I’ve told myself a hundred times since getting the Black Series Slave Leia that I would only ever get another Leia if she was in her A New Hope white dress. So, of course, I go and get the next Leia that comes out. I’m weak.
Star Wars is a cruel mistress of mine. I watched the movies as a kid when they released. I begged my mom for most of the toys at that same time, and my brother and I had most of them. When the re-releases and new toys hit in ’95 I was bit again. I was a completist for years, I had every single release. Carded. Loose. Customs. I was knee deep in the Star Wars marsh. And then a couple of things happened somewhere between Episode I and Episode II: One, I realized that I didn’t really like the prequels much, at least not as much as a I felt I should. I was buying toys just because they had the Star Wars logo on them, not because I had an emotional attachment to the characters. That’s never a good road to go down. And B, ToyBiz kicked out Spider-Man Classics and then Marvel Legends. Holy… another childhood fascination brought to life in a new scale (to me, at least) that I instantly fell in love with. It was 6-inch all the way for me.
Hey, eyes up here.
So to say that I was a plastic crackhead in a toy aisle back alley when the 6-inch Black Series was announced is an understatement. Two of my favorite great tastes, tasting great together? IN! It’s been a rocky road, but I’ve enjoyed most of what we’ve gotten. Even the Emperor. Sure, I’ve replaced some of the released figures with Bandai’s model kits, but that’s because I want the best versions of characters to which I have an emotional attachment. Hell, years later I even have a Jedi Anakin on my shelf, being older and (hopefully) wiser and coming to terms with the prequels for what they are: just another way of telling a story within the Star Wars universe. Not my favorite, but I’m okay with them now. Anyway, toys.
Boushh Leia comes in the all-too-familiar Black Series packaging. I have to say I like the bigger window and blue highlights more than the original orange. Right out of the mailing box, though, I noticed something off and we’ll get to that further down, but doesn’t she seem to take up a lot of real estate inside the package? Yeah, you see it. Package, be gone!
To get the most obvious thing out of the way, the cloth cape doesn’t bug me at all. It seems a little stiff and is stuck in the folded position, but I’m sure a little TLC would make it hang more natural while still not detracting from the figure itself. It’s sewn around the back strap of her bandolier, so it’s secure but removable if you so desire.
The sculpt itself is fantastic. Lots of little details to look over, and the helmet looks great, if not a bit large. Just a bit. It’s noticeable but not distracting.
Sticking with the helmet for a moment, it actually has some nice paint apps on it. There is a rust color on both sides that makes it look weathered and used. The “undervisor” as I call it, the lens below what looks like the helmet’s main visor, is a gloss black to simulate tinted glass. The greenish “overvisor” is clean, as are the silver bits.
Her backpack even has nice tampo work, revealing some kind of lettering or logos. I have no idea if they are accurate, and, if they are, then it’s something of which I was unaware. Either way, they are nice little details to see thrown in.
The helmet is, of course, removable. It’s a tight fit and I worry about some paint scuffage, but, as you’ve seen, it looks good when in place while not showing much skin of the head and neck underneath. Removing the helmet…
It’s not as bad as I feared. The sculpt isn’t quite Carrie but we’re used to that in a mass market retail line. But it’s close. The hair is nicely sculpted with the hanging down loose hairs and you can even see a hint of braid in the back where it’s tied. The paint makes her look a little buggy eyed but I’m not sure if the paint or the sculpt. But at least there is a little rose in the cheeks, that’s a little more than we’re used to.
Moving down, her glove spikes are painted, but otherwise she is molded in the colors shown. And those colors are not accentuated with any paint work, making her a little plain. Just a basic, bland look to most of her clothing. Her upper torso does have some color, but, again, they are just straight single apps. Oh, and a little on her belt/bandolier combo, which is a separate piece and not glued down. It will move up and down but it’s easy enough to put back in place.
Articulation is standard Black Series fare. Notably, the skirt is a very stiff plastic. There is a slit for the right leg to get some forward movement but the left is basically stationary because of the skirt. You can check out the rundown in my video review.
She comes with two accessories: her staff and a thermal detonator.
The staff always seemed odd to me as a kid. Just a stick with a lot more crap hanging off of it than necessary. But it is perfectly reproduced here. And the thermal detonator has a lot more detail than it should for its tiny size, with its sculpted bits and even a silver paint app. The detonator just rests in her hand and is not secured in any way even though it has a hole in it. It took me a minute to figure out that she has a peg on her belt that fits the hole in the detonator, which makes me a little more comfortable that I won’t lose it.
I mentioned the flat paint, but let’s get to my biggest nit.
What the blue milk??!! Boushh Leia is obviously bigger than Slave Leia, but it’s not just height, it’s overall proportions. I was one of the few who felt that Slave Leia was nearly accurate size-wise, but I don’t like the hunched neck and odd face, whereas I do like Boushh’s proportions. I could have let it slide if the heads were the same size, chalking it up to some heavy padding and platforms, but this is like “Brienne of Tarth” bigger.
Yeah, I just made a Game of Thrones reference in a Star Wars review. That’s how bad this size discrepancy is. It’s making me cross my wires.
Beside Luke she is like normal woman size, and the extra height makes them look more like actual twins, but it just isn’t right for Carrie Fisher.
But I’m a silver lining kinda guy. At the end of the day I like the figure well enough as Boushh, who I will use as a bounty hunter along with Boba Fett, Greedo, Bossk, and, soon, IG-88. But as Leia in Boussh disguise… not so much. She passes in the helmet, and beside Chewbacca, maybe standing in front of Jabba, but as soon as the helmet comes off my brain fries.
But it’s not all bad with the Leia head. With some work I think she’d work as Kitty Pryde.
Okay, maybe more of a Kate Pryde. But I think with a little paint it can be made to look younger.
Silver lining, y’all.
Man, we need a Gamorrean Guard…