Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,178: C4-R4C (Droid Factory)

C4-R4C Better Red than Repack-ed
Star Tours Droid Factory Ahsoka Set
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: 3 more droids
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $49.99
Availability: January 2024
Appearances: Ahsoka

Bio: All different types of droids populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. These four are featured in Star Wars: Ahsoka. May the Force be with you.... and your Droids! (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

 Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: This one isn't bad. I'm not sure why one droid in this set has the toe cables and C4-R4C does not, but the dark reddish droid is pretty good overall even though it seems to be a generational holdover from 2008. While it would be nice to have a new mold with slightly more accurate proportions, that's not happening. As such, your goal here is to determine if this Disney figure is good enough to warrant buying, mostly because it's a nothing droid. Since we're in a world without any decent Ahsoka playsets and virtually no background characters and few bad guys, there's not much for this droid to do if you buy it. Sure, you can find the dome in the background of an episode, but when you get right down to it this release is for completists. If you simply must have all the droids, or like the color, this is a figure for you.

If you've been buying build-a-droid figures, you know what this is - a removable dome, removable legs, and that's about it. It looks fine, and is molded in a dark red with some silver and white panels. What makes it stand out from other Disney droids is a very healthy slathering of dirty weathering printed on the shell. The rust and subtle weathering looks pretty good, but it's not as amazing as some other releases - it's still very obviously a new factory-fresh figure with some extra paint, but at least we're getting a little more than we used to. Given how much money Disney is saving on the molds for these sets - which frequently have 1 new figure or 0 new figures - surely they can and sometimes do give us more paint than would be necessary for this figure to be considered "good enough." Sure, you've got rolling wheels and removable limbs, but anyone who has been in this for the long haul will likely put it on a shelf and never look at it again. And that's assuming they ever open the box. It would be great to live in a world with more figures, playsets, and vehicles so this guy serves a greater purpose than "collectible," "keepsake," "souvenir," but it seems the toy world is increasingly content to not ask what purpose the toy serves beyond a thing you buy. It's a very decent thing, surely, with really nice dark silver panels on the back absolutely slathered in damage that arguably makes this figure more interesting from behind. If you get it, be sure to see that baby has back.

I would not recommend this gift set on the strength of this figure alone, but he probably has the best deco in the box. If you're a droid fanatic, you already bought it and were likely impressed by the colors. If you don't need another dozen droid repaints, you probably see this as a massive waste of development dollars. I think I would be more enthusiastic if Ahsoka had greater toy support, as "main characters, some retool troopers, and token droid repaints" make it hard to get jazzed up over a show that was a little slower and if asked to give real plot points, this figure had nothing to do with the story and the story was pretty limited in the first place. Since two of the four figures in this set are genuinely unique, its ability to capture your dollars will probably come from the strength of this droid and RD-3 [FOTD #3,168], neither of which I found to be incredible. It's different enough to be distinctive, but even I can't keep names straight for toys with no meaningful presence on-screen or in the guide books that don't yet exist, but should!

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Disney Store.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,178: October 8, 2024