Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,090: R5 Droid (Advent Calendar 2022)

R5 DROID Droid Cosplay
Star Wars Droid Factory
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: Silver BB droid, Nutcracker R5 droid, Gold R4 droid, Giftwrapped Power Droid with bow, Elf R6 Droid with hat, C1 droid
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $69.99
Availability: August 2022
Appearances: n/a
Bio: All different types of astromech droid populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. Open up the Sandcrawler to reveal and build 6 new droids to celebrate along with them for 25 days this season. May the Force be with you... and your droids!" This droid is optimized to function in the sparsely settled, unspoiled frontier world of Vandor. Join R6-SNO on their adventures throughout the galaxy! (Taken from the packaging. Yes, the one quotation mark and reference to R6-SNO, who is not included, was on the box in three languages.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: An obvious tribute! Everybody knows about the Nutcracker, a famous ballet that takes place in space and involves a machine in which you put quarters that kicks people between their legs while a bear in a small hat drives a tiny car around in a circle. Admittedly, I am not super cultured but I do know that this R5 Droid from the 2022 Disney Droid Advent Calendar was modeled to look like a traditional wooden nutcracker. You get the same R5 mold you know and love with no leg wires and removable limbs, but now it's slathered in paint to look like the bearded man with the strong jaw.

This one is a pretty clever little tribute that makes something that looks like the familiar holiday decoration, while also not completely diverting from the possibility - a very, very loose possibility - that you could picture him rolling around the Star Wars galaxy. He has a black dome with gold trim, which looks sort of like a big hat. The ring around the base of the dome and some what underneath resembles the beard (and area where the nuts get cracked), with white and black rectangles representing a cross between a face while looking vaguely like the droids from Disney's The Black Hole. Epaulets, buttons, and other jacket elements are painted on the droid in existing panels, as is a gold belt buckle and a ring around the base that looks like a belt. They didn't stop there - they gave him black feet to look like black shoes. It's a clever design that's probably just a little over-the-top for the Expanded Universe but it's not as nutty as some of the other droids we've gotten over the years.

While not essential to any collection, those looking to decorate with droids would probably like this one. It's not as subtle - or garish - as the other droids in the set, is hard working, and will serve you well. There's some paint slop under the golden ring on the dome of my sample, but other than that it's a perfectly nice figure that could probably go in the background of your dioramas and look pretty cool. I'm not going to recommend it to you unless you need more droids, and you know who you are.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from some guy on eBay for a lower price!

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,090: December 14, 2023