Sideshow Hoth Han Solo (Echo Base)

[YoNoSe]

The non-BD HT Luke sculpt was to me a bit of a miss in terms of likeness, so (to me at least) that one is the weaker of the two sculpts from that Bespin set, though that non-BD sculpt still commands huge dollars possibly because so many people wanted a custom Luke Jedi.

I agree. I recently sold off my Luke. I still think he's a great figure but I never really bought the likeness on the clean face.

To me, while Hoth Han may tread the line of portrait and caricature, it ends up amazingly recognizable. And that comparison shot, to me at least, shows a surprising similarity in the quality of the production heads. While I would still give the HT Luke the edge for realism I prefer the Han head overall.

 

[Mike86]

In general you're right. But in 2015, it looks like that's been turned on its head. HT has yet to show a decent SW sculpt apart from the Stormtroopers - and I personally don't mind Chewbacca, though I agree the face isn't as good as it could have been.

I dunno we'll see. There have been so many occasions where the prototype from Hot Toys doesn't look great and the final product turns out a lot better than people expect. Personally I think the Hot Toys Obi-Wan looks really good but there is room for improvement. The Hot Toys Han I think could be better but I don't think it's as awful as some people are making it out to be. Those are the only human sculpts they've revealed so who knows what's to come.

Sideshow still has a ways to go in my opinion. Their Hoth Han isn't awful but it could be better and I wouldn't hold it to Hot Toys standards personally. Plus their problem is the quality is more likely to go down from prototype to production.

 

[TonTon]

HT does a strange thing for eyelashes with those tiny, very even "dashes" painted on the lower lids, but the illusion somehow works really well.

Sideshow did something like that on snake.

 

[guyver1]

I agree. I recently sold off my Luke. I still think he's a great figure but I never really bought the likeness on the clean face.

To me, while Hoth Han may tread the line of portrait and caricature, it ends up amazingly recognizable. And that comparison shot, to me at least, shows a surprising similarity in the quality of the production heads. While I would still give the HT Luke the edge for realism I prefer the Han head overall.

The Hoth cap is not enough for me. That's why I have to see this sculpt..unhooded with the iconic poofy ESB hair attached to this to see once and for all if SSC captured Ford as Solo at last.

Now i liked the SSC Han and Luke trooper sculpts awhile back but I thought the eyes on Solo was just flat.

 

[YoNoSe]

The Hoth cap is not enough for me. That's why I have to see this sculpt..unhooded with the iconic poofy ESB hair attached to this to see once and for all if SSC captured Ford as Solo at last.

Now i liked the SSC Han and Luke trooper sculpts awhile back but I thought the eyes on Solo was just flat.

Hooded is iconic enough for me on this figure but I am dying to see a good shot of the alternate head, too.

 

[Pixelpiper]

There have been so many occasions where the prototype from Hot Toys doesn't look great and the final product turns out a lot better than people expect

This came up a week or more ago and I don't think anyone came up with more than two examples of this (honestly I can't remember if it was 3, 2 or 1 example). Usually they're the same - which is great because you know what to expect, but sometimes it goes the other way around. A lot of people however will mistake what is an identical sculpt as better when it's in hand - this is usually to do with the photo, not the product. Bespin Luke is a fine example of this.

As much as I don't like the HT Han sculpt for likeness, the Old Ben is far worse. Unfortunately (wait for it), I think a lot of other people agree with me, and now that I'm looking for a Sideshow Old Ben figure, the prices have risen sharply.

I evaluate every company's products as they debut. So far SSC's Hoth line-up is on my list along with HT's Stormtroopers and Chewbacca. The others just aren't worth my time. YMMV. There are to many other great product out there and the company that in my eyes is knocking out of the park this year is Threezero, so I want to make sure I have some funds to send their way.

 

[TaliBane]

Sideshow did something like that on snake.

Interesting - wonder why they didn't do that here. Those snake eyes look pretty simplistic though - the white's too white and the blue too artificial (though again, maybe just the lighting on a too-close macro lens pic - and overall it doesn't look as realistic as Han's.

The Hoth cap is not enough for me. That's why I have to see this sculpt..unhooded with the iconic poofy ESB hair attached to this to see once and for all if SSC captured Ford as Solo at last.

Now i liked the SSC Han and Luke trooper sculpts awhile back but I thought the eyes on Solo was just flat.

The next problem with unhatted head will be the hair seam issue (hair separate piece glued on with visible seam.) Maybe the poofiness of Han's hair will hide the seam better than Rex's head, which looks like a bit like a surgical scar.

 

[guyver1]

Interesting - wonder why they didn't do that here. Those snake eyes look pretty simplistic though - the white's too white and the blue too artificial (though again, maybe just the lighting on a too-close macro lens pic - and overall it doesn't look as realistic as Han's.



The next problem with unhatted head will be the hair seam issue (hair separate piece glued on with visible seam.) Maybe the poofiness of Han's hair will hide the seam better than Rex's head, which looks like a bit like a surgical scar.

Seam??..Why? there's no PERS why did they make a seam

 

[davejames]

Honestly I'd rather both companies just get someone to paint the eyes instead. The irises on both of those sculpts are just way too sharp around the edges, with the decals or whatever they use.

 

[TonTon]

Couple nice shots at SS of the EX head. Looks fantastic. Shame it's not part of the regular edition.

 

[Cocoboloboy]

I'm just not feelin' that EX sculpt at all. Not at all. The figure looks decent displayed hood up, thank goodness.

 

[Darkseed]

I'm just not feelin' that EX sculpt at all. Not at all. The figure looks decent displayed hood up, thank goodness.

...........

 

[TaliBane]

Just enhanced the pics a bit. The EX head does look better than the reg head in those full-body pics though.

 

[ZE_501]

More pics !!! loving this more and more with each repose

[...]

These all look great, gotta say it's the best I've seen this figure look.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jedibear]

Just had to bump these amazing shots...you've made this figure look really good here...now I'm genuinely excited for this...(oh heck, I was already, but these shots just hammer it home)....

As others have already said (many times)...thanks for sharing your perspective on the figure and these great pics...very much appreciated...and if you want to post more, well......

More pics !!! loving this more and more with each repose

The final display pose for now

 

[TaliBane]

I'm just not feelin' that EX sculpt at all. Not at all. The figure looks decent displayed hood up, thank goodness.

...........

I do feel the shininess (a potential new issue now that we can see it closer) is not doing the head any favors. That shiny rudolf nose is messing with the overall vibe in a pretty major way.

 

[Anthrapoid]

Now that I look more closely at the new photos... WTF are they doing with the gloves???
They sculpted wrinkly elephant skin at the wrist, and the forearm portion overlaps onto the hand.
This makes no sense to me; they're supposed to be simple guantlet-style gloves, with a sewn seam at the wrist, not the gray wrinkled skin of a pachyderm's testicles.
If the final version looks like that, the first thing I do will be to make custom sewn gauntlets, and glue them onto all of the existing hands. Sheesh!

 

[Pixelpiper]

If the final version looks like that

All these photos are of the final shipping product, including in-hand images.

 

[Anthrapoid]

That's what I thought.
It won't be difficult to find a micro-fiber fabric that simulates the look of suede leather. I'll sew little conical sections, and attach them directly to the hands. That way, when the wrist joint bends the gauntlet will bend with it naturally.
The stock gauntlets just look WAY too sculpted, in stark contrast to the rest of the fabric suit.

 

[Wor-Gar]

HT would have done that for you.