Thursday, November 11, 2010

I Swear, It's Not Just Because It's Boushh That The Sideshow Boushh Is A Perfect Doll!


The Good: Amazing sculpt, Exceptional costume detailing, Great accessories, Wonderful posability and balance, Collectible value!
The Bad: None that I can find!
The Basics: An underappreciated bounty hunter, the Princess Leia as Boushh 1:6 scale doll from Sideshow Collectibles is absolutely incredible!


Despite how it might appear, given how I have been transferring over many of my favorable reviews, on the site I used to write for, I was known as something of a curmudgeon. I reviewed a lot of things and I went out of my way to experience things that I knew I would not necessarily like to challenge myself and bring balance to my reviews. So, it might seem odd that on the heels of my Original Trilogy Collection Princess Leia as Boushh figure review (available here!), I would so quickly review another perfect Boushh toy. But the truth is, my wife got me this doll for my recent birthday and I had to review it. I actually looked for faults in the 1:6 scale doll, but this is an exceptional doll and my wife and I spent two hours turning this doll upside down. This is an amazing doll. Thus far, I've only reviewed the 12" Lando Calrissian doll and the 12" Boba Fett doll before now in this blog and the Sideshow Collectibles 1:6 scale Boushh doll fits in nicely with them. It is the correct scale, but vastly more articulate and detailed than the Kenner/Hasbro equivalent.

For those unfamiliar with Princess Leia as Boushh, this is how Princess Leia entered Return Of The Jedi (click here for my review!). Disguised as a helmeted bounty hunter, Boushh sold Chewbacca to Jabba The Hutt, extorting him for a greater ransom using a thermal detonator. This oft-neglected bounty hunter earned the respect of Boba Fett and Jabba The Hutt before freeing Han Solo from his carbonite prison and getting captured, in the process revealing that she was Princess Leia in disguise.

The Sideshow Princess Leia as Boushh doll is an immaculate work that looks precisely like the subject and includes accessories that fit the character perfectly. This has quickly become one of the cornerstone pieces in my personal collection and I heartily recommend it to anyone who is building a 12" Star Wars doll collection.

Basics

Boushh is Princess Leia disguised a bounty hunter and she had about ten minutes of screentime in Return Of The Jedi. The figure stands 11 3/8" tall to the top of her human head, about 1/8" taller when her human head is replaced with the Boushh helmet. This makes perfect sense as Princess Leia was a little shorter than other characters and this 1:6 scale figure captures that well.

The 1:6 scale Princess Leia as Boushh doll features Princess Leia in the tan, brown and orange outfit that makes Boushh recognizable. She is clothed in actual cloth costuming, from her brown pants to her leather belt to the tan cape that she has slung over one shoulder. In fact, the only plastic on the costuming are Boushh's boots - which are cast in a matte finish plastic that makes them fit the tone of the rest of the outfit wonderfully - the breastplate and detailing like the spikes on Boushh's gloves!

The doll beneath is made of hard plastic and it was appropriately stiff coming out of the package, making it easy for the collector to post Boushh, but not so easy that she falls over from being too loose. The head and helmet are made of equally solid plastic and actually have some weight to them.

This doll is an immaculate sculpt, looking precisely like the Carrie Fisher did in her early scenes in Return Of The Jedi. The human head is slightly tanned and features subtle highlights to the hair. The detailing on Leia's face is so extraordinary that eyelashes are faintly painted on and the character's nostrils are cast into the figure. These details are so lifelike, I was tempted to do surgery on my Boushh doll to see if Sideshow Collectibles gave her lungs! Sideshow escapes the usual kvetching about skin tones be both getting the shin tones on the face right and covering every other inch of Boushh with clothing, making her inscrutable to her enemies!

What makes the figure so impressive and a distinct step up from the Kenner version of Boushh in the 12" line (other than getting the proportions and coloring right) is the level of detail. Sideshow Collectibles places a real emphasis on quality and Boushh's costume is colored to exhibit wear, so her light tan jacket is smudged with gray and brown to make it look like she has come through the dessert. This is not a clean-looking doll and that is perfect because the character didn't look clean in the movie!

Accessories

Princess Leia as Boushh, disguised as she is, comes loaded with accessories, four primary ones and six supplemental costume pieces. The six supplemental pieces are canisters and tubes. Why Sideshow Collectibles left these off the figure is a bit of a mystery to me, except that some of them go in back and that might have made the packaging more difficult. These accent pieces give Boushh more realism because the bounty hunter came loaded with equipment in the movie. Placing them on the figure - there are enough pictures of Boushh on the box to give obsessive collectors looking for a realistic placement scheme a fair chance at getting the placement right!

Boushh, like a good bounty hunter, comes with a weapon and in this case it is the staff that she was seen with in the film. The thirteen inch plastic staff (yes, it is taller than Boushh!) is not simply monotonally black. Instead, it has gunmetal accents at its top and at the stocklike base. The staff fits in either hand and has great coglike details on the head which make it a rival for detailing with the actual figure.

Boushh comes with her backpack as well. Detailed beautifully with Ubese writing on it, the backpack is essentially two large canisters connected by plates on the "front" (going into the character's back and backplate) and a tube on the back. This, too, is not monotonal and it features silver accents and fits the character wonderfully. The truth is, I thought the backpack was going to be a sticking point for the figure as I could not get mine to stay on Boushh. However, when I pushed the backpack until it clicked on, I had not problems getting it to stay! Gentle persistence makes the design of this accessory work.

The hardest to render accessory is arguably the thermal detonator. The thermal detonator is a textured sphere only about 3/8" in diameter. Sideshow got it right both by coloring it a dulled silver and by including the sliding switch needed to activate the device! Even if the switch is not slidable, the fact that it has that detailing supports this amazing toy.

Then there is the distinctive helmet. The Boushh helmet is so cool that Star Trek Deep Space Nine essentially stole it for the Breen helmets (or, as I like to suggest, it was an homage!). The Sideshow Princess Leia as Boushh doll features the orange helmet with the square visor top and it is so detailed that it has the little sensor on the side! As well, this is not colored uniformly to look like it is new. Instead, it is colored to show appropriate wear and fit the rest of the figure. Sideshow Collectibles was exceptionally smart about the helmet as well. It comes with a dummy neck which allows the doll to wear the helmet and retain articulation! So, instead of placing the helmet over the Leia head, one must actually pop that head off and replace it with the helmeted head! Very cool.

Boushh also comes with a doll stand that fully supports the doll and is an unobtrusive black that may be easily hidden underneath the doll's cape.

Playability

I don't know who plays with these twelve-inch figures. Most of us display the 12" dolls and the 1:6 scale Princess Leia as Boushh figure is designed for that. As far as displaying, though, there is much to recommend Boushh. First, Boushh is exceptionally well-balanced. Without her accessories, she may be stood in various poses and my wife even got her to balance well in a squatting, ready-to-fire position! That's great balance!

But what makes the Sideshow Collectibles doll absolutely bury the Kenner and Hasbro equivalents in the same scale is the articulation. This Leia doll has at least seventeen points of articulation, almost all of which are hinged ball and socket joints. So, while Boushh twists at the ankles, she has realistic range of motion at the groin sockets, waist, bust, shoulder, wrists, and neck and inhuman articulation at the knees and elbows (unless, of course, she were double-jointed or a contortionist)! What is so incredible about the articulation is that even the fingers have some articulation, so Boushh can hold the thermal detonator in her left hand!

Collectibility

Boushh is part of a very rare line of Heroes Of The Rebellion dolls from Sideshow Collectibles. I do not have the exact production numbers, but this 2007 doll is exceptionally hard to find on the secondary market. Her packaging is an excellent display box with magnetic openings which allows the collector to see exactly what they are getting beforehand. That, however, is likely only to make one covet it more.

Despite the Princess Leia as Boushh doll fluctuating in price recently, the Sideshow Collectibles dolls tend to retain and grow their value quite well, largely because the craftsmanship of the dolls is so incredible. Boushh is a great investment for anyone who loves the original Star Wars trilogy or Star Wars bounty hunters.

Overview

There is nothing that isn't incredible about the Sideshow Boushh doll and she is enough to make those who might be squeamish about starting a science fiction doll collection get over their qualms. This is an exceptional work of craftsmanship, has great balance and (for those who would want to) playability, as well as collectible value. It is a winner in every way and I am fortunate to have a wife who had the resources and eagerness to add this to my collection!

For other dolls and Star Wars figures reviewed by me, please check out my reviews of:
Hot Toys The Dark Knight 1:6 Scale Two-Face Doll
Twilight Edward Cullen Barbie doll
Shadows Of The Empire Swoop Vehicle

10/10

For other toy reviews, please be sure to check out my index page by clicking here!

© 2010, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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