Princess Leia Organa - TBSA - Six Inch Figures

Princess Leia Organa was one of the Rebel Alliance's greatest leaders, fearless on the battlefield and dedicted to ending the tyranny of the Empire.

“We LOVE Princess Leia!” It’s the longest-running one-liner used to mock many of their silly decisions and generally avoid the stuff collectors want. It seems to sum up everything, so ideally, most times. But let’s face it, the first 6-inch version of A New Hope Princess Leia Organa was such a debacle, the “sneak peek” image in the display case at a convention in 2016 nearly broke the internet. People claimed it made 1995’s POTF2 [R/G] Princess Leia Organa a beauty pageant winner by comparison. Thankfully, Hasbro listened and began working on a revised portrait, but sadly, the “revised” version wasn’t much better. So, Hasbro went back to the drawing board and devised plans for an all-new portrait that would best capture the distinct looks of Carrie Fisher, and work them into plastic for a definitive interpretation of our favorite princess. Hasbro got the revised figure ready in time for The Black Series [Star Wars 40] commemorative lineup and got it into the case assortments. Generally speaking, collectors were semi-satisfied with the updated head sculpt. Still, sadly, the deco didn’t bring the enhancements to full fruition, as if something got lost on the figures intended for retail purchase. Both Hasbro and collectors, tired of the back and forth and mistreatment of the character, put Princess Leia Organa away on the shelf for a while until we could look at it with fresh eyes.

Now, Hasbro added the best-looking Princess Leia Organa 6-inch action figure in The Black Series Archive line by repainting 2017’s The Black Series [Star Wars 40] Princess Leia Organa figure and updated the deco with a Photo Real application. The final results are splendidly excellent. The skin tone, the detail in the face, and the primary paint operations make this a beautiful action figure. Still, if you’re into the new way Hasbro incorporates articulation, you may find that Princess Leia Organa doesn’t meet your expectations until Hasbro invests in new tooling. However, we’re enjoying this figure, imperfections and all, and it’s the first time we feel the necessary satisfaction for this pivotal and unforgettable Star Wars character. Regardless of how you think about the articulation, the body of Princess Leia Organa looks good on this release. Not only is the silhouette of the body screen accurate, but the posture and stature are also excellent and lifelike. In our opinion, Hasbro also tweaked the soft-goods hood, which lays perfectly on the figure’s head just as it did in the film when Leia hid the plans of the Death Star inside of R2-D2. The articulation system is still excellent too. Double hinge-jointed elbows and knees do wonders for posing, and there are soft goods to hide the awkward-looking joints.

The swivel thighs and ball-jointed torso maximize the range of motion while posing the figure. Princess Leia Organa looks great holding the signature blaster or using the stolen Stormtrooper E-11 rifle also included. There is a great deal of stuff to appreciate here, and Hasbro did an excellent job from head to toe to ensure this updated version of Leia is significantly better. What’s more, Hasbro has a great base sculpt (below the neck) with which they can continue to make other female characters with tweaking, redesigning, and new approaches, or until they design a better female buck. Currently, Princess Leia Organa comes with 30 points across 19 areas of articulation. And the belt and soft-goods gown are also removable if you have a sense of adventure and patience. It’s not easy undressing these action figures. It takes some refinement and skill. Admittedly, we’re suckers for “greatest hits” collections, and we’re enjoying The Black Series Archive line. We’re also fond of the packaging. It takes the best of the awful The Black Series [Phase III] line look, eliminates the glaring red, and reworked gray, silver, and gold (for the dreadful Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary logo) into the card. On the back shows a timeline of the Star Wars era. And generally speaking, The Black Series Archive line might look the most attractive of Hasbro’s modern packaging.