Box Back and Side (click to enlarge)
Box Back and Side (click to enlarge)
| Catalog Entry | |
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Catalog Description:
PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA BEAUTIFUL HEROINE WITH STAR PUFFS HAIRDO Her hair can be put into other styles or reshaped into the "Star Puffs" hairdo using comb and brush, also included. She has movable arms and legs for beautiful fashion or exciting action poses. 11 1/2" tall. Source: 1978 Kenner Toy Fair Catalog |
Description:
Kenner's large size version of Princess Leia straddled the precarious divide that exists between "action figure" and...umm, girly toy. On the one hand, it was part of an action figure line, and its box referred to it as such. On the other hand, the company's advertising and the doll's play features made it clear that it was geared towards young girls-- the same ones who bought Barbie. Trust me, no self respecting guy kid wanted this thing. Shoot, instead of the film shots and cool action scenes featured on some of the other 12" figure boxes, what do we get on the reverse of the Leia package? Hair style demonstrations, for crissakes! Can you imagine a kid combining this toy with the other figures in a play scenario? While Luke and Han are busy battling Vader, what's Leia doing? Her hair, of course-- that's all she does. She didn't even come with a weapon, the first sign that a toy might be coming up a little bit short in the masculinity department.
But, truth be told, I love this piece. Okay, okay-- I'm a sucker for Leia stuff; sue me. But the sculpting of her face is dead-on; it captures the pudgy-yet-pretty looks of the young Carrie Fisher in a way that no other representation of the character has, before or since. And, although young boys no doubt loathed it, as a collector, you just have to appreciate the kitschiness of the hairdo paraphanelia. The doll even came with a booklet illustrating how each 'do was achieved. And I do mean achieved-- these are some seriously crazy looks, with equally crazy titles. My personal favorite is the "Star Burst," which looks like something even a poodle would get beaten up for having the nerve to wear around the neighborhood.
It's not too easy to find this item in unused, boxed condition. It's no piece of cake locating a pristine loose example, either, as it came with quite a few small accessories and the hair is almost always in disarray. Kenner had plans to release both fashion outfits for this doll and a 12" rendition of Leia in her Bespin gown, from The Empire Strikes Back. Unfortunately, these items never made it past the prototype stage. Identical figures were issued by several of Kenner's foreign affiliates. In Mexico, a unique 12" rendition of Leia was issued by the Lili Ledy company.
First Issued: 1978 (SW packaging)
Re-issues: None
| Parts List |
| 1 white gown |
| 1 pair white stockings |
| 1 pair white shoes |
| 1 silver belt |
| 1 blue comb |
| 1 blue brush |
| 2 brown hair "donuts" |
| 1 hairstyle booklet |
