TBS Phase 3 Princess Leia Organa

Original Review by Bret: 12/31/17

As we do our final gallery and review for 2017, we take a moment to honor Carrie Fisher.  Here is Princess Leia from the Walmart Black Series 3.75” line.

Walmart got off to a rocky start when they finally got around to launching the first figures of their newly exclusive collector-focused Star Wars line.  The line never really recovered from poor initial figure choices, bad distribution, and boring packaging.  The first wave officially debuted in the fall of 2015, but I never saw them in stores until right around the time of The Force Awakens. The wave included a paltry 3 figures nobody asked for, none of which were from the new film.  The figures were essentially repacks/repaints.  It was a bad omen for the Black Series and collecting in general.

Debuting around the time of the release of The Force Awakens was wave 2.  I still didn’t find these figures at retail until a few weeks into 2016.  Along with Kylo Ren and a FO stormtrooper, was this Princess Leia Organa figure. This wave again included only 3 figures, but at least they were all new, and had 2 characters from the new film.  I had actually passed on this the one time I saw it at retail, and only recently acquired it on eBay.

The figure sculpt is very good.  It’s simple, but elegant.  Leia is wearing the Yavin medal ceremony outfit (and it would have been great if Hasbro gave this figure a parenthetical identifier).  The sleeveless gown is part of the sculpt.  The upper body is super-articulated, with swivel elbows instead of wrists - a good aesthetic choice by Hasbro.  There is no articulation below the waist, and this isn’t a bad thing.  Leia’s gown reaches to her feet, which are separately sculpted, but do not move.  This is all good, as far as I’m concerned.  No need for wasted effort on hips and knees that would harm the appearance of the figure.  You’re not going to pose this figure in any kind of action stance, anyway.  As long as she can look nice standing and handing out medals, that’s all we ask.

There are some problems with the face, at least on my sample.  Mine had a few stray paint spots on the face and neck, but I can chalk that up to randomness specific to my figure.  The face does fall short of much of any resemblance to Carrie Fisher.  And then the worst part, nearly ruining the figure, is the weird blush applied to the cheeks. It’s actually pretty faint when looking at the figure normally, but the closeup camera shot really highlights the terribleness of this application.  I hate it.

The figure comes with a medal, which she can hold as if she is presenting it.  She also comes with a removable shawl.  In reality, this is part of her gown, and doesn’t appear to be a separate piece in the film.  But the soft goods nature makes it necessary be separate.  In the packaging, the shawl is weirdly displayed “off the shoulder”, which isn’t how it is worn.  With some manipulation, you can get it to fall in a way that more closely mimics the true appearance, but it is still off.  Nevertheless, the choice of fabric for this was pretty decent, allowing for a few different display options, even if none of them are really perfect.

It’s a simple but elegant figure.  The lack of lower body articulation is not a negative in any way, other than the fact that it’s a simple figure, and not nearly as dynamic as a fully articulated Jedi or trooper.  However, the face sculpt and the badly applied face paint do hurt a bit.  In the end, it’s a nice addition to the collection, and I think I’m good with Yavin Ceremony Leia for a while.  Frankly, it probably doesn’t matter, because the odds of us getting another one any time soon are probably close to zero anyway.

Updated Review by Bret: 11/13/19

Two major changes from the version in the Line That Shall Not Be Named:  PhotoReal and new arms. 

The Photo real is quite good. Not perfect, but good.  My biggest complaint is not with the paint application itself, so much as the choice of expression.  I think it would have been nicer if Hasbro had opted for a warm smile, rather than the stern visage that we got.  Although Leia certainly tried to be all serious at the beginning of the ceremony, I think we all remember her better when she was smiling at the heroes, and laughing at R2.  Not a big deal, just a preference.

The new arms are an interesting choice.  Again, Hasbro opted to do some tinkering with the sculpt in what could have easily been a straight repack.  The benefit is debatable.  Here we get an arm that lacks the forearm swivel that was originally present.  The advantage is that it gives Leia’s bare arms a smoother, less toy-like look.  The disadvantage is that she can no longer alter the direction of her wrists.  Maybe not a huge deal.  Hasbro did well to position her hands in such a way that she can grip the medal ribbon, but the extra articulation wasn’t something I though was an aesthetic problem.  It’s a personal preference.

Better face, and perhaps slightly better arms, give a slight edge to this new release, besides the fact that it is now on a TVC card.  Oh, speaking of which, the figure was originally released on an error VC164 cardback.  This number is actually meant for the upcoming Cara Dune from The Mandalorian.  VC150 replaces the cancelled Darth Revan, which was nixed after negative fan reaction to the proposed straight repack of the 2007 figure.

The Leia is one per case, so hopefully it doesn’t clog the pegs.  I feel Hasbro’s case assortments have improved recently, and this is another example.  I’m content to give it a point over the previous release, and we’ll call this definitive.  8/10.