Sunday, December 12, 2010

Leesub Sirln: A Perfect Figure Even If Most Star Wars Fans Haven't Heard Of Her!





The Good: Great sculpt, Wonderful articulation, Good balance, Excellent accessories.
The Bad: Minor paint scratch issues on mine
The Basics: One of the few females in A New Hope, Leesub Sirln finally arrives in action figure form with an amazingly articulated action figure any Star Wars collector will want!


I hadn't bought Star Wars figures in years until my wife started me back up on them. I hit my thirties, had to spend money on keeping a house (which I lost), downsized my collections and stopped finding time to play even occasionally. So, it had been a few years since I last got a brand spankin' new Star Wars action figure. My wife, however, seems to like the aspect of me where I can be an adult and have a toy chest, so this year for Valentine's Day, she presented me with not one, but two new Star Wars action figures. The first was Leesub Sirln and the truth is, as we cracked her open together, my wife and I quickly came to realize that in the years between when I last got Star Wars figures and now, Hasbro has perfected making figures in their 4" scale!

For those unfamiliar with Leesub, relax, there's almost no way you'd recognize the name unless you were obsessively involved in Star Wars culture beyond watching the actual films. Leesub Sirln is the name given to the pink bulbous-headed lady carrying a drink in the background of the Cantina scene in A New Hope (reviewed here!). She is literally on screen for about three seconds, if that long, and Hasbro has gotten through the a-list heroes and villains and b-list aliens that they are now plumbing the backgrounds for the c-string aliens.

That being the case, the 4" Leesub Sirln figure is perfect and it's impressive that on such a throwaway character, Hasbro bothered to make such an amazing action figure.

Basics

Leesub Sirln is the only casting of the Qiraash precognate and she is astonishingly detailed for a 3 1/2" tall action figure. Leesub Sirln was released in 2009 as part of Hasbro's Legacy Collection with the Droid Factory bonus. The obscure character from A New Hope is cast in hard plastics and looks exactly like the character she is supposed to (in addition to the blurry photo, Leesub Sirln is featured on one of the gaming cards from Decipher's "Star Wars" CCG Premiere set.

This toy is an impressive sculpt, capturing Leesub Sirln's neutral expression and silver '70's lame outfit. The head is an amazing piece of work, featuring the domed anterior lobe of Leesub Sirln and the mechanical implants her head is covered with. There is even a tuft of hair on the back of her head which the mechanical constructs seem to disappear into! The figure's eyes and eyebrows are well-detailed and even the tiny ears have enough crevices to look realistic! Leesub Sirln's skin is monotonally pink and that is fine when one considers the make-up or lighting on the character made her appear monotonal in her skin tones. The molding details are so exceptional that Leesub Sirln has tiny fingernails!

The costuming details look good as well. Leesub Sirln is outfitted in a silver and black outfit which has a very short skirt over (part of) her backside. And while her calf-length boots are black and have a noticeable holster for her blaster, most of her outfit is silver with a sheen that realistically captures the metallic-colored fabric as best an action figure might. Here is the only gripe I could find with this figure: mine had a scratch on the back and Leesub Sirln's ankles were not painted fully at the joint, so some of her pink plastic underneath was showing. These appear to be unique to my figure and not a manufacturing error, so it is easy to overlook this when considering the overall quality of the action figure.

Accessories

Leesub Sirln, fleeing the Empire as the figure's card tells us she is, requires few accessories. In fact, all she comes with is her blaster and a drinking glass in addition to the droid part. The drinking glass is a 3/8" tall by 1/4" in diameter clear plastic ribbed cylinder which looks like a drinking glass filled with a clear liquid. The glass fits easily in the figure's right hand and because the stiff plastic resists opening further, the hand stays tight on the glass and no matter how I have arranged the figure, this tiny choking hazard has never fallen from her grasp!

Leesub Sirln also comes with a little blaster. The 5/8" long soft plastic gun is in perfect proportion to the rest of the figure, so the barrel is almost as thin as her fingers! The gun is cast in silver-gray plastic and has black highlights, so it has excellent painted details as well as molded ones. The gun fits in Leesub Sirln's left hand perfectly, loosely in the right or nicely in the boot holster. She can be a partygoer with a drink one moment or an assassin with a gun drawn the next!

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 five toys in the collection. Leesub Sirln comes with the right (when facing it) leg of the R4-P44 droid.

Playability

The four inch toy line was designed for play and Leesub Sirln is amazing in that regard. I've been away from the "Star Wars" toys for so long, I was not aware of how good the improvements with the newest figures in the Legacy line were! As well, she is amazingly well-balanced. My partner put her in a position much like the Rebels at the beginning of A New Hope with her gun drawn, one hand supporting the other wrist, one knee forward, on leg back and not only could Leesub Sirln be put in such a position, she remained balanced while there! She comes with fourteen points of articulation, many of which are not just simple swivel joints. Leesub Sirln has joints at the ankles, knees, groin socket, shoulders, elbows, wrists, neck, 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, Leesub Sirln 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 Leesub Sirln's feet.

Collectibility

Leesub Sirln is part of the 2009 Legacy Collection four-inch series, a series of Star Wars action figures that was not incredibly common, but has been slow in selling (my partner found Leesub Sirln in clearance with another figure as part of a 2-for-1 liquidation). Arguably, the slow sales have to do with the economy and the fact that the Legacy Collection is focusing on obscure characters that die-hard fans will like, but mainstream collectors might not so easily go for. Leesub Sirln was not overproduced and this is the only time her figure has been made, so past trends would indicate she is an excellent investment figure, even if right now she is being clearanced.

Leesub Sirln is BD34 in the Legacy Collection and is one that is ideal for collectors looking for a broad sense of the Star Wars universe!

Overview

Leesub Sirln might well be one of the most obscure background characters in the Star Wars Saga, but Hasbro managed to make an awesome action figure of her which will no doubt please the die hard fans and their loved ones who get to watch them play enthusiastically with her!

For other Legacy Collection figures, please check out my reviews of:
BD17 Princess Leia (Slave Leia)
BD39 Jawa with Security Droid
BD41 The Utai
BD42 Jeremoch Colton
BD50 Wing Guard
BD52 R2-X2
BD55 Snowtrooper

10/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

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



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