Hasbro
Released January, 2003
Reviewed by Adam Pawlus
Photography by Michael Sullenger
Reviewed on February 12, 2003
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This is more or less the second time this outfit has been attempted in this scale, and Hasbro brings home the gold with Padme Amidala (Droid Factory Chase.)

The figure includes one blaster, one removable cloak, and one Droid Factory base.

Sculpt/Articulation/Gimmicks/Paint

While Ms. Portman herself went on talk shows to make comments on the physique of the Arena Battle version of her figure during the promotion of Attack of the Clones, this version is greatly improved if maybe still a little idealized.

No recycled parts here-- she's 100% new. While at first I thought her outfit might be a bit to conforming to her... uh, Padme-ness, it seems like this is how it looked on-screen.

The body is well sculpted, with a few wrinkles to add authenticity but not so many to the point where you wonder just why Hasbro sculptors have so much time to make her clothes do wrinkly. The proportions seem about right, and her articulation gives her the ability to pose so many ways that it's nearly impossible to fault her in any sane manner.

A problem with creating small plastic people is conveying emotion. In 1978, this wasn't an issue-- fairly blank faces were the norm and you saw them as you wanted to. There was never a screaming, eyes shut hero or any expression or pose that locked a figure into a scene. This figure comes perilously close to being stuck in a moment, but because of her accessories and articulation, she doesn't. Her face, sadly, is another story.

The paint detail work is great-- teeth, lips, tongue, eyes, eyebrows, and so forth are all decorated to give the figure a slightly more realistic look than I would expect. Still, with that face, it's obvious she's mad, panicky, yelling, or some other emotion. This isn't a head that'd be well-suited to pleasant conversation or ordering nachos. As such, I wouldn't be surprised to see fans swap heads to make a more mellow Senator.

A well-jointed lass to be sure. Articulated at the neck, shoulders, biceps, waist, hips, knees, and boots, this may be the best articulated figure of a female persuasion to come out of Hasbro, well, ever. (Except for GI Joes.)

I don't think Hasbro could have done too much more to make this figure's posability perfect. Perhaps ball shoulders or elbow joints, but that would've made her too perfect.

Accessories

You saw her gun and cloak above, and we'll describe those below. First, though, is her stand.

The base is great. It looks like the bases that came with the Arena Playset and the Deluxe C-3PO, and of course they all connect. This figure does benefit from a little extra support, so Hasbro was wise to include such an extra. It isn't hard to make this look good, though, so there's really not much to say about it other than it doesn't appear flawed and it doesn't astound either.

The cloak blows in the wind, and it's pretty much stuck that way. Thankfully, it comes off. The sculpting is excellent, and it's relatively easy to remove. Were it cloth, it might lend itself to more situations than drastic escapes, but this figure is all about drastic escapes, so it works.

Padme's blaster comes from a new sculpt, or at the very least a vastly cleaned up mold. It's sharp, they even painted the grip! The blaster also fits into her holster when not in use. In sort, it's everything you could ask from a weapon designed for a small plastic person.

Packaging

The 2003 Saga packaging is changed only slightly from that of 2002. It does the trick, it looks fresher, but it's by no means any big change.

Availability

She's new, and as such, popular. Given 2002's track record, though, we'll be seeing her for a while.

Fin

She's excellent. A $5 bill cannot buy a finer figure in 2003. There may be a few issues with her expression, which may inspire chuckles here and there, but she's one of the most posable Star Wars figures since Bespin Luke last year.

When you see her, buy one. Heck, buy two-- they're good.

Our sample was obtained from Entertainment Earth in February 2003.