Original review by Chris, 11/1/14

For as much as I love the 30th Anniversary Collection, it didn’t really cross a lot of figures off my personal want list.  Instead Hasbro delivered a lot of figures I didn’t realize I wanted, but ended up loving.  CZ-4, however, is one of the handful of figures that were very high on my personal want list at the time.  CZ series communication droids appeared in both Episodes IV and VI, but it would take until 2007 until we saw one in the figure line.  Fans nicknamed the CZ series droids as “clown droids”.  I like to call them sociopath droids due to the vacant wide eyed stare giving the impression that the droid is living within its own head detached from reality.  Since all clowns are insane, there isn’t much of a stretch between the two designations.  Regardless, with its skeletal form and disconcerting gaze, the droid captures the vague creepiness we occasionally see in Star Wars.

Unfortunately after making us wait 30 years (technically 29 years), Hasbro made a notable gaff with the figure.  In both A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, the CZ droids appear mostly white with light dirt and grime accumulating in the areas where such filth would.  Hasbro went overboard with “dirtifying” the figure.  They are like a hack graphic artist who stumbles upon Photoshop’s pillow emboss effect and uses it relentlessly.  If you don’t like that analogy, may I refer you to Homer and the star wipe transition.  In all three cases something that should have been applied with restraint is done with reckless abandon.  The figure is entirely too dark and overly grimy.  In large sections, the droid is actual charcoal gray,  The rust effects are also something that seems out of place compared with on-screen representations.  Some fans took to using Goof Off to remove some of the wash effects on the figure.  I tried this and it worked to make the figure more presentable.  In Hasbro’s defense, this may be a miniaturization affect.  In other words, on a full scale droid this degree of dirt and grime might look normal, but when shrunk down it becomes too concentrated.  My fellow hack graphic artists know what I’m talking about from sizing down banners and buttons. 

The wash on the figure is wrong, but it’s a classic case of “don’t throw out the baby with the bath water”.  It does not invalidate an otherwise great droid figure.  The insectoid mandible, which is reminiscent of early Vader sketches, and the vacant gaze are nicely captured.  The ball jointed head has sufficient range of motion to add to the droids creepiness by giving the noggin an off kilter tilt.  The figure is super articulated which up to this point was a rarity for droids in the humanoid protocol droid family.  Hasbro even managed to incorporate an Easter egg into the figure.  The torso of a CZ series communication droid was seen in Jabba’s dungeon and Hasbro tooled the figure so that the torso can be removed.  This is not a case of simply a loose joint as the peg was sculpted to represent a sprocket.  Clearly the fact that there is a design element here means Hasbro intended for the figure to be separated.  Between the super articulation and this hidden feature, the figure is an easy nine and could flirt with a ten.  But the unfortunately paint applications relegate it to an 8 out of 10.

Updated review by Bret, 9/21/19

This figure comes with no accessories, and lacks ball jointed shoulders.  But it’s a very well done figure of a character that was barely in the film.  During the weird droid torture scene in Jabba’s dungeon, C-3PO is being shoved out of the room by a Gamorrean Guard after EV-9D9 decides he could be useful.  Threepio screams when he sees a deactivated CZ-4 (with no legs) leaning against the wall.  According to Wookieepedia, CZ-4 can be seen, (fully functional), in the throne room when Luke arrives, but I was unable to find him.

Meanwhile, for all intents and purposes, CZ-4 is identical to CZ-1 and CZ-3 from Episode IV.  CZ-1 was on board the Sandcrawler, seen in the foreground when R2-D2 awakens and starts looking for C-3PO.  CZ-3 can be seen walking in the streets of Mos Eisley when Luke sells his landspeeder to Wioslea.

Because of the detachable torso feature, and the fact that the figure can be used to represent any of the three CZ droids, CZ-4 ends up securing the 8/10 rating, despite some of the flaws.  Those flaws are probably directly related with it being a “low cost” figure to counter the bar accessories included with wave mates Elis Helrot and M’iiyoom Onith.  It’s a fun figure for a strangely memorable and super creepy background droid.