Fantastic video! I had this Leia as a kid and I was always bewildered as to how, if even possible, one would even begin to put her hair back into the buns. I resigned myself to the fact that my Leia would forever be doing the eternal Walk of Shame. Forty-five years later, the mystery has been solved. Thank You.
Thank you for the hair tips, I used water bottle caps and drilled holes in them, not prefect but they look good enough for display thanks to you.. I am 51 and male my wife and kids loved watching me play with my dolls.. lol.. thanks again and amazing videos you both put together.
Surprisingly good likeness of Carrie Fisher - better even then some of the modern sculpts. The fact they sold Princess Leia with hair accessories and a style guide instead of a blaster is a definite tip-off that this was intended to be a girl's toy - even though it's scaled the same as the other large Star Wars figures of the period. Kind of a shame, since the 3.75" Leia came with a blaster accessory. Presumably, Kenner felt little boys would be less embarrassed in purchasing a 3.75" action figure over a 12" doll, and also thought that little girls would prefer a Princess Leia they could makeover like a Barbie, instead of the Rebel Alliance heroine who holds her own against space pirates and farm-boy star warriors.
She did have a blaster. Most parents took it away as a choking hazard. The small figs also came with a blaster, which was easily lost; but my Leia still has it.
I used the caps off of a Dr pepper soda bottle. It's rusty red . I drilled a hole in the top of the cap and then followed the rest of the steps. She looks awesome . Once in place you can't see the cap at all.
That's terrific, Melinda. As an Action Man person, I don't use the "D" Word, but it was great to watch an adult woman taking proper care of her lovely toy.
This was very informative - mint versions of Leia can cost a pretty penny! I seriously love the 12 inch line as I can only remember seeing one or two dolls back in the day, so they really make me nostalgic!
you guys are great it looks better than the original retro blasting awesome job Melinda you guys have the touch you and toy polloi are the best toy restoreers on you tube
Great tutorial on reconstructing the Leia buns. I have one in need of that and now that you laid it all out in easy to understand steps, I won't feel so intimidated to do it. That was a smart replacement you came up with for the original " donuts." I was going to drill a hole in a soy milk carton's plastic cap and paint it brown, but it probably wouldn't have been as close a size match. I don't have an original to compare it to and only saw the online pictures. All the time I was watching you struggle with that hair and little rubber bands and the " donuts. " I kept thinking of those poor underpaid workers in Hong Kong who originally had to deal with all that to produce the dolls. Can you imagine having to do that all day for weeks? I work with my Barbie's and other fashion dolls a lot and have used something to deal with those rubbery, soft, slightly tacky legs and getting tights or socks on them. Use just the slightest bit of baby powder on them. Get the lightest coating on your hands, barely any, and gently wipe it down the legs. If it causes them to be too white looking you can knock of the excess with a soft cloth. This doesn't harm the rubber as I've used it years ago on some vintage Barbies and Kens with this problem and they're just the same today after the treatment. Also you can take a unsharpened pencil or closed writing pen and place the stocking onto it. Then roll it up on itself so the inside is showing, till you get to the foot of the stocking. Place it on the foot of the doll and unroll it up the leg rather than having to tug and tug. Hope this helps anyone who decides their Leia doll needs a laundering and a bath.
You did an amazing job on recreating the original PRINCESS LEIA twin buns hairstyle! She looks GREAT! I can't remember if I left my PRINCESS LEIA wearing 2 ponytails, or if I have her in a Charlie's Angels hair style? But she's definitely wearing a DUSTY bell bottom outfit. 😉😊 👍🏻
I really need the belt! One day! Thanks for the video, my Leia had cut hair so I had to find a slightly alternate way to get an approximation of the space puffs! If I ever get a Minty version I'm definitely coming back to this video!
So good to see another restoration from you Melinda. =) The likeness is surprisingly pretty good now that you pointed it out., especially for a doll made in the 70's .
This is great! Thank you so much for showing an alternative to having the actual donuts that originally came with the doll, because I got one off ebay that had undone hair and no donuts...now I'm definitely going to be able to try this!
small water bottle caps work better than the doughnut holders that came with the doll. cut out the center of the water bottle cap and put them in the same way this video shows. This makes the buns slightly smaller. It looks better than the factory set hair style
Thank you! I just picked up a nice Leia, but her “star puffs” are a little loose. This makes me feel like I might be able to fix her hair. Awesome instructions!!! Well done.
You see Lord Vader? She can be reasonable! /Tarkin. Great work as always, Melinda. But I'll agree that it looks pretty intimidating. I'm awfully glad all of my action figures had plastic hair when I was growing up. :-)
maybe it's like Kim possibe and totally spy where make up items are really lasers and other cool things or just steal the blaster from the Black Series general hux figure and give it to leia, he don't it. his yelling will just scare people away.
Yeah pretty funny... Leia was such a strong female character, not like the "Mary Sue" in the modern sorry excuses for Star Wars sequels, but what does her figure come with for girls to play with?? A brush and comb and a book of hairstyles... Might as well be "barefoot and pregnant" version of Leia LOL:) Kinda "trailer trash Barbie" like from the MAD TV "Clops" (claymation COPS) episodes (which are here on RUclips and TOTALLY hilarious and HIGHLY recommended!) I get it, she's supposed to be a "girls toy" and all that, but there has to be some happy medium between little girls being taught to be "girly girls" and giving them some kind of strong female figure with brains and resourcefulness to emulate, balancing femininity and strength... Course nowdays boys can't be boys either without it being labeled "toxic masculinity" and all that social PC puke, either... so what do I know?? Just doing my best to raise a strong daughter who's a leader and resourceful thinker but still feminine... Later! OL J R :)
The death star plans(2 of them) are inside the secret backside compartment with the same series R&D doll...along with her 12" force powered DILDO saber.
This showed up in my recommendations, and I thought, "Michael also does hair?". About the yellowed white dress. Linda Cobb, aka "The Queen of Clean" has bleach alternative suggestions for cleaning white fabrics, especially heirloom fabrics. One of them is using lemon juice with salt or bicarbonate of soda. She has a blog and used to have a show on the DIY network. Her catchphrase is, "Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean".
If i might help ^_^ The original rubber bands were actually little "rubber band" colored bands (Like orthodontic bands back in the day)-- not the red ones (which are replacements-- probably from the 90s)) Shampoo and hair conditioner are made for hair-- a little dish soap and liquid fabric softener are more appropriate for doll hair, which isn't hair at all, but a synthetic fiber... Those clear replacement bands actually don't have a very long shelf-life and often "dry" and break on their own... re the stockings-- turn them inside out and then roll them up the leg ^_^
Is it just me or do their faces look slightly different? They're both good, but I wonder if there were different molds or differences in the later production runs.
i had originally used the craft pipe cleaners to make the bun, but they just didn't look at nice. so glad i found this video, her buns look so much better now. i wish they didn't make her feet so damn big. none of kens shoe i saw so far would look nice with the dress. any tips on fixing the dress? parts of it the thread are coming un-done... not my fault, who ever had the dress last did it, i got the dress at the thrift store as i saw normal barbie doll, so i bought that doll and got a naked de-buned leia off of eaby (for a great price) well, not 100% naked, she still had her underwear. at least her hair was not cut, unlike the 1999 hasbro Leia doll i found at the thrift store, she still had the ceremony dress, necklace,belt and bracelet. but her hair was cut so short, i couldn't even do anything with it, so i re-rooted her hair and styled it pretty close to the oringal style.
I'm still waiting for my order of 5 of the original figures (Leia, Luke, Han, Chewie, and Ben) to arrive, but they're all missing their belts and weapons, and Leia is also missing her shoes! Where did you source the replacement parts? Can't wait to try fixing the hair; thanks for the tutorial!
It can tricky finding parts for these because they're comparatively less common than their smaller counterparts. Your best bets would probably be ebay and online Star Wars collector groups. Good luck!
@@retroblasting ahhh it's so much harder being in Australia because most of the good stuff comes from the States, and sellers really overcharge for shipping. I know it's not vintage, but I decided to get the blaster and belt off a Solo: A Star Wars Story Han figure, since the figure was on clearance at 6.8 US dollars anyway... At least vintage Han can look more complete. Wish I had similarly-cheap options for the other characters though.
I got everything down but the last part. Tucking the hair in around the buns , To conceal the hair not of the buns. Mel makes it look easy in this video. But when I do it just turns into a mess and I have to start over. After the tenth time on each side , I am giving up. Good enough to display I guess, As long as I don't look close at her .
Pretty close. My sister took her hair down and put a little house on the prairie dress on her. I still have the doll and the box. check out prototype disco leia's vid titled "Star Wars Kenner Unproduced & Prototype 12" Action Figures | Collection THX1138" MTFBWY
Well, I have no way to duplicate what you just did to Princess Leia's hair, so let me use the alternative......puts hands together.....dear lord in heaven, please don't let the 40 year old rubber band on my Princess Leia break because I have no way to repair it.
Omg i just got that Princess Leia doll yesterday for only $2!😻
Fantastic video! I had this Leia as a kid and I was always bewildered as to how, if even possible, one would even begin to put her hair back into the buns. I resigned myself to the fact that my Leia would forever be doing the eternal Walk of Shame. Forty-five years later, the mystery has been solved. Thank You.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for the hair tips, I used water bottle caps and drilled holes in them, not prefect but they look good enough for display thanks to you.. I am 51 and male my wife and kids loved watching me play with my dolls.. lol.. thanks again and amazing videos you both put together.
another tip when you are styling her hair have the hair damp its much easier to work with as it drys the buns will be nice and tight
Surprisingly good likeness of Carrie Fisher - better even then some of the modern sculpts.
The fact they sold Princess Leia with hair accessories and a style guide instead of a blaster is a definite tip-off that this was intended to be a girl's toy - even though it's scaled the same as the other large Star Wars figures of the period. Kind of a shame, since the 3.75" Leia came with a blaster accessory. Presumably, Kenner felt little boys would be less embarrassed in purchasing a 3.75" action figure over a 12" doll, and also thought that little girls would prefer a Princess Leia they could makeover like a Barbie, instead of the Rebel Alliance heroine who holds her own against space pirates and farm-boy star warriors.
She did have a blaster. Most parents took it away as a choking hazard.
The small figs also came with a blaster, which was easily lost; but my Leia still has it.
I have never touched a doll in my life- i was really nervous. Worked like a champ. Thanks!
I used the caps off of a Dr pepper soda bottle. It's rusty red . I drilled a hole in the top of the cap and then followed the rest of the steps. She looks awesome . Once in place you can't see the cap at all.
That's terrific, Melinda. As an Action Man person, I don't use the "D" Word, but it was great to watch an adult woman taking proper care of her lovely toy.
This was very informative - mint versions of Leia can cost a pretty penny! I seriously love the 12 inch line as I can only remember seeing one or two dolls back in the day, so they really make me nostalgic!
Thank you so much for posting! The thought of my Leia's unruly hair has been nagging me for 40 years. Will let you know how it goes!
Michael's a lucky guy for finding another girl that like vintage toys.
Mine came out beautifully! Thank you so much!
Congratulations!
you guys are great
it looks better than the original
retro blasting awesome job
Melinda you guys have the touch you and toy polloi are the best toy restoreers on you tube
Great tutorial on reconstructing the Leia buns. I have one in need of that and now that you laid it all out in easy to understand steps, I won't feel so intimidated to do it. That was a smart replacement you came up with for the original " donuts." I was going to drill a hole in a soy milk carton's plastic cap and paint it brown, but it probably wouldn't have been as close a size match. I don't have an original to compare it to and only saw the online pictures. All the time I was watching you struggle with that hair and little rubber bands and the " donuts. " I kept thinking of those poor underpaid workers in Hong Kong who originally had to deal with all that to produce the dolls. Can you imagine having to do that all day for weeks?
I work with my Barbie's and other fashion dolls a lot and have used something to deal with those rubbery, soft, slightly tacky legs and getting tights or socks on them. Use just the slightest bit of baby powder on them. Get the lightest coating on your hands, barely any, and gently wipe it down the legs. If it causes them to be too white looking you can knock of the excess with a soft cloth. This doesn't harm the rubber as I've used it years ago on some vintage Barbies and Kens with this problem and they're just the same today after the treatment. Also you can take a unsharpened pencil or closed writing pen and place the stocking onto it. Then roll it up on itself so the inside is showing, till you get to the foot of the stocking. Place it on the foot of the doll and unroll it up the leg rather than having to tug and tug. Hope this helps anyone who decides their Leia doll needs a laundering and a bath.
I used empty tape rolls to redo mine 😊
My CHEWBACCA doll is gonna look great with this style!
that looks better than the original great job retro blasting
You did an amazing job on recreating the original PRINCESS LEIA twin buns hairstyle! She looks GREAT!
I can't remember if I left my PRINCESS LEIA wearing 2 ponytails, or if I have her in a Charlie's Angels hair style?
But she's definitely wearing a DUSTY bell bottom outfit.
😉😊 👍🏻
i think the job you dito.d on this Leia looks better than the other example you were comparing it.
Wow! I'm so glad mine has perfect hair.
I followed the instructions step-by-step and now my house is on fire. Please advise.
Just throw it in your garage it'll go out in its own time, but be sure your car is on and the garage door is closed!
I really need the belt! One day! Thanks for the video, my Leia had cut hair so I had to find a slightly alternate way to get an approximation of the space puffs! If I ever get a Minty version I'm definitely coming back to this video!
So good to see another restoration from you Melinda. =) The likeness is surprisingly pretty good now that you pointed it out., especially for a doll made in the 70's .
This is great! Thank you so much for showing an alternative to having the actual donuts that originally came with the doll, because I got one off ebay that had undone hair and no donuts...now I'm definitely going to be able to try this!
Im not sure why that was fascinating but it was. Great job.
Was waiting for broken Vader to complain that there are TWO restored Leia dolls and he has yet to be fixed.
Great job Melinda. Awesome video! I want to play with Leia's hair now. How weird!
You have the most patience. Great video.
I think Hasbro should release a Princess Leia doll with this likeness again , I'm sure many would buy one for $20 .
that and the disney store too. i love the joints on their princess dolls. and han/luke too.
small water bottle caps work better than the doughnut holders that came with the doll. cut out the center of the water bottle cap and put them in the same way this video shows. This makes the buns slightly smaller. It looks better than the factory set hair style
Very glad you guys made this video. It was very much needed!!!
This was mesmerizing and fantastic to watch.
I always wondered how to do that. Good work Malinda! I don't have one of those yet but now I may go get the one in looking at. Thanks
Another high quality video! Thanks for all our effort. Keep em coming please!
Thank you! I just picked up a nice Leia, but her “star puffs” are a little loose. This makes me feel like I might be able to fix her hair. Awesome instructions!!! Well done.
You can do it!
wow, this takes serious skill!
You see Lord Vader? She can be reasonable! /Tarkin.
Great work as always, Melinda. But I'll agree that it looks pretty intimidating. I'm awfully glad all of my action figures had plastic hair when I was growing up. :-)
Leia came with a brush and a comb?! Where the heck is her blaster and the Death Star plans?
maybe it's like Kim possibe and totally spy where make up items are really lasers and other cool things
or just steal the blaster from the Black Series general hux figure and give it to leia, he don't it. his yelling will just scare people away.
Girls don’t care about that stuff 😂. Well now they do but not really in the 70’s
Yeah pretty funny... Leia was such a strong female character, not like the "Mary Sue" in the modern sorry excuses for Star Wars sequels, but what does her figure come with for girls to play with?? A brush and comb and a book of hairstyles...
Might as well be "barefoot and pregnant" version of Leia LOL:) Kinda "trailer trash Barbie" like from the MAD TV "Clops" (claymation COPS) episodes (which are here on RUclips and TOTALLY hilarious and HIGHLY recommended!)
I get it, she's supposed to be a "girls toy" and all that, but there has to be some happy medium between little girls being taught to be "girly girls" and giving them some kind of strong female figure with brains and resourcefulness to emulate, balancing femininity and strength...
Course nowdays boys can't be boys either without it being labeled "toxic masculinity" and all that social PC puke, either... so what do I know??
Just doing my best to raise a strong daughter who's a leader and resourceful thinker but still feminine...
Later! OL J R :)
The death star plans(2 of them) are inside the secret backside compartment with the same series R&D doll...along with her 12" force powered DILDO saber.
@@usukamee7301 Backside compartment, eh? Sounds like you recently watched Starchaser: The Legend of Orin. :)
Very cool...I always wondered how they got her hair in that donut shape and now I know.
This showed up in my recommendations, and I thought, "Michael also does hair?".
About the yellowed white dress. Linda Cobb, aka "The Queen of Clean" has bleach alternative suggestions for cleaning white fabrics, especially heirloom fabrics. One of them is using lemon juice with salt or bicarbonate of soda.
She has a blog and used to have a show on the DIY network. Her catchphrase is, "Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean".
If i might help ^_^ The original rubber bands were actually little "rubber band" colored bands (Like orthodontic bands back in the day)-- not the red ones (which are replacements-- probably from the 90s)) Shampoo and hair conditioner are made for hair-- a little dish soap and liquid fabric softener are more appropriate for doll hair, which isn't hair at all, but a synthetic fiber... Those clear replacement bands actually don't have a very long shelf-life and often "dry" and break on their own... re the stockings-- turn them inside out and then roll them up the leg ^_^
Nice done Melinda!!! When will come the next STAR WARS FOLLIES?
Nice work very impressive.
someone might have a future as a hand model😁
Great video. Was the hair done by hand at the Kenner factory or by a machine? The hair on the mint one looks super perfect!
Is it just me or do their faces look slightly different? They're both good, but I wonder if there were different molds or differences in the later production runs.
Gdi i wish i could find a guide like this to fixing entrapta's hair from the she-ra line
yeah I world never even attempt that. great job!
such a tricky and fiddly task. But a job well done :-)
My sister and I shared Leia and Luke as children. But, if I can remember how it went down, once Leia was "unbunned", she was never bunned again!
i had originally used the craft pipe cleaners to make the bun, but they just didn't look at nice. so glad i found this video, her buns look so much better now. i wish they didn't make her feet so damn big. none of kens shoe i saw so far would look nice with the dress.
any tips on fixing the dress? parts of it the thread are coming un-done...
not my fault, who ever had the dress last did it, i got the dress at the thrift store as i saw normal barbie doll, so i bought that doll and got a naked de-buned leia off of eaby (for a great price) well, not 100% naked, she still had her underwear.
at least her hair was not cut, unlike the 1999 hasbro Leia doll i found at the thrift store, she still had the ceremony dress, necklace,belt and bracelet. but her hair was cut so short, i couldn't even do anything with it, so i re-rooted her hair and styled it pretty close to the oringal style.
I have one in box, you were encouraged to style her hair she came with a comb and brush and a hair style guide
Sorry that's why you watch the while video before commenting lol
Really cool video!
I'm still waiting for my order of 5 of the original figures (Leia, Luke, Han, Chewie, and Ben) to arrive, but they're all missing their belts and weapons, and Leia is also missing her shoes! Where did you source the replacement parts? Can't wait to try fixing the hair; thanks for the tutorial!
It can tricky finding parts for these because they're comparatively less common than their smaller counterparts. Your best bets would probably be ebay and online Star Wars collector groups. Good luck!
@@retroblasting ahhh it's so much harder being in Australia because most of the good stuff comes from the States, and sellers really overcharge for shipping. I know it's not vintage, but I decided to get the blaster and belt off a Solo: A Star Wars Story Han figure, since the figure was on clearance at 6.8 US dollars anyway... At least vintage Han can look more complete. Wish I had similarly-cheap options for the other characters though.
good information, id be willing to try this myself, thank you for the great video, now please give vader his arms back so i can fix my chewbacca lol
Would've liked to see michael try to style the hair, than rage quit when he couldnt.
Then give a twenty minute rant on the subject in the next Star Wars Follies.
Love this tutorial. By the way how do you guys feel about guys who collect girl line like Barbie or My little Pony? Weird or go for it?
if it makes you happy, i say go for it.
I got everything down but the last part. Tucking the hair in around the buns , To conceal the hair not of the buns.
Mel makes it look easy in this video. But when I do it just turns into a mess and I have to start over.
After the tenth time on each side , I am giving up. Good enough to display I guess, As long as I don't look close at her .
So cool
The thing you used for her hair. What is it originally used for just so i know what to ask for
Hi there, do you know what the diameter of the donuts are? Thank you!
great video, you should have asked for a hand from DV oh wait.....
Is that an engagement ring? Very pretty!
+Harpfrmhel Ha, no, just something sparkly- Melinda
good job melinda ,by the way i know mike can do those donuts faster
interesting video.
I want one
1-1/4" x 3/8" for those of you who want to make your own. I am not sure of the hole size. Special thanks to Ma8yr!
need to practice on my daughters girls world ;)
can you do a retro blast on the old gargoyles cartoon.👍👍
Pretty close. My sister took her hair down and put a little house on the prairie dress on her. I still have the doll and the box. check out prototype disco leia's vid titled "Star Wars Kenner Unproduced & Prototype 12" Action Figures | Collection THX1138" MTFBWY
Is that Broken Vader's daughter?
I find this doll with only one donut so sad.. 😭😭 i'm searching another option
A Leia Barbie doll. cool
Well, I have no way to duplicate what you just did to Princess Leia's hair, so let me use the alternative......puts hands together.....dear lord in heaven, please don't let the 40 year old rubber band on my Princess Leia break because I have no way to repair it.
Leia gets her hair buns back, but Broken Vader is still missing his arms.
😭 I miss Carrie!
im so jealous
Bleach does work on the dress so long as it goes in with water and for 15min
please help..WHAT IS THE DIAMETER OF THE BUN PIECES? and THICKNESS? mm or "
1-1/4"x3/8"
Way less traumatic than the video where you boiled the pony.
+AxenFrite Haha, true
Melinda is the best part of this episode she needs to make more videos
Would you guys give a thought about episode 7
she said fiddly lol toy polloi
Action Figures!
Hahaha, as a father of two daughters, you even have to know about doing hair, if not on one of the girls then at least on dolls.
+Rictus Metallicus Ha, good point!
+RetroBlasting i have not watch you in a while and im back from a year cuz i spend my year at NYC
"This is not a toy"
I'm a straight guy...
Why am I watching this?
mr6johnclark cause u like retroblasting I