Hot Toys Princess Leia and Wicket Collectible Figures Set

[chilipep66]

Well, I always enjoy a nice fixer upper project. But this set really is a fail from hot toys. The exposed elbow joints on Leia are just such a bummer. They have made dozens of seamless arm bodies. Luckily I have some spares so that is mod one. The reuse of what is their worst Leia head is unfortunate too. Gotta mod those temple hair strands, obviously totally repaint wickets light fur and hood (davenjames did a great job with that!

 

[hen88]

Really nice job, davejames! I also love the pose.


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[Hoody999]

Well, I always enjoy a nice fixer upper project. But this set really is a fail from hot toys. The exposed elbow joints on Leia are just such a bummer. They have made dozens of seamless arm bodies. Luckily I have some spares so that is mod one. The reuse of what is their worst Leia head is unfortunate too. Gotta mod those temple hair strands, obviously totally repaint wickets light fur and hood (davenjames did a great job with that!

I'd be interested in some details if you're going to "fix her up".

 

[DarthAlias]

It all came out great.

Maybe you can use your hairpiece on Hoth/Bespin Leia if you go helmet on Endor.








Very nice display. I'm so jealous of...Simplicity.

Haha. Thanks man. Problem is that’s only like 10% of my collection. The rest is in storage until we get a bigger place. The kids take up all the space so my collection lays in boxes. This is just what I received recently and what was at my disposal. I have a ton more but wanted to display something. Too lazy to get the good ones from the back of the unit.

 

[TaliBane]

So strange how different HT made the sizes of Leia's and Luke's helmets. Really not sure they are supposed to be such different sizes in the movie. It's hard to tell though.

Well not sure if it really turned out that well, but I took a shot at giving her some messier hair with magic sculpt, just to change things up a bit more from my other Leia figures. It should probably look a bit looser and messier, but I still needed to keep it tight enough to the head so I could put the helmet on, which surprisingly I can.

I also lightened the hair overall, and gave her some rosier cheeks, darker eyeliner and pinker lips like she had in the movie.


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Ha yeah I'm the same way. I've always preferred her with the helmet on anyway, so not really sure why I went through the trouble. But I guess that also made it seem like less of a risk, since I can always go back to my favorite look later on.

As for Wicket, I just lightened up the hood with chalk pastel. And I also darkened his fur a bit too and tried to vary it up a little more.


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Wow, ambitious much DJ?

Looks great - not sure I'd have the bravery to attempt that. I think what's also helping is how light the paint is you've added - HT always does hair way too dark. Because Leia's often in bright daylight in ROTJ her hair seems even lighter than in ANH and ESB. It's really quite a light brown at times, yet all the HT heads her hair is anywhere from dark brown to almost black. The toning back of the lipstick gloss also adds to the realism - HT tends to overdo that. Nice work!

Wicket looks really great too, but I think the key issue to me is that his face is actually mostly grey in the movie. I'm considering trying to add some grey mohair to his face when my two arrive.

 

[davejames]

Thanks Talibane. And yeah I really think a lot of their likenesses could be improved greatly if they simply got the hair color right (I think the Rey figures suffer from the hair being way too dark as well). Not to mention adding a bit of extra color to the cheeks, which is something that was always very noticeable on Leia, and I think helps give the sculpt a bit more life.

 

[TonTon]

That looks great, davejames. The identical sculpts really bug me.

 

[davejames]

Thanks TonTon.

Unfortunately I just realized that this hairstyle makes it even more specific to her Endor look, so I won't be able to display it with her General outfit. But I've been feeling a lot more tempted to buy a second figure for that look anyway, as both outfits are just way too cool not to have on display.

 

[TaliBane]

@Talibane, I checked the Endor Luke and Endor Leia helmets, and they are definitely different molds. The Luke helmet is slightly wider, with different rear detailing, and the top fabric part of the helmets are different widths too. Some various paint diffs too. So in short, not the same mold with different interiors. Pretty much different helmets altogether.

Yeah, I just got mine and wow - is there a huge size difference between the HT Luke and Leia helmets. It's meant to be a military helmet so it doesn't make sense there would be different sizes.

It's tricky to find really good pics where their helmets are side by side but I found these couple of pics, though Luke's head is a touch in front of Leia's in both pics, making his helmet slightly bigger visually. Hard to say for sure, but when you compensate for that, their helmets seem to be about the same size. Certainly nothing like the "adult" size HT gave Luke vs the "child" size they gave Leia.

 

[DarkChocobi]

Well not sure if it really turned out that well, but I took a shot at giving her some messier hair with magic sculpt, just to change things up a bit more from my other Leia figures. It should probably look a bit looser and messier, but I still needed to keep it tight enough to the head so I could put the helmet on, which surprisingly I can.

I also lightened the hair overall, and gave her some rosier cheeks, darker eyeliner and pinker lips like she had in the movie.



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looks 100% much better than the stock version, beautifully executed!

 

[davejames]

Yeah, I just got mine and wow - is there a huge size difference between the HT Luke and Leia helmets. It's meant to be a military helmet so it doesn't make sense there would be different sizes.

It's tricky to find really good pics where their helmets are side by side but I found these couple of pics, though Luke's head is a touch in front of Leia's in both pics, making his helmet slightly bigger visually. Hard to say for sure, but when you compensate for that, their helmets seem to be about the same size. Certainly nothing like the "adult" size HT gave Luke vs the "child" size they gave Leia.

It's not that surprising to me given HT has always made their female heads a bit undersized compared to the male heads.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I find the helmet size difference less glaring than the obvious color difference between to the two versions of Wicket.

 

[TaliBane]

It's not that surprising to me given HT has always made their female heads a bit undersized compared to the male heads.

Yeah, you don't notice it until you actually put a Leia head right next to even a Luke head and the size difference is a little weird.

And I guess if you make the head a bit undersized, you have no choice but to downscale the helmet too.

I find the helmet size difference less glaring than the obvious color difference between to the two versions of Wicket.

But that would be unintentional - probably just each version made by different factories/suppliers even if made at the same time - whereas the helmet difference was intentional and planned ahead of time.

 

[dukefett]

Well, I always enjoy a nice fixer upper project. But this set really is a fail from hot toys. The exposed elbow joints on Leia are just such a bummer. They have made dozens of seamless arm bodies. Luckily I have some spares so that is mod one. The reuse of what is their worst Leia head is unfortunate too. Gotta mod those temple hair strands, obviously totally repaint wickets light fur and hood (davenjames did a great job with that!

While I agree the sculpt re-use isn't great, I think this version looks better than the Bespin one and on par with the Hoth one. But either way I can't call this set a fail at all. Figures have joints, I can't believe so many people are crying about an elbow joint. I'd rather that than not being able to pose her at all.

 

[Wor-Gar]

But that would be unintentional - probably just each version made by different factories/suppliers even if made at the same time - whereas the helmet difference was intentional and planned ahead of time.

But if that were the case, then many v1 and v2 variants would go back and forth on different batches. It seems like the "v2s" come quickly after the initial batch and those changes last the remaining length of the run. Yoda's thinning hair and lighter skin coloring and outfit material changes all lasted. I'm pretty sure that Wicket's lighter hood will last.

For me, its seems like someone at HT or Howard reviews the first batch and makes changes accordingly at that stage if necessary (and if not cost). I can see him saying "hood is too dark, don't soak it so long" or something to that effect. Because most v2 changes do seem like they could also save money over time and volume -- less hair, lighter skin, lighter hood.

But I get your point. Wicket color is more of a tweak in production, whereas the helmet was designed from the ground up that way.

Has anyone tried Luke's helmet on Leia? It probably looks silly, hence the change. Certainly if HT could simply reuse, they would have.

 

[TaliBane]

But if that were the case, then many v1 and v2 variants would go back and forth on different batches. It seems like the "v2s" come quickly after the initial batch and those changes last the remaining length of the run. Yoda's thinning hair and lighter skin coloring and outfit material changes all lasted. I'm pretty sure that Wicket's lighter hood will last.

For me, its seems like someone at HT or Howard reviews the first batch and makes changes accordingly at that stage if necessary (and if not cost). I can see him saying "hood is too dark, don't soak it so long" or something to that effect. Because most v2 changes do seem like they could also save money over time and volume -- less hair, lighter skin, lighter hood.

But I get your point. Wicket color is more of a tweak in production, whereas the helmet was designed from the ground up that way.

Has anyone tried Luke's helmet on Leia? It probably looks silly, hence the change. Certainly if HT could simply reuse, they would have.

The V.1 vs V.2 thing is a weird one and yeah maybe it does have to do with review n'tweak mid run, but in this case they would have been produced at pretty much the same time wouldn't they? Maybe they do a run and that stuff sits in a warehouse for a few months while they make more?

Just seems like the single and two-pack Wickets are shipping at the exact same time, I guess even calling into question which version is "V.1" and which is "V.2".

 

[davejames]

Has anyone tried Luke's helmet on Leia? It probably looks silly, hence the change. Certainly if HT could simply reuse, they would have.

I was going to try it earlier today, but the Luke helmet has a big tab underneath that prevents you from sitting it very low on her head.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Yeah, I have no idea really. But the 2-pack seems to have been out for a couple months and the single pack is just coming now. Which actually got made first, that I don't know.

Could they have thought the light hood needed to be darker...?

 

[DarthRusty]

My 2 pack arrived today
Wicket, in person, is not as bright as he wants to show up in photos. At least with the phones camera. I actually think he's pretty good. I tried editing some of the shadows & highlights in these.

I'm thinking of breaking out the DSLR, & seeing if I can get a shot of how he actually looks.
Leia is amazing though.

 

[TaliBane]

It's a solid looking figure that must have been technically complex to build but I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out a way to make my Wickets look more like the onscreen Wicket.

The fig just looks so much like a Disney plush toy vs the onscreen character that is cute but also looks like an elderly "wild man" blended with an animal (that's almost creepy looking at times also.)

I thought of dirtying his face up, but he's not really dirty exactly, it's more just messy grey fur that is darker beneath, less of that white fluffy lap dog look the figure has. Maybe it's about brushing on some grey dye then geling the dyed fur, or adding some longer fur to the face?

(pic credit to DarthRusty.)