Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,043: R4 Unit (Orange, 2023 Pride Collection)

R4 UNIT Disney Exclusive
Star Wars Droid Factory
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: Red R2 unit, orange R4 unit, yellow R5 unit, green R6 unit, blue R7 unit, violet R8 unit
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $74.99
Availability: May 2023
Appearances: n/a
Bio: Meet the colorful collection of droids from the Star Wars Pride Collection. Each one of the six detailed R Unit figurines has just rolled off the Droid Factory production line and boasts a different design, creating a special set featuring every color of the rainbow. (Stolen from the marketing copy.) In celebration of Pride and the company's Pride collection, The Walt Disney Company is giving funds as part of our ongoing commitment to organizations around the world that support LGBTQ+ communities. (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: I'll take your orange robot. This R4 Unit looks a little weird because the central eye is orange instead of black. It's not the first orange R4 unit, but it's certainly the first one that's totally orange. Long-term droid fans will remember R4-A22 [FOTD #37, you're welcome] but that one came form the movies and wasn't quite so colorful. Sometimes you want bright colors that will melt the cornea, and brother, you've got it this time.

 I like the candy-like bright colors because it's the kind of thing you're going to need to do if you're making hundreds of droid figures. There's no subtlety in this orange flavored robot - the body and all three legs are a bright orange, with a slightly darker orange dome and a smattering of painted details. Orange R4's body seems to use the same paint masks (but different colors) when compared to his siblings, meaning some of his instrument panels are light while others are dark. The legs have silver and dark orange enhancements, while the dome has some light orange panels to match a few of his various panels.

As always you can swap parts with other build-a-droid/Droid Factory parts to mix up the colors if you like. I love how weird it looks, although I also admit that we've probably got more than enough R2 units and not nearly enough vehicles or playsets to use them. I like this set a lot for many reasons, but at this point Disney could probably make good money selling some sort of tiered display units for these guys too now that we've had so many of them. I recommend it if you like Pride stuff, or orange robots, or I bet they'll also match the old iMac colors pretty nicely too.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,043: July 4, 2023