Princess Leia Organa (In Combat Poncho) - TSC - Vintage

Celebrate the legendary Star Wars films that changed the universe forever, with The Saga Collection. This collection brings to life the incredible story of good versus evil that captured our imagination and took us to a galaxy far, far away. The finest re-creations of the iconic Star Wars heroes and villains are back with incredible detail and premium features to commemorate each epic tale in the Star Wars saga. And, as a tribute to the dedication of Star Wars fans everywhere, we are re-releasing elements of the original packaging that harken back to the creation of Star Wars action figures, which began over 25 years ago with the Original Trilogy. May the Force be with you!

As exciting as the second wave of “vintage-styled” figures from The Saga Collection were, collectors became a little disgruntled with the Princess Leia Organa (In Combat Poncho) figure. To this day, this perplexes us, and that’s taking into consideration the grievances collectors had against this action figure. Princess Leia Organa (In Combat Poncho) isn’t free from issues, but we don’t think these said issues are as bad as what many expressed. Yes, this figure has an inordinately long neck, but it doesn’t look as exaggerated as what we’ve heard by the noisemakers – well, maybe at a profile, but not with the rest of the gear on the figure. Also, fair criticism is that the poncho is a tad too dark and ever-so-slightly bulky. But these issues shouldn’t detract from how impressive this action figure is—doubling as both the costume for a “Rebel General” and the Kenner classic “In Combat Poncho” from the speeder bike chase sequence. This version of Leia has incredible versatility and ultimately breaks down like the vintage Kenner counterpart, 1984’s ROTJ Princess Leia Organa (In Combat Poncho). Princess Leia Organa (In Combat Poncho) was part of the 2007 Ultimate Galactic Hunt promotion and should take part as an essential piece in your collection. If you collected six gold foil stickers from inside the packages of the qualifying action figures, you could mail away for seven exclusive coins only available through this promotion. The coins are part of the 30 (77-07) line and called the 2007 Vintage Coin Set. The coins were a nice collectible incentive, but getting six beautiful and premium action figures were the only impetus collectors purchased them.

Interestingly, the concentration for this set of vintage-styled figures was The Empire Strikes Back, so Princess Leia (In Combat Poncho) seemed like an outlier to collectors. Even so, it was great getting a close-to-definitive update of this character in the Star Wars action figure line. Princess Leia Organa (In Combat Poncho) is perfectly in scale with the rest of the line. While the 1984 vintage figure was a bit too tall, the more modern 1998's POTF2 [FF/TKC] Princess Leia (In Endor Gear) New Millennium Minted Coin Collection figure and 2000's POTJ Leia Organa (General) figure dwarfed it significantly. Leia is an all-new sculpt, complete with a shortened scale, and this figure is the shortest of the 2007 series of figures (as it should be). You can quickly remove the poncho and the rest of the gear and the figure looks incredible as a “Rebel Alliance general.” An alternate arrangement is posing the figure with the belt but without the poncho. Because the belt functions as a binder for the extra-large poncho, it sits below the waist without it. The belt/holster combination piece houses the long-barreled blaster when not in use. Leia can hold the blaster accurately too. The coloring on the figure appears to be screen-accurate in every way. Hasbro molded a peach-colored blouse underneath along with a light green shirt vest. And the light gray/blue pants come with a yellow blood stripe. Hasbro finished off the outfit with correctly colored black boots, but unfortunately, they left the ankle joints blue, and it hurts the figure’s aesthetic. Samples vary from one to the other, but the portrait is nicely detailed, as is the fair resemblance. What may make some think the likeness is more off than others is how Hasbro painted the whites of the eyes. Sometimes the whites of the eyes are too thick and bleed too far out from the pupils.

Princess Leia Organa (In Combat Poncho) comes with a removable helmet, blaster pistol (also known under the very clumsy name of Drearian defense conglomerate defender), combat poncho, and removable ammunition belt with functioning holster. It comes with a 1:1 ratio of the same accessories the 1984 figure had! Leia is just sly of having super-articulated status, so collectors should be happy. The center of gravity is right on par, and Leia has functionality for a multitude of positions, which also sweetens the deal for collectors. Many will consider this figure the definitive version of Leia from Return Of The Jedi, especially during the scenes of the Battle of Endor. We wouldn’t ask for this figure again because while it’s not perfect, it meets our requirements in so many ways of defining a definitive figure. Your opinions may undoubtedly vary, but it is our stance that this is one figure not to pass on for your collections. Unfortunately, Princess Leia Organa (In Combat Poncho) was the peg warmer of the six figures that made up this wave. There are opinions out there that differ from ours. But we like this figure tremendously, and it looks fantastic next to 2006’s TSC Luke Skywalker (SAGA 044) figure (who also sports the battle poncho). (Editor’s Note: There has since been an update to the SAGA 044 figure, and it’s part of the 2009 LC Battle For Endor Battle Packs set.) We are hoping for a significant modern update for the rest of the original 1983-1984 Ewoks because they are just as important. But while we wait for Hasbro to produce them for us, Princess Leia Organa (In Combat Poncho) is assuredly a figure that will satisfy you. At worst, there is no denying that this figure looks great on the vintage-styled card back. At least pick her up for that reason alone!