I am sitting down to write this review for the brand new Figuarts Padme Amidala even before the pictures from the photoshoot I just wrapped up have uploaded to Dropbox. I wanted to write it while the events of the shoot were still fresh in my mind.
Unless you’ve been living in a cave since 1999, you probably are familiar with Padme Amidala. For those of you who are not, she was the Queen of Naboo, then a senator, then Anakin Skywalker’s lover, and finally Anakin’s baby momma. Her last act before dying from a particularly nasty break up was to name her twins Luke and Leia.
I genuinely hope that was a spoiler for you.
What’s in the Figuarts Padme Amidala box?
It dawned on me that some of you may have never seen a “Web Exclusive” box from Figuarts, so I took a shot of the box (don’t worry, this probably won’t be a “thing” unless someone likes pictures of boxes).
In 2002, Star Wars: Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robot was released upon the world. A quick 15 years later, we finally have a 1:12 Figuarts Padme Amidala. I didn’t hate AOTC and as I said in Anakin’s review, a lot of us can now look back kindly on the prequels. Before solicits hit for this figure, I tried to think, “If we could only get one outfit for Padme, which one should it be?”
Yes, while your brain was solving adult problems, my brain was daydreaming about the perfect Figuarts Padme Amidala figure. Fight me.
That aside, the conclusion I came up with was indeed, this white, “battle action” uniform I now own. Only in my daydream, the torso section had a snap on/off piece to simulate both pre-torn and torn looks. *sigh* (Editor’s note: I mentioned this again in the future, here)
As almost always with Figuarts, this figure looks incredible in hand. She comes with two heads, one has a slightly opened mouth and the default neutral head. I prefer the neutral expression.
She also comes with three sets of hands, and a blaster.
If you’re like me and stopped reading the instructions that come with your Figuarts figures, you might miss this, and you REALLY need to know it. The blaster handle separates from the blaster itself. This can be easily lost if you don’t pay attention to what you’re doing.
What were my first thoughts on the Figuarts Padme Amidala?
This is the part I didn’t want to forget… maybe I got a defective figure, but I felt it was important to note. Immediately out of the package when I tried to reposition her, her right arm popped off and the little cup that covers up the butterfly joint went flying. I dismissed it as a fluke and put it together easily enough. Then it happened to the left arm. Same thing, snapped it right back in place. When swapping out the head, the peg stuck inside the head instead of the neck. I had to use tweezers to pull it out. This happens every time. As a result, I am constantly hesitant to swap out head sculpts. In addition, the right leg seems to be a bit floppy. Finally, she has very little ankle pivot. A punishable offense!
Even with these issues, I am still glad I got her. She looks great on the shelf! You can still get her here, but prices are rising quickly. As I am revisiting this review a year later, I can say that she has a better center of gravity than both Wonder Woman and Black Canary. Her neck still pops out and it’s still frustrating. I don’t know where the prices are going, but it’s hard to get this thing for under $250 now. Glad I PO’d it. It’s always a gamble but most of my Figuarts have seen a decent ROI.
What do you think of her?
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