Seems like this thread has died in the a$$ lol.
Just wanted to update and say that I've received my second replacement after driving down to Pop Cultcha yesterday and swapping mine over.
I didn't bother opening and checking it in the store as I was running late for an appointment, so I just took a gamble on it.
This one stands perfectly straight, so there definitely is an issue with some of them leaning. If anything, mine slightly leans towards the other side I think, lol. Kind of like the proto. Looks great though
It does have a couple of minor issues. Seam on the head isn't perfectly flush on this one either, and there is a very slight step on the chin like my first one had, albeit not that noticeable as it is fairly minor in comparison. I think it would be pretty damn hard to get one of these that has a perfectly flush seam all the way around though and anyone that does is lucky.
Base on mine has some very light superficial scratches on it on one spot. The scratches aren't through the paint, but rather just superficial light ones on the surface, that are somewhat visible depending on how the light hits it. Kind of looks like it was just rubbed on something during packing. I wasn't too bothered by it as it wasn't really noticeable on display, and I've just covered it with Han's claw anyway as it's the same spot I usually put the claw so it's all good.
The base in general seems to have a bit of a rough finish in some spots. Doesn't really affect the look or anything, just something I noticed when handling it. Still looks OK.
Something else I noticed. The peg hole on this one is a tighter fit than my previous 2, and the peg also seemed to go in smoother. On my previous 2 statues, it felt like the peg was stuck half way down, and I had to rotate the statue around to get it to drop all the way in. I would imagine that had something to do with the angle of the peg not quite matching the hole. I actually very slightly chipped the polystone on the edge of the hole whilst trying to insert the peg into the hole. Not really an issue for me though since there is that sticker over the hole, plus the foot covers it as well, so it's never seen. It has no effect on how the statue stands on the base, he still stands perfectly.
All in all, some slight issues here and there, but I'm much happier with this piece over the others I had as I think the leaning issue is fairly glaring when compared to the other minor issues, so I'm very happy this one stands straight. Looks beautiful on display and I feel like I can finally enjoy this piece now, lol.