Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,025: Princess Leia (Ewok Village, The Black Series)

PRINCESS LEIA (Ewok Village)
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Return of the Jedi Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F4352
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #09 - Return of the Jedi
Includes: Blaster, spear
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: July 2022
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: After a battle with Imperial scout troopers, Leia encountered a strange, furry being – an Ewok. He took her to his village where she would remain until she and Han led a ground assault on an Imperial shield generator. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: As I write this, Princess Leia (Ewok Village) has been popping up in stores and has been findable. On Amazon, she's $9.99 (and that may change), which I believe (but do not know to be fact) is a result of this wave seemingly being made in bigger numbers than usual. It could be a coincidence, but it could be less demand for specific characters - her wave seems to be around, and on occasion it's cheap.

But it's a good figure! Leia has a blaster. She has a spear you can give to an Ewok. She has no problems handling the gear, either, although I don't remember a scene in the movie where she was shooting in this dress or stabbing Duloks or whatever. (Hasbro: please make Duloks. Or Yuzzum.) The painted detail on the blaster is nice, but so are the stone tip on the spear and fuzzy grip on the spear.

The figure is sculpted and engineered well, although every time I see it I want to know what kind of tailors Ewoks keep around. How did they comprehend she is not like them, nor Donald Duck, and must not be pantsless? I guess I shouldn't ask, but Hasbro managed to replicate it nicely with her white sleeves and brown gown. There's not a lot of paint here, but the color in the movie wasn't exactly wild. It's simple, and it looks more or less like you remember. I like how Hasbro jointed her - the waist joint is at the belt (and not cutting her ribcage under the breast), and that's great. The elbows bend well, and the hands swivel and bend nicely. Her feet have nicely sculpted and painted sandals with rocker ankles, plus you get to see something unusual for Hasbro - bare plastic legs! They did a nice job engineering her pinless legs, with the knees looking perfectly fine.

Hasbro managed to make a figure that looks like Leia, but not Return of the Jedi Leia. Carrie Fisher's eyes were darker and her cheeks were redder, so this figure looks younger and more lifelike. A repaint would probably make her look more like the movie, but the sculpt is very good. Her hair seems more like a plastic wig, as you can see the seam just above her hairline. Having some of the hair molded to her head, with the rest glued on, looks a little strange - I'd vote for all-wig or no-wig. And what a wig! The sculpted hair detail looks great, someone spent a lot of time getting the ties in there and curling everything fairly well for plastic. Obviously her hair can't look as frizzy as the movie, so it doesn't - but her eyebrows look a little thinner too. Customizers, please post links to any repainted heads you made, I'd love to see them.

For $10 this figure is an absolute steal, but also it's a lesser costume. We may never get another official Slave Leia figure, and the Boushh mold is nearly a decade old, so this is what we get. It's not perfect, but it's on the happy side of decent. Since The Black Series line has frequently reissued old molds with improved paint, I'd say wait and see if they try again if you don't like what you see in the pictures. I think it's absolutely good enough that I struggle to think I'd pay Hasbro $25 (or more) for an improved paint job, but I've bought some pretty stupid things. If Hasbro wants to make her in 1980s Kenner style, I promise to buy at least two. And if they don't want to do it, maybe Stan Solo could use a few bucks.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,025: May 2, 2023