Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,051: R6 Unit (Green/Teal, 2023 Pride Collection)

R6 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: While not something you saw on screen until Disney began to mine the non-film source material for convincingly authentic designs, this green R6 Unit makes use of a mold that Disney has been using at its theme parks in some form or another for over a decade now. Maybe it's more teal than green - but it's nice, and the body uses the same basic paint masks as the other "R2" body droids in this set. You'll recognize lighter seafoam green panels, darker metallic panels, and some red, black, and silver bits. While it's meant to look like the Pride Flag, it has the benefit of being ultra-inclusive because fans can look at this and say "hey, I can stick that in a playset or shelf diorama" and it fits without looking out of place. That's a tough achievement.

You can mix-and-match parts with other figures if you like, but I want to keep it as-is. The panels are mostly cleanly painted, coloring in the lines with certain panels popping nicely. I bet the R6 donme would look better with some more color around the big black eye, but we don't always get what we want. There are wheels, the dome swivels, the ankles are articulated, and you can even pop out the third leg. It's weird to say "it doesn't do anything special" as praise, but at least it doesn't fall over, or not fit together. It just works. It delivers the experience you expect at a price that, while higher than some droids, isn't dreadful.

What's funny is after I wrote that sentence and lowered my left hand on the desk next to my keyboard, it was enough to knock the Han Solo (Endor, no trenchcoat) figure right over despite my only lightly touching the desk between sentences. There's something to be said about the stability of three legs, in a charming color, on a character where unusual non-movie color variants make all the sense in the world. My hat goes off to Disney for a set well-done. I lob a lot of complaints at the regime but I think this is a product they basically got right - and I hope that you can get one if you want one. (It's still available as I write this in July.)

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Shop Disney. Also happy anniversary, me - I started writing a Star Wars newsletter online on AOL (and later, the rest of the web) on August 1, 1995. Why am I still doing this.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,051: August 1, 2023