors who care about how figures translate live-action character likenesses to plastic form, the Harrison Ford head sculpt is among the better Phase 3 implementations. The figure is recognisably Han Solo rather than a generic male-protagonist character class.

Articulation

19 joints. Ball-jointed neck, swivel neck, ball-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed elbows, ball-jointed wrists, ball-jointed waist, ball-jointed hips, swivel-jointed thighs, swivel joints above knees, swivel joints below knees, ball-jointed ankles. The high joint count for a Phase 3 mainline release — substantially above the standard 17-joint baseline. The dual-axis knee articulation (above-knee swivel + below-knee swivel) provides additional posing flexibility for the figure’s combat configurations.

While taking pictures of the figure we encountered no major balancing problems — the figure stands reliably across multiple combat-pose configurations and across the various accessory configurations (gloved or ungloved, with or without vest, with either blaster).

Distribution and Mural Position

Standard mainline 40th Anniversary release at $19.99 through wide retail channels — Target, Walmart, Toys R Us (still operating in February 2017), Amazon, hobby shops. The mainline distribution and the standard pricing make Han Solo accessible despite the generous accessory loadout. Aftermarket pricing on the secondary market has remained reasonable due to broad initial availability.

Han Solo sits at the fourth position in the 40th Anniversary 12-figure mural display. For loose display, the figure works best alongside the other 40th Anniversary releases (Luke at #01, Vader at #02, Leia at #03, Chewbacca at #05, C-3PO at #06, R2-D2 at #07, Obi-Wan at #08) for the A New Hope ensemble configuration. The figure pairs specifically with Chewbacca at #05 for the smuggler-and-Wookiee duo display, and with Luke and Leia for the Death Star prison rescue scene when configured with the Stormtrooper disguise.

Secondary Market

Single-carded mainline release on Kenner vintage cardback, February 2017. Available at MSRP through standard retail and the secondary market with broad availability. Verify all seven accessory components — the blaster, the standard belt, the Stormtrooper blaster, the Stormtrooper belt, the black vest, and the extra pair of gloved hands — are all included. The small components (especially the extra hands and the belts) are easy to lose during transit. No production variants documented beyond minor paint variation vs the 2013 and 2014 source releases.

Verdict

Han Solo at #04 in the 2017 40th Anniversary line is one of the most generous accessory loadouts in the entire commemorative set. The seven-component package supports three distinct display configurations (standard Han, pilot Han, Stormtrooper-disguise Han) from a single figure purchase, the 19-joint articulation count is meaningfully above the Phase 3 baseline, the Harrison Ford head sculpt captures the actor’s likeness cleanly, the trigger-finger blaster grip engineering supports screen-accurate gunslinger combat poses, and the figure stands reliably across the various accessory configurations.

The duplicate body sculpt vs the 2013 source and the 2014 Cantina Showdown release means collectors with prior Han Solo figures are buying repeat tooling. The minor paint variation across the three production runs is the only meaningful per-figure differentiation.

Buy this figure if you collect the 40th Anniversary line as a complete set, if you appreciate the multi-configuration display flexibility (standard, pilot, Stormtrooper-disguise), if you build Death Star prison rescue dioramas, or if you missed the 2013 Black Series Han Solo at original release. The accessory generosity makes this one of the strongest value-per-dollar figures in the line.

The triple-released smuggler with the seven-accessory loadout. The figure that supports standard, pilot, and Stormtrooper-disguise display configurations. The Han Solo with the Harrison Ford head sculpt and the trigger-finger blaster grip. Mainline distribution, February 2017.

---

Part of Star Wars The Black Series | Phase 3 40th Anniversary Collection. Related: Chewbacca (40th ANH) P3-40A-05 | Luke Skywalker (40th ANH) P3-40A-01 | Princess Leia (40th ANH) P3-40A-03.