Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,389: RJ-83 (Crimson Firehawk Droid, Young Jedi Adventures)

RJ-83 Crimson Firehawk Pack-in
Young Jedi Adventures Vehicle Pilot
Item No.: No. F7878
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Crimson Firehawk vehicle, Nash Durango pilot figue
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $44.99
Availability: August 2023
Appearances: Young Jedi Adventures

Bio: Nash Durango was a female human pilot and mechanic from the Outer Rim planet Tenoo who lived during the High Republic Era. She befriended Jedi younglings Kai Brightstar, Lys Solay, and Nubs. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

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Commentary: I have been meaning to review this original Young Jedi Adventures RJ-83 for a while... now seems like a good time since Disney made a 3 3/4-inch scale version, and he's tiny, and I haven't reviewed that one yet. Hasbro's version came out as part of its 4-inch kiddo line with big hands, heads, and feet... and this droid is a chunky 1 1/2-inches tall and 2 1/4-inches wide.

So what does this droid that is probably named in tribute to the 1983 release of Return of the Jedi do? Not much. The arms aren't jointed, the head is a separately molded element but seems fused in place. You buy a set like this because you love vehicles, or because you have kids. Or because you saw it on clearance, and you'll buy any vehicles for $7.50.

As far as I can tell, the design was made before the show was finished. Hasbro and Disney seemed to have this positioned to be a hit like the Marvel Jr. shows. Spidey and His Amazing Friends and its Iron Man spin-off have been decent hits with impressive toy lines, probably because they got to trade on existing, popular characters with known names. The only familiar face to get a toy in YJA was Yoda, who seemed to sell fine, and people weren't into paying $90 for a playset or $50 for a ship. It doesn't matter if they're big and cool - fans just folded their arms and said "nah."

Some key differences from the pictures I see from the show are different arms, a slightly different design for the cap on top of the dome, and the side panels around the bottom of the dome seem to be in a different pattern. The eye color i sa little different, and the orange on top of the dome is lighter on the final TV show. The TV show's "feet" have a lighter orange on the "toes" up front, too. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, it's just what happens when you get a toy ready to be on-shelf before the TV show's designs are locked. We've seen it happen with the movies too, most notably some big swings with the digital characters of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones looking to be preliminary models or, uh, naked. RJ-83 is incredibly close, but I have the gift of hindsight (and Google) to compare them. Nobody reading this in 2026 watched the show, and is unlikely to have noticed a change in design. And if they did, you can't deny that it's close.

This toy's only real action feature are its feet, which can plug in a specialized seat in the Crimson Firehawk vehicle. No bigger droid exists for it to sit on the dome. If you like how it looks, congratulations. It's basically an old-school collectible figure. I'd recommend the Crimson Firehawk set with this droid and Nash Durango for fans of the show (or kids), vehicle completists, and the droid fanatics out there. It's a very nice toy set and I think I would have loved it as a child, or if it was scaled to my existing 3 3/4-inch horde. Hasbro did a very nice job on it, and the figures are charming, durable, and colorful with excellent paint. It's cliche to say "not my Star Wars" but as fans get older, fans may not want to buy stuff aimed at the younger generations. Given Disney did a very nice 3 3/4-inch scale (tiny) version of this droid, I'd probably nudge you to go score one of those before this vehicle... unless you need the vehicle.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Ross. It was on clearance for a shockingly low $7.49. 

 --Adam Pawlus

Day 3,389: October 15, 2026