Princess Leia (Endor) - TVC - Basic (VC191)

Hasbro updated 2007’s VTSC Princess Leia Organa (In Combat Poncho) for The Vintage Collection in an almost unbelievable move. By incorporating a new head sculpt and new paint operations that render the original release almost unrecognizable, the newly named Princess Leia (Endor) exceeded our expectations, much more than we’d ever anticipated. This figure’s release is so incredible that we have to give it a better score than its predecessor. And because of the triumphantly victorious success, Hasbro, with this update, made it clear that there is no reason to update this version of General Leia Organa in a 3.75-inch scale again. We feel this one doesn’t miss the mark in any way, save for articulation. But the upgrades here are so good; you probably won’t care about the figure’s lack of articulation. (There are still plenty of articulation points here, but they didn’t add anything additional.) The only thing that stinks about Princess Leia (Endor) is that it’s a Walmart exclusive. This beautiful figure deserves widespread release. Oh, and let us not forget about the figure’s packaging. Hasbro emblazoned an obnoxious “Lucasfilm 50” graphic onto the front of the figure’s card. “No one” collecting cares about this landmark, and it destroys the authenticity of the original Kenner release.

Despite the card issues, Princess Leia (Endor) is a tremendous update to 2007’s VTSC Princess Leia Organa (In Combat Poncho) figure. Sadly, we don’t anticipate too many collectors taking notice of all that Hasbro has done to make this figure the best it could be and perhaps the last definitive version we’ll ever receive in a 3.75-inch scale. Let’s begin with the portrait. Hasbro tooled an all-new head sculpt. And it’s beautiful Hasbro worked in Carrie Fisher’s feminine and delicate features and gave the general a movie-accurate likeness that rivals past Leia head sculpts, in both the 3.75-inch and 6-inch scales. The Photo Real employed here is magical. You’ll find Leia’s doe-brown eyes and freckles across the face. And the figure has a slight rosy red color on both cheeks. They imitated the on-screen character’s likeness gorgeously. But that’s not all they did with the head sculpt. Remember the “giraffe” neck on this figure? Well, it’s still here, but they designed the portrait to sit lower on it, and it covers up the distance between the head and the neck. They also have the hair a different style which also sits lower on the back, covering up the gap. It finally looks normal here, for the first time – a decade and a half later. Unbelievable.

But that’s not all! Miraculously, Hasbro finally matched the color of Princess Leia’s combat poncho to more closely resemble both the on-screen costume as well as 1984’s ROTJ Princess Leia Organa (In Combat Poncho) Kenner figure. The new colors are vibrant and bold, and they add so much to the figure, giving it a feeling of newness and freshness. But that’s not all! Hasbro completely repainted the figure. Finally, it’s evident that Hasbro paid CLOSE ATTENTION to the costume, and they gave it a completely new paint scheme. The best is army green now. The shirt is tan or khaki, and the pants are that in-between blue and green color that we see in the film. Most notable, however, is that Hasbro added a black belt, and by illusion, "filled" in the gap on the back of the figure. The "port" on the original version is jarring, but they changed it for the 2021 refresh. Oh, and they also added green paint to parts of the belt. The only detail they missed was that they gave the figure the incorrect blaster again. They included the long-barrel blaster here once again, unfortunately. Folks, this is going to be the best version of this action figure we’ll ever get. Don’t cut your nose to spite your face. This upgraded figure is a tremendous accomplishment. It is beautiful and worthy of your purchase.