Retro Review: Star Wars Legacy Collection: Millennium Falcon Review

Hey there, thanks for stopping by Dan's ToyBox. Today's review takes us back a long time ago, to a galaxy far, far away. We are looking at the Star Wars: Legacy Collection Millennium Falcon vehicle playset. This came out in 2008 and, unfortunately, as you'll see is a victim of yellowing, caused by sun damage. However, I will be repainting the ship and giving her some personal customization. When that's done, I'll post before and after pix.

"She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts kid."

-Han Solo

Often referred to as the "fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy" the Millennium Falcon, under Han Solo's command was the first ship to ever make the Kessel Run in less than 12 standard parsecs. A modified Corellian YT-1300 light freighter, the Falcon has a colorful history, but really made her mark during the height of the Galactic Civil War, when she played an instrumental role in first, rescuing Princess Leia Organa from the Empire's superweapon, the Death Star and later, shooting TIE Fighters off of Luke Skywalker's back as he made the successful trench run, resulting in the destruction of the Death Star. Solo won the ship in a Sabaac match from Lando Calrissian and made a number of modifications to the ship. Among those was an upgraded hyperdrive unit, military grade shields, sensors, and weapons, and hidden smuggling compartments. In fact, Han has crosswired the ship so much that it can fly with half of it's systems out, but requires more maintenance than a typical starship. During the battle of Hoth, Solo and his Wookiee partner/co-pilot, Chewbacca worked feverishly to get the ship repaired so they could escape. After Solo convinced Princess Leia to abandon the command center, he ended up getting her off-planet on board the Falcon. Unfortunately, one system the pilot had failed to repair, was the most needed. The heart and soul of the Millennium Falcon, her hyperdrive, was not functioning. Desperate to escape the Empire, Solo guided the freighter into a deadly asteroid field. His skills and the power at his command helped successfully navigate the asteroids and find a temporary safe haven, where he and Chewbacca could attempt to repair the lightspeed propulsion. Unfortunately, they soon learn that the cave is a greater danger, a monstrous Space Slug, and quickly flee. Eventually, Solo and his crew make it to Bespin, where they encounter the Falcon's previous owner, Calrissian. Lando promises to have his techs get to work on the ship, while Han, Leia, Chewie, and C3PO can relax in their newest safe harbor... or so they think. I could go on and on, talking about the exploits in book, comics, and film of the Millennium Falcon as, to me, it is the coolest ship ever created, but that's not why we're here. ALL STAR WARS NAMES AND REFERENCES WERE CREATED BY GEORGE LUCAS AND ARE PROPERTY OF DISNEY.

Unlike our typical reviews, we're really just going to take a trip down memory lane and share photos of the playset. I'll still give an overall grade, but today is more of a fun take on this ship. So, let's jump in, shall we?

Right out of the gate as I mentioned before, my ship was the victim of sun damage, in spite of the fact that the room it was in had a number of curtains and blinds up in an attempt to reduce potential damage. I have tried a number of solutions to restore the original color and bleach the yellow out, but it's pretty bad, so I'll give her a repaint and add some of my own touches. I bought this at Walmart back in 2008 when it was first released and was just amazed to have a Falcon so large that it could hold a number of 3.75" Star Wars figures (up to 12, if I recall correctly). The Falcon comes with Han Solo and Chewbacca, which made it even better! The cockpit opens and you can fit four figures into the seats, even adjusting the pilot and co-pilot chairs to comfortably seat Chewbacca. The boarding ramp also opens at the press of a button and when the power switch is "on" has a neat sound effect, along with a pair of landing lights shining on either side. There are two top panels that can be removed to access the forward hold, which houses the hologram table, the remote that Obi Wan uses to train Luke, the engineering station and a removable floor panel to access the engines. The other panel exposes the landing ramp, a bunk, access to the seat for the quad cannons, and the removable floor section for the smuggling compartments. There is a 'mini-fighter' that can be launched from the port side of the ship, which is an addition that the movie version didn't carry. The Rectenna dish can also move up and down, and sideways, which actually moves the remote training ball inside the ship. There are seven landing gear pieces that snap into the bottom, but can be removed if you want to try and hang the ship. (I wouldn't recommend that, though, as it's fairly heavy!) There are concussion missles at the bow of the Falcon, which can be launched by the press of a button and by moving the slider, which turns the cannons left and right, you can also activate laser blast effects and launch the two bottom cannons as missles. The Falcon has a number of buttons located throughout the top of the ship, which activate different sound effects, lights, and even movie dialogue. My personal favorite is the Falcon's engines starting and failing to power up. There is a sublight sound which runs for a few seconds and the sublight drive engines light up a bright blue. You can also press the buttons and here the ship's engine noises change as it shifts from sublight to lightspeed. The cockpit lights up and there are running lights on the front as well. I could go on and on about what is on the ship, but it's far better to just show you... so, please enjoy!

Bringing this upstairs from my storage room, reminded me just how much I really like this ship and I'm bummed about the yellowing. However, the sound and light effects still work just as good as new and once I get the ship "spruced up" a bit, I'll be finding a new spot to display her, up here with the rest of my collection. I know that I didn't really have a lot to say about the Legacy Collection Millennium Falcon, but this was really more to share it with you than anything. Back in 2008, I paid $104.99 for this. Today, as I searched, I found it ranging from $200 (loose) on eBay to $1029.99 (complete/in box) on Amazon! The average range though seems to be between $400 and $600. If you are a diehard Star Wars fan and don't have this, It's definitely something to consider adding to your collection. Fortunately, most that I saw for sale didn't suffer from the yellowing, which is good! Even with the damage though, I've got a lot of sentimental value attached to this which would push the score higher than it objectively should. That being said, though, given how much fun this thing is to play with, she earns a solid:

10 out of 10 ToyBoxes!!!

I will admit that it's awfully tough to be objective because of how much I like the ship. Having one with all of the bells and whistles that this does AND being able to put a number of figures on board, without feeling like they are crammed in, really lets the imagination go crazy! I hope you enjoyed our little trip back to that galaxy far, far away and until next time... GEEK OUT!!!