Week 2: Princess Leia

When I think of Princess Leia from A New Hope, this is the action figure I think of. In my opinion, all the POTF2 releases and subsequent Saga rehashes are hideous. I hope that someday, Hasbro will finally do a decent ANH Leia. I am hopeful that the upcoming Vintage carded Original Trilogy release will be good. However, enough about that, lets get into original......although, there isnt much to say. This is simple yet great figure.

Another of the original 4 Early Bird figures, this figure included a vinyl cape and the standard Leia gun. Her gun is specific to her and used on most other Princess Leia figures made including Hoth and Bespin. The gun can be found in either black or blue. Princess Leia Organa was available on most cardback releases also including SW, ESB, ROTJ, Tri-logo. She was not released on the Power of the Force card. The carded example I have is a ESB 32A-back in about C-8 condition or so. 

I am not aware of any real distinct common variations of this figure, but like all vintage figures there are some minor variations. I only have in my possession the one loose Leia figure pictured

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Pictured here is an example of the Palitoy Princess LeiaThe face sculpt and paint appears slightly different as well the skin tone of her face. My Kenner versions (loose and carded) are a bit darker than the Palitoy. Also the features such as her eyes and eyebrows are lighter and not as heavily painted as the Kenner. Also pictured is a bagged Palitoy Leia as well as a really cool pic of some Leia parts that were taken from the floor of a Palitoy plant. 

The figures appear to have only been partially sonic-welded and then pulled apart, possibly as a test in the factory or were possibly defective. Sonic welding is a process by which the assembled figure is subjected to high-frequency sound waves which vibrate the seams of the plastic and cause friction, thus high, focused heat. This heat actually melts or welds the figure together. Thanks to forum member Billy Boy for these really cool pics of the Palitoy Leia variation and parts. Hopefully, he will be able to elaborate more on the differences in the forum discussion. Thanks again, Billy!!

Price: A loose complete C-9 Leia will cost in most cases more than $10. However, deals are out there so you never know. I think my loose Leia cost closer to $20, but prices were a bit higher just prior to AOTC. Another thing to note is that the Leia gun is somewhat hard to find. At least, it has been for me. There are alot of repros out there of this weapon (and most weapons) so beware. I have been slipped a couple of repros and have yet to find replacements. The loose Leia I have is in fact sporting a repro. Actually, ALL of my black Leia pistols have turned out to be reproductions. To find out if your Leia or any other figure has a repro weapon or accessory, you can look here (http://www.loresdelsith.net/rincon/armeria/index2.htm).

A carded Leia can cost below $100 to greater than $500 just depending on the card series, rarity, condition, if it is AFA graded, etc. Like most carded figures, there is quite a broad range in which you can spend for the same figure. My pictured ESB example was approximately $90 shipped.

A little bit about me: I thought I would just throw in a little bit about myself. I am a 31 year old male collector from the great state of Texas. I have not been collecting all my life and I am by no means an expert on vintage Star Wars collecting. I have been collecting for a mere 2 1/2 years and I know there are alot more people out there with WAY more info and knowledge on the subject than me. However, I just like to talk vintage Star Wars figures and with these segments and with the discussion I hope they generate, I intend to learn even more than I actually "teach". I have just rediscovered vintage several months back when I began collecting MOC and looking for vintage loose variations and foriegn figures. I am especially fond of Vader items and am really trying to put together a nice collection of Vader MOCs (vintage and modern) as well as loose variations and other Vader oriented items. In order to put together such a vintage collection, I have abandoned all other collections and have sold most of them off including a large part of my modern Star Wars collection. Thanks for reading and I will see you guys in the forums! 

 Thanks for reading!