I know, I know.  This isn’t the review of a Princess Leia on a reproduction vintage Kenner card that you want to see right now.  If you’re reading this review in the future, it’s being published weeks or maybe even days before the hugely anticipated Vintage Collection Princess Leia Organa is released.  I’m sure some people saw this review published on the front page and thought it was the “good” Leia.  If so, I apologize.  I actually hope to have the new Leia in hand next week, which means I needed this VOTC Leia reviewed for context.  If you can’t wait to see a review for the new Vintage Collection Princess Leia, check out the ones from our friends Bossk’s Bounty and MAKMCSWF.

I remember when the second Vintage The Saga Collection wave was announced in 2007 (leading some to designate it as Vintage Thirtieth Anniversary Collection).  I made a post on one of the forums stating that I loved the “Vintage” OT program because it meant we were guaranteed to get a wave of all new and (then) highly articulated Original Trilogy figures.  The first response was that I was wrong, and that the “Vintage” figures were not always better than their main line counterparts, and cited C-3PO as an example.  Then everyone joined Spartacus in his rebellion agains my post, and I threw my computer in the trash.  The internet has been arguing points that haven’t been made ever since.  I’m pretty sure this was the first instance.

I never said that the “Vintage” figures are all automatically good, just that I looked forward to what they might offer.  I actually agree with the sentiment that some of them are actually poor figures, and this Princess Leia could be used as an additional argument in support of that.  Where do I start?  There’s so much to go after.  Let’s start with he who shall not be named:  Swivel Elbows.  Swelbows, for short, have been the scorn of the community ever since the first use of ball jointed elbows, but at least in this case, they don’t easily pop apart as they do all to often.  That still doesn’t excuse the type of articulation. With cut elbows, as they’re also known, you have rotate the lower arm to achieve a bend in the elbow. Now you have the elbow bend you desire, but the hand is rotated out of position.  It then becomes a Rubix-ian challenge with the ball jointed shoulder and swivel wrist to get the arm aligned properly for the desired pose.  Not fun.

Moving along, the figure isn’t super articulated.  It lacks ankle joints.  The knees become largely pointless if the ankles don’t also articulate.  Speaking on the knees, this is one of the early implementation of ball jointed knees before Hasbro would sculpt a stop into the joint to prevent it from hyperextending.  In this case, the knees hyperextend a full forty five degrees.  The end result is that this Leia ends up looking like a monster from a Guillermo del Toro movie.  The fact that the articulation doesn’t stop when the leg is straight also makes posing the figure a challenge, especially since the skirt obscures the legs.  This can make the figure difficult to stand, but the usual remedy for that isn’t available.  It has no peg holes in the feet.

Until the Vintage Collection Leia gets released here in the States, this it the best Princes Leia figure we have, but that’s more of a statement on how poor the other releases are.  This is the best we have for the next week or so, but it’s still not very good, and it never was.  A lot of 20 year old figures get dragged through the mud because of the dated sculpting, but this figure was getting its fair share of hate a decade ago. The new Princess Leia can’t get here fast enough, but I do have to say that at least this VOTC Leia can sit.  I’m giving this a 5 out of 10.  Unless you’re a completist, soon there will be no reason to own it.

Oh, this might be a big Leia week because I also need to review the Freeze Frame Leia before the TVC version gets here.