LIBERATION 19: ULTIMATE HAIR QUEEN AMIDALA

My first Liberation was Royal Elegance Queen Amidala. I should have quit while I was ahead. Ultimate Hair does not seem to have the same attention to detail that Royal Elegance boasted. Come take a look…

The Doll

The face on this doll is just as lovely as that on the Royal Elegance. The mold resembles Natalie Portman and is quite attractive. The strange face paint is, unfortunately, totally accurate to the movie. Unfortunately, the white ‘paint’ is the actual color of the plastic. She has two holes in her head (!) to hold her hair accessories in place.

Anyone have any idea what the tissue paper skirt is for?

The body mold is very nice. She’s a little more slender than the standard Mattel body without being as thin as the Generation Girls. The white molded panties are apparently an industry standard now. Her hair is long, all one length, and made out of a fabulously silky saran that reminds me of Takara Jenny dolls. It is soft and smooth and perfect for hair play!

Doll Scorecard
Face: A
Body: B
Hair: A+
Overall: A-

The Outfit

I was totally disappointed in this outfit. In the movie this is a red split skirt with a black velvet jacket. Here it is all one piece, fastened by velcro, and there is no split skirt. Adding insult to injury, the red lame is cheap and they didn’t even bother to hem it! The boots are nice, soft plastic, and the belt is a strange black plastic with metallic red flecks.

Outfit Scorecard
Fabric: C
Style: D
Execution: D-
Overall: D+

The Accessories

As you can see, Ultimate Hair comes with a huge assortment of hair play accessories. So what’s my complaint? Well… for starters, some of them don’t fit! The large hairpiece and the golden crown with side dangles have to be shoved into place and distort Amidala’s head when worn. The hair wrap, although a good idea, is a bit awkward to actually use. And finally, the two piece headpiece that she wears in the opening photo, which has two pins to hold the awkward hairpiece in place, is so poorly designed that I can’t get it completely in place even without the hairpiece.

Accessories Scorecard
Concept: A
Style: B
Playability: C-
Overall: B-

The Result

With this face paint, there weren’t a ton of redressing options. Hair play with this Amidala was more frustrating than fun, but I did eventually find a new style I liked better. Now she looks ready to lead the troops into battle on Naboo! Where’s the blaster?