So what changed between this quality control sample version and the final product? The face paint had to be dramatically refined to make Queen Amidala look more stately and sombre than ‘circus carny’. The gold-tone paint was changed from a yellow gold tone to a metallic gold tone, which adds sheen. The pink neck frill was painted red to match the Queen’s gown. Finally, the red circles (which are present in the actual filmed costume) weren’t painted,  decreasing the polka-dot look.

This, friends, is what Hasbro means when they say that they’ve changed something to make the figure look ‘richer’ — not bling, just better. The overall improvement is dramatic.