Figure of the Day: Day 111: Queen Amidala (Celebration Ceremony)

QUEEN AMIDALA Celebration Ceremony
Post-Original Trilogy Collection
Item No.: Asst. 85172 No. 85316
Number: 0504
Includes: Globe of Peace, base
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $5.99
Availability: Winter 2005
Appearances: The Phantom Menace

Bio: Queen Amidala and the inhabitants of Naboo celebrate their victory over the invasion of the Trade Federation. The Queen wears a decorative parade gown as the jubilant crowd cheers their freedom. The Gungans present Amidala with a Globe of Peace to thank her for her heroic efforts to protect the inhabitants of Naboo. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' floor.

Commentary: Hail to the queen, baby. Since 1999, fans have been clamoring for more new versions of Queen Amidala, and this version took 6 years to hit the market. When fans thought it was too late to expect Episode I figures for a while, Hasbro came through in spades at the top of 2005. This figure has a ball-jointed neck and can't stand worth a damn without a display base, which is probably fine given the figure engages in no actions on screen and really serves no purpose other than to stand there and look good. With jointed elbows and shoulders, her arms can move just a little-- and aside from what I've mentioned thus far, she's basically a statue, but unfortunately, is not a statue. The oft-derided "chess piece" style of figure, where everything under the dress/gown/cloak is just a single piece without individually sculpted legs, is not being used here. Which is too bad, because as a uni-leg figure she'd no doubt be able to stand a little bit better.

The figure itself is an excellent representation of the costume from the end of the first prequel. Her main fault, aside from stability, is her difficulty in holding the Globe of Peace. She tends to drop it a lot, and is unable to "grip" it in any meaningful way. To use Hasbro's own marketing copy, she's not an action figure so much as a "stand there and look good" figure. The likeness is good, as far as we can tell, but it's hard to get past the unique makeup foisted upon the character and really get a good look at the craftsmanship, or lack thereof. I mean, she's got clown paint on. It's hard to be impartial here.

Collector's Notes: The post-OTC lineup included 16 figures which tended to vanish quickly in most markets. 8 of them were brand new, never-before-seen sculpts and of those, 7 were characters totally new to the action figure line. The other 8 were repackaged figures, and the entire series is quite popular with collectors who were paying attention during the pre-Revenge of the Sith months. Today, the young Queen actually goes for a fairly decent price, often commanding a fairly hefty hunk of change. (Unless she's out of the box, then she's just kinda expensive.) The figure was supposedly made in decent numbers, but it seems popularity is everything. Due figure's unique costume, top-notch packaging, and overall lack-of-overexposure, we give this one a high rating. Go buy one if you can!

Day 111: August 25, 2006