Queen Amidala (Battle) - EI - Basic

Cornered in the Theed palace by battle droids, Queen Amidala and her entourage escape through a palace window. Using ascension guns, the heroes are pulled up to the throne room level to challenge the Viceroys for control of the palace.

Despite the early confusion surrounding the Queen Amidala (Naboo) action figure, collectors were eager to see what else Hasbro had in the bag concerning the character and her many outfits. Probably none of us expected to get a revised Queen Amidala (Naboo) action figure so quickly, but that was indeed the figure next on tap. The fourth Padmé Amidala figure in the Episode I line, it took the Queen Amidala (Naboo) approach and took it to the next level with enhanced articulation and arguable a better sculpt. Although the legs are nearly identical to the first release, there are enough differences between the two figure to safely label Queen Amidala (Battle) as an all-new figure. We carefully examined the two figures side by side and were struck by their similarities, but we were even more surprised by their differences up to and including the all-new date stamps on the bottoms of her feet. But it’s also certain that Queen Amidala (Battle) is likely the figure collectors will want for their collections because she is a significant upgrade to the previously release version.

Although the articulation below her head is identical to the Queen Amidala (Naboo) figure, the most important addition here is the two-part head articulation system. Functioning much like a poor man’s ball-joint, Queen Amidala (Battle) comes with a hinge-jointed head (which allows her to look up and down) and a swivel neck (which allows the head to swivel 360 degrees. This is quite a feature for this action figure. Of course, a main character like Queen Amidala should indeed receive as many features and enhancements as possible, but it is nice to see this idea put into practice. That being said, an updated head isn’t all that Hasbro gave the Queen Amidala (Battle) action figure that has pleased collectors. Also included is a soft-goods skirt. This allows full leg movement as movement is often encumbered by plastic molded skirts. The fabric used to weave the skirt is very realistic and Hasbro even added the gold stripe running around its perimeter for full movie authenticity. It’s very impressive and works better than expected.

Another nice addition to Queen Amidala (Battle) is the included weapon. Very reminiscent of what Luke Skywalker used to swing himself and Princess Leia across the Death Star chasm, Hasbro added a miniature replica of the gun Queen Amidala utilized to escape to a new higher level on Theed Palace to rescue her fellow captors and confront the Viceroy once and for all. Attached to the gun is a real “string” and at the end of it is an anchor/grappling hook allowing her to ascend to a higher level of the Theed Palace. It is definitely a gimmicky accessory, but it still works. You can even wrap the cord around the gun and there is a clip that allows you to attach the grappling hook when you just want to use the gun as a weapon instead. It’s a pretty neat convention for this era of collecting and collectors really appreciated the efforts of Hasbro here. Also included with Queen Amidala (Battle) is a CommTech chip which speaks improvised lines from The Phantom Menace by voice actors as long as you have a CommTech reader. It also functions as an action figure display stand.