Lando Calrissian — Star Wars The Black Series 40th Anniversary

Overview

Lando Calrissian at the ESB 40th Anniversary lineup is the Black Series tribute release of Cloud City’s Baron Administrator — Billy Dee Williams’s Lando at his Empire Strikes Back-era introduction, the smooth-talking former smuggler who runs Bespin’s tibanna gas mining operation and ultimately makes the impossible choice between his city’s safety and his old friend Han Solo. Released April 2020 single-carded in Hasbro’s 40th The Empire Strikes Back Collection. Mainline non-exclusive at $19.99. 19-joint articulation. Three accessories: a blaster, a removable plastic cape, and a communicator. The figure is structurally a re-release of the 2017 Black Series Lando Calrissian (figure id=5969) — but with two meaningful engineering upgrades: photo-real face printing technology and a corrected darker skin tone.

The Photo-Real Face Printing Update

The face was updated with Hasbro’s photo-real face printing technology on this 2020 re-release. The 2017 source release shipped before Hasbro’s photo-real process was widely deployed, so the original Lando’s facial likeness used standard paint application alone. The 2020 re-release benefits from the engineering improvement — the photo-real update applies a high-resolution facial likeness directly onto the head sculpt, capturing Billy Dee Williams’s specific features at a level of detail that significantly exceeds the 2017 version’s paint-only approach.

For collectors comparing the two releases directly, this is one of the most clear-cut feature improvements in any Black Series re-release. The head was sculpted nicely and the photo-real update looks nice — same baseline sculpt, meaningfully better facial likeness execution.

The Skin Tone Correction

The skin tone is darker on the 2020 release. This is a meaningful correction — the 2017 source figure had been criticised by collectors for skin-tone application that read as too light against the screen-accurate Billy Dee Williams reference. The 2020 update brings the skin tone closer to accurate.

For collectors who care about screen-accurate character representation, the skin-tone correction is a structurally significant improvement that joins the photo-real face printing upgrade in distinguishing the 2020 release from the 2017 source. Detailed reviewers’ direct comparison material is available — galacticfigures provides side-by-side imagery showing the difference between the two releases for collectors who want to evaluate the changes visually before committing to a duplicate purchase.

The Bespin-Era Costume Configuration

The figure depicts Lando at his Empire Strikes Back-era introduction — the blue Cloud City baron-administrator costume that defines his Bespin appearance, distinct from his later Battle of Endor general’s uniform or his Skiff Guard disguise from Return of the Jedi. The blue colour tone matches Lando Calrissian’s outfit from The Empire Strikes Back accurately — appropriate paint commitment to capture the screen-accurate Bespin-era visual reading.

For collectors building Cloud City sequence dioramas, this Lando captures the character’s specific Bespin appearance correctly. Pairs with Han Solo (Bespin) at #P4-40A-HB3 (the Cloud City reunion scene), Boba Fett (ESB) at #P4-40A-BF3 (the carbonite-chamber sequence), Chewbacca (ESB) at #P4-40A-CH3 (the smuggler ensemble), and Han Solo (Carbonite) at #P4-40A-CARB (the post-freezing aftermath).

The Plastic Cape

The plastic cape feels sturdy and it fits well over Lando’s shoulders. Hard-plastic cape rather than soft-goods fabric — a deliberate engineering choice that captures Lando’s specific ESB-era cape configuration with the rigid form that the source material’s cape sculpting depends on. The inside of the cape looks interesting with different patterns in it — internal cape detailing that’s visible when the cape is positioned for dynamic display configurations.

The hard-plastic-vs-soft-goods choice is meaningful. Soft-goods would provide more natural drape but couldn’t capture the specific cape silhouette that defines Lando’s ESB visual reading. The plastic configuration trades fabric naturalism for sculpt accuracy — appropriate to the character’s specific costume design.

The cape is removable — supporting both the with-cape (canonical) and without-cape (alternative undersuit display) configurations. For collectors who want costume kitbashing flexibility, the removable hard-plastic cape supports both states cleanly.

The Communicator and Permanent Wrist Device

Lando’s accessory loadout includes a separate communicator. The communicator is a good fit for the left hand — supporting the screen-accurate communication-pose display configurations.

A specific permanent equipment detail worth flagging: the “communication device” on Lando Calrissian’s right wrist is permanently attached. Distinct from the separate communicator accessory — Lando wears a wrist-mounted communication device as part of his costume sculpt that doesn’t detach from the figure. For collectors who want costume kitbashing flexibility, the permanent wrist device limits configuration options; for collectors who want screen-accurate canonical Lando display, the integrated approach captures the source material correctly.

The Blaster Hand-Grip

Lando Calrissian is able to hold the blaster well in the right hand — the index finger fits onto the trigger of the blaster. Same trigger-finger hand engineering that distinguishes the better Phase 3-era releases applied here to Lando’s right hand specifically. The screen-accurate weapon-grip configuration with the index finger properly engaging the firing mechanism reads cleanly across the figure’s combat-pose display options.

Articulation

19 joints. Ball-jointed top neck, swivel-jointed lower 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. High joint count for a Phase 3 mainline release — substantially above the 17-joint baseline. The dual-axis knee articulation supports dynamic-pose flexibility, and the figure stands well on display without falling over across multiple configuration options.

Distribution and the Bespin Lineup

Standard mainline ESB 40th Anniversary release at $19.99 through wide retail channels — Target, Walmart, Amazon, hobby shops. The mainline distribution and the standard pricing make this Lando accessible. Aftermarket pricing on the secondary market has remained reasonable due to broad initial availability.

For collectors building the complete ESB 40th Anniversary lineup, this Lando is the dedicated Bespin-era version. The figure pairs specifically with Han Solo (Bespin) at #P4-40A-HB3 for the canonical Cloud City reunion display configuration, with Chewbacca (ESB) at #P4-40A-CH3 for the smuggler-ensemble display, and with the broader ESB Cloud City roster (Boba Fett ESB at #P4-40A-BF3, Han Solo Carbonite at #P4-40A-CARB, Darth Vader ESB at #P4-40A-DV3) for the complete carbon-freezing-chamber sequence diorama.

Other Lando Calrissian Figures

Lando Calrissian has been a recurring Hasbro release subject across multiple lines despite the relatively contained on-screen presence across the original trilogy. Other notable releases include the Original Trilogy Collection ESB-era release (figure id=99), the 30th Anniversary Smuggler Outfit version (figure id=103), the Legacy Collection Battle At The Sarlacc Pit 5-Pack Skiff Guard disguise (figure id=281), the Vintage Collection General Lando from ROTJ (figure id=690), the Power of the Jedi Bespin Escape version (figure id=747), and the Vintage Collection Sandstorm Outfit Expanded Universe variant (figure id=1027). The ESB 40th Anniversary release joins this multi-decade catalogue as the dedicated Bespin-era flagship 6-inch Black Series version.

Secondary Market

Single-carded mainline release on Kenner-style commemorative cardback, April 2020. Available at MSRP through standard retail and the secondary market with broad availability. Verify the blaster, the removable plastic cape, and the separate communicator are all included. The communicator is the small component most likely to be lost during transit.

Verdict

Lando Calrissian at the 2020 ESB 40th Anniversary line is a meaningful re-release of the 2017 source figure with two structural engineering improvements: photo-real face printing technology brings Billy Dee Williams’s likeness up to contemporary Black Series standards, and the corrected darker skin tone addresses one of the most-noted criticisms of the 2017 release. The hard-plastic cape with internal pattern detailing captures the screen-accurate Bespin-era cape configuration, the trigger-finger blaster grip supports clean weapon-display configurations, and the figure stands reliably across multiple pose options.

The permanent wrist communicator limits costume kitbashing flexibility. The duplicate body sculpt vs the 2017 source release means collectors with prior Black Series Lando figures are buying repeat tooling for the face-and-skin-tone improvements rather than fresh engineering — though for Lando specifically, the photo-real and skin-tone updates are meaningful enough to justify the duplicate purchase for collectors who care about screen-accurate character representation.

Buy this figure if you collect the ESB 40th Anniversary line as a complete set, if you build Cloud City sequence dioramas, if you own the 2017 Lando and care about the photo-real face printing and skin-tone-correction upgrades, or if you missed the 2017 release at original distribution. The mainline pricing makes the engineering improvements accessible without exclusive-tier premium positioning.

The Cloud City baron with the photo-real Billy Dee Williams face. The figure with the corrected darker skin tone vs the 2017 release. The Lando that pairs with Han Solo Bespin, Chewbacca ESB, and the broader Cloud City ensemble for the complete carbon-freezing chamber sequence display. Mainline distribution, April 2020.

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Part of Star Wars The Black Series | Phase 4 40th Anniversary Collection. Related: Han Solo (Bespin) P4-40A-HB3 | Chewbacca (ESB) P4-40A-CH3 | Han Solo (Carbonite) P4-40A-CARB.