Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,016: New Republic Security Droid (The Black Series)

NEW REPUBLIC SECURITY DROID or N5 Sentry Droid
The Black Series 2020 Line Look The Mandalorian Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F5526
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: 23 - The Mandalorian
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: July 2022
Appearances: The Mandalorian

Bio: The New Republic ued these security droids for protection and combat, including aboard high-security correction transports like the one Th Mandalorian boarded in an effort to rescue the prisoner Qin. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I sat on the New Republic Security Droid in my review pile for ages, in part because I just wasn't excited with it, but mostly, because there wasn't much cause to play with it. (Unrequested tangent: 6-inch makes a great fan format, but for weird stuff, 3 3/4-inch is probably the way to go. Without prisoners to guard, why make a droid prison guard?) Unsurprisingly to long-term readers, I opened it up and absolutely love the design. I just wish it were Vintage or Retro, and if it were Retro, I would greedily pick it up in at least one alternate color. It looks a lot like something that might menace C-3PO in the old Droids cartoon.

It's a good figure. It's not great - given the price increases, Hasbro probably could have used a better gray plastic that doesn't look quite so much like a toy, or perhaps painted it more, but it's a nice sculpt. If you have a K-2SO - which he resembles - you'll recognize the clear plastic in the elbows, wrists, ankles, and knees. He stands nicely, posing him is easy, and he holds his gun in his three-fingered hand without a fuss. It's a good sculpt - they did a nice job translating the show's design with its tiny eyes and long face into something that retains elements of Battle Droids and the K-2SO designs, but also looks new enough that you won't be too upset by what I assume were shared digital assets in spots.

The figure is arguably more interesting from the back. He's got some sort of robot spine on his lower back, a light on his butt, various access ports and switches, and a second New Republic symbol printed over there. They didn't seem to skimp back here.

Deco, again, could have been better. There are chest lights that don't exactly pop - they match the muted New Republic symbol too closely, and just look like part of the droid's painted decoration. Similarly, the eye light doesn't quite sing - it's just a yellow stripe, and lacks something vital I can't quite put my finger on. It also feels a tiny bit small, but at least it's where it should be. The torso, neck, and hips have a little paint on them but it seems this was a pretty cheap figure to make. There's not a lot of extraneous bits here, with no special features and minimal paint applications.

I like droid figures and we get very few new models - so I'm happy this exists. I would've expected a character with more dialogue from that episode first, and honestly, something in 3 3/4-inches first, but this is certainly better than nothing. We've also had so few New Republic toys of any kind (other than Trapper Wolf, really) that this faction is really unexplored territory. So in short: it's fine. Hasbro could do better, especially given the price, but it's not like there's an alternative Security Droid for you to pick up as of my writing this. The fact that it seems to be cheap on Amazon because nobody wants it is just a nice bonus.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,016: March 30, 2023