geek aesthetic: Star Wars: Leia Organa (The Black Series™ 3.75") Review

Hello again, everyone! I'm back with a review of The Black Series™ Leia Organa figure as promised! This action figure is from Phase III of the super-articulated collector's series, and it is simply (and appropriately) titled 'Princess Leia Organa'. She is based off the concluding scene of Episode IV: A New Hope, in which Leia presents Luke and Han with medals for their contribution to the destruction of the Death Star. This figure is an all-new sculpt of the fan-titled 'Yavin Leia', featuring a more than fair likeness to Carrie Fisher and a decent amount of articulation for what may be considered primarily a display piece.

I purchased this figure from animetropolis, who is quite possibly one of my favourite sellers to purchase TBS figures from - they have such an extensive range of products for really reasonable prices, and they are always willing to do the best they can to meet your requests. I asked for a figure with the best paint job/ manufacturing they could, and I think (for the most part) they delivered on that. I'll discuss some of my issues with the figure in later sections, but I do think this Leia is a beautiful rendition of the character from one of the more memorable scenes in the Star Wars trilogy.

Anyway, I ordered this on the 7th of January along with a Luke Skywalker figure (that I have yet to review - that might take a while, seeing as I've yet to actually take the photos for the review). As per their usual protocol, I was informed to expect around 15 days from the date of shipment to the delivery date. According to eBay, I was to expect the arrival of my shipment on the 12th of February; kinda long, but I'm used to long waits, seeing as I live in Australia and anything collector-focused is found in limited quantities (at best) here. The shipping prices were relatively inexpensive for the figure, which is another plausible reason for the long wait. However, I received the order on the 20th of January! I was so excited by this, but I honestly wasn't too surprised, seeing as all the items I've purchased from them have arrived significantly earlier than projected by eBay. What I found slightly odd was that there were shipping costs; usually, they're free.

I actually paid a lot for this figure, around $50. I know, why would I spend that much? I needed a Leia figure for my collection, and while I found the previous Boushh Leia impressive, I just wasn't really feeling it. It sounds a little backwards, but I wanted my Leia to be pretty, feminine, you know? I was almost tempted by a couple of the Vintage Collection versions (notably the Bespin version), but I didn't really like the likeness of the figure. That, and there was no way I was paying $70 for a figure. For a while I held off on purchasing a Leia; this Leia didn't really appeal to me at first due to the fact that there is no articulation below the waist, but the more I read up on it and looked at it, the more I warmed to it. I think I know why this figure is so expensive - why all Leia figures are so expensive at the moment. It seems a little harsh, but that's the way of business, I suppose - Carrie Fisher's passing has opened the doors to a flood of fans seeking Princess Leia memorabilia, and it makes financial sense for businesses to try and make a profit off of it. It isn't particularly great or moral, but oh well.I suppose part of the reason I bought this figure was spurred on by her death. As it is, $50 was just about the cheapest I could find it online, without purchasing it opened.

I have a bit of a 'rule', I suppose, when it comes to the distinction between buying opened and unopened figures. For figures in the latest phase of TBS, I'm pretty gung-ho on purchasing in-box (both because its new and because I actually really like the packaging). For all other later figures, I'm okay with out of box, but I do like in-box where I can. Point in case; I bought my TBS Padme Amidala figure opened and in excellent condition, and yet I was able to purchase TBS C-3PO (I think from phase II) in-box. I try to avoid buying opened figures if they come with any soft goods, seeing as the material Hasbro uses is quite easy to fray.

Anyway, away from the tangent and on to the review!

Princess Leia Organa

Leia is iconic. Not just in the science fiction world, but everywhere. She revolutionised the manner in which females were portrayed in a mainly male-dominated selection of genres. Make no mistake; Star Wars isn't just sci-fi, but draws from fantasy and reality to mesh into a grand-scale, politically-complex "space opera" (I've always hated that term, it makes the genre seem cheap and tacky - while I do agree that a fair number of these films are quite tacky, it seems as though the assignation ignores the value of Star Wars, Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, among others). Leia is a princess, yes, but she's a political force and influential leader; she's a soldier and a general; she's a vulnerable and impressionable girl; and all of these things combine to form an inspiring, nuanced woman.

I've determined to ensure that my collection has representation from all three trilogies (and spin-offs, to a lesser extent, as they are released). When I realised I had mostly prequel trilogy figures (minus two sequel trilogy ones in the form of Finn and Rey), I thought to myself how ridiculous it was that I had no original trilogy figures made after the 1980s (my dad has a rather extensive collection of vintage-era figures, but his poor storage choices have left them a little worse for wear). It was only natural for me to choose a Leia figure that would nicely complement my Padme figure, though I would have admittedly preferred an updated rendition of Leia's iconic A New Hope outfit, complete with the two buns. This was my next best bet, seeing as I disliked the appearance of Boushh Leia and found Vintage Collection-era Leias to be abnormally high-priced (and inferior likenesses in comparison to this particular face mould). This is a brilliant figure that holds up well next to the rest of my figures; indeed, she really stands out among them all!

This figure stands incredibly well on its own, not even needing a stand. The sculpt is superior in this respect!

Articulation: this Leia figure comes with a smaller number of articulation areas in comparison to other Black Series figures. Leia Organa features 8 areas of articulation as the dress is moulded plastic rather than soft goods, meaning her legs are static and immovable. She features a ball-jointed head, shoulders and elbows, as well as swivel upper arms and waist. This does not detract from the figure and I do believe Hasbro made the correct choice here.

The flaws to watch out for: here's the gritty part, folks. Now, I received a figure with... quite a few flaws. Most of these I was able to fix; one I have yet to. The most important thing is to watch out for paint jobs, especially on the hair and along the neckline (the white is painted on). My figure had a large stripe of white paint across the top of the head, which was easy enough to fill in with my paints and trusty needle. The upper arm joints can be very loose; if the arms pop off, the easiest way to fix them would be to superglue the join, wait for about 4 seconds and start twisting the joint loose to prevent it bonding. This will tighten up the joint and prevent the arm falling off (which mine did). Also, be careful about the waist joint, though there really isn't anything you can do about it in packaging as the soft goods conceal the waist. The skirt portion on my figure has detached from the lower waist/leg mould, meaning that the dress looks more like a two piece with a bit of midriff showing, These were all a little disappointing, but very quick and easy fixes. Although, if anyone can give me a clue as to how to fix the waist thing, I'm all ears!

The paint applications are very clean here - and just look at that amazing hair!

Weird manufacturing choices: I'm just a little perplexed by Hasbro's decision to give this figure swivel upper arms as opposed to swivel wrists or even ball-jointed wrists. According to some, this decision was made in the attempt to streamline the figure a little more and not spoil the aesthetics, but I honestly don't see the issue with swivel or ball-joint hands. I do have to admit, however, that the seamless look of the lower arms is quite appealing to look at, even though it makes positioning the medal in her hands slightly finicky. I also find the type of material used a little odd; the material used in the promotional photography showed a material that draped much nicer over the shoulders, though I disliked the shiny sheen of the fabric. This material feels better, but you must fiddle with it quite a bit to get it to flow correctly. And the fabric really wants to drop down to the elbows, which is not how the Fisher's outfit was shown in the movie! I also find the decision not to include peg holes on the feet a little strange, especially seeing as how static figures have a higher tendency to fall over. I never use the peg holes, but it would be nice to know they exist, you know? And also, one of the bigger complaints about this figure pertained to the disproportionate hands, or 'man-hands'; I do agree they seem a little large, but it looks much better in person and doesn't necessarily represent a bad thing. I don't actually believe the hand size is incorrect, but rather that the plastic may have been cast too thickly to provide the right support and grip. It is important to note that these manufacturing choices all constitute weirdness on Hasbro's part, but none of these things are necessarily detractors from the aesthetic beauty of the figure.

This figure is a beautiful display piece for the Black Series collection, featuring some pretty cool poses.

Accessories: Princess Leia only comes with a single accessory, guys. This is to be expected, as the figure is a very scene-specific one. She comes with a medal that she can hold in both hands with relative ease; I admit it took me a while to shove it in her hands as I was so afraid that maneuvering the arms around would damage my recent glue job on the right upper arm joint. She also comes with a soft-goods cloak that is technically deemed an accessory - seeing as it's actually a part of her outfit I don't really consider it an 'accessory', per say. I think the medal is sculpted and painted very well, and the figure looks great posing with it in her hands!

Things to love: I've spent a lot of this review seemingly going on about the various problems this figure may have or does have - please don't let that be discouraging, as I'm actually super glad that this was the figure I chose to represent Leia in my collection. She's a beautiful piece, and I unfortunately got an imperfectly manufactured product that was easily and painlessly fixable. The likeness to Carrie Fisher here is one I deem unparalleled; I've heard so many gripes about how bad the face is, but I honestly believe this is the most successful attempt at capturing Carrie's likeness in Hasbro and Kenner's collective history. She's pretty and delicate and she just looks great, guys (please don't talk at me about Hoth Leia, because I honestly don't remember her wearing that hoochie lipstick at any point during the Hoth scenes). Her hair sculpt is surreal, and the paint job on the face is awesome! She's sculpted very slender and short, making her absolutely adorable next to other figures in the collection. Her joints are highly mobile and she can be posed in a variety of different stances, should you so choose. If you're looking for the most faithful representation of Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia Organa, this Black Series figure is the one for you.

Thanks for reading, guys, and stay tuned for the next review coming sometime soon!