Apparently certified as a flop based on box office returns,
this springs’ Solo gives us younger
versions of some beloved Star Wars characters, and shows us how they met. Long
standing in the EU is the story of how Han and Chewie came to be such a pair,
and we get a version of it in the Han origin story. For some reason, Chewbacca
was sent to Target as an exclusive while Han and Lando went to general retail,
Han at least almost destined to warm the shelves.
Solo Chewbacca is
a younger (?) version of everyone’s second favorite Wookie (the first,
obviously, being Lumpy from the Holiday
Special.—mr), but the long and short of this is that is it Chewbacca. It is
the first Chewbacca on the Coffins’ shelves, so side by side comparisons can’t
be done here, but according to photos on the internet, this Chewie is a little
lighter in color than the other two, has a different facial expression which,
frankly, is pretty awesome, and a different bandolier. Chewbacca also comes
with the goggles he wears in the movie, and a totally different blaster, more
of a grenade launcher-type of affair, certainly no bowcaster.
The figure itself is a fairly standard Black Series figure in terms of articulation, with some notable
restrictions. The head doesn’t move much at all, and the hands have molded fur
hanging over the knuckles which does very, very slightly impede wrist movement.
The same is true of the feet, as molded fur hangs around the ankles. All of the
joints are big and thick, so Chewie holds poses really well, and is overall
sturdy when in a pose. The body hair is a plastic shirt, not molded on the body,
which caught me pretty off guard, this being my first Black Series Chewbacca experience. The line has done such a good
job of not reusing bucks and other body parts, but it is kind of surprising
that, of all Star Wars characters who are not troopers or pilots or Darth
Vader, Chewbacca didn’t get a unique, molded torso. Well, no big deal. Just a
surprise. The fur shirt prevents him from really sitting down, so Chewbacca
kind of has to make do with that old-man-tired-from-a-long-day-of-walking leg
spread. There’s not much in the line for Chewie to have to sit down on, not 6”
scaled Falcon or anything (yet. . . . ) so this is a nonissue.
 |
| "C'mere and sit with ol' papa Chewie for a piece. . ." |
The face is good, a semi open-mouthed look with some real
sharp eyes. It is a different face sculpt than the OT and Force Awakens Chewies, again something of a surprise. Putting the
goggles on really makes the face look totally different, almost two heads for
the price of one. The goggles are super cool, having an elastic band to hold
them in place as opposed to a solid plastic strap. It’s a really unexpected
touch: the Hoth Han from the Tauntaun set has goggles with the solid plastic
strap, so the same on the goggles here wouldn’t have been unusual. The elastic
is just a neat thing, and it allows Chewie to wear the goggles on his forehead
as well as over his eyes. The goggles should also be able to fit other 6”
figures, although this has not been tried. 
The bandolier and blaster are the other different parts, the
bandolier holding rounder shells for this particular blaster instead of the
classic one that held rectangular objects. That may be the one thing that
really, truly differentiates this younger Chewie from the other ones. After 40
years of seeing him with one very specific bandolier, here’s a different one,
and it cannot help but be noticed. That’s not supposed to sound like some kind
of fan outrage, or more accurately, “fan” outrage, as Solo has certainly garnered enough of that for no rational reason,
but rather a simple statement. As small a thing as the bandolier is, I see it
and say “that’s not OT Chewie.” There’s no malice or anything included, just a
realization. We’ll talk about that “fan” outrage on the Coffin soon enough, but
not just yet. The blaster is a big, heavy looking deal, and something about it helps
to reestablish Chewbacca as the partner of a smuggler, a potentially dangerous
character with a bounty for his capture, moving him away from being the
loveable, shaggy dog sidekick that he really was nerfed into over the course of
the OT and the New Trilogy, or NT. The blaster has a sliding pump underneath
the barrels, a cool detail on a weapon, which are typically just solid plastic
pieces.
Young Chewbacca is another good entry in the Black Series, and is a fine Chewbacca
for your collection in the event that you are still missing one. Whereas young
Lando is clearly a young Lando, and thus not able to be Empire or I guess “original” Lando in a collection, young Chewie
could be, if you can overlook the bandolier. Personally, I am beginning to try,
albeit halfheartedly, to fill in the figures I passed on or missed, and so I
will eventually have an OT Chewie, and probably a NT Chewie provided I
(eventually) pick up an NT Han. Well, that’s not quite a theoretical
‘eventually,’ as it has gone as yet unreported, but the Coffin collection does
include a Rey and some Porgs, so a NT Chewie is kinda necessary regardless.
If I had to have a complaint about Solo Chewbacca, it would be this: two years ago, in celebration of
our first wedding anniversary, my wife and I went to Disneyworld. Naturally, we
went to the Star Wars part of the park, and waited in line to meet Kylo Ren and
Chewbacca. While Kylo Ren was real talkative and supportive of me, even telling
me that he could sense I was strong with the Force, Chewbacca could barely be
bothered to even acknowledge our presence. There I was, face to chin with a
character I’ve loved since childhood, who is synonymous with sidekick or loyal
friend and partner, and he just sort of grunted and took a picture with us and then
was disinterested. And we waited like 45 minutes for him, too. Now, I know that
Chewbacca thinks he’s probably seen the last of me, but oh no. When my wife was
a teenager, at Disneyworld with her family, she was reportedly blown off by
Goofy, and was thus denied a photo op. When we were there a few years ago, I
made it my mission to hunt Goofy down and get a picture of him with my wife.
And man, I hunted that mo fo down, too. Next time we’re at Disneyworld, Chewie
better be ready to take another picture with me. Based on this story of an
event that clearly traumatized a 38 year old man, I would have to say that this
Chewbacca figure is the worst figure I have ever seen.
But back in reality, the only negative thing about this
Chewbacca may be its status as a Target exclusive, as we are all familiar with
the nature of the store exclusive: there are either tons that will be on pegs
for months and years to come, or you will never see them in-store at all. I’ve
seen Chewie two or three times, but then only as individual toys, never as
multiples. Recent store exclusives have been things like troopers of slight
difference from the mass release, not really a core cast member like this. A
great Chewbacca if you are lacking one, too.
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