Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,721: R6-Series Astromech Droid Silver with Purple

R6-SERIES ASTROMECH DROID Silver Dome with Purple Markings
Star Tours   Droid Factory Customizable Figure
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Head, 2 legs, torso, central third leg, optional hat
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $12.99
Availability: May 2015
Appearances: The Clone Wars

Bio: These figures do not have specific packaging or configurations.  As such, we will be treating each dome as a unique "figure" as that part is the most plentiful.   There were 25 domes in the first 2012 series and 11 domes in the 2015 batch.  While Hasbro had said they didn't design the first batch, they included Hasbro copyrights.  This batch does not - markings read "© DISNEY" and "© LFL" as well as "China" on each leg.

Image: Adam's photo dump.

Commentary:  The purple R5-Series Astromech Droid was sitting here unopened in his plastic case since 2015.  So 5 years - and it was time to open this one up!  Part of a parts bin that may or may not even still be at the Disney parks.   The silver dome with purple highlights came out after a white dome with purple highlights, making this series a nightmare for completists.  Knowing what exists - and how to find it - will prove a challenge for fans for years to come.

Based on the same basic build-a-droid chassis we started getting back in 2008, this purple droid more or less matches nicely.  The dome has some purple paint that matches the purple body, but a few elements are considerably darker.  It stands out, and at first glance it almost looks like an error.   Most of the elements are painted nicely, but there are a few parts that seem underdecorated on the dome - at least the body has some great silver outlining.

The droid body has articulated feet and a removable third leg, but none of them have the wiring we got in the first batches or from Hasbro.   It still looks cool, plus it has a hole in his head for hats or hooks on the Droid Factory playset or Sandcrawler from Disney.  It's a nice toy figure with rolling wheels, but if you've got one of these, you've got them all - at this point getting more is just for completism's sake.  And that's fine - I mean, here we are, still talking about these barely-different droids.  If you can get one for the $13 or so price it's neat enough, but after shipping and any theoretical admission prices, maybe just stick with whatever is cheap and easy to track down.

Collector's Notes: I got this from my pal Shannon who was cool enough to get me a set from Disneyland.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,721: September 1, 2020