MB-RA-7 Death Star DroidThe Legacy Collection Build-A-Droid
Item No.: Asst. 87535
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: November 2008
Appearances: Kenner's action figure line
Bio: MB-RA-7 was an RA-7 protocol droid. It had silver plating and black optics. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)
Image: Adam Pawlus' floor.
Commentary: A recurring theme in collecting is fans wanting Hasbro to update all the old Kenner action figures, accuracy be damned. MB-RA-7 is inspired by the original Kenner Death Star Droid from 1979, which itself was a slightly distorted version of the Sandcrawler droid. Which was eventually released in 2004. Now this droid is notable because it's fairly well-articulated, and it's also a repaint. For some reason Hasbro opted to release this droid and the black version of the mold back-to-back, but at least both are pretty slick. This version has silver paint on its body, big black eyes, and a decent amount of articulation. Given that these droid parts exist as a cheapo pack-in, it's nice to see Hasbro included elbow and knee joints on the limbs as well as a waist joint. The figure is also poseable at every "connection point," and you can swap out parts with other droid figures. Yes, even the build-a-droid Astromechs. (The head is a tight fit but it fits.)
Overall, the figure is not as moveable as C-3PX, but it's still pretty good. One of the things I thought was neat about this figure-- and you will likely not agree-- was that the elbows have this weird articulation that hinders movement. You can still twist the forearms, but it's a very stiff overall movement. In other words, he moves like you might expect a robot to move. Since he looks good, and is a genuine remake of a vintage 1979 Kenner toy, I'd say you should all run out and get one of these-- even if it's as a completed loose figure on eBay. I'm not a huge fan of the figures you have to buy to get the parts, but I'd probably have dropped $15 or so on the droid as an exclusive just to say I have it, so buy as your wallet permits.
Collector's Notes: The pieces to make this figure ship only in revisions of what is known as Wave 4 of the Legacy Collection. At press time, you can find the six pieces with such figures as Bail Organa, Breha Organa, FX-6, Commander Faie, Jodo Kast, Kashyyyk Trooper, Felucia Clone Trooper, General Grievous, Stass Allie, Saleucami Clone Trooper, Coruscant Landing Platform Clone Trooper, and Darth Vader. It is not expected to come with any other figures. The figure ships in six pieces, and cannot be purchased fully assembled at this time. In other words, this figure doesn't exist unless you open your toys. This figure is a repaint of 5D6-RA-7, which was the build-a-figure from the previous wave.
Day 921: December 24, 2008
2 comments:
I know everyone and everything official says he wasn't the Sandcrawler droid but heck, to me his color scheme seems to come closer to his movie appearance than the overly coppery one that has been released before. It could have been just a trick of the lighting but he seemed much more on the silver side of shiny to me. I like to think of this release, and the vintage Kenner one, as THE Sandcrawler droid and let all Wookieepedia entries be damned! And for the record, the Wookieepedia entry on the REAL 3B6-RA-7, still seems on the shinier side of his supposed actual color...so maybe a happy medium is still required.
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