Star Wars Vintage Collection 3.75" Lando Calrissian - The Ladies' Man

How do I know he's the ladies' man?  Well, the wife and I are watching The Empire Strikes Back and she suddenly says, "I like Lando.  He's my favorite Star Wars character."  Just like that.  Not Chewie, not Wicket, not Luke.  Lando.  See?  Ladies' Man.

I guess it didn't help that Ladies'-Man-Wannabe Han Solo was proving to be an obnoxious piece of bantha poodoo throughout the Original Trilogy.  But come on!  You put that next to Lando "I'm respectable and have got a lot of responsibility, so I betray my friends to Darth Vader" Calrissian and Lando still comes off as more likable?  It's gotta be that slicked back hair and the artfully trimmed 'stache.  It's gotta be.

Like: He's the ideal Lando, the "respectable" Lando.  He's Lando the first time we see him in the Empire Strikes Back--slicked-back hair, combed mustache--pretending to hold a grudge against Han then being a little too friendly and then coming on to Leia.  And that's all within the first 20 seconds of screen time.  It's Lando like most of us would like to remember him. (Spoiler Alert!!!: Not like he dies or anything but yeah...)

Like: The chest holster for hold-out blaster.  It's perfect for the gambler who wants to conceal a weapon under his cloak or to show you that he's packin' some heat and will use it--if you cheat at the sabaac table before he does.  Or he wear it proudly with his cape swept back to show you he ain't holdin' out on you by, you know, hiding a blaster.

Like: The holdout blaster!  I always love it when they have really small yet detailed pieces.  I mean you worry about lil' kids choking on small things but this would go down easy no problem--it's too small to choke anyone! :P  To be safe though, I'm keeping this out of reach of my 5 month old...

But yeah, I always liked hold-out blasters in the Star War universe.  First there's the name.  Then there's the fact that it was made for concealment.  And third, some of my favorite Star Wars characters use it: Scout Troopers, Lando, and Obi-Wan Kenobi!  Ok so maybe Obi-Wan doesn't like blasters.  But he sure could've used one to zap ol' Darthie V on the Death Star!  (Oh and we all know Yoda was packin' a piece in Empire.  No way he could trust that young punk Skywalker on Dagobah.  And yes, it was a hold-out blaster.

Stop looking at his ass.

Like: Swivel/Hinge Hips!  Star Wars figures have the best joints and PoAs hands down.  And their swivel.hinge hips are the most flexible--the hinge joint is nice and unhindered because of the length of the hinge piece.  And the swivel goes as far as any leg because just enough of the thigh top has been pared away to create space for movement.  All this while maintaining the look of the joint--it doesn't look too skinny or leave unsightly gaps between leg and lower torso.

Really. Stop. Oh, what do I care...

Dislike: The cape band!  Urgh!!!  It looks like Lando's Mom decided to repair his cape with a giant elastic band.  It would have looked excellent if they had used perhaps a molded plastic "chain" or a silvered thread or something. But I think they went this route because it cinches the cape around his shoulders as it would if it were a real cape.  I only realized this while posing him around sweeping his cape here and there, back and forth.  Pity that it looks so chinsy though.  I'm sure if you're handy with a needle and thread you could probably stitch on a better-looking solution.

Dislike: That the eyebrows are a little heavily painted!  The mustache looks great though it's hard to go wrong with the paint there because it was such a thick 'stache. Lol.  But because of the bushy eyebrow paint, Lando looks a little bit like Chewbacca.  Then again, maybe that's what gives him the animal magnetism that all the ladies love...

Like:  But even with the slightly off eyebrow paint, he still looks exactly like Billy Dee Williams in the flesh!  (Though 18 times smaller and with a more plastic complexion.)  Up close, the sculpt is perfect.  And I can't quite put words to how good it is.  As the Star Wars line keeps being produced, the likenesses of the actors get better and better.  Now it's just up to the 'Bro to keep fine-tuning the process so that paint turns out just as great!

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 8.5/10 - Loses points for the chinsy cape band.  But overall he's the best likeness of lando in this scale.  The colors, the cape (except the bad), the sculpt--all are mastered by Hasbro after years and years of producing Star Wars figures--we've been spoiled to expect no less. ;P

Underneath the cape the detailed sculpt is quite exquisite, as befits a gambler and scoundrel.  His tunic, pins, and wrist comlink are done almost exactly as I remember them and his belt is very nicely sculpted in a matte black. There's minimal paint but what's painted (mustache, comlink, badges and pins, and silver pants piping) is done as perfectly as can be.  Special mention goes to the eyes--lookie how chocolate brown they are!

Poseability: 9/10 - What swivel/hinge hips he has!  Star Wars has the best joints in this department bar none in the 3.75" scale.  But that's no surprise considering they probably also have the biggest budget from making the most money from the toys compared to other brands.  The best part?  They're not that much more expensive than other 3.75" brands!

Lando's articulation is perfect for the character, whether you need him lounging around roguishly or in a blaster fight, whether you need him flying your Millennium Falcon or mounting your Leia Wookiee Tauntaun, speederbike, whether you want him sitting at a sabaac table or just standing there looking charming but deadly, this version of Lando can do it all.  And though the elastic band of his cape might stick out like a sore thumb, it does allow him to swivel his cape and hold it in whatever position you want, hiding his hold-out blaster or showing it off.  Heck, there's even enough cape to completely enclose the guy and an Ewok!

Fun: 9/10 - YeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeHaaaaaaaaaa!!!!  That's what Lando's all about: blowing up Death Stars in a fun, friendly, and manner like a cowboy with alien co-pilots.  ("Break off the attack! The shield is still up!")  Besides Luke Skwalker going from moisture farmer to X-Wing pilot to Jedi Knight, Lando's the only other guy who changes his career like a chameleon changes color.  Before he was the governor of Cloud City, he was a gambler.  Then he's revealed for a traitor who then joins the rebels.  He has a short stint as one of Jabba the Hutt's skiff guards and then becomes a general.  After which he become a hero pilot who blows up the Empire's most destructive weapon.  And that's before he even gets the chicks.

There's so many instances when you want to set up a Star Wars display and Lando's part of it.  And with this one figure, you can cover all but probably the skiff guard scenario.  I don't count blowing up the Death Star as one of them because 1) he could've done it in his flashy clothes and cape combo and 2) He was wearing Han's spare outfit! (DVD special effects re-tool, anyone? :P)  But I tell ya, its' fun to be Lando!

Oh and I almost forgot, he's the guy that sang Ghostbusters.  You know, "I ain't afaid of no ghost."  Ok, just kidding.  That was Ray Parker Jr, not Billy Dee Williams.  When I was younger I used to think they were one and the same.  But BDW did sing Carribean Queen though.  Ok, ok, that was Billy Ocean.  Maybe I just like to think of my Lando as being multi-talented.  Billy Dee did appear on Sesame Street though.  I kid you not.  That was how I learned how to count backwards. Aw Yeah.

Value: 8/10 - Cape, holster, hold-out blaster--he'd be worth his weight in gold at the sabaac table! The fun thing about Lando's stuff is that you could strip it off him and use it on other figures too--his holster and cape come off easily enough.  But you can't deny a lot of work's been put into his new head sculpt and now PoAs, making this guy real value for money.  We don't often get figures who can pose more than they should be able to or have done in the movies/stories but Lando can and that's added value.

Overall: 8.75/10 -He's a keeper! - Can you say "hold-out blaster?" It's so fun to say and such an apt name for a blaster that a gambler, who would naturally know how to play Texas Hold 'Em, would use.  It's sneaky.  And so is Lando--Gambler, Governor, Scoundrel, Rogue, and the original owner of the Millennium Falcon--his figure also all of these.  I's also rare we get figures of actors who were hot property in their day and don't act any more.  The figure is a great likeness, has great articulation, great accessories and captures a memorable character so well from one of the greatest stories ever told.  Just as it's hard not to like Lando in the movies, it's just as hard not to like his action figure.

LATER...