Padmé Amidala - LC - Basic (BD35)

Padmé has worn many mantles during her young life, including queen, senator and warrior. She brings her characteristic poise and intelligence to each role, whether she is in a diplomatic discussion or facing a menacing encounter with an enemy.

If you are likely to get irritated because you thought this figure was a straight repack of the 2008 TLC The Padmé Amidala Legacy Evolutions figure, we encourage you to skip right over this review. But if this has no bearing on your mental health, then feel free to continue reading. We give this advisory because Padmé Amidala is not the simple repack we initially thought she was. It made sense for us all to have the propensity to believe that this was an unchanged figure and for the most part, not too much is different. But there are things about her that make her annoyingly new enough. First, her soft-goods shawl is made from a different (albeit very close) fabric. We believe this is simply due to the fact that they were created at two different times. But they are indeed distinct and the weave pattern is ribbed on the Evolutions figure while the "new" figure is much smoother in texture. The second noticeable difference is her hair. While the Evolutions figure has a lighter and flat brown color, the new figure is darker and shinier. Less apparent but still evident is a noticeable difference in her belt. Although this may vary sample to sample, we have discovered that the Evolutions figure has a very smooth and shiny belt while the new figure is duller and more textured. The colors on the non-white parts of her costume are slightly different too. We admit this is a bizarre change and are unable to fully comprehend why Hasbro revised this ever so slightly, but needless to say they are nonetheless there on our figure. If you have the Evolutions set, you know what to expect from this action figure as far as articulation is concerned. Complete with a generous amount of articulation points, Padmé is capable of most movement and her joints are hidden very well.

She is posed in very straight form and it makes posing her quite a joy and her articulation system is very collector friendly. The joints also match the outfit so you don't get any glaring mismatching there which is a wonderful thing. There is no need to spent wasted time on posing her just so because she has a great center of gravity and balance right out of the package. Her likeness is great, but we have noticed that her hair parts in the center much too high, almost as if a section of hair has been ripped out causing a bald spot. No need to worry, this is a tiny detail that we have noticed and may be something you will be able to forgive or overlook. She comes with a blaster pistol that fits into a functioning holster and she also comes with an "off-screen" hood that has been utilized in the new The Clone Wars series. The Evolutions line has been put into retirement (for now) and many of the figures that were part of that collector-focused line have been slowly making their way into the basic figure line. (And honestly, this is the place we think that they should have been released from the very beginning.) Premium sculpted figures need their place in the spotlight in the basic figure line. Otherwise, they seem to get hidden in multipacks when there is competition vying for attention. And while it has taken some time for Jango Fett, Clone Pilot, Boba Fett, Darth Maul, Anakin Skywalker (all first released in the Evolutions assortments) and now Padmé Amidala to finally see release as a single-carded figure, it is a pleasure to get finally get them in this form once and for all. They all deserved single-carded treatment anyhow. They're all awesome figures with loads of detail and articulation serve the Star Wars toy line best as a basic figure. (We also hope the same becomes of Comic Packs and Battle Packs figures too.) Too many themes can muddle and affect the line negatively.

Clearly, Padmé Amidala is an excellent action figure. This column nitpicks and criticizes the smallest of details, but we don't want you to be misled when figures are truly spectacular. (And when a figure gets revisited and is recreated in a definitive manner, it makes the wait worthwhile.) We want to be forthright when it comes to making wise aciton figure choices. They're getting more expensive so dollars must be allocated wisely. As for this figure, this white outfit has seen a few releases throughout the years and while they all differed in multiple aspects from each other, they all shared this similar theeme. Thankfully, right now this is the best you can get. These figures include 2002's SW [S - P1] Padmé Amidala ('02 #02), 2003's SW [S - P2] Padmé Amidala ('03 #04), 2006's TSC Padmé Amidala (SAGA 067) and now this figure. The accuracy and likeness of the figure got better with each release but the 2009 basic figure is obviously the definitive version. As we didn't get an Attack Of The Clones focused wave in the red phase of the Legacy Collection, it was nice to get "filler" figures based on this source. We don't use the word "filler" to be pejorative, but rather imply that these are an inevitable necessity. And in the specific case of Padmé Amidala, we are extremely thankful to get an action figure based on this character that is more than a statue, i.e. a Padmé Amidala action figure that has legs and super-articulation. The Queen Amidala figures of late are significantly lacking, especially 2009's LC Queen Amidala (BD06), and we wished all of the figures based on her were made with such impeccable design and construction as this "droid factory chase" Padmé Amidala. It is an excellent figure. If you passed on the Evolutions set, be sure to consider this figure – it is superb!