Queen Amidala

April 7, 2012 | By More


 

Well, it’s another year, and once again, Hasbro treats us to another rendition of Padmé Amidala in the 2012 Star Wars Vintage Collection, right in time to promote the launch of The Phantom Menace in 3D. This time it is Padmé as Queen Amidala (VC84), dressed in the black gown she wore after her plea to the Senate for assistance. Yawn.

I mean, at this point is rather obvious that the only reason behind so many costume changes is that George Lucas wanted to give Hasbro as much options as possible to milk the costume designs for the toy line.

Still, I have to concede that there is a reason Hasbro is one of the best toy companies out there, at least when it comes to sculpting, because this Amidala is certainly among their best work.

The whole figure is covered in very intricate detail sculpted to mimic the appearance of the luxurious fabrics used for the costume in the movie. I found particularly nice the embroidered sigils on her sleeves, and the asymmetry of the clasps sculpted on the front is a nice realistic touch.

The Queen’s face sculpture is also quite remarkable and it actually resembles actress Natalie Portman under all the heavy makeup. The hairstyle is also well replicated in plastic and it displays a fair amount of texturing.

These characters clad in ceremonial gowns rarely stand out for their articulation and Queen Amidala certainly doesn’t deviate from the norm, with:

• Ball jointed head.

• Pegged hinge shoulders.

• Pegged hinge elbows.

• Swivel forearms.

• Swivel waist.

Since it is the skirt what keeps the figure upright at all times, they could have gone for the classic saltshaker approach with the Queen, but it is nice to see Hasbro taking the effort to sculpt the legs underneath, even if Amidala is one solid piece from the waist down.

The paint application on Queen Amidala is limited to silver and bronze details painted on her gown and hair. The make-up on her face is as simple as can be, consisting in a white base with only dots painted on her cheekbones and some lip color, with eyes and eyebrows picked out in solid black. Her hands are simply painted in flesh color, which I think provides a good contrast.

The only problem I see with this kind of designs is that even though the arms are well articulated, the big sculpted sleeves look natural only in very specific poses, but then again, this isn’t a character designed with much action in mind.

Since Hasbro had to pack an accessory with this figure, they included one of the thin sporting blasters favored by Padmé in the movies. Personally I think it would have made more sense if Queen Amidala came with a datapad, a scepter of even a lowly commlink instead.

In the end, this figure counts towards completing all the costume changes the character had in the prequels, and as a small, somewhat poseable statue it does look nice, but I just find it hard to feel excited by it.

Errex Score: 80/100

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Category: Featured, Star Wars, Toy Reviews

About the Author ()

I've been collecting action figures since the original Kenner Star Wars days. Nowadays, I still collect pretty much anything that catches my eye.

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