Hello, readers! I got my The Black Series™ 3.75" Padme Amidala figure in her Geonosis Arena outfit! Today I'll be telling you all about the buying experience - but the main part of this post will be reviewing the figure itself. Hope you like it!
First off the bat, I want to apologise for the shitty stock photo I've used up above - I wanted to keep the theme running from my first Star Wars action figure review of Rey. Because this figure is fairly old (not really, but, in comparison to the new releases it is) it was bloody hard to find any useable stock photos of it. I did what I could, but sorry. It is just for introductory purposes anyway.
I ordered this from eBay from a Phillippines-based user named tunghori - unfortunately, there were no brand new Padme Amidala figures online for less than $70, so I went with buying an opened figure that, according to the seller, was used only for displaying in store. I'm not too fussed by this - I would've opened it anyway - and I got a really good price for it, seeing as it is the first figure made in an adult collectable series. I had it sent to me via standard delivery, and it seems to be the seller's policy not to provide an estimated delivery date or a tracking number; this didn't bother me excessively, but I have to admit I do wish they allowed me the peace of mind of knowing where exactly my package is. I got my package around fifteen business days after I placed my order - sounds like a long time (and it was), but the seller did explicitly state this was common on their site for international orders, so I knew what I was expecting. I didn't mark them down for it either, seeing as it actually did come within the vaguely estimated time frame they set out. I got it at some ridiculously early time in the morning - someone in the house had to have brought it in from the front door before they left for Jake's school at 7:30. It was a tiny little box, basically the size of the figure with a little extra room for packing material. The figure came in a little zip-lock bag and was surrounded by pellets. I do admit I wish it had been packed a little better because the box was crushed a bit, but luckily the figure itself was unharmed.
Like I did with my Rey figure, I asked the seller to ship the best-painted version out of their remaining stock (at the time there were like six or seven left), and like the Rey figure, they really did deliver on that! The paint job, especially for the face, was flawless, and I'm super pleased about this (seeing as my only other decent Padme has a shit paint job), and the overall quality of the figure was outstanding! I definitely recommend the seller if you are looking for expensive figures at low prices, and are willing to accept an item technically marked "used"!
Growing up, I was basically indoctrinated into Star Wars. My dad grew up with the originals; I liked them, sure, but at the time I was aware they were quite outdated and all the characters would be middle-aged by the time I had watched them. I dont know why, but Leia didn't really do it for me at the time; I couldn't connect with her or identify her as a personal heroine. Even now I struggle with this, which isn't reflection of anything lacking with either character or actress - I do love her quite a bit now, don't worry. But, I grew up with the prequel trilogy; they weren't "great" but they were new, with new characters and a different take on the world built by Lucas. Even as a child I was always a feminist, rooting for the female characters - naturally I gravitated to Padme. I just really loved her - she was so pretty, and later I looked back and saw all the awesome shit she did (a lot of it cut out of the actual film storylines for Anakin's piece-of-shit plot) and I admired her greatly. I got this figure as a sort of homage to that, Padme being the first sci-fi character that really resonated with me.
When I got Padme, I noticed the legs weren't as widely spaced as they are in stock images of the figure - I figure the legs must have been bent a bit, because there's a little bit of a tilt to one side that indicates to me a leg has been pushed in a bit too far. I'm working on fixing that, though, and it most definitely is not a deal breaker! Just be aware that these things can happen if you order opened items (or used items, semantics). Luckily, the paint job more than made up for this, and with a little bit of bending I've already started to bring the legs out to a normal angle! The figure, much like other Padme figures, doesn't really resemble Natalie Portman; however, this one, unlike the others, does a much better job at resembling her. There's a reason this is the Black Series! I will say this - the sculpt looks pretty similar to my other Padme figures, so at the very least it is consistent. If you squint you can see Natalie in her features - it's the eyes, I think. But, again - expecting this! Hasbro's ability to replicate real-scale people as tiny little 3.75-inch figurines is not perfect, and I wouldn't have the coordination to make something that tiny into something resembling a person, anyway. As of this year, I'm pretty sure this is the best Padme Amidala figure on the market; the 6-inch series has yet to release her, so I'm placing my money on this one. There are "prettier" versions of this character available, but this one's probably the best in terms of poseability and overall quality.
Articulation: Padme has 14 points of articulation. These are:- head, shoulders, elbows, wrists (swivel, not ball-jointed), midriff, hips, knees and ankles. All the joints have a great range of movement, although the legs are limited by the T-crotch joints at the hips, meaning her legs can only move back and forth.
The flaws to watch out for: the figure is cast in two separate parts; a flesh-toned head and a white body. This means the brown hair has been painted on, and the skin colour on the body has been painted. The effect? No matter how hard Hasbro may have tried, the plastic head doesn't match up with the flesh paint tone on the body - it is very close and only noticeable in certain lights (or if you stare at it too closely for too long), but I thought it worth mentioning. The inevitable problem with this also is that for the elbow pegs, you can see the white plastic when you bend Padme's arm (particulaly irritating on the right arm, which is skin-toned and "bare"), as it is for the knees and ankles on Rey. As with any of these figures, you run the risk of acquiring a lazily-painted figure - I was lucky not to have this happen to me for either of my Black Series figures so far. Like Rey, Padme has a little bit of streaking in the flesh paint, but it seems that's unavoidable.
Weird manufacturing choices: in light of the fact that this series commenced with Padme, I'm willing to let the whole T-crotch thing slide. That was the mode, the standard, and they didn't come up with something better until later. Still, it is a little irritating for both function and aesthetic; not only does it limit the figure's movement but there are two great gaping cracks on either side of her crotch, which is a little unsettling. I'd also like to talk about the holster for her little Naboo blaster - um, penis much? Again, not a new complaint, but I couldn't see it until I had actually looked at it up close. It isn't so awkward when the gun's in it, so I figure that's the way it's gonna stay. Speaking of the guns - the massive droid blaster she comes with poses some problems, too. Because the grip is so large, you really have to wedge it into the tiny grasp of Padme's hand. The figure doesn't appear to be properly moulded to fit the gun, so any sudden movement will make the gun fall out of her tenuous grip and onto the floor - be careful if you have dark floors or animals, or you'll never find it again! The company decided to alter the articulation of the figure at the waist; instead of actually articulating at the waist, the ball-joint is just below the boobs at the midriff where the shirt cuts off. Unlike the rest of the stuff I've put in this little section, I actually think this one works in their favour. Not only does it create a seamless look, but it enables for more dynamic posing like leaning forward or backward (in a manner a little more natural than waist articulation is).
Accessories: Padme comes with two accessories here. These are one Naboo blaster and one droid army blaster, both directly from the fight sequence in Attack of the Clones. Padme actually loses the Naboo blaster in the film, forcing her to pick up a droid one; however, the inclusion of two accessories for a female non-Force-sensitive character (what is the term for that?) is pretty cool, and I'm not complaining. Both accessories are able to be held by the figure (to varying success), even both at the same time!
Things to love: there are a lot of things that make this figure a real winner. Firstly, I think the hair sculpt is awesome - they did that cool bun thing really well (on a side note, how impractical is a fancy bun in a battle? Jeez). I can't tell how well the scale fits in with the rest of the characters, seeing as the figure is a little bent out of shape; she seems the same size as Rey (whose feet are slightly further apart at the moment), and I'm definitely sure Daisy Ridley is taller than Natalie Portman, so... I dunno. The figure balances really well, and definitely doesn't need a stand if that worries you! She also keeps good balance in some more interesting poses, too. The figure I got has really solid joints - even used, the joints are quite stiff (they've gotten a little looser as I've played with her), so ensuring she holds poses won't be difficult. The overall sculpting of the outfit is awesome; they've even included the piping on her shirt and the ridges on her boots (here I was thinking there was nothing decorative on her outfit in the movie; guess I was wrong). The accessories are awesome and the figure is a really great representation of Senator Amidala from the prequel trilogy. I definitely recommend this to Padme lovers if you don't have this already!
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions about this figure, feel free to drop in on the comment section below!
First off the bat, I want to apologise for the shitty stock photo I've used up above - I wanted to keep the theme running from my first Star Wars action figure review of Rey. Because this figure is fairly old (not really, but, in comparison to the new releases it is) it was bloody hard to find any useable stock photos of it. I did what I could, but sorry. It is just for introductory purposes anyway.
I ordered this from eBay from a Phillippines-based user named tunghori - unfortunately, there were no brand new Padme Amidala figures online for less than $70, so I went with buying an opened figure that, according to the seller, was used only for displaying in store. I'm not too fussed by this - I would've opened it anyway - and I got a really good price for it, seeing as it is the first figure made in an adult collectable series. I had it sent to me via standard delivery, and it seems to be the seller's policy not to provide an estimated delivery date or a tracking number; this didn't bother me excessively, but I have to admit I do wish they allowed me the peace of mind of knowing where exactly my package is. I got my package around fifteen business days after I placed my order - sounds like a long time (and it was), but the seller did explicitly state this was common on their site for international orders, so I knew what I was expecting. I didn't mark them down for it either, seeing as it actually did come within the vaguely estimated time frame they set out. I got it at some ridiculously early time in the morning - someone in the house had to have brought it in from the front door before they left for Jake's school at 7:30. It was a tiny little box, basically the size of the figure with a little extra room for packing material. The figure came in a little zip-lock bag and was surrounded by pellets. I do admit I wish it had been packed a little better because the box was crushed a bit, but luckily the figure itself was unharmed.
Like I did with my Rey figure, I asked the seller to ship the best-painted version out of their remaining stock (at the time there were like six or seven left), and like the Rey figure, they really did deliver on that! The paint job, especially for the face, was flawless, and I'm super pleased about this (seeing as my only other decent Padme has a shit paint job), and the overall quality of the figure was outstanding! I definitely recommend the seller if you are looking for expensive figures at low prices, and are willing to accept an item technically marked "used"!
Padme Amidala
Growing up, I was basically indoctrinated into Star Wars. My dad grew up with the originals; I liked them, sure, but at the time I was aware they were quite outdated and all the characters would be middle-aged by the time I had watched them. I dont know why, but Leia didn't really do it for me at the time; I couldn't connect with her or identify her as a personal heroine. Even now I struggle with this, which isn't reflection of anything lacking with either character or actress - I do love her quite a bit now, don't worry. But, I grew up with the prequel trilogy; they weren't "great" but they were new, with new characters and a different take on the world built by Lucas. Even as a child I was always a feminist, rooting for the female characters - naturally I gravitated to Padme. I just really loved her - she was so pretty, and later I looked back and saw all the awesome shit she did (a lot of it cut out of the actual film storylines for Anakin's piece-of-shit plot) and I admired her greatly. I got this figure as a sort of homage to that, Padme being the first sci-fi character that really resonated with me.
When I got Padme, I noticed the legs weren't as widely spaced as they are in stock images of the figure - I figure the legs must have been bent a bit, because there's a little bit of a tilt to one side that indicates to me a leg has been pushed in a bit too far. I'm working on fixing that, though, and it most definitely is not a deal breaker! Just be aware that these things can happen if you order opened items (or used items, semantics). Luckily, the paint job more than made up for this, and with a little bit of bending I've already started to bring the legs out to a normal angle! The figure, much like other Padme figures, doesn't really resemble Natalie Portman; however, this one, unlike the others, does a much better job at resembling her. There's a reason this is the Black Series! I will say this - the sculpt looks pretty similar to my other Padme figures, so at the very least it is consistent. If you squint you can see Natalie in her features - it's the eyes, I think. But, again - expecting this! Hasbro's ability to replicate real-scale people as tiny little 3.75-inch figurines is not perfect, and I wouldn't have the coordination to make something that tiny into something resembling a person, anyway. As of this year, I'm pretty sure this is the best Padme Amidala figure on the market; the 6-inch series has yet to release her, so I'm placing my money on this one. There are "prettier" versions of this character available, but this one's probably the best in terms of poseability and overall quality.
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| Unlike some figures that have terrible posture, the midriff joint enables Padme to stand straight and proud. |
The flaws to watch out for: the figure is cast in two separate parts; a flesh-toned head and a white body. This means the brown hair has been painted on, and the skin colour on the body has been painted. The effect? No matter how hard Hasbro may have tried, the plastic head doesn't match up with the flesh paint tone on the body - it is very close and only noticeable in certain lights (or if you stare at it too closely for too long), but I thought it worth mentioning. The inevitable problem with this also is that for the elbow pegs, you can see the white plastic when you bend Padme's arm (particulaly irritating on the right arm, which is skin-toned and "bare"), as it is for the knees and ankles on Rey. As with any of these figures, you run the risk of acquiring a lazily-painted figure - I was lucky not to have this happen to me for either of my Black Series figures so far. Like Rey, Padme has a little bit of streaking in the flesh paint, but it seems that's unavoidable.
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| There is no blush on this figure, unlike Rey - the implementation of this tool must be new. Also, just look at those scratches! Aren't they awesome? |
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| Still pretty bad at posing here; I don't have many articulated figures to practice with! But anyway, here's a general idea of what to expect from this figure. |
Things to love: there are a lot of things that make this figure a real winner. Firstly, I think the hair sculpt is awesome - they did that cool bun thing really well (on a side note, how impractical is a fancy bun in a battle? Jeez). I can't tell how well the scale fits in with the rest of the characters, seeing as the figure is a little bent out of shape; she seems the same size as Rey (whose feet are slightly further apart at the moment), and I'm definitely sure Daisy Ridley is taller than Natalie Portman, so... I dunno. The figure balances really well, and definitely doesn't need a stand if that worries you! She also keeps good balance in some more interesting poses, too. The figure I got has really solid joints - even used, the joints are quite stiff (they've gotten a little looser as I've played with her), so ensuring she holds poses won't be difficult. The overall sculpting of the outfit is awesome; they've even included the piping on her shirt and the ridges on her boots (here I was thinking there was nothing decorative on her outfit in the movie; guess I was wrong). The accessories are awesome and the figure is a really great representation of Senator Amidala from the prequel trilogy. I definitely recommend this to Padme lovers if you don't have this already!
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions about this figure, feel free to drop in on the comment section below!
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| The Black Series™ 3.75" figure of Padme Amidala from Attack of the Clones. |
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