Ah, even before the release plan for this set was announced, it was already controversial. Of all the things to argue about within the Star Wars lore, the color of a jacket is one of the most enduring. Blue or brown? What say you? Well, in you collect Star Wars Black, now you have it you way, baby.
Growing up, before I ever even knew there was a debate about what color Han’s Hoth coat was, I just thought it was blue. I mean, that is what it looked like on-screen to me, and it was not ever such a thing that I even had a instance to talk about Han’s jacket with anyone. Then the whole proliferation of the internet happened. Then I learned that was an argument about wether or not Han’s coat as blue or… brown? Brown? Really? Apparently so, even though I never once thought it was brown by looking at it during the actual ESB movie. But yes, that argument was a thing (somehow, it still is), and like all arguments on the internet you are FORCED to pick a side, so naturally, since it had been that color my whole life, I was squarely in the blue camp. But then…
Suddenly, exhibitions of movie-used props and costumes became a pretty big thing, and wouldn’t you know it — Han’s faithful Hoth coat has been bandied about the world for all to see in real life. And in real life… the coat is brown. I mean, it is about a brown as it can get. So, upon learning that, and even though it STILL looks blue to me in the actual film, I have come over from the blue side, but it is still a weird thing. IRL, clearly brown, but on-screen, maybe brown, but to me (and others), it looks to be blue. However, with the release of this new Hoth set, coupled with the previously-released Han and Tauntaun set, you don’t have to make a choice about wether your thoughts on the matter are correct for the Black Series, because now we have BOTH. Whew, that finally settles the last argument about Star Wars, right guys? Right? Um…
Anyhoo… this fancy new Hoth set was announced and at first thought to be exclusive to the 2018 European conventions Hasbro was attending this past autumn. Well, had that been the case, even with a subsequent pop-up on the Hasbro Toy Shop site, the set itself with the controversial jacket would have had controversy of its own. However, the good news is that online retailers were also able to procure these sets, so I locked in my order at Dorkside Toys as soon as it was available. They are sold out now, but BBTS is right there as well with pre-orders still available for their stock that should be arriving soon. Overall, this is a fun set, especially if you are a hardline brown coat supporter, but, looking at is objectively, that color and a frilly soft goods collar are the only part of this set that are new or unique.
That said, both of the figures in this set are very nice, even if they have already been very nice in previous releases. I REALLY dig the Hoth Leia figure and I think it is probably the best 1:12 scale Leia figure currently available. The sculpt, enhanced by some near-perfect face printing, really shines, and I think the printing on this one might be just a *touch* better than the regular figure I have as it is less shiny in some spots. Also, I was actually a bit surprised that this set includes all three of her accessories from the standard release in the blaster, welding thingee, and goggles. It might seem funny to say, but I really do love the goggles because they fit the figure so well both on the forehead, and down around the eyes. So, if you waffled on getting the standard Hoth Leia figure, now is the time to correct that error with this set.
The Han figure is a bit less straightforward in terms of release by the fact that this is actually a bit of a Frankenstein job, and not just a straight re-release. The head, of course, is the same as the recent Bespin Han (that also showed up in the SDCC release), and while it is the best Han likeness in SWB yet, it not as nice as what we are getting with Leia in this set. The body is also a complete rehash of the Han and Tauntaun set, but with that all important color change. The body is fine, it has a lot of articulation, but being a few years old at this point, I think SWB has matured and gotten better since this. Like I said though, it is perfectly fine. The collar, as noted, is also new, and even though it is soft goods, it is fine. I mean, it looks more like a fancy fur collar than utilitarian cold weather lining, but it is much better than I was expecting. If I had to nitpick anything, it would be that I wish we still got the hood, googles, and binoculars for Han from that previous release, but that is getting greedy. As it stands, he still comes with this trust blaster because, being Han Solo, he would never be without it.
Finally, I want to take a moment and mention the packaging for this because, like more Hasbro convention packaging, it is pretty slick. I mean, it is ridiculously big, but that has kind of been a call for past releases as well. The frosted outer shell shows off the logo, silhouettes, and copy quotes in classy fashion, and adds environmental ambiance to the recreation of the frozen Echo Base that is revealed inside. I might actually hold onto the guts of this because it photographs well and is just big enough to get some figures nicely posed for a recreation of the opening act of Empire.
Overall, I am pretty happy with this set. The packaging is very nice, the re-released Leia remains nice, and even if you are not a brown jacket fan for Han, this figure is still mostly an upgrade over the last Hoth Han that we got. I have to hand it to Hasbro, when in the past their convention exclusives caused massive amounts of anxiety and anger, this past year, they have FINALLY struck the right balance in terms of availability. The people want to spend their Republic Credits on these things, so it is good that we get the chance to do so. This is a fun set and a nice way to finish off the strongest SWB year yet, I cannot wait for 2019.
