Han Solo with Bespin Torture Rack

June 28, 2009 | By More


Star Wars®, Star Wars Action Figures®, Han Solo®, Torture rack, Bespin®,  Action Figure Review

I watched a few scenes of “The Empire Strikes Back” last night. Mrs. Nerd was in the room when the Han torture scene came on. She asked what are they doing to him. It took me a minute to think it through before I could answer her. Well, they are torturing him just to be mean? No, that’s not it. They are torturing Han to create a disturbance in the Force that will be felt by Luke so that he will be drawn into Vader’s trap. Yeah, I’m sure as a ten year old, I didn’t get it.

Appearance:

Star Wars®, Star Wars Action Figures®, Han Solo®, Torture rack, Bespin®,  Action Figure ReviewI have to say that I’m a bit shocked Hasbro put this one out. The idea of making a figure being tortured seems a little out range for what they normally consider good toys to make. But hey, it’s Han Solo so we’ll buy it.

This version of Han is meant to be mid torture. Slightly disheveled and strained. The figure does not have the standard gun holster or belt. Although the reused waist piece has a hole in the back for attaching one.

Han’s neck is suppose to be showing the strain of the torture, but it seems a bit long to me. It’s almost as if the head is slightly small than it should be.

That’s not the only scale like issues this figure has. The legs seem a bit thin and narrow compared to the bulky upper chest. The forearms also appear a bit too bulky in relation to the the other parts of the figure.

Star Wars®, Star Wars Action Figures®, Han Solo®, Torture rack, Bespin®,  Action Figure Review

Speaking of the bulky upper chest, Hasbro thought it clever to include a chest articulation joint. This joint is similar to what’s showing up in the G.I. Joe Anniversary line. I would imagine they wanted you to be able do was to make Han appear to be straining against the straps. However, they got something less than that. The joint doesn’t work real well with the accessory. The worst part is that no matter whether on the rack or loose, Han is left with a rather ugly joint right in the middle of his chest. Because of his coat, this joint should have just been left off. I really hope this doesn’t start a trend for these joints. If you can hide the joint it’s fine, like on a clone or Stormtrooper. But, I’m just not a huge fan of it on most the fabric costume wearing characters.

Star Wars®, Star Wars Action Figures®, Han Solo®, Torture rack, Bespin®,  Action Figure Review

This might be Harrison Ford, it might not. With the expression and windswept looking hair, he looks more like he should be riding a speeder bike than being tortured. Being the only Han I’ve bought this year I expected more. Why not an alternate head, one screaming and one normal? That would have made more sense than this one that looks constipated.

I’m not sure why we needed all the articulation in this Han figure, but we got it. Due to this bulked up elbows and shoulders make it look like Mr. Solo is wearing a padded jacket.Star Wars®, Star Wars Action Figures®, Han Solo®, Torture rack, Bespin®,  Action Figure Review

Now, for one of my least favorite things about this figure the
reused pelvis piece is molded in white. How do I know this? Because it’s plainly visible when I move the hip joints at all. This is something I haven’t seen so horribly done on a Star Wars figure in awhile. The worse part is I’m not sure you can see it in the package if you’re trying to sort for a better one.

Fun:

Star Wars®, Star Wars Action Figures®, Han Solo®, Torture rack, Bespin®,  Action Figure ReviewNow for the torture. I mean torture rack. I’m really glad to see some bigger accessories this year. I’d always thought if we saw things like this they would be in battle packs or accessory sets or something of the like. To get them with single carded figures is a definite plus.

I you want a perfect screen accurate rack, this isn’t it. If you want something the casual passer by will recognize and is moderately close, this will fit the bill. The rack is lacking detail on the inside sections. The two cables on the back add a bit, but I would have like to have seen some kibble in there. Same with the front underneath section. It just looks unfinished in those two areas.

Star Wars®, Star Wars Action Figures®, Han Solo®, Torture rack, Bespin®,  Action Figure Review

Most of the detail on the rack is on the sides and inside area. The rack is an approximation of the film one, mainly due to the fact the detail has been minimized. There is an orange splash of paint, that I assume is to represent the glow from something hot. However, with this color it almost looks more like rust than any sort of glow. Blood of past victims perhaps? I’m not sure either way.

The straps work well enough, but I do have one complaint about them. Shouldn’t Han’s hands be restrained in some manner?

The coin is the only other accessory, and it has the Rebel Alliance logo on the reverse.

Overall:

If your a loose figure collector and just looking for a Han Solo figure to round out your collection, pass on this one. If you are a diorama builder or like to display your figures in small scenes, than you might want to pick this one up.

Think of it more of buying a torture rack with a Han accessory, and you can almost justify it to yourself.

I do have two unanswered questions about this whole thing though.

1. How did Vader know Luke knew enough about the Force to sense his friends pain? Luke didn’t gain that knowledge until after hestarted training with Yoda.

2. Why did Cloud City need a torture rack anyway?

Engineernerd Score: 75/100

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Star Wars®, Star Wars Action Figures®, Han Solo®, Torture rack, Bespin®,  Action Figure Review

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  1. Errex says:

    Good points. So, here’s what I think:

    a) Vader knew Luke would sense the distress from his friends because otherwise Luke would no be worth the trouble to capture. Right until before the Emperor contacts him, I guess he was just chasing a rogue force sensitive that might have been his surviving son (because of the surname), even though he was told otherwise.

    b) The torture rack was something they repurposed from it’s original function. Might as well have been an industrial pressing iron originally (you know, Lando’s capes won’t iron themselves).

    So, yes, not particularily impressed by this figure, I’m glad I passed on it. 😉