Sunday, October 3, 2010

Perfect Rendition Of The Sexy Slave Leia Figure Arrives With The Legacy Collection Princess Leia!


The Good: Great casting (likeness), Wonderful articulation, Great accessories, Decent collectibility
The Bad: None that I can find
The Basics: A perfect figure, not just for sex appeal but for articulation, accessories and sculpt quality, the Legacy Collection Princess Leia truly is the best Slave Leia figure made!


Arguably, there is no greater sex symbol in science fiction geek culture which has effectively passed into the mainstream of American society as the Slave Leia. In virtually every successful line of Star Wars toys, Princess Leia as she appeared while Jabba the Hutt's prisoner has been rendered in her little metal bikini and, try as they might, none of the toymakers truly got the likeness and full effect perfect until Hasbro's 2009 Legacy Collection Princess Leia. I have been slow to get the Legacy Collection figures, but the ones I have found so far have been pretty exceptional and vast improvements on the previous sculpts.

For those unfamiliar with Princess Leia as she appeared in while Jabba's prisoner, Leia entered Jabba's Palace disguised as a bounty hunter in Return Of The Jedi (click here for my review!), but she was exposed after rescuing Han Solo from carbonite. As punishment, Leia was enslaved and forced to sit before Jabba like a trophy in a very small outfit.

With her potential for popularity obvious among both toy enthusiasts and Star Wars fans, this outfit for Princess Leia has been oft-recast. But, with the Legacy Collection, this 4" Princess Leia figure is perfect .

Basics

The Slave Princess Leia is incredibly detailed for a 3 1/4" tall action figure. Princess Leia was released in 2009 as part of Hasbro's Legacy Collection with the Droid Factory bonus. The popular character from "Return Of The Jedi" is cast in hard plastic and looks exactly like Carrie Fisher in her iconic outfit.

This toy is an impressive sculpt, capturing Princess Leia's defiant expression and gray, gold (actually more copper-colored in this rendition) and maroon outfit. The head is an amazing piece of work, featuring the high cheekbones of Princess Leia and even her tight, long ponytail which was high on the back of her head. She even features her severed chain from when R2-D2 burned it off for her! The figure's eyes and eyebrows are well-detailed and even the tiny earrings in the ears look realistic! Princess Leia's skin is monotonally white (caucasian) and that works surprisingly fine for this figure. In fact, the only molding detail that seems even a little off is the fact that this Princess Leia lacks fingernails or knuckles!

The costuming details look good as well. Princess Leia is outfitted in a gold and gray bikini with the maroon loincloth skirt being made out of actual fabric. She also has her calf-length boots with the appropriate gold accents and that is pretty cool.

Accessories

Princess Leia, enslaved to the wormlike Jabba the Hutt as she is, comes with three accessories: a second pair of legs, a drinking glass and her staff in addition to the droid part. The drinking glass is a 5/8" tall by 1/4" in diameter clear and black plastic tapered cylinder which looks like a drinking glass filled with a clear liquid. The glass fits easily in the figure's left hand, but not her right.

Princess Leia also comes with the staff she stole from a skiff guard while escaping Jabba's sail barge. The 3 3/4" long gunmetal colored staff has all sorts of detailing which makes it look like it is a cattle prod of some sort. The back end of it has a fin which as molded buttons that look functional as well!

But the best accessory for the slave Leia figure is the alternate pair of legs which come with this sculpt. Twisting the upper half of the Leia figure off, one may remove Leia's torso from her legs. Then, she may be plugged into her alternate legs. Her alternate legs are a one-piece molded block which have Leia's legs folded underneath her just as they were in the movie. Because of the problems with the toy's groin socket joints, there has never been a Slave Leia figure which could mimic the exact positioning of Leia from the movie. That limitation is gone now, though with this alternate set of legs!

This figure was part of the "Droid Factory" line of the Legacy Collection figures and the basic premise was that for every four figures you bought, you'd get a fifth which would be assembled from parts in each of the four toys in the collection. Princess Leia comes with central barrel section of the R3-M3 droid. This is a bright blue R2 style droid and this part looks good!

Playability

The four inch toy line was designed for play and Princess Leia is amazing in that regard. Not only does this Legacy Collection figure have amazing articulation, but she looks good while having increased flexibility! First, she is amazingly well-balanced. Second, Princess Leia comes with fifteen points of articulation, many of which are not just simple swivel joints. Princess Leia has joints at the ankles, knees, groin socket, shoulders, elbows, wrists, neck, bust and waist and she twists at any of those points. The shoulders, elbows AND knees are all ball-and-socket joints and the head is on a ball joint, which allows her to nod up and down as well as look left to right. In a fair fight against even the figures from 2004, Princess Leia has more dexterity, balance and posability, making her a great toy!

And for whatever improbable poses one might find where she will not remain standing, there are playsets with foot pegs which fit into the holes in either of Princess Leia's feet.

Collectibility

Princess Leia is part of the 2009 Legacy Collection four-inch series, a series of Star Wars action figures that was not incredibly common and this version of Princess Leia has sold out virtually everywhere she ever appeared. Fans of the toys saw an investment winner in this figure and because this Princess Leia was not overproduced, she is now usually only available on the secondary market. Because of the improved articulation and fairly limited nature of the figure, she ought to become an excellent investment figure, even if right now she is still occasionally found at a deal price.

Princess Leia is BD17 in the Legacy Collection and is one that is ideal for collectors looking for a broad sense of the Star Wars universe!

Overview

Princess Leia in her enslaved bikini outfit makes for a perfect figure for more than just the obvious reasons and with the Legacy Collection, Hasbro finally gets the figure perfectly right!

For other Legacy Collection Star Wars action figures, please check out my reviews of:
BD39 Jawa with Security Droid
BD50 Cloud City Wing Guard
BD52 R2-X2

10/10

For other toy reviews, please check out my index page!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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