Queen Amidala (Royal Decoy) - POTJ - Basic

As the Trade Federation plan to invade peaceful Naboo unfolds, Queen Amidala must appeal to the Senate for help.

In times of danger, the handmaidens serve as secret bodyguards by posing as the Queen, such as on her way to the Galactic Senate on Coruscant, in which Sabé served as the dependable and nonchalant decoy for the Queen.

Why is Sabé “Sabé (Queen’s Decoy)” for one action figure, and then “Queen Amidala (Royal Decoy)” for another? Perhaps not even Hasbro is sure why. There was a great deal of unnecessary confusion with regards to the action figures based on Queen Amidala’s actual character and the decoys who helped disguise her when the missions were extremely dangerous. Things got even more confusing when Hasbro decided to release three (3) Queen Amidala action figures in the Power Of The Jedi line. It’s not that they’ve been entirely consistent throughout the years when naming action figures. They’ve been “guilty” of naming “Luke Skywalker (Bespin Fatigues)” and “Han Solo (Bespin Outfit)” as “Bespin Luke Skywalker” and “Bespin Han Solo” respectively and although we really can’t fault them too much for those changes, it makes things a little harder when they're identifying characters not entirely correctly. But what happens when the naming convention borders on being a misnomer? That’s where we’re at with Queen Amidala (Royal Decoy). To be as clear as possible, a name like Sabé (Black Travel Gown Disguise) may have been the best option. The movie has already been out for two years by the time the figure hit pegs. Obviously the secret was out, so why not shed light on the confusion once and for all.

OK, so about the darn action figure? The importance of how a figure was named really pales in comparison when it comes to where the figure stands in the basic figure line, doesn’t it? Queen Amidala (Royal Decoy) is another excellent action figure based on the many outfits worn by Padmé Amidala and/or her handmaidens in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. What makes Queen Amidala (Royal Decoy) a little bit more confusing than the other outfits is that publicity stills of this outfit show it being worn by Natalie Portman and not Keira Knightley. However, in the film, it was only Keira Knightley who donned this outfit. The reason photographic imagery exists of Natalie Portman wearing the outfit was because the secret of there being a decoy wasn’t out yet and George Lucas needed to “fool” the eyes of all Star Wars fans in order not reveal the spoiler. Queen Amidala (Royal Decoy) is a great interpretation of Sabé from Episode I. Of course, it’s extremely limited in articulation, but it has a great sculpt, a nice likeness and amazingly looks different enough from the Padmé Amidala version of the Queen already in the line. Although very stark by comparison to the other colorful outfits in the film, Queen Amidala (Royal Decoy) is beautiful nonetheless.

Queen Amidala (Royal Decoy) comes with only a swivel head, two swivel shoulders, two swivel elbows and a swivel torso which can only be articulated underneath the skirt. Her gown opens up widely and she seems like she is mostly comprised of air than plastic due to the design of how it falls. The sculpting of the texture of her gown is simply stunning. There is a pattern similar to how shingles get laid on a roof and the whole dress itself is as exquisite as it is simple. There are decorative elements added to the gown as well. You’ll find gold crests, gold designs and a gold gown underneath the black outer gown which give the costume depth and layers. Hasbro did a fair job at crafting her feathered crown, but it looks a bit thick. Obviously they couldn’t have used real feathers here, but there probably was something else they could have done instead to give it a more natural aesthetic. We’re quite please overall though with how Queen Amidala (Royal Decoy) came out. The action figures based on these ornate outfits cannot be super-articulated. There is no way possible. So as long as Hasbro can find way to add at least a few points of articulation, and design a breathtaking action figure, we’re fine with this sentiment. In the case of Queen Amidala (Royal Decoy), we’re very satisfied with the results.