In today’s Retro Review, I take a closer look at the Star Wars x Barbie limited edition dolls. Of course with all the excitement around the release of the new Barbie movie and all things Barbie, now is the perfect time to take a look at the Barbie dolls in my Star Wars collection!

The first Star Wars x Barbie doll collection (released in late 2019) was inspired by three classic Star Wars characters from A New Hope – Princess Leia, R2-D2, and Darth Vader. Released in May/June 2020, the follow-up second collection also included three characters from A New Hope – Stomtrooper, C-3PO, and Chewbacca, as well as Rey from The Force Awakens.

Each doll wears a full head-to-toe ensemble inspired by a Star Wars character. The outfits not only reference the design of the character, but also the feel – it really shows that a lot of thought went into the design process. Princess Leia is elegant, confident, and stylish, R2-D2 is quirky, fun, and friendly, Darth Vader is powerful, imposing, and severe, and Rey is optimistic, graceful, and independent.

The Star Wars x Barbie collaboration is an homage to Star Wars: A New Hope. This eponymous collection, inspired by the film’s original concept art, re-imagines iconic characters through a distinctive Barbie high-fashion filter.

Each doll is wearing a couture outfit, complete with matching hairstyle and accessories, all packaged in a display box. The presentation is just gorgeous, complete with strong plastic display box and artwork on the cardboard surround. The dolls are secure in place, and protected from dust and marks. Each box has a plastic slip band that simply slides off to reveal the side panels that open up to display a backdrop of artwork.

Check out my full video –

So let’s take a closer look at the four Star Wars x Barbie dolls in my collection, starting with Darth Vader.

Darth Vader looks ready to march into a board room and take control. While her black hairstyle and glasses were intended to represent Darth Vader’s helmet, I can’t help but see a reference to Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue Magazine for over 30 years and a powerful figure in the fashion world.

This collectible Star Wars x Barbie doll captures Darth Vader’s Sith armor silhouette in a head-to-toe shiny-black ensemble. Metallic details at her collar and waist, dark glasses and an emblematic black cape finish the look.

Princess Leia looks like royalty, in a full length white ball gown with huge draped sleeves and stunning silver accessories. The outfit looks red carpet ready, the perfect fit for the Princess of Alderaan.

This collectible Star Wars x Barbie doll captures Princess Leia’s iconic look in an elegant white gown with dramatic, floor-length sleeves. Details include a silvery peplum belt, cuff jewelry and an up-do inspired by her signature bun hairstyle.

R2-D2 is portrayed as youthful and fun, a fashionable best friend. This is my daughter’s favourite design from the collection – the long blue ponytail gives the look a slightly more younger vibe compared to the other designs.

This collectible Star Wars R2-D2 x Barbie doll captures the lovable droid’s look in a geometric ensemble with a dome skirt, bomber jacket and thigh-high boots over silvery tights. A vibrant blue ponytail and “radar eye” detail complete the look.

Later, Mattel released four more Star Wars x Barbie dolls for ‘Star Wars Day’ May 4th 2020, with dolls inspired by Rey, Stormtrooper, C-3PO, and Chewbacca. There is always a lot of new Star Wars merchandise released on May 4th each year, so I was only able to pick up my favourite design from the second collection – Rey.

Like the Princess Leia doll before her, the Rey doll outfit is in a red carpet style. The outfit design closely references Rey’s Jakku scavenger outfit but in a longer flowy gown. The outfit is a more direct translation of the original costume, especially compared to some of the other dolls in the range (like R2-D2), but it works really well.

This collectible Star Wars x Barbie doll takes design inspiration from Rey’s legendary look to capture her adventurous spirit in a runway-ready silhouette. Star Wars Rey x Barbie doll wears a crystal pleated chiffon gown with a crossover neckline and draped hood, inspired by Rey’s gauzy crosspiece. A slit reveals ombre boot-leggings in gold and copper hues, and accessories with a hammered gold look complete her heroic ensemble.

The Barbie brand is founded on dolls wearing fashion, so this concept was the perfect approach for a Star Wars collaboration. This collection feels thoughtful, evident that the designers really wanted to create outfits that represented the characters and that fans would really appreciate. I absolutely love my Star Wars x Barbie dolls, and someday hope to track down the ones missing from my collection.

May the Force be with you!

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Welcome to 10 Star Wars Things – a regular series highlighting a variety of Star Wars items from our collection. Today’s theme is – Han Solo!

Today is Harrison Ford’s birthday, so in celebration we are highlighting his iconic Star Wars character Han Solo. From the original Kenner vintage action figure, to collectibles from Gentle Giant, Hasbro and more, we highlight 10 Han Solo items from our collection.

Watch the full video on YouTube –

Check out our gallery below – which one is your favourite? May the Force be with you!

• Hasbro Unleashed Han Solo Figure

• 2. Vintage Kenner Han Solo Action Figure

• 3. Funko Pop! Vinyl Han Solo (Snow Gear) #86

• 4. Han Solo At Star’s End paperback novel by Brian Daley

• 5. Hasbro The Black Series Archive The Force Awakens Han Solo Carded Figure

• 6. Gentle Giant Ltd 2011 Premier Guild Exclusive Han Solo (Bespin) Mini Bust

• 7. Funko Pop! Han Solo Pocket Keychain

• 8. Hasbro The Black Series ROTJ Han Solo (Endor) Carded Figure

• 9. Gentle Giant Ltd 2010 Convention Exclusive Han Solo (Stormtrooper Disguise) Animated Maquette

• 10. Vintage Kenner ROTJ Han Solo (Hoth Outfit) Carded Figure

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We just recently were lucky to get this POTF2 nostalgia version of the Black Series 6″ Yavin Celebration Ceremony Princess Leia – a celebratory figure to celebrate the new year!

The packaging is a recreation of the POTF2 “green beam” packaging that was used for 3.75″ figures in the late 1990s. Back then, in that smaller scale, the Ceremonial Dress Princess Leia was released on a card with the FlashBack photo (the small plastic-framed image that would change from Leia to Padme Amidala with the pull of a tab), and also with a soft-goods cape partnered with Luke Skywalker in his Yavin 4 celebration garb (part of the Princess Leia Collection of 4 different 2-packs). This modern 6″ Black Series version of the figure has a foil finish to the cardback and bears the Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary logo in the top right corner.

Leia comes with fabric components to her outfit, and a Yavin Ceremony Medal. The collectible was a Hasbro Pulse exclusive, originally scheduled to ship in February of 2022, but bought forward by nearly a couple of months in the end. This version of the Princess Leia figure will also ship in standard/current Black Series packaging in Feb/March 2022. We may hunt down a version in the standard packaging too, in order to open and display this great rendition of Princess Leia as seen in A New Hope, because we’ll definitely be keeping this POTF2 iteration on the exclusive cardback.

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Carrie Fisher’s birthday last year coincided with our local Armageddon Expo in Auckland, so of course I spent the day reflecting on Carrie and Princess Leia. I browsed the great range of dealer tables, and found lots of great Leia-themed items, like this artwork.

This beautiful Princess Leia artwork canvas jumped out at me, and was one of those finds that you instantly know that you have to leave the convention with it safely in your hands.

The artwork features Princess Leia from A New Hope, in her classic white senatorial dress with bun hairstyle. The printed canvas is mounted on a wooden frame, with the artwork printed on the front and plain black sides. It measures approximately 28.5cm by 46cm by 4cm.

It hangs pride of place in my room, so I can see it every day. A year later, once again on Carrie Fisher’s birthday, I love seeing Leia looking over me. A lovely tribute to a princess from a galaxy far far away.

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This Disney Store Leia and R2-D2 ornament is another collectible that somehow made into my shopping cart. Princess Leia has a special place in my Star Wars collection, so I often go out of my way to find Leia items – but this one was a little bonus.

The Disney Store often has unique Star Wars items, and they ship internationally, so we check the website from time to time for good deals. During one such browsing session, I spotted this Leia ornament in the after-Christmas clearance, and couldn’t resist adding to my cart.

This ornament is part of the Disney Store Ornament Sketchbook Ornament Collection, and features Princess Leia and R2-D2 from a scene in A New Hope.

The sculpting and paintwork aren’t as detailed compared to Hallmark Keepsake ornaments, but then the prices reflect the difference. As you can see, I still haven’t taken the tag off – I’ve been keeping this ornament displayed on a shelf, rather than hanging on a tree once a year. Carrie Fisher herself kept a fully decorated Christmas tree in her house all year round, so I like the idea of having a Princess Leia Christmas ornament on display all year round too.

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