Princess Leia Organa (Boushh) - TBS [P2] - Basic (#17)

Let us get out the main point of The Black Series [Phase II] Princess Leia Organa (Boushh) because there are indeed a few things to point out about the figure that aren’t entirely favorable. Collectors are going to notice these things and we’re going to address them, but you have to remember that there is a much bigger picture here. More importantly, these transgressions all pale in comparison as far as the final assessment of the figure is concerned. The final assessment we’re giving this figure is this is the best Princess Leia Organa (Boushh) figure that money can buy. Period. It took a VERY long time for us to get to this point, but Hasbro has crafted an excellent 3.75” representation of this popular character. And the final figure is something that will please most of us if not all of us. This is the long-awaited definitive figure that we have desired for years now. Hasbro has unequivocally done very well here. It just seems that some of the final touches were rushed or just didn’t translate perfectly well at the factory level. We’ll explain it all in detail. The history of Princess Leia Organa (Boushh) is very, very interesting. After the 1983 vintage Kenner figure, there have only been two modern updates the figure between 1983 and 2015. There’s almost a full decade gap between each version. In 1996, Hasbro produced the Shadows Of The Empire Leia (In Boushh Diguise) figure that was well received. And then almost ten years after that we received 2005’s TSC Princess Leia (Boushh Disguise) (SAGA 001) which was a tremendous update to all figures up to that point. Would you believe that The Black Series [Phase II] version feels about as equally jettisoned ahead in quality from The Saga Collection figure as The Saga Collection was to the Shadows Of The Empire figure? We’re not exaggerating. Despite some of the figure’s flaws, Princess Leia Organa (Boushh) corrects everything that was wrong with the previously released versions, as well as takes a few small steps backwards at the same time. We really don’t want to focus on the negatives here because dwelling on them will make it seem like they’re that bothersome. Some of them may be annoying, but the positives this figure does bring to the table are so much more important here.

You probably can guess what issues she has because it’s really nothing new. Princess Leia Organa (Boushh) has a few paint operations issues. Yes, it’s getting old and it’s very annoying. Our sample has some sloppy applications and her eyes seem a little off in our opinion. But for the most part this figure is painted very nice pretty much everywhere else. The portrait could have used some fine tuning for sure, but we believe that Hasbro has produced a very good to excellent likeness to the way Princess Leia Organa (Boushh) looked in the film. This is a great action figure. The important thing here is that Hasbro finally got so many of the fine details right for the first time with this release. We’ll itemize them here. The nose of her helmet is finally silver (though they still could have added the darker color in between the grille). They actually achieved this with The Saga Collection version, but the mask portion of the helmet was such a wrong color “orange” that it was hard to appreciate that they captured this detail in the first place. For The Black Series [Phase II] version they finally added the color green to the digital display above the visor. This helps to recreate that effect instead of just painting it black like they’ve done in the past. They also finally mastered the alternating tans and browns in the costume. The leggings are higher on the lower legs (as they should be) and Hasbro, for the first time ever, added a fitted and nicely draped soft-goods cape to this figure that is permanently sewn to the bandolier. You’re going to love how this hangs and adds depth and dimension to this action figure. With a little patience, this combination of parts that make up the bandolier and cape is removable too. (Be careful!) The last detail we noticed is that her boots have been painted in a way that matches what Sideshow Collectibles did with their 2007 Princess Leia (As Boushh) 1:6 Scale Figure. They gave the “foot” portion of her boot a gray color while the rest of the boot is tan. We have seen just as much documentation showing that this is wrong as it is right. We will let the jury sort that one out. Whatever is correct, we like the look that was achieved with this action figure (even if it may be wrong). In short, Hasbro really ensured that this action figure is the best onscreen match for Princess Leia Organa (Boushh). Oh, her scale is perfect too! Look at her next to 2005’s TSC Chewbacca (SAGA 005) figure!

Princess Leia Organa (Boushh) has a wonderful articulation system. Hasbro gave her a gloriously premium ball-jointed head that functions almost as nicely as a “rocker” point of articulation. We love the buttery smoothness of the movement you get out of it and the lines from this point of articulation are demure and not obnoxious. Hasbro did a great job at hiding the joint as best as possible. Not only can the head pivot up, down and all around, it looks like she can bend her neck down and back. This is 1:6 Scale quality articulation. Tell us how there could be any collectors out there who will find fault with this action figure! Princess Leia Organa (Boushh) also comes with ball-jointed shoulder, elbows, knees and ankles. They all work well, but do you want to know what is the best part of all of this? Aside from the ankles, which you really can’t see anyway, Hasbro was able to match the joints to the sections in which they’ve been placed. It’s sad to think this way, but how amazing is that? We take exception with two major aspects of the design of the arms. First, the arms cannot lay flatly against her body. We believe the ball-jointed articulation may have been too small for these parts because you really don’t get a wide range of motion here. You can diminish this wonkiness by bending in her arms at the elbows, but Hasbro should have noted this awkward aesthetic. The last issue is her left arm. Would you believe Hasbro decided to go back to permanently sculpting the thermal detonator into her hand? It’s a major disappointment for us and we don’t know why they’ve taken this archaic approach again. If they can tool the tiny functional communicator that came with 2009’s TLC Captain Typho (BD 47) figure, they should be able to tool ANY ACCESSORY no matter how small at this point. At least her staff/gun has been cast in a stiff plastic that will not warp over time. Princess Leia Organa (Boushh) is a pure treat in the basic figure line. If Hasbro could tweak a few of the paint operation issues and maybe have added an alternate hand that isn’t holding the thermal detonator, we believe collectors will have literally nothing to complain about when it comes to this figure.