Princess Leia And Han Solo - POTF2 [FF/TKC] - Princess Leia Collection

The formidable sight of Darth Vader strikes a reflex reaction in Han Solo's trigger finger, but the Dark Lord's power proves too great and Princess Leia and her band of Rebels are taken captive.

The very first Leia Organa (Bespin Gown) was part of the inaugural wave of The Empire Strikes Back line. Apparently she was an important choice for Kenner back in the day. So why did it take almost three years into the modern line before we received our first interpretation of her? And to make matters worse the figure wasn’t even geared towards collectors. Part of the Princess Leia Collection, Princess Leia in her now famous Bespin gown can be yours in the 3.75” scaled action figure line, but with a twist. Geared towards young girls, these Princess Leia Collection figures have exaggerated makeup and soft-goods to make them supposedly more appearing to a young female Star Wars audience. Even the soft-goods are removable as if to play “dolls” with them, even if it is on a micro level. The figure is good for what it is and we’re actually quite taken with the soft-goods, but we’re not so sure how long this release will satiate the adult collector market because updates and enhancements are sorely needed before this can be deemed as definitive.

Princess Leia comes with five points of articulation. None of the “Princess Leia” figures come with waist articulation. Kenner has opted to include removable belts and clothing instead and for all intents and purposes it works better for us than articulation. With a primarily maroon colored gown, a lacey outer robe (perhaps it’s more correct to say a “cape” here) with a plastic scalloped collar completes the ensemble beautiful. The lace like material is a little bit stiff, but Kenner managed to ensure that a nice drape was captured before the fabric was cut for the figure. In short, what has been done here works quite well. It isn’t screen accurate by any stretch of the imagination, but it passes and serves its purpose well for the line it was intended. We struggle a whole lot more with the way they decorated her face anyway. The makeup is so heavy that her eyes appear red and blurry. Why Kenner decided that this was a way to engage young girls is beyond us. Doesn’t EVERYONE prefer screen accuracy instead of a stereotype?

Han Solo is maybe equally as interesting in this set. Approached in nearly the same exact manner as Luke Skywalker from the Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker set, Han Solo comes with a soft-goods navy blue jacket that is removable and reveals a white shirt underneath when it is removed. This is a great option to have because it allows you to recreate scenes from The Empire Strikes Back when Han Solo is brought to the carbon freezing chamber near the end of the film. If you use 1997’s POTF2 [FF/TKC] Bespin Han Solo figure you’ll still have navy blue sleeves to contend with even if you removable the jacket shell from the figure. Han Solo also comes with a blaster pistol and yes, it’s laughably too large for this reduced and slim-downed version of him. Together, Princess Leia And Han Solo are a nice addition to the basic figure line. Better versions of both characters are undoubtedly to be revisited again, but for now they may serve a valuable purpose for collectors that have been waited for these figures for some time now.