Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,078: R3-T6 (Custom)

R3-T6 (Custom)
Fan-Produced Custom Figure
Item No.: No. n/a
Manufacturer: n/a
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $37.00
Availability: ca. May 2020
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio: A This figure is injection molded plastic. The dome clicks when rotated. This is a new loose figure. (Stolen from the Stan Solo Etsy store web site. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: I like droids a lot, but I didn't know how many of the astromechs and protocol droids existed from Stan Solo until a bunch were sold out - I regret missing them. Hopefully they'll consider another run. I did get a few, like R3-T6. It's the kind of figure you never really understand why Kenner didn't make given their love of repaints - it would have been pretty simple to have done. Hasbro did one and their R3-T6 [FOTD #101] was at the behest of a retailer with a clever, handsome buyer. This figure is very much like that one - existing tooling, and new colors.

Stan Solo's figure uses a pop-up lightsaber R2-D2 body with a classic-style dome. The dome is cast in clear, so you can look down and see the groove for a lightsaber to travel - but there's no hole, so you can't actually see it in motion. (It would be cool to see this figure cast completely in clear with no sticker just so you can see the mechanism in action.) His arms have black greeblies on the side, and so does the dome - it's mostly clear just so you can appreciate the vast nothing inside. His sticker has red and black panels, which is not quite unlike R5-D4. I love how the dome clicks, the figure feels sturdy, and the only thing I don't like is that the legs curve in a tiny bit. It's a very nice figure, but these were somewhat expensive - and still are.

I don't know why Hasbro isn't doing these kinds of droids, as they have the tooling and I'm sure they have multiple willing partners who would absolutely love an exclusive Kenner droid of their very own now that the official tooling is up and running. But I digress. Stan Solo did a great job delivering a quality figure that looks and feels exactly like you would want, you just need to pay accordingly. It's not a licensed product, but since it's unlikely a licensed product will exist, why not go for it? (Cost, I know, cost.) I like it and figures like this pried me off of buying more The Black Series, mostly because I can actually have fun with retro Kenner figures and The Black Series - from where I sit - are mostly about posing them and never touching them again. I don't need that. I want toys, and this is - despite the cost - more or less a toy. (For legal reasons: not a toy.)

Collector's Notes: I got mine from one of Stan Solo's US resellers around July of 2022. They've since ran out and the prices are getting pretty high.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,078: November 2, 2023