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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After reorganising my Star Wars studio room, I had the opportunity to display some of my favourite collectibles that needed a safe and protected space. To celebrate my favourite Star Wars characters, I put together a Women Of The Star Wars Saga display area, to showcase some of my most treasured collectibles in a spot where I can see them everyday.

Checkout this video of my new Star Wars display –

This is of course not all of my Rey, Amidala, and Leia collectibles, but this display includes some of the largest/heaviest pieces, and ones that really need a secure display space away from sunlight and excess dust. The sturdy drawers provided a great platform for heavy pieces like premium format statues, and they are all now in a room that has blocked out windows to protect from sun damage – a concern of mine, especially with pieces with fabric details.

Rey collectibles –

• Sideshow Collectibles Rey premium format statue
• Gentle Giant Rey Milestones Statue
• Gentle Giant Rey Dreamer Statue
• Kotobukiya Rey Descendent Of Light Artist Series Figure
• Hot Toys Deluxe Rey and BB-8 12″ Figure Set

Queen Amidala collectibles –

• Robert Tonner Queen Amidala Celebration Gown Doll
• Robert Tonner Queen Amidala Trunk Set Doll
• Gentle Giant Queen Amidala (Throne Room Gown) Mini Bust
• Limoges Queen Amidala Porcelain Trinket Box

Princess Leia collectibles –

• Sideshow Collectibles Princess Leia Premium Format Statue
• Lladró Princess Leia Porcelain Statue
• Royal Selangor Princess Leia Pewter Figure
• Gentle Giant Princess Leia (Bespin Gown) Mini Bust
• The Bradford Exchange Princess Leia Treasured Reflections Statue

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Ever since that first brief glimpse of ‘Dark Rey’ in a trailer for The Rise Of Skywalker, I was instantly excited! Fans had been creating cosplay versions of an alternate Dark Side version of Rey for a few years, and now it actually came true! While fans usually imagined Rey in a black version of her usual ‘Jakku’ outfit, the Dark Side vision Rey in The Rise Of Skywalker wears a dress closer to the robes of Emperor Palpatine.

I loved the way Dark Side Rey was incorporated in the film, and was so excited when Funko revealed her inclusion in their upcoming line-up! As much as I wish I could collect all the Star Wars Pop Vinyl figures, that is a costly undertaking, so I focus on my favourite characters, like Rey and Leia.

This figure was a birthday present from my husband – while my birthday is still four days away, with a nationwide lock down starting at midnight tonight, we held a simple little impromptu birthday party today at home, where my husband surprised me with this fantastic little figure he knew was at the top of my wish list.

I already had the standard Episode IX Rey Pop Vinyl figure that was originally released on ‘Force Friday’ 4th October 2019, and it’s neat to have them both as a cute little mini set. I wonder if we will ever see a Pop Vinyl figure of Rey holding up her new yellow lightsaber? That would be awesome!

I loved the use of ‘Dark Side Rey’ in The Rise Of Skywalker, and I’m so happy that her brief appearance was used for merchandise. I really hope she will eventually be available in the 3 3/4″ action figure line as well, but for now I’m so happy to have my own cute little Funko Dark Side Rey for my collection.

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This Star Wars inspiration board DIY is a project I have wanted to make for a while, and January felt like the perfect time. The new year always brings about thoughts of resolutions, inspiring us to make change or reflect on our personal journey – and pin boards are a great way to remind us daily of our goals.

I’ve always loved pin boards, and use them often – I love being able to collect images and quotes that inspire me, and assemble them into visual representations of my goals. This year, I really wanted to create a Star Wars-themed pin board, inspired by my favourite women of Star Wars, and the pretty inspiration/mood/vision board projects from Pinterest.

As I planned out my project, the inspiration board idea evolved into a matching set of three boards, each one inspired by my favourite Star Wars characters – Princess Leia, Padme’ Amidala, and Rey. I created a themed printable sheet for each character, with quotes, inspiring words, and symbols to add to each pin board.

Free Printables to download (select the version for your desired paper size, right-click to download, and print at 300dpi) –

• Rebel and Naboo Symbol stencil cut-outs – A4 version – US Letter version
• Princess Leia – A4 version – US Letter version
• Padme’ Amidala – A4 version – US Letter version
• Rey – A4 version – US Letter version

A quick trip to the craft store and I found all the supplies I needed – minus some I already had, like paint brushes, scissors and ruler. All up, the supplies cost just under NZ$24 – but the most expensive item was actually the hologram alphabet stickers! There were cheaper options, but I just loved the sparkle effect (and I needed two packs just to get the E’s I needed…).

Craft Supplies –

• Small cork board x3 (I used 9″ x 12″ boards)
• Artist/acrylic paint
• Paint brush
• Push pins
• Scissors
• Alphabet stickers
• Printed photos of Leia/Padme’/Rey
• Optional – ruler, pencil, spare paper

The first step was painting the wooden frames of each cork board. I chose silver paint, as a colour that coordinated well with each character, and just looks pretty – with some glitter on top of course! I found two styles of glitter paint that I loved – silver glitter to add on the frame, and ‘crystal’ glitter as a subtle accent for the painted symbols.

I used some spare scrap paper to mask the cork surface to avoid getting paint on the cork while I handpainted the wooden frame. It took a few coats of the silver paint to get the finish I was looking for, as I wanted to completely cover the wood grain. Once the silver paint had dried well, I painted a few coats of the glitter paint – the paint I used has a clear base for the glitter, so the silver paint still shows up nicely under the glitter coats.

I used small scissors to carefully cut out the Rebel symbol and Naboo symbol stencils – I printed this page twice, so I had a bit of extra room in case I made a mistake. I took my time here, as the accuracy of the stencil really helps to get a tidy paint design later.

I used a ruler to find the center of the pinboard, then pinned the stencils onto the cork to secure in place. Using a small paint brush, I used the silver paint and carefully hand painted the outline of the symbols.

Once I was happy I had the outline painted, I removed the stencil and filled in the rest of the symbol. I used about two or three coats of the silver paint to get a nice even coverage on the textured cork surface, then finished it off with a few coats of the crystal glitter and silver glitter paints. So sparkly!

Once the painted symbols were fully dry, I got my hologram alphabet stickers to spell out the character names for Padme’, Leia, and Rey. I used a ruler to line up all the letters evenly, and to help get the names as centered as I could. I was able to gently place the stickers on the pinboard and carefully adjust them into place, before pressing them down firmly to stick securely.

I wanted to place the letters on top of the largest sections of paint – I found that I liked the placement of the ‘Padme’ lettering slightly higher on the Naboo symbol, compared to ‘Leia’ and ‘Rey’ lettering placement on the Rebel symbol.

As I was really excited by how the painted symbols came out, I was a little unsure if I wanted to put stickers over top – but I’m so glad I went with my original idea! I like the mixed media effect, which really suits the ‘gathered materials’ style of inspiration boards. Plus the hologram finish is so pretty against the silver glitter symbols!

Next up – the print outs. I really enjoyed creating the printed elements for my inspiration boards. I had a general idea of the layout I wanted, which included the same number of elements for each each character board –

• Three quotes on square designs
• One printed character photo (square)
• Three associated words
• Two small circular symbols

I spent quite a while really thinking about what inspires me most about each character. The idea behind these inspiration boards is that they will be hung on the wall where I will see them everyday, to remind me of what I love about each character, so I felt it was important to find words, symbols, and quotes that personally mean a lot to me.

Defining words –

• Rey – Jedi, Strong, Resist
• Padme’ – Queen, Love, Defend
• Leia – Princess, Hope, Rebel

Symbols –

• Rey – Jedi Order symbol, Force ‘Light Side’ symbol
• Padme’ – Naboo royal emblem, Republic Senate symbol
• Leia – Organa crest symbol, Jedi Order symbol

Taking my small scissors, I cut out each of the quote squares and round symbols, as well as a photo of each character I printed separately (I just found promo photos I liked online and printed them out in the same sized square as my quote designs).

For the single word prints, I originally cut them out in rectangles, but after seeing them all cut out together, I decided I wanted a ‘closer’ cut-out style for the words. It adds a scrapbook effect to the text, as if I cut them out from a magazine, which was my reason for using different fonts anyway.

The final step! Laying all the paper elements out on each board and playing around with different layout designs. I knew I wanted a square print in each corner, with the single words and round symbols scattered around. It was fun to see the final designs come together!

I wasn’t sure what colour pins I wanted to use, but in the end I went with white pins, with a few black pins for the quote squares with darker backgrounds. I felt black and white pins coordinated well with my printed text and silver painted elements. Once I had decided on my final layout, I secured the cut-outs in place with pins.

I am so very happy with how this DIY project came out – they look exactly as I hoped they would! Translating my scribbled sketches on scrap paper to final finished boards I can hang on my wall. From the first steps of choosing quotes, words, and symbols to represent each character, to creating printables, and painting symbols – it’s been a fun and thoughtful DIY project.

Every morning, I get up and see these Star Wars inspiration boards and smile. A reminder of the characters I love so much, and why they continue to inspire me every day. I really enjoyed the creative process of designing and making these inspiration boards, and celebrating these amazing women of Star Wars.

You can check out this DIY project on YouTube too (and subscribe to our channel for more Star Wars DIY projects as well as other ways to incorporate more Star Wars into your life).

If you’d like to create a Star Wars inspiration board for yourself, feel free to download and print out these character quote designs – these are also included in the free printable sheets which you can download via links at the top of this post.

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We went along to a local Lego Star Wars 20th Anniversary event yesterday, which was a really neat display. We were there to see the completion of the huge Lego Star Wars mosaic mural, but when we arrived we realised they were also giving out free Lego to fans as well!

The event had several build tables set up, with three different options – build a tile for the mosaic mural (but not keep), build a mini Star Wars vehicle (to keep), and a third table with lots of random Lego to build unique creations to show off (but not keep).

We joined the queue for the Star Wars mini-vehicle build tables. It was well set up so fans could follow instruction cards to build a mini Lego Star Wars Star Destroyer vehicle. A great way to pass the time until the mural completion ceremony, it was quite fun putting together these cute sets! The mini-vehicles even included little display stands.

They also had a supply of free Lego Star Wars mini-fig key chains for those who built mini-vehicle sets or mural tiles – we choose Rey and Poe Dameron.

Lastly, we also picked up these Lego Star Wars sticker sets, which are quite large – as indicated in the back page image, you can put these on the wall. Perfect for decorating a Lego build space at home.

All in all, it was an awesome event celebrating Lego and Star Wars, I’m so glad we were able to attend.

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This Hot Toys Cosbaby figure features Rey with lightsaber, as seen in The Last Jedi.

Thanks in part to the popularity of Funko Pop! Vinyl figures, there has been a huge increase in the range of cute, smaller scale collectible figures in recent years. This Cosbaby Rey figure by Hot Toys is a great example, with the same bobble-head action and round black base as Pop! Vinyl figures (and at just under 10cm, she’s pretty much the same height too).

Of course this Cosbaby design has more expressive facial features than the black eyes of Pop! Vinyl figures, which really adds to the action pose. Another point of difference – this figure is attached to the base, so she can’t be removed like the Funko figures can.

This figure was a great find at our local Armageddon Expo convention in Auckland last year – usually we source our collectibles online, so it’s exciting to find something for a great price, and with no additional shipping cost!

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This Star Wars Rey die-cast figure by Takara Tomy wasn’t something I went out of my way to track down, but it’s those little random finds that end up being special. I was aware Takara Tomy made Star Wars die-cast figures, but I hadn’t looking around for them – until I found this one by accident.

I was ordering some Star Wars items from Shop Disney when I noticed this Rey figure on clearance for only $3.99 – so I added it to my cart. A pretty good price for an item that’s hard to source here in New Zealand, and I’m always on the lookout for Rey items for my collection.

The Rey figure is die-cast metal, with plastic arms, head, and separate plastic staff. She isn’t very poseable, as the arms are fixed in place, but she can swivel at the waist. Not that I would expect much for a figure of this size – she measures only 7.8cm tall, which is quite a bit smaller than a standard 3.75″ action figure.

We also happen to have the Takara Tomy R2-D2 die-cast figure (which was a gift from a friend). These two figures make a cute little set – I’m happy to have this little Rey figure in my collection.

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I generally tried to avoid the temptation of Lego collecting, but when Lego revealed the new Brick Headz figure range, I couldn’t resist. They are basically the Lego version of Pop! Vinyl figures, so they can be collected by themselves, without descending into full blown Lego set addiction. As a Rey collector, I love the cute stylised design of this figure – it was quite fun to build and see the figure take shape.

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