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

Figure of the Day: Day 925: TC-14

TC-14 Protocol Droid
Episode I Collection 3
Item No.: Asst. 84105 No. 84276
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Tray, drink container, CommTech Chip (2000 only), Coin (2007 only)
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: Spring 2000
Appearances: The Phantom Menace

Bio: Silver-plated protocol droid TC-14 serves her Trade Federation masters well when she suspects the Jedi identities of Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Commentary: One of the first characters that appear in the saga, chronologically speaking, is TC-14. Since seeing the movie, fans quickly identified the figure as an easy repaint for Hasbro, and brought this up in hopes that the company would repaint a C-3PO and sell it to us. Not satisfied to stop at a mere repaint, Hasbro tooled up a brand new figure as its prequel line was on its way out. The figure is stunning-- she has golden eyes, a silver body, greasy black joints, and a fairly suggestive looking beverage dispenser. With only 6 points of articulation, the figure didn't offer fans too much in the way of movement. Still, she could carry a tray and look cool, which is really all one might expect from a figure of this nature in the year 2000. As far as protocol droids go, this was one of Hasbro's best. Ever. Seriously, some of the C-3PO figures look pretty good, but TC-14 stands out as particularly striking with her shiny metal eyes differing from her silver coverings while most C-3PO figures are gold through and through. Also, very few protocol droids were sculpted with hands to hold an accessory-- this is another point in her favor. If you're a droid fan, I'd suggest getting this one just because it's a solid release. Yes, even though it's Nute Gunray's droid, and from a generally disliked film in the series. It's a fine figure, and good sculpting and engineering trump issues of the character's own questionable value to the story.

Collector's Notes: In 2000, the figure had a CommTech chip and was phased out in a hurry. I saw it at retail about five or six times. The 2007 reissue was more common. The figures looked essentially identical, so if you just want one to open get whatever is cheaper. For quite some time, this figure qualified as "hard to get," although last year's reissue has changed this. The figure was quickly repainted in white and sold as K-3PO in the early Power of the Jedi line. (A new, more articulated K-3PO was released in 2008.)

Day 925: December 30, 2008