Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,368: Vendor Droid (Silver, Droid Factory)

VENDOR DROID Silver
Star Tours Droid Factory Customizable Figure
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney?
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Removable limbs
Retail: $12.95
Availability: April 2017
Appearances: The Clone Wars

Bio: A vendor droid, also known as a shopkeeper droid, was a type of droid assigned to sell merchandise. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: I've had a few of these for a while, but haven't reviewed them - but I hear parts bins are supposedly making the rounds again in some parks. So let's check out the Silver Vendor Droid, or Shop Droid, or whatever the cool kids are calling them. Is there some reason to bring it up now, to showcase it, is it appearing in something, somewhere? No. It's just a build-a-droid, made from a parts bin, and it's more of a souvenir than a part of this complete breakfast action figure collection. My pal Shannon put it together for me since he's able to go to Disney more than I am. (I think I was last at a theme park in 2016?)

It's funny calling anything obscure in the age of the internet, but the Disney droids made of parts from bins with no names are somewhat difficult to identify and how many were "manufactured" by fans is hard to know. Given that Disney allowed fans to create what they will, these are likely some of the rarest mass-produced droids in the entire history of Star Wars collecting. Aside from Vlix.

While neat, I increasingly find that I don't know what to do with some of the droids. The Vintage Collection lacks open-ended playsets or new environments, and we've never really gotten shop or street playsets of note. As such, this guy is just sort of taking up space - but he's pretty cool. This particular configuration uses CZ-style arms, a Shop Droid head, a C-3PO body, and C-3PO legs. The end result is pretty decent, especially since the right shoulder has some blue metallic silver paint on it. It's a subtle accent, but it gives the figure a sense of having been repaired.

He's got standard articulation for one of the Disney droids, with swivel wrists and jointed ankles. It's kind of funny to think that the body is riffing on what was more or less standard for Hasbro's build-a-droid releases in 2008, and here we are 18 years later with some of these molds still in rotation... without a price drop. If you look back to the 2000s and earlier, old molds usually gave us cheaper toys too - that doesn't seem to happen anymore. At the time, $13 for a single droid was still kind of expensive but not horrible for a theme park souvenir. Given how hard these are to get outside the parks, you'll probably pay considerably more for a junker made of random parts, and good luck to you if you can find something cohesive. I like this droid because I generally like droids, but the yellow eyes and blue scanner do little to really add zing to a pretty bland gray/silver chassis. It is a perfectly fine robot, but nothing about it is likely to stand out in a pool of over 3,000 Star Wars action figures in an era where there's no single complete tome of reference allowing any collector to see them all in one place.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Disney Hollywood Studios. Thanks Shannon!

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,368: August 4, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,337: CU-28 (Droid Factory, Carded)

CU-28 Old Mold, New Droid
Star Wars Droid Depot
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: Collector card, TC-332 head
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $19.99
Availability: February 2026
Appearances: The Mandalorian

Bio: All different types of droids populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. This droid can be found in the office of the Magistrate of Nevarro. Join CU-28 on their adventures throughout the galaxy. May the Force be with you... and your Droids! (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: A Star Wars toy that's educational? You'll find out how valuable your science classes are when you pick up CU-28 and if your reaction is "Oh, the scientific symbol for Copper and its number on the Periodic Table of Elements!" or "more like see you next Tuesday am I right?" (Kids, don't ask your parents.) CU-28 is a redeco of GS-C1B [FOTD #3,254], which we got about a year ago as part of a The Book of Boba Fett figure four-pack. That figure was in a set with four figures for $45. This one figure costs $20, and after shipping and tax is about $33. That's inflation for you.

While the prop costume has a couple of raised dots on the chest, the figure is smooth - and otherwise pretty accurate. This is one I'll call "good enough!" I don't assume Hasbro will give us one, given their allergy to droids and aliens, so you can take it from me that this is the best one we'll likely ever get. The copper-colored paint doesn't justify the higher price, but it pads it a bit. The figure was molded in copper plastic, but this finish makes it look a lot better. It's not vac-metal, but again, it's about as good as we're going to get. The green eyes match the show, and the finish is about as good as anything else we've got on a recent Star Wars figure. The wires on the belly look pretty good, too. Unlike GS-C1B, there aren't a lot of other highlights on his chassis - it's just a clean penny, it always comes back to you. Don't curse him for his nature, don't bless him for his wrongs.

For a figure whose parts most likely date back to the 2009-era build-a-droid with modifications, it's pretty good. It's also absurd how many very old molds are still in development (with no price cuts) after all this time. Currently, the secondary market prices for a single CU-28 are silly - $50 or more. I don't think it's worth it, but some people sell bundles/lots of 2 or more droids averaging $30 each. That, I would say, is fair/what I had to pay. It's not a bargain. It's not good. But it's as good as you're going to get for a bright, distinctive robot action figure that I am actually not complaining about owning. Nothing is more exciting than a new character, or a distinctive new costume.* Get this one if you can.

* - ...except Kenner-style Retro figures. Those are the best.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Shop Disney. It sold very quickly.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,337: April 16, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,254: GS-C1B (The Book of Boba Fett, Droid Factory)

GS-C1B The Book of Boba Fett Set
Star Wars Droid Factory - Shop Disney/Park Exclusive
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: 4 figures, drink harness, drum harness, salad harness
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $44.99
Availability: May 2025
Appearances: The Book of Boba Fett
Bio: All different types of astromech droid populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. These droids can be found in Garsa's Sanctuary on Tatooine. May the Force be with you... and your droids! (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: It's good! The GS-C1B figure delivers what I expect from a droid in that it's not perfect, but more or less gets the job done. If you compare them to their photos, it's basically a C-3PO body with a new head and an added restraining bolt. The figure lacks the restraining bolt, but you get the new head. While not perfect, it's worth noting a) Hasbro's barely doing any droids, b) Hasbro's barely done anything for The Book of Boba Fett, and c) the head is really what matters. I'm of the mindset that if the head is right, and the colors match, you're basically in good shape - but once the head looks wrong, it's hard to let it go.

The same protocol droid body has been used by Disney for ages, and it's very similar to Hasbro's 2009 Legacy build-a-droid construction. You don't get ankle joints, but it's a good and sturdy design. I'd go as far as to say Hasbro should reconsider figures like this for their own lines, if it means getting costs back under control. I don't miss the ankles on a figure that's just going to stand up straight. The shoulders swivel, the wrists also swivel, and the elbows bend and swivel. Every character doesn't need every last joint, and this one gets the job done. His hips swing forward, but he's not going to sit well in a vehicle - that's really the only downside. But I'm not putting him in ships. I guess I'm not putting him in Garsa's Sanctuary either, as nobody has made one despite it being loaded with cool robots and aliens.

The head is new, and looks great. The metallic paint really makes every detail pop, plus you get gold eyes and a silver mouth thing. It matches the body quite nicely, despite their vast age gap. The paint makes the body look amazing, too, and this is probably one of Disney's best paint jobs on any of its many droid figures. It's impressive, and I think you'll like it up-close.

Seeing how much I like this figure, and since Hasbro hasn't made one since 1997, I'd also like to see Disney do a new EV-9D9. I bet it'd be pretty good. But until then, I'd just recommend you get this guy. He's not bad for the money, especially in this day and age, and it's not like you already have one at home. Go get yourself some new droids, you deserve a nice treat.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Disney. It was posted on May 4, and abruptly sold through. Check the theme park or eBay for this one. I hate directing people to eBay, but given the cost of admission (and parking, and a plane ticket, and a hotel) it might be your least worst option. At this point in my life I'd pay a small mark-up just to not lose 1-2 days of my life across state lines for a shopping trip with paid parking.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,254: July 1, 2025

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,162: 3PO Protocol Droid (Gold, Droid Factory)

PROTOCOL DROID Gold with Yellow Optics
Star Tours Droid Factory Customizable Figure
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney?
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Removable limbs
Retail: $12.95
Availability: April 2017
Appearances: n/a 

Bio: The 3PO-series protocol droid, also known as the 3PO-series protocol unit, was a model of protocol droid produced by Cybot Galactica sometime prior to the Invasion of Naboo. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.   

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: It's not C-3PO, he doesn't have a red arm or a silver leg. This Gold Protocol Droid will, for most kids who built one, be their C-3PO toy. It's more or less how he looks in The Last Jedi and later The Rise of Skywalker, neither of which were released when this figure came out - but we didn't notice when we were kids, and it's possible the fact that he's all gold wouldn't bother them, either. Proper C-3PO figures from Kenner didn't have a silver leg until 1997, and generally speaking I didn't hear many complaints.

It's just like the other 3PO Protocol Droid builds - same molds, sort of like the Hasbro figure, and you could put together whatever parts you wanted. I kind of wish they would bring them back, only with no new parts, because I don't think I can manage tracking down more theme park exclusives that rely on chance when I live in another state. Like C-3PO, this figure has gold plating and yellow optics. The same basic design was used for See-Threepio [FOTD #2,387] when Disney made a 2-pack with added orange dirt and a silver leg. For those who need all the variants, there's another one you forgot to buy. It's a nice figure too, but the dirt is odd. This unnamed gold droid might do the job better, depending on what job you are looking to do.

You can remove the head, arms, and legs, and the figure has a decent range of motion. Swivel wrists, bend-and-swivel ankles, bend-and-swivel knees and elbows, and even a waist that can pivot a bit. It's not amazing, but it's good enough. C-3PO was always a little stiff thanks to the costume, so a figure that can match his body language is arguably better than one with too many joints. It only falls short in that it can't sit well thanks to the hips being restricted from swinging forward fully, and obviously we know C-3PO can sit. We've seen Return of the Jedi. But I digress - for a generic gold droid to fill your displays, this is a nice figure. For $13, I'd say it was good if maybe a smidgen expensive, and at secondary market prices you might not want to pick him up. Unless you're out of other things to buy, which you may be depending on how much you are enjoying Disney+ content product these days.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Disney Hollywood Studios. Thanks Shannon!

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,162: August 13, 2024

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,158: 3PO Protocol Droid (Silver, Droid Factory)

PROTOCOL DROID Silver with Blue Optics
Star Tours Droid Factory Customizable Figure
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney?
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Removable limbs
Retail: $12.95
Availability: April 2017
Appearances: n/a   

Bio: The 3PO-series protocol droid, also known as the 3PO-series protocol unit, was a model of protocol droid produced by Cybot Galactica sometime prior to the Invasion of Naboo. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.   

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: The Disney part bins have been gone for a while, but they aren't forgotten. Their Silver Protocol Droid struck me as a good way to do a "same but different" approach, with blue eyes in an unpainted silver plastic body distinct from U-3PO or TC-14. On a shelf, they look different - and coming up with different ways to do the same color is some sort of manufacturing gymnastics that deserves a pat on the back. Disney did a good job making this a distinct release that doesn't seem to match anything I remember in the movies or TV shows, which is both kind of awesome and also not. I like new figures and new characters, I prefer stuff from on-screen appearances, but I'd rather have a new robot than C-3PO with different dirt patterns.

The mold remains similar to Hasbro's 2008 build-a-droid parts, with an open hand and a decent amount of articulation given the nature of the product. Swivel shoulders and wrists, bend and swivel elbows, that sort of thing - a modern fan would balk at this being full price at $17 or higher, but the $13 at the time seemed fine for a theme park exclusive with the Disney tax on it. While some of you may disagree (and are wrong), not every figure needs mega-articulation. If a figure can function well per its design - Han or Greedo should sit, but Mon Mothma need only stand - I think we're in good shape. A generic droid like this benefits from having some mobility but by no means needs to be the ultimate robot action figure, in part because you're going to have a ton of them and they're not going to be doing a lot of line dancing. The ankles and knees are good enough, but the hips are still pretty awful. I would hope a new C-3PO-esque figure can sit better than the one from 1978, but this one can't. It stands well, it gets the job done, and indeed is Good Enough - butbetter hips for better sits would have been appreciated before we got dozens of figures based on the mold.

You have so many droid options, this one isn't necessarily any more enticing than the others - but I like it, the unpainted silver gives a different feel than the usually shiny silver droids. It feels more like some sort of weird steel thing, and I think it'll look good in a average collection if you need more droids. Given how few Hasbro makes, it's probably worth tracking down if it shows up for the right price. (And it rarely will.)

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Disney Hollywood Studios. Thanks Shannon!

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,158: July 30, 2024

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,15: TC-14 (Droid Factory)

TC-14 Disney Edition
Star Wars Droid Factory
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: Tray, drink container
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $14.99
Availability: May 2024
Appearances: The Phantom Menace   

Bio: All different types of droids populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personalitty and colors. TC-14 is a protocol droid that was in the employ of the Trade Federation on their Profiteer-class droid control ship, Saak'ak. May the Force be with your... and your Droids! (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: Given that it's the 25th anniversary of Episode I, it makes since that Disney would make a new TC-14 action figure. The first one came out in 2000, and had an accessory complete with flared base that inspired giggles in the young adult collectors and the fans who tolerated them. Back then, Hasbro made an all-new mold for what could have been a repaint. It had a shiny vac-metal finish and still looks gorgeous 24 years later. This new one hits the "just different enough to make you mad" button.

This one uses the build-a-droid mold you know, but has newly tooled changes and unique deco. When Hasbro made U-3PO, the figure had three sculpted dots on the chest - Disney's silver protocol droid had these as well when it was sold in the bins. The new 2024 TC-14 has a smoothed-out chest, plus a retooled pair of hands to better hold the tray. There are enough details that are changed or sharper that make me think this could be a mostly new mold, which isn't nothing. The "CHINA" and "LFL" on the feet are a little different, the details on the back of the head are sharper, and given it's completely coated in silver paint it's worth noting nothing seems washed-out. If it's not a new mold based on the existing sculpt, at the very least, they went in and remastered it to get a lot more out of it. If this retooled/new tool version has been released previously, let me know in the comments, because it doesn't quite line up with the ones I've got handy. The range of motion is similar, and you can swap parts between this new figure and your older ones. However, I should note the pegs and sockets do not feel exactly the same as before when you connect them.

The big question with any new upgrade is "Do I need it?" and in this case, the answer is a "no but maybe?" Because it doesn't match Disney's unpainted (but molded in silver with blue eyes) build-a-droid, and because it has different parts from Hasbro's hard-to-get silver version of U-3PO, and because Hasbro's own TC-14 was vac metal, to me, it's an easy buy. It looks sufficiently different from figures I have - but if I just wanted one of every character, the existing TC-14 would be good enough for my needs. I am a filthy figure collector, though, so I had to get this one too. For $15, she can hold the tray and look just fine. If she were on store shelves nationwide, or had literally any new-ish figures from the movie to go with her, it would be part of an exciting capsule program. Alas, she may be the only 3 3/4-inch figure from The Phantom Menace you see this year that isn't retro, so your enjoyment of this figure will be relying on your own droid mania or your existing cast of Jedi and dubiously-accented aliens in wacky hats from the end of the 20th century. (I can't imagine we'll ever get new and improved Nute Gunray or Rune Haako figures.)

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,153: July 11, 2024

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,127: CZ Series Communications Droid (Gold, Droid Factory)

CZ SERIES COMMUNICATION DROID Gold with Silver Head Highlights
Star Tours Droid Factory Customizable Figure
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney?
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Removable limbs
Retail: $12.95
Availability: April 2017
Appearances: n/a
Bio: The CZ-series communications/business droid was a droid series produced by Serv-O-Droid, Inc. The CZ-series was released as Serv-O-Droid began to wane in its position as a dominant droid manufacturer. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: I don't deny that as I get older I take the hobby for granted a bit, but I still get excited by some things. The Gold CZ Series Communication Droid is fun because it's unique. There are so many figures we get these days where you can pick it up and say it's a lot like a figure you already own, but not this one. While Hasbro has done a CZ-4 droid, that was an oddity - Disney did them in other colors and they made some interesting choices along the way. This gold version uses the same parts as the other Disney droids I plucked from the bins, with very limited paint.

Articulation would be excellent for 2008 - but this figure came out in 2017, so swivel hips and shoulders were a little old-fashioned at that point in time. Swivel wrists are fine, and bend-and-swivel wrists, knees, and elbows made it a decent figure. The neck swivels, and there's a nice pivoting waist joint. While a new figure could add articulation, these droids work well as being slightly stiff. Anthony Daniels and the other performers had severely hindered movements, so figures that can't sit easily make some degree of sense. The hips only swing forward about 45 degrees, and you don't need a protractor to measure the disappointment. Unless you just want him standing around, in which case he's perfect.

As the CZ droids are known mostly from their filthy on-screen appearances, a shiny non-vac gold finish brings out a lot of detail and ribbing you don't normally see. What's particularly amusing is that the details look more like something out of the 1960s - if this came out of Mel Birnkrant's sketchbooks, it would fit in with other midcentury droids. The ribbing on the torso and arms really stand out nicely, and I wish we could see more of this figure so customizers could fill in those chest panels like some sort of stained glass window. It's a nice, angular, weirdly blocky look that would be right at home with any of a number of toys that predate The Transformers. If this were in Adventure People, I guarantee you that the toy snobs would be telling you how great it is and how you're a monster for not having one next to your Opticon.

Deco is light, but good. The figure has a painted midriff that you probably won't notice thanks to the chest hanging over the painted colorful wires, but at least it's there. Disney went the extra mile by painting black dots for his eyes plus subtle silver detail around the face like a mask. It's really striking, and very un-Star Wars-y. Given the dogmatic adherence to classic designs in the Disney era, I'm absolutely delighted that once on a while, we get a figure that looks like it might not necessarily have come out of the same old design aesthetic. This is fancy.

Looking on eBay, very few come up for sale and he's about forty bones if you can find one. The sick thing is that I should be decrying this as highway robbery for a figure you had to assemble yourself, but we live in an era of $17 Hasbro figures. Is $40 outrageous for a figure that had a $100 cover charge, parking fees, and possibly an airline ticket or rental car involved? Probably not. I don't have to like the price, but this is absolutely one of the most charming gold and silver droids you can get that look like it came from an unlicensed fan film you never saw. If you have a chance to get it at a fair price, failing to do so is a mistake on your part.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Disney Hollywood Studios. Thanks Shannon!

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,127: April 23, 2024

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,122: 3PO Protocol Droid (Red, Droid Factory)

PROTOCOL DROID Dark Red with White Eyes
Star Tours Droid Factory Customizable Figure
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney?
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Removable limbs
Retail: $12.95
Availability: April 2017
Appearances: n/a
Bio: The 3PO-series protocol droid was a Human-cyborg relations protocol droid produced by Cybot Galactica. The model series had very similar aesthetic design in its casing to other Cybot Galactica droid model series such as the TC-series, 3PX-series, and 5YQ-series protocol droids. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Not the same figures.

Commentary: It's red! The Red Protocol Droid is an odd duck - because he may or may not be "somebody." The figure looks a lot like R-3PO, and I dare say looks more like the illustration on Disney's carded R-3PO figure than the figure in that packaging. This dark red figure with white optics looks a lot like some of the fuzzy stills from the movie too - although figures with that name tend to get yellow optics. Which is right, which is wrong? Thanks to a lot of incorrect or fudged reference material, it seems unnecessary to make the call. Teach the controversy, and get whichever figure you think fits your collection needs best. This figure is basically just diorama filler, regardless, and I would say the same as R-3PO as a character. You've got options!

The figure is very similar to Hasbro's build-a-droid Protocol Droid buck from about 2008-2009. As Hasbro has been stingy with new C-3PO sculpts, this may well be as good as it gets - we got a new C-3PO in 2010, but it was shorter, with removable panels. This one has removable limbs. You can pop off the head, shoulders, or hips, and swap with other parts in those bins. The figure is largely unpainted, and as the customer had to package it themselves it probably could have cost less. That's the theme park souvenir business for you. It has a nice glossy finish, plus a painted midriff with colorful wires inside. There's a little black paint in the mouth and eyes, plus white circles on the head. In short, it's a nice figure.

If we lived in an alternate timeline where the Disney Store existed beyond an outlet store, it would be amazing to be able to put these together and probably would have been a way to get kids at least a little interested in action figures. Making your own figure worked for LEGO - admittedly, there are more options - but it's arguably a fun thing to do if the end goal isn't "get one of every figure." At that point it just becomes work to track down these many parts and pieces, and if Disney is reading I bet it would be easy money to sell a bucket of droid parts online. I bet there are very interested customers.

The protocol droid bins weren't around nearly as long as the astromechs, with the program seemingly coming to an end after about three years thanks to COVID-19. Maybe they'll come back some day, but given the proclivity to business to push for higher price point items? I doubt it. Right now this once-$13 figure commands about $45 on eBay when you can find one, so try to get one for less than that. I think this was one of the more interesting "standard" builds you could make, because it really does look like something from more than one of the movies. If you have a chance, why not pick one up?

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Disney Hollywood Studios. Thanks Shannon!

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,122: April 4, 2024

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 2,976: Protocol Droid (Holiday Edition, The Black Series)

PROTOCOL DROID (Holiday Edition)
The Black Series Fan Channel Exclusive Action Figure
Item No.: No. F5304
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Scarf, BD droid
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $27.99
Availability: October 2022
Appearances: n/a
Bio: Celebrate the season with specially designed Star Wars figures from The Black Series! (That's the on-pack 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: I skipped over the first batch, but this came up at work and I like robot toys. The Protocol Droid (Holiday Edition) is a weird design, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why it looked so familiar until it showed up on my desk. Is it an elf? No. Santa? Not really. Wait a minute, I know those socks. Even though I think this is a generally neat toy, it's always hard to buy a collectible figure for the sake of it being a collectible figure, rather than a cool thing from the other cool thing that I watched. Due to manufacturing problems and freight delays, Hasbro completely missed Christmas 2021, and I bring it up because this figure (whose date stamp of 13011) implies it was produced October 28, 2021. This means it may have been sitting in warehouses and boats for a year before it got in anybody's hands. But hey, now it can be yours!

These figures are a gaudy exercise and a monument to holiday consumer excess - but so is toy collecting, so I can't fault game respecting game (and/or synergy.) For those with a droid collection (or those who specialize in holiday figures) this is sort of neat but I do find myself wishing it was 3 3/4-inch scale so it could be cheaper and take up less room. I don't think you can squint and picture this figure in any particular movie or TV show or comic scene, so it basically exists as a holiday decoration, in a box that looks like a can of Diet Coke. It's not your dad's action figures, those hewed closer to TV and the movies.

The 2015 C-3PO mold was given Lando Calrissian's 2018 scarf, and a BD droid sidekick from the Fallen Order game. A droid mostly molded in red with white hands, shoulders, and head is a departure from previous releases of C-3PO - of which there are many - but the $8 upcharge stings a bit. The eyes are painted nicely and if they'd left the green paint apps off completely, this could probably fit in (somehow, somewhere) with your movie stuff. The green stomach and stripes socks sure are weird, but I will say this doesn't look like any other 6-inch scale protocol droid from this mold. (The only options are C-3PO or 0-0-0.) He stands just fine, you can move him around a little, and the arms are pretty stiff. Functionally, this is a very good action figure for the whole open-and-display crowd.

If anything, the figure is helpful as a reminder that I am aging, and new generations of fans see these things differently than I do, and we old-school Kenner kids don't dictate the future of everything. This is a holiday decoration, but growing up I pretty much saw everything as a toy. Collectible, schmollectible - you should play with these things and they should all fit the same scale! But that's not the case - 1:6 scale figures give unmatched realism (and are priced accordingly), and figures like this aren't meant to be a toy. It's a gift, it's a holiday decoration - you probably won't be pretending it will some day go in a big diorama or in a vehicle. You're supposed to put it out for Christmas, and then put it away before you go back to work after the new year. It's another example of Star Wars toys growing up, which is something I have generally never wanted to happen. The scarf doesn't not fit but it's a little nonsensical. The BD droid looks perfectly fine, and really helps cushion the "exclusive tax" we seem to be getting a lot more this year. $28 for one droid would be absurd, but $28 for two? It's a bit easier to swallow than just getting a repaint with no extra stuff in the box.

As a consumer product, as a holiday decoration, it makes a lot of sense. As part of Hasbro's massive ongoing action figure collection output, it's goofy. The various metallic, credit collection, and holiday figures combined with photoreal repaints have certainly made for distinctive - if expensive - elements to a collection that certainly made me reconsider and ultimately torpedo my sense of collecting them all. But one? Or a couple? Sure, why not - I like robots, but this is a very, very silly figure that will most likely end up in the back of the shelves where it will remain until I have to move once again. I don't feel the need to buy a dozen holiday guys to the tune of $250 or more. But I like this one.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,976: November 10, 2022