Figure of the Day: Day 489: LIN Droid

LIN DROID & Jawa
30th Anniversary Collection Basic Figures
Item No.: Asst. 87500 No. 87278
Number: 3019
Includes: Jawa figure, coin
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: Spring 2007
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio: Bands of Jawas scavenge Tatooine for discarded droids and machinery to repair and resell. One of the droids that the Jawas show to Owen Lars during the sale of C-3PO and R2-D2 is a LIN mining and demolition droid created to lay mines and perform demolition operations. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' TV tray. And hey, who made that GONK in the background?

Commentary: Very few figures from 30-year-old movies will eventually get made as a Hasbro action figure, but hey, thankfully they're pretty good about making every last bit of scenery. The LIN Droid has limited articulation, and is based on the Sandcrawler version-- not the Death Star one. There's a clear blueish dome, an articulated arm, and not much else. There's no wheels, and the little sensors don't do much other than look cool. As an accessory of this size, I had to look at it as a figure-- it's just that nice. There's a lot of electronic details to see here, but it can't do much other than stay put and look cool. Of course, the same is true for R1-G4, so why should this little guy be treated any differently? Hasbro could have done more with it, adding wheels and such, but that would probably drive the price up and nobody wants that. As far as bang for your buck goes, he's half of a great set. The removable dome reveals tons of details, so odds are people will use this for future kitbashing projects as it's essentially "new" mechanics to glue to a larger project to make it look cooler. It's neat. (And yes, Galoob did one like ten years ago.)

Collector's Notes: This is a fine release-- an all-new mold packaged with another all-new mold that's a troop builder, if you like Jawas, and I do. It's new and so far, somewhat easy to get.

Day 489: September 7, 2007