Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,035: See-Threepio (C-3PO, The Retro Collection)

SEE-THREEPIO (C-3PO, Kenner Style)
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure Shop Disney / Hasbro Pulse Exclusive Set
Item No.: Asst. F7649 No. F7649
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a with R2-D2, Tusken Raider, Death Squad Commander, Jawa, Obi-Wan Kenobi
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $69.99
Availability: May 2023
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio: The Star Wars Retro Collection features design and detailing inspired by the original 1970s Star Wars figures and eatures original figure design and detailing! Continue your collection from a galaxy far, far away. (Stolen from the marketing copy. Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now! Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Addendum: As the comment below states, you can indeed pull off the head and limbs - but they are not as smooth as the original removable limbs function, and probably were not intended for you to yank them off. I still advise not yanking them off more than once or twice to keep this figure in the best possible shape.

Commentary: After saying "But I don't bother" for years Hasbro realized they could show up with the coldest six pack, rather than saying "no" to everything. Finally - finally - we got reissues of the rest of the original 12, or the figures that came out on 12-backs in 1978. If you believe my older friends, not all 12 came out at the same time and getting a Jawa in some areas came a lot later but I haven't had a lot of confirmation of this. What I do know is that the 2023 reissue of See-Threepio (C-3PO) is excellent, and better than the ones Stan Solo made. And his are usually slightly better reproductions compared to what Hasbro gives us. His have variant paint jobs - and I hope Hasbro takes notice - but the official product's sculpting and/or paint is much closer to the original for a fraction of the cost. You should get this one.

Hasbro actually got the details replicated extremely well here. If you compare a 1978 C-3PO to 2023, they're pretty much the same. I think they must have worked harder to get this one right, because the little sculpted details are all here and have to show through the vac-metal paint process. You can see all the joints. The sculpted panels fit together and you can see all the lines cleanly detailed. The chest has the three indentations. For whatever reason, the Stan Solo C-3PO - while neat - leaves these off, probably (again) due to the painting process washing it out. There's no beating the original. The detail is a little softer, but it's probably about 98% as good as the original and that 2% is a wash because the joints are tight and the paint is clean.

It's a good figure. C-3PO has the metal rivet so he can stick to magnets. How cool! The joints are all nice and smooth, and since it's modeled after the 1978 version you can't pop his limbs off. The only thing I don't think they replicated properly was the foot peg holes, as he doesn't seem to really want to play nice with the PDT-8 on my desk.

This time around, the cardbacks come unpunched and that's a nice surprise. It still has the doofy sticker (thus raising costs) and the awful faux weathering (presumably a licensor requirement), and the backs of the card are hideous walls of words with none of the charm of the original art or design. I know it's a challenge to include multiple languages here, but I can't imagine they're selling enough in all of these countries (or even distributing the at all) to warrant teeny tiny illegible letters when you could show upsells and illustrations. At least it's on a nice cardback, packaged in a wonderful box modeled after an old Canadian exclusive boxed set. Other than the sticker and the back of the card, Hasbro did a nice job with the packaging here.

I don't know if 6-packs are something they're considering for the future, but they probably should. Fans are going to want Bespin Han, Snowtroopers, and Hoth Luke. Ugnaughts and 2-1B might be tougher sales. Similarly we've already got Boba Fett, but I would probably buy another Hammerhead, Greedo, and Snaggletooth if they came with R5-D4, a Blue Snaggletooth, and a clean X-Wing Pilot Luke. Also it's probably cheaper for all involved - six figures in one box would be cheaper than shipping six individual figures, or tracking them down in shops.

It's funny that after years of complaining about the same characters being reissued and resculpted, and samey troopers getting repainted and re-repainted, I'm heaping praise on replicas of action figures I got at garage sales for pennies 30-40 years ago. But Hasbro did a good job here and it's worth saying they really seem to have improved this one - but with the vac-metal deco, they have to. If the paint washed out the sculpted details, I'd be complaining. Instead, I'd say you can go ahead and be happy you bought this one. Please note it's a Shop Disney and Hasbro Pulse exclusive, and is $20 cheaper at Hasbro Pulse at press time.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,035: June 6, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,940: See-Threepio (C-3PO, Droids, The Vintage Collection)

C-3PO Droids Redux
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Droids Target Exclusive Action Figure
Item No.: No. F5311
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Back panel, thigh panel, chest panel, face panel
Action Feature: Removable panels
Retail: $15.99
Availability: December 2021
Appearances: Droids
Bio: Programmed for etiquette and protocol, Threepio was built by a young Anakin Skywalker, and has been a constant companion to astromech R2-D2. (Taken from marketing copy. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I was so excited for this C-3PO - I got the original from a toy guy at a toy show around 1990, and I always loved it. And this new one? It's not great. Hasbro probably could have (and should have) used a 5-jointed figure only because the panels fly off pretty easily compared to the previous releases of this mold, which have been in circulation since 2010. It was impressive for the time, but once the gimmick doesn't work - in this case, the panels don't quite fit - a simpler mold would have been more fun. The back panel fell off while I was opening the packaging and doesn't want to stay in place.

I like what Hasbro set out to do, and my sample is mostly good - a bit of spare plastic on the knee kept the thigh panel from fitting in place, but was easy to remove. He looks great, and the sculpt is appropriately C-3PO and it looks exactly how C-3PO looks. I love that it's nicely jointed, but a build-a-figure mold would've been more appropriate given the 1985 original used the 1982 removable limbs variant. Take care when playing with this one, because even if you don't touch his back that back panel does not want to stay put. The bright yellow plastic looks great, but if it isn't tightly affixed the dark blue under them will bleed out and really highlight when there's any gaps.

Deco is mostly the same as the 1985 original. Eye paint varies form figure to figure, with many having downward peepers that look iffy. Mine was painted correctly, so when you inevitably order yours online - Target cleared these out months ago - be sure to look at the picture closely. The shoulders, bely, and swimsuit area are brown just like the Kenner original - the hands, too. Weirdly they decided to shade the sides and back of the legs and knees, which were completely yellow on the original. It looks fine, but it's a weird departure and a way to add extra costs that could've been avoided. I love that they kept the blue neck, but the assembly shows some blue that shouldn't be visible - so it's good, but the simplicity of the original didn't translate super well to the new mold layouts.

Given how little love Droids gets, there's nothing they could do to make me skip this one. I'd recommend it for guys my age who are me, but those just wanting a good C-3PO are probably already satisfied with what they own. I assume we'll never see a super-articulated cartoon C-3PO again, so I'd say go ahead and get this one. Just lower those expectations - quality control wasn't the best, and form fit is below average. But it looks cool, so carded fans will no doubt enjoy it and its coin. Hopefully they'll do some other characters. Like, oh I don't know, Vlix. Get this if the price is right, because hey, maybe we'll get some Ewoks some day. It's not like they don't have exploitable molds. Well, mold, at least.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,940: July 7, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,783: See-Threepio (C-3PO 2020 Redux, The Vintage Collection)

SEE-THREEPIO (C-3PO, 2020 reissue)
The Vintage Collection
Item No.: Asst. E5912 No. E9572
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #04 (reissue)
Includes: Four removable panels
Action Feature: Silver leg detaches at knee, face panel, right thigh panel, back panel, chest panel can be removed
Retail: $12.99
Availability: April 2020
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back

Bio: C-3PO, sometimes spelled See-Threepio and often referred to simply as Threepio, was a 3PO-series protocol droid designed to interact with organics, programmed primarily for etiquette and protocol. He was fluent in over six million forms of communication, and developed a fussy and worry-prone personality throughout his many decades of operation. (Stolen from Wookieepedia. Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

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

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: When hasbro decided to do reruns, I wasn't terribly happy - but I do appreciate some of the figures that came out got a fresh coat of paint and were things a wide audience might want. Around here, it seems very few reissues sat around - and See-Threepio (C-3PO) actually has less paint than the 2010 See-Threepio [FOTD #1,515]. His interior is cleaner, his exterior lacks the darker gold detailing, and his features remain undocumented. At the time, I had no idea the 2010 version had a removable let - heck, I didn't even know about all the panels coming off. It wasn't necessarily obvious.

At the time, Hasbro was telling us that this was an all-digital sculpt. This was kind of a big deal at the time, because when you went to Star Wars Celebration Hasbro often had somebody out there with his tools working on heads or other little elements to show us how things were done. It's sort of like seeing a darkroom. Now that we're 11 years out from the original release - and almost a year from the reissue - this C-3PO is still pretty great. While the legs sadly can't swing forward too much at the hips to occupy your Millennium Falcon's Dejarik table, it's still great. You get 22 points of articulation and if you really want, you can pop off the head. It's more articulation than C-3PO needs (I'd say the Solo: A Star Wars Story 2-pack with R2-D2 may be the best for most display needs) but if you want Threeps standing around missing half a leg, this is the one to get.

Like many figures from 2006-2011, they integrated prequel designs in original trilogy figures. Many of them were Imperial troopers with Clone heads, but C-3PO integrated the under-the-chassis wires and such from The Phantom Menace. The wires are painted similarly to the 2010 release, although the colors seem a bit brighter and the paint applications are a little less sloppy. The thing that makes this figure arguably the most interesting is that the 2010 version had a subtle, almost copper gold highlight of dirty shading on it. The 2020 model drops this, and looks all the better for it.

If you buy a version of this C-3PO on the secondary market, be sure to get a picture of the front and back first to know which version you'll get. The 2010 version is all English and only shows figures from 2010 wave 1. The 2020 has no marketing copy - just disclaimers in multiple languages as well as newer characters like Mando. The 2010 front has a grey circle "4+" in the top-left corner to indicate the age range, while the US 2010 release has it written out "Ages 4 and up" like we saw in the old days, and a "Free Boba Fett" offer sticker on most examples. Also the 2020 version ahs the SKU listed at the very top of this review. I'd say get whatever is cheaper, but the 2020 one is a bit nicer off the card. The 2010 cardback is more pleasing to look at... unless you have actual vintage Kenner figure money.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,783: March 4, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,676: C-3PO (& Chewbacca, The Black Series 6-Inch)

C-3PO & Chewbacca
The Black Series 6-Inch Deluxe Amazon Exclusive Action Figure
Item No.: No. E8440
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: mn/a
Includes: Wookiee, Droid, limbs, blaster, net bag, wire limb filler
Action Feature: Dismantle droid
Retail: $49.99
Availability: December 2019
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back

Bio: Encountering a Stormtrooper in Cloud City, C-3PO was blasted at point blank range and his limbs were scattered.  Chewbacca gathered the parts of the protocol droid and partially reassembled him.   (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: We looked at the Wookiee it's Chewbacca & C-3PO droid day!  I haven't written one of these for a while thanks to frontloading the column for Toy Fair and the post-Toy Fair malaise, so now it's time to look at everybody's favorite robot, who filled the role of most hated character in the franchise for a few weeks early in the era of the original trilogy.  C-3PO is great.

We have had several C-3POs so far.  There have been two different flavors of red arm from The Force Awakens, there's an all-gold one from Galaxy's Edge that does double duty as Revenge of the Sith and the non-red-arm parts of the sequel trilogy, and we've also had a 40th Anniversary/Walgreens one that's an all-purpose original trilogy C-3PO.  This one gets more specific, taking the best of that mold (and its remolds) while adding new functionality to make this a C-3PO that is undoubtedly different enough to make you mad.

C-3PO (2019) has removable limbs - you can pull off arms and legs, replacing them with a toupee of wires that allow you to simulate battle damage.  The figure has open hands, a silver leg, and lots of dirty deco on the head and chest.  It's a blast!   The only thing it's missing is a removable back panel, so you can't pretend to have Chewbacca do repairs on him when he's backwards.   Aside from that, he ticks all the major boxes - it's a good C-3PO, he can be carried around in a mesh net bag, making it the 6-inch update to Kenner's 1982 "Removable Limbs" C-3PO.  It's good, and if you only get one C-3PO I'd nudge you toward this one.

BanDai makes a 6-inch scale figure (which I don't have yet and can't size-compare) with the removable back panel and a vac-metal finish - so if you need one for your display get that 1:12 scale BanDai kit.  Or both.  You'll probably get both.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Amazon.  

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,676: March 26, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,661: C-3PO (& Babu Frik, The Black Series 6-Inch)

C-3PO & Babu Frik
The Black Series 6-Inch Target Exclusive Action Figure
Item No.: No. E7203
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Bowcaster, bandolier, 2 figures
Action Feature: Back of head pops off
Retail: $19.99
Availability: December 2019
Appearances: The Rise of Skywalker

Bio: C-3PO longs for more peaceful times, but his continued sacrifice to the Resistance keeps him on the frontline of galactic conflict.   (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I am writing this review in December, hours after seeing The Rise of Skywalker.  I kept C-3PO & Babu Frik - and several other figures - sealed until I saw the movie.  I've generally been more interested in some of the major redo figures after seeing the film, because in all honesty I could've given a bandolier and bowcaster to the droid for years and haven't.  Chewie and Threepio were, as I've written, my first two figures as a kid so this mashup was intriguing.  And then I saw the movie.  Which amounted to "here, hold this."

This figure is competent but not exciting.  "C-3PO with guns" is not really anything new to fans of the 1990s comics, and it's not even new as a figure - C-3PX exists.   The figure is pretty much the same as the Galaxy's Edge C-3PO [FOTD #2,604] - which is the previous C-3PO with 4-LOM's arms.   He has silver rings on his shoulders, the wiring from The Force Awakens C-3PO, and the gripping hands - and bending elbows - of 4-LOM.  It's a pretty good figure with enough range to double-grip the bowcaster, which is something even Chewbacca can't do well.  Score one for C-3PO! Also his head opens on the back, so you can see the wires.  I like that.

Other than that, it's an all-gold, clean, standard-issue C-3PO.  I've got so many 6-inch C-3POs now that I can definitely say that short of Droids cartoon deco, I never want to see another one.   The fact that this figure comes with Babu Frik will do wonders to make people want it - it's a cute alien - but C-3PO doesn't offer much new for completists.  Incompletists, on the other hand, will probably appreciate that you actually get some accessories with C-3PO, and more articulation, for the same price as previous mass retail and exclusive releases.  This is probably as good as a mass-release C-3PO will get, so buy one and enjoy.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Amazon. 

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,661: February 4, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,651: 3PO (Color-Changing Droids, Droid Factory, Galaxy's Edge)

3PO PROTOCOL DROID Color-Changing Droids
Star Wars Disney Droid Depot
Item No.: No. ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: 4 droids - CZ, 3PO, R4, BB
Action Feature: Pops apart, changes from white to orange
Retail: $39.99
Availability: ca. July 2019
Appearances: n/a

Bio: All different types of Astromech droids populate the galaxy.  Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors.  These droids have the special ability to change color!  (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  This is a color-change thing that makes sense. This 3PO Protocol Droid is gold - not unlike the Disney-era version of C-3PO - but turns black in cold temperatures.  In your hands, it will swiftly turn gold.  In the freezer, it's a matte black color.  3PO was molded in a shiny gold plastic and coated with a plastic that seems to turn clear when warm or black when chilled.  The clear coat is a little fuzzy - it tones down the sharpness of the details of a build-a-droid figure mold we've had in circulation in some form or another since 2009.  

Articulation is nothing new for a Disney protocol droid.  The 20 points of articulation all  move fairly well, but that's not what makes this figure interesting.  You could buy a black or a gold protocol droid years ago.  What you couldn't buy is this sort of dynamic oil leak thing that a color-change figure is uniquely capable of pulling off.  If the figure is at room temperature but in "black" mode, a few moments from a normal hand will start making the black vanish, revealing gold underneath.  What's particularly nifty about it is that, like the R4 droid, it looks like something a pack of Jawas pulled out of an oil or tar bath.  You can "clean" it up or "paint" it just by touching it, which gives it a dynamic look display fans might find annoying and kids may hopefully find enticing, should they get one.

Detail is about as good as always, and while the droid mold is a little taller than the latest C-3PO and 0-0-0 3 3/4-inch scale figures it's still plenty good.  I am amazed that Disney found a way to make what was essentially a new action feature on C-3PO.  Hasbro did do a Stormtrooper with color-change battle damage about 20 years ago, but that's just a blast mark - this is the total recolor package.  I am impressed, and if you're the kind to refrigerate your toys you should score this set.

 

 

Collector's Notes: I got mine from my pal Shannon. Thanks Shannon!  There are 2 droid 4-packs and 1 droid playset with a Gonk Droid at this time.  "Warm" colors on the droids are their movie-like state.  "Cold" colors tend to be a lot stranger.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,651: December 31, 2019

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,604: C-3PO (Droid Depot, The Black Series 6-Inch)

C-3PO (Droid Depot)
Galaxy's Edge The Black Series 6-Inch Figure Disney Park Exclusive
Item No.: No. E5158
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #n/a
Includes: R2-D2. BB-8, DJ-R3X
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $69.99
Availability: June 2019
Appearances: Galaxy's Edge

Bio: A fastidious and worry-prone protocol droid, C-3PO longs for peaceful times, but his continued service to the Resistance keeps him in the front lines of galactic conflict. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability:  Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  I was pleasantly surprised by this C-3PO - it's better! "Just different enough to be shockingly essential" is not the kind of catchphrase I usually use in this feature. Hasbro actually changed out the arms here, giving C-3PO articulation similar to 4-LOM.  It always irked me that the previous versions of C-3PO had no elbow joints, mostly because they did cram them in the 3 3/4-inch figures from time to time.  There's no excuse with a higher price point and no accessories - and apparently Hasbro agreed this time.

C-3PO is the droid of Theseus that you probably expected.  The body (but not belly), head, and shoulders are the same as all previous 6-inch C-3PO figures.  The belly wiring is the same as the Walgreens/40th Anniversary C-3PO.  The legs are the same as all C-3PO and 4-LOM 6-inch figures.  The arms and hands are the same as 4-LOM.  Hasbro bashed together the best possible C-3PO action figure they could muster out of existing parts, and it even has hands that can do things like hold accessories now!   This gives C-3PO about 25 points of articulation, including the three moving parts around the shoulders.   In terms of construction this is, without a doubt, Hasbro's best-ever C-3PO figure.

Deco is based on The Last Jedi, which also just happens to be pretty much identical to how C-3PO looks in Revenge of the Sith and the original Kenner line - all gold with no mismatched limbs.  Hasbro did make a 6-Inch Value C-3PO [FOTD #2,418] with this deco, and if you just need a C-3PO at this size with this particular color configuration, it's certainly a cheaper option.   If you want the best of the best, though, go with the Galaxy's Edge figure if you're accepting of a C-3PO with no silver or red limbs.  It's the best all-gold C-3PO you can get from Hasbro in this scale, until they figure out a way to do worthwhile vac-metal gold again.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from my pal Shannon who went to Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge last month.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,604: July 18, 2019

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,575: C-3PO (Solo: A Star Wars Story line look)

C-3PO and R2-D2
Solo: A Star Wars Story Force Link 2.0 Exclusive 2-Pack
Item No.:   No. E4590
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: R2-D2 with booster rockets
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $14.99
Availability: September 2018
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio: C-3PO, sometimes spelled See-Threepio and often referred to simply as Threepio, was a 3PO unit protocol droid designed to interact with organics, programmed primarily for etiquette and protocol. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.  Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  This set with C-3PO went through some changes.  Originally intended as a Toys R Us exclusive 2-pack, it then debuted at Entertainment Earth, and through a series of things I shan't get in to, ended up getting dumped overseas and in closeout channels.  You can buy it on certain online stores now - look around, compare prices.   C-3PO is a really, really strong redeco of the good 2017 The Last Jedi figure with lots of grease and grime, along with an all-silver right leg.

The deco is why you buy this figure.  I love the nasty grease, although it would have been cool to have a Jawa restraining bolt on there.  The front and back of the figure has tons of dripping grime, some of which looks natural and some looks kind of faked.  At a distance, it all looks excellent.  The eyes are yellow and bright with a black dot in the middle, plus he has colorful wires in his belly and silver ones on his back.

You get your standard 5 joints - swivel neck, shoulders, and hips - and the Force Link 2.0 chip rattles around in his chest.   I like this figure a lot - classic fans might want it for their Sandcrawlers or any Tatooine dioramas.  Get it if the price moves you, it's a nice set.

Force Link 2.0 Notes: "I am C-3PO. Human/cyborg relations."   "Without the Republic fleet we're doomed."  "The chances of survival are 725 to 1."  "I've forgotten how much I hate space travel."   "It would take a miracle to save us now." 

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Amazon. 

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,575: April 9, 2019