PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA (Boushh, Kenner Style)
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. F6866 No. F7278
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Helmet, blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $11.99
Availability: February 2023
Appearances: Return of the Jedi
Bio: The Star Wars Retro Collection features design and detailing inspired by the original 1970s Star Wars figures. (Stolen from the marketing copy. Packaging has no bio.)
Image: Adam's photo lab.
Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!
Click here to buy it at Amazon now!
Commentary: If you're only going to remake six
Return of the Jedi action figures,
Princess Leia Organa (Boushh) is one of your best choices. And it's a pretty good reissue - if you look at the official photos, the original product photography had badly-painted helmets. They fixed her! While the sculpting is a little soft, at least the paint is mostly where it should be. An original Boushh Leia in good shape with all the parts isn't terribly cheap, so $12 for a reissue seems like a fine deal. But if you're happy with your original 1983 figure, you don't need this one, necessarily. Well, I do. I love these things and she was one of my favorite toys as a kid.
"Figure in disguise" is an utterly great and unappreciated idea. As an adult, you just buy as many figures as you want - but as a kid, this was getting more toy for your money. If you wanted a Princess Leia toy, you get her. If you want a cool bounty hunter to take on adventures, you get that too - and there's no head-swapping weirdness where you have to treat a literal severed head as an accessory. A rubbery helmet (but not as rubbery as the original!) slides right over her head. It's a good fit. The rifle also fits in her right hand, while the left hand is posed to look cool. It's for s how. The limbs all move well, and the head - while tight - turns.
The sculpting gives you the Hasbro generation loss that, to be honest, continues to be baffling - the original figure was sharper, with cleaner lines and a bandolier that had tighter details. You might not notice it with your old person eyes, but the softer details are kind of disappointing. The 1983 original was known for variations, and while I've handled dozens over the years she doesn't match the head sculpts I have handy. The hair looks a little different, the face shape is changed a bit, and I appreciate that it's different than what I've got. The helmet looks a lot like the original - not as sharp, but close - so it's a weird little imposter. Anyone who grew up with the original will immediately know this new Leia is different, but I don't think she's bad. If you can't recreate the head sculpt with the original eyes precisely, doing something a little different that still looks convincingly like an old figure isn't the worst option. It's not like she's cross-eyed or anything... but we'll get to Luke later.
I had no problems getting her in the old vehicles I had on my desk, and of course, she hung out in the Sail Barge for a bit. I assume she'll be good enough for younger Millennials who missed out on the originals, or their kids, or, I guess, their kids' kids. The design holds up really, well, especially in light of Kenner and Hasbro's subsequent redesigns. In 1996 they made her cape removable... and it fell off a lot. Later releases had thermal detonators (neat) and a ponytail too sometimes, but I can't really hate on the simplicity of the 1983 original. The cape was best represented by some fabric hanging off her leg which you can see more of on her back, and while a detonator molded in her hand
would be cool it forces kids into a specific play pattern. Or at least, it would for me - if she's holding a bomb, she's got a specific agenda.
The original figure was a real joy, and the remake is possibly as good as Hasbro is going to want to do. How come they can't get the sculpt sharper? I have no idea. One thing that really weirded me out about this figure are her hands. It seems the factory painted her dark brown sleeves, and then painted the fingers, wish washes out even more detail. Most of the original figures seem to have unpainted figures - thick paint changes how the figure looks. Whoever did their paint masks could have done a better job, but none of these retro remakes are perfect replicas of Kenner's old action figures. But they're also the lowest-price non-squat figure Hasbro sells these days, and even though they're probably a dash overpriced given competitive products, it's not like anyone else is selling you remakes of toys from the 1980s for $12. I'd recommend her.
Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth. I should also note that despite there being an assortment listed on the package, Hasbro only produced these in solid-packed character cases for the US market. (If there were assortments overseas, I am unaware of them.)
--Adam Pawlus
Day 3,017: April 4, 2023
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