Ornament Review: Lando Calrissian - 2010 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Excellent details

Cons: Black on the cape

The Bottom Line:

Scoundrel Lando

A good but rare ornament

Star Wars geeks will love

Scoundrel Lando Available for a Limited Time Only.  Get Him Before the Empire Does.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Hallmark has released several ornaments inspired by the movie.  One of them is this limited edition ornament of Lando Calrissian.  This is the first time Lando has shown up in the Hallmark ornament line, so fans of the franchise will definitely want to get him.

Lando first showed up in Empire as a friend of Han Solo who is running the Cloud City on the edge of the galaxy.  There is betrayal once he gets involved.  And in a case of how much first impressions can impact characters, I have never truly warmed up to him.  I know which side he ultimately joins, but his first betrayal cuts deep.  Still, when I started getting the Star Wars ornaments from Hallmark, I decided I needed him to add to my collection.

The ornament itself shows Lando in action.  He's dressed in mainly light blue.  He's got a gun in one hand, and his legs are bent an apart.  It looks like he could turn and fire at any moment.  To further portray him as being in action, the cape he is wearing is fanning out around him.

And it's the cape that provides the only flaw for me with the ornament.  The inside of the cape is gold with lots of black smudges and spots.  Judging from the picture on the front of the box, the spots are supposed to be there to show some texture.  However, to me it just looks dirty, like someone did a poor job painting the ornament.  I looked at several in the store before I bought one, and all of them were like this, so I know it's not that I have a bad ornament.  It's a flaw in the design pure and simple.

But that's the only flaw in the design.  Lando's clothes are wrinkled in multiple spots, again helping the illusion that he is moving.  The face looks very much like Billy Dee Williams did in the movie.  Really, the details are quite nice on this ornament.  The copyright information is painted on the bottom of his feet, but odds are you'd only notice if you turned him upside down.

Height wise, he's just about four inches tall.  This makes him fit into the on going Star Wars ornament series perfectly.  In fact, I measured him against the Luke Skywalker ornament from this year, and he looks to be the same size.

Lando will balance on his feet, but you have to position him just right.  His right foot sits flat, but his left one only touches the ground on the toes.  As a result, he's not likely to stay that way very long if you set him on something that gets bumped regularly.

Of course, there are plenty of Lando action figures already.  The reason to get this ornament is to hang from your tree.  When you slip an ornament hanger through the brass ring at the top of his head, you'll find that he hangs straight.  He tips a bit back from the position he's in if you stand him up, but that actually provides a much better view of the details of the ornament.

Despite my mixed feelings about Lando the character, I'm glad I got Lando Calrissian the ornament.  He may not be perfect, but he's a great addition to my Star Wars ornament collection.

Original Price: $14.95