Queen Amidala (Celebration Ceremony) - OTC - Basic (’05 #4)

Added: January 11th 2013
Category: Original Trilogy Collection, The
Reviewer: Paul Harrison
Score:

Name: Queen Amidala (Celebration Ceremony)
Collection: The Original Trilogy Collection
Number: '05 #4
Source: The Phantom Menace
Availability: January 2005
License: Hasbro

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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.

If you were born and raised with the Original Trilogy of Star Wars films, it’s a pretty good bet that you weren’t entirely thrilled with Episode I. Lucasfilm Ltd. did a great job promoting the film and licensees did an ever better job on releasing product based on the film. The Phantom Menace broke a ton of movie records. And in all honesty, there were some really great portions of the film. None of us really realized how the film would grow on us throughout the years and how many more action figures we’d want to see realized in the basic figure lineup. Action figures based on Queen Amidala have been confusing at best. Is that action figure meant to be Padmé Amidala or one of her handmaidens? And if it is a handmaiden, why did Hasbro name it Queen Amidala (and vice versa)? It goes on and on – you get the point. With all of the outfits Queen Amidala wore in the film, it seemed that Hasbro would never come close to releasing them all, but the years we patiently waited for them are bringing that gap to a close. We will surely reach that goal one day.

One outfit that collectors wanted right out of the gate was the extremely ornate iridescent/translucent white gown at the end of the film. The Naboo and the Gungans were celebrating their defeat over the Separatists at the Battle of Naboo and in perfect celebratory garb Queen Amidala wore a beautiful gown to commemorate the victory. And just like so most of The [Post] Original Trilogy Collection figures, Queen Amidala (Celebration Ceremony) was planned for the 2004 phase of the Star Wars “Saga” collection. Now part of the 2005 transitional lineup, Queen Amidala comes to very eager collectors sporting this gorgeous gown and a very cool accompanying accessory. We can tell you right away that Hasbro has created an excellent sculpt of Queen Amidala for this release, but you will be disheartened with the lack of articulation given to her. She has less articulation than the earliest Star Wars figures. It seems like that should be criminal at this point, but at least the sculpt and scale have kept up with the times, even if Hasbro has decided not to be generous in the articulation department.

It makes us very happy that Hasbro used translucent plastic to create the outer robe. Queen Amidala (Celebration Ceremony)’s outfit is beautifully sculpted and the effects from the “clear” plastic are very impressive. We’ve noticed that this varies a bit from figure to figure, but the cut of the gown could potentially affect how straightly the figure can stand. Our particular sample is pretty much a relative nightmare. The outer robe kept knocking Queen Amidala to the right and the left and right bottom portions of hem aren’t flush with each other. We had to use some tricks to get her (and the robe) to stand at a 90 degree angle. Underneath the translucent robe is a simple Padmé Amidala figure with four points of articulation. Even though she comes with a beautifully sculpted ball-socket head joint, Hasbro neglected to paint it white so she isn’t screen accurate in this respect. But it’s sculpted so well you may not care that the white color is missing. We love the Globe of Peace accessory. The bio on the card incorrectly describes it (she handed it to Boss Nass, not the other way around), but it comes apart in two pieces (something we’re surprised Hasbro did here) to “see” how it “works” inside we suppose. This is definitely a fun version of Queen Amidala. It will be sought after for years to come.

Collector Notes

Queen Amidala (Celebration Ceremony)

Status: Queen Amidala (Celebration Ceremony) is an all-new figure.

Articulation Count: 4 points

Articulation Details: ball-socket head, 2 swivel shoulders, swivel left elbow

Accessory Count: 3

Accessory Details: outer gown, Globe of Peace (2 parts)

Date Stamp: 2004

Assortment Number: 85316/85172

UPC: 076930853160

Retail: $6.99 USD

Market Value: Click here to check the latest prices based on Click here to check the market value on eBay! listings.





 

The Original Trilogy Collectin Wave 7 (2005 POTC Wave 1)
Pablo-Jill (Geonosis Arena) ('05 #1)
Yarua (Coruscant Senate) ('05 #2)
Sly Moore (Coruscant Senate ('05 #3)
Queen Amidala (Celebration Ceremony) ('05 #4)
Rabé (Queen's Chambers) ('05 #5)

 


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