This figure is a big win for long time collectors.  It’s been a while since we’ve gotten an obscure OT character in the main line.  For those interested, it checks the box of modernizing the remaining Kenner figures.  Also, it’s a droid that had only a few moments of screen time, and it’s from the Lars homestead in A New Hope. 

After releasing several Gonk/Power Droids since 1999, this is the first time Hasbro has given us the specific one that was produced by Kenner.  That EG-6 droid (sadly, unnamed) can be spotted briefly wandering in the central open air rotunda of the homestead, at the moment that Aunt Beru calls for Luke to remind Owen to get a droid that speaks Bocce. 

This droid is a retool of the one that first came with with the TVC Special “Droids” Set in 2012.  I had picked up that set because Chris told me to.  At the time, my collecting habits were waning, and Chris would text me if I needed to pick up something because it was new, and not a repack or something, so that I could maintain the charade of being a completist.  It wasn’t until very recently that I even discovered how cool that little power droid mold is.

It’s got a removable top, which reveals the inner machinery.  This top was resculpted to be accurate to the specific character in the Lars homestead.  The paint job is excellent, capturing the unique details and markings we see on screen.  The leg articulation is surprisingly good.  The “hips” are ball jointed, as are the “ankles”.  Unlike power droid figures made prior to 2012, this one can be posed, while the older models had a “walking” feature that was permanently engaged, making standing a challenge.

If you’re a Kenner fan, then you’ll probably appreciate that Hasbro carried forward the original card art and generic droid name.  Personally, I’m not a fan of perpetuating errors just for the sake of nostalgia.  To me, it’s enough for nostalgia’s sake that the figure now exists as a modern addition to The Vintage Collection.  This droid should be properly named, and that name should be represented in the name pill on the card.  As for the photo, Kenner mistakenly used an image of a different power droid which was on board the sandcrawler.  I would very much have preferred if Hasbro corrected this nonsense, and gave us a nice hi-res image of the correct Lars homestead droid.  I suppose I’m in the minority on that one, but in general, Hasbro should correct Kenner’s mistakes, not promulgate (or is it propagate?) them.

Hasbro did, however, make a wise decision to pack this as one per case.  Typically, I’m a fan of even case pack ratios, but I think this figure is definitely bordering on niche, and wouldn’t have the same mass consumer appeal as the other figures in the wave.  It’s probably best that a third Clone Commander Wolff was added instead of a second Power Droid.

The release of the Lars Power Droid is a great moment for TVC collectors.  I do have to admit that it’s not nearly as exciting to me as when we got Vedain in that 3-pack, but Hasbro did us collectors right with this release.  You should get one (or several) and revel in this nod to the collecting community.  I’ll give the figure a 7, not because there’s anything wrong with it, but it’s really just a box with legs.  Other modern figures with hyper-articulation and several accessories are objectively far superior to this, but subjectively, this Power Droid warms my heart.