Princess Leia (In Ceremonial Dress) - POTF2 [FB/CT] - Basic

A long time ago....
A new Star Wars movie will premier in movie theaters next Summer. It is Episode I of the Star Wars saga and the first movie in a new trilogy that goes back in time a full generation to tell the story of Luke Skywalker's father Anakin. We will see how Anakin became a great Jedi Knight but then turned to the dark side to become Darth Vader.

A strong-willed warrior who fought for the Rebel cause with great courage, Princess Leia Organa was a natural born leader of the Rebel Alliance. The princess always carried herself with a regal air, whether she was taking part in the fiercest of battles or participating in state ceremonies of the highest level. Although she was adopted at a young age into the Royal House of Alderaan, Leia was in fact a true princess, as her birth mother was Queen Amidala of Naboo. In her day, Amidala also proved to be an adventurous spirit and a great heroine to her people when her planet faced its greatest threat.

If you spent time trying to figure how Hasbro decides to update previously released action figures in the basic figure line, you may come up empty-handed because it rarely makes sense. But one of the most fun things about being a Star Wars collector are the sudden surprise announcements that new figures are coming our way. And we rarely care whether or not we have seen them before in the line or not. Take for instance The Power Of The Force “2” [FlashBack/CommTech] Princess Leia (In Ceremonial Dress). We actually got a pretty cool version of her in the “green” phase of The Power Of The Force line a year earlier, but now she gets her first billing as a basic action figure. Some have argued Hasbro took steps backwards instead of forwards since they abandoned soft-goods in favor of molded clothing, but there are probably just as many people who are thrilled to see such a nicely sculpted “full” version of her based on her appearance at the Yavin IV ceremony which was just a few moments of the entire film. We admit that both versions looks great, but it’s probably the FlashBack version that looks most screen accurate. With a pack-in "FlashBack" photo gimmick that shows an Original Trilogy character transforming into a Prequel Trilogy version of that charcater or an all-new PT character, this new line of figures is sure to interest collectors of all persuasions.

The Princess Leia Collection of figures were definitely exciting for the time. But we believe that was all about piquing the interest of female Star Wars fans. The inclusion of soft-goods and the doe-eyed expressions on the figures were definitely geared with girls in mind (but we’ll never be able to prove it). Boys (i.e. adult male collectors) loved the figures just as much and we all collected more sets of these than we probably anticipated. Now we have the official “collector” version of Princess Leia (In Ceremonial Dress) and she is likely going to make collectors of all genders and ages very, very happy. We think Hasbro has great difficulty in attaining good Princess Leia Organa likenesses, but they did reasonably well with this figure. But we think the figure’s greatest strength is the overall sculpt. She has a beautiful figure, dainty arms, a gorgeous necklace and a hairstyle that will boggle the mind. No real hair has been added here, but the quasi bee-hive hairdo (or B-52 hairstyle as it is known in the South) has been expertly tooled to capture the attitude of our favorite space princess. Everything seems perfectly in place with this figure and we’re quite happy with the final results. Overall, Princess Leia (In Ceremonial Dress) is very attractive, has a womanly shape and is the perfect complement to the various Yavin IV themed action figures we have already received.

In a surprising move, Hasbro tried to recreate the sheerness of her gown by sculpting a separate “cape” on this figure that is translucent. The effect is quite impressive and we’re thrilled with how realistic this works on this action figure. There is no doubt she is extremely limited in articulation, but how much do you really need Princess Leia to have in this outfit? All she essentially did was stand around and give out medals. Speaking of medals, Hasbro included one Yavin medal, so you will have to choose who is going to get it. Be creative and give it to Chewbacca is you’re so inclined. But the nice thing about Princess Leia (In Ceremonial Dress) is that she’s able to hold the medal unassisted which is rather impressive based on this figure’s severe lack of articulation. The paint operations are nice, but we think Hasbro made her appear a little too “whorish” but that is really no ones fault. Whenever you try to make a female “pretty” with makeup, a slight overage will create this effect. She can stand up well and do her job, so what else could you possibly want with her. (We do think she is too tall, but Hasbro hasn’t made scale a priority.) But Princess Leia (In Ceremonial Dress) is a fine effort. We really like what they did with her here. A unique and very rare packaging variant exists on this figure. Princess Leia (In Ceremonial Dress) can be found with this card back difference. It's extremely hard to find and goes for a pretty penny on eBay.