Presenting a 1977 Princess Leia Action Figure from Kenner. When I was asked by our editorial team to present something for Retro Week, I was a bit ashamed to admit I had this figure. Today, Marvel, Disney and Hasbro are getting flack for saying that they limit the production of figures like the Black Widow and the Scarlet Witch because boys supposedly don’t want to play with “dolls”. In today’s society, that argument no longer makes any sense given the immense amount of adults who collect toys and the fact that society tends to be more gender sensitive (Publisher Note: A-Men! -- or A-Women as it were). But in 1977? Yeah, that’s a doll. You can tell on the close-ups that the action figure has seen…. a little dirt over the ages. I recall she’s been buried, left in the rain, frozen in ice, trampled on, thrown hundreds of times and generally discarded because, back then, we weren’t suppose to play with dolls.
That’s probably why I still have her – but her pistol is long gone. The 1977 Kenner Princess Leia action figure came with: five-points of articulation Princess Leia; a cloak; and the aforementioned lost pistol. You have to give me some credit for the fact that the cloak is still in a generally good condition. The cloak is made of a paper thin piece of plastic that easily tears. You were suppose to take the cloak and fold it back over her shoulders, but it’s not as pliable as you may think and it will tear.
So the fact that this is still generally whole after 38 years is an accomplishment.
38 years later, the 1977 Kenner Princess Leia finds herself face to face with her Hasbro Original Trilogy Collection edition, which was released in 2004, that is not only waaay thinner, but comes with more articulation than Kenner could dream of 27 years before the Hasbro version.
Sadly the production policy to produce less figures because of their gender did not exist in 1977 so this Princess Leia is not as rare as you may think. A loose figure like this – depending upon the quality and completeness – may set you back anywhere from $10 to $50 USD.
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