How should I start off this review?  It’s hard for me to articulate.  I’m fumbling for words.  Well…let’s let Mahoney and Tackleberry explain:

I hopelessly compromised when it comes to these Droids figures.  I’ve been wanting modern versions for a long time.  A long, long time.  And please note that I said modern versions.  I wanted what the Vintage Collection represents which is the best of the old and the new.  The best of the old is the packaging.  Check.  The best of the new is modern sculpting, articulation and paint applications.  Check.  This is exactly what I’ve been hoping for, and Hasbro delivered.  It’s a Festivus miracle (please note, at the time of this review, Festivus is tomorrow).

You should know by now that I like to debate you, the reader, in absentia in these reviews, and I win almost 50% of those debates.  So, in this case, you might be saying to yourself, “but Lunchbox, you hate carbonized figures because they don’t fit into the world.  Why would you like cartoon-colored figures?”  Excellent question.  The answer is I DON’T KNOW.  I didn’t know being a collecting hypocrite was such a crime.  Cripes, you’re mean, and on Festivus Eve too.  Obviously some of it is pure nostalgia.  I remember seeing these figures in stores back in 1985, but I was two years removed from my last Star Wars figure purchase during my kid collecting era.  I never purchased a vintage Droids figure, so clearly an aspect of my deep affection for this expression is because it’s a second chance at a missed opportunity.  Another reason is that the Star wars universe is diverse.  I saw a guy here on Earth that painted his brand new Dodge Challenger in flat black.  There’s no reason not to expect that someone in the Star Wars universe would paint their protocol droid in cartoon colors.  It could happen.  I can justify this in the world whereas a shiny Moff Gideon make zero sense.

1985 Droids C-3PO

The figure itself is a repaint of the VC06 - C-3PO figure, which is somewhat notorious for the removable panels which were requested by exactly no one. In Hasbro’s defense, the 2010 Vintage Collection still had a toehold on the “toy” realm whereas today it’s strictly an adult collectible.  On my VC06 sample, those panels stay on the figure fairly securely.  On this Droids sample, the thigh plate pops off with little provocation, and the back panel pops off like it’s spring loaded.  I think the only thing holding it in place is whatever weak gravitational force is generated from a few milligrams of plastic warping spacetime.  I can’t handle my figure at all without it coming free.  Another issue is that all the wiring is painted in a bright blue.  This is very accurate to the source, but it also becomes conspicuous at the seams of the panels.  The other paint applications are mixing in shades of brown on segments of 3PO’s plating which is otherwise pure yellow.  This is completely accurate to the animation source, and the paint applications are much more complex then was done on the vintage Kenner version (see inset left).  The result is definitely a best of both worlds situation with modern perfectionism combined with the classic packaging.

We gave the VC06 - C-3PO a score of 6 out of 10.  I’m going to to first deduct a point for the looseness of the panels, but then take back one point out of respect for the included coin.  Yes, this is exactly like the headpiece of the Staff of Ra, so my score stays at a 6 out of 10, but Major Toht probably has the score at only a five.  I hope he’s digging in the wrong area.  I’ve also listed the definitive status as “Close”, but keep in mind that it really means “close enough”.  The movie based C-3PO definitely needs a complete resculpt, but for a part kitschy release such as this, that VC06 mold is good enough.  Hasbro doesn’t need to go back to this source.

To reiterate, I’m both thrilled and somewhat gobsmacked that this figure exists, and I hope Hasbro continues this sort of program, by releasing or re-releasing figures on legitimate vintage Kenner card variations.  This doesn’t need to be limited to the Droids packing.  The alternate images for the episode based cards can be used, as well as the 1985 Power of the Force cards and even Ewoks cards, but the latter needs to be limited to perhaps just Wicket.  Those Ewok cards are fairly ugly.