Original Review:  Chris - 6/25/10

Another puzzlement.  This figure feels like it’s stuck between two worlds.  It’s part of a line that is clearly targeted towards collectors, but includes an odd play feature that seems like it was intended for kids.  A play feature, incidentally, that is not advertised anywhere on the package.  So unless there is some sort of playground viral campaign by Hasbro, kids won’t know about the play feature they might be interested in.  It’s wheirder than Cool Whip.  That aside it brings me to my next point.  Why?  Like the Echo Base Solo, it doesn’t seem like anyone would have cared if this figure were skipped.  We all understand that core characters needs to round out the 12 figure assortments, but it seems simply including the Ewok village 3PO (minus the pale coloring it acquired in the Legends line) would have been sufficient.  Amongst a myriad of oddities with this figure, one of the strangest is the fact that this may be the first time a figure has more articulation than the character it is based on.  The figure has elbow articulation that the character does not have due to the piston like rods in the elbows.  I personally prefer the vac metalized finishes on 3PO figures so the paint finish does not appeal to me.  Add in the fact that the paint appears to have an orange hue and this figure is a real misfire.  In a lesser wave, I might be worried, but given the balance of this great wave, it’s easy to forgive.

Updated Review: Bret - 4/10/18

This is just one of the weirdest figures of a main character Hasbro ever made.  Chris’s original review above points out that it seems the figure was stuck between a collector-driven offering and a kid-driven offering, and failed miserably to hit the mark for either audience.  But I’ll take it a step further, as I am wondering what C-3PO version this figure is supposed to represent.  Sure, Hasbro used a card image of Threepio in the Death Star control room from ANH, and it’s likely this is the source inspiration, given the (attempted) coloring.  But the shape and sculpt is off to the point where it almost looks more at home with animated-style figures of The Clone Wars, or even the more realistically styled figures from the same show.  Maybe he fits in well with the animated Rebels figures.  Obviously, the “surprise” features of random removable parts and plates harkens back to TPM.  Yes, he didn’t wear golden parts until ROTS, at which time he hadn’t gotten his silver shin yet.  The removable parts are scattered (face, chest, right thigh, upper back).  It’s possible this is supposed to be the point where Threepio first got his crappy AOTC-era plates replaced by the golden ones, which was alluded to in the no-longer-canon Tartakovsky Clone Wars, but again, what’s with the silver leg?  Then throw in the fact that the silver leg below the knee is actually removable, which points to the end of ESB when Threepio is urging Artoo to finish putting him back together.  The problem there?  It was Threepio’s left, gold shin that needed to be attached.  So, really, what the heck is this?

Anyway, it’s a bit jarring, that’s for sure.  Very little of the figure really works as far as appeal.  It’s clear that Hasbro put a lot of love and effort into the figure, as misplaced as that love and effort might be.  So they definitely get credit for effort.  But in the end, even C-3PO can’t figure it out, as you can see with his exasperation at every attempt to place him with proper contemporary figures in the gallery above. Pictures 17-23 are meant to be viewed by quickly arrow-keying through them.

Hasbro should never repack this figure again, that’s for sure.  Interestingly, this figure does command a decent eBay price, probably because (and I may be wrong) this was the last SA C-3PO figure to hit the market.  But it’s so weird, Hasbro should just let this one pass into history, and let it get whatever it can on the secondary market. 

I would say “yes”, we need a new SA C-3PO.  There are a lot of options, so the question would be how to go about it.  It may be virtually impossible to get a definitive C-3PO. Even passing on his TPM “naked” look and his AOTC “hooptie” look, Threepio has so many “options” that a single golden figure wouldn’t cover it.  On film, he’s often very dirty, oily, or slimy, busted into frayed parts, or sporting different color appendages.  My thought is that a shiny golden figure (or as close to it, given the apparent end to vac metallization), with switch out silver right shin and red left arm would seem to cover the basics spanning all 3 film trilogies from ROTS through TLJ.  To get a more definitive golden Threepio, perhaps alternate hands to hold the tool Luke gives him at the homestead to clean Artoo, and to hold the communicator on the Death Star.  Maybe even a swappable head with the pop-out eye for your upcoming Khetanna.  Perhaps a running change could be repainted as a dirty C-3PO.

There’s a lot going on in an “ultimate” C-3PO, but in any case, this figure should definitely be retired, and something much better should be made. 

Updated Review: Bret - 8/13/20

Strange for Hasbro to select a droid for “Photoreal”, but if there’s a droid that qualifies, it’s this weird C-3PO. 

I originally strongly disliked this figure.  Hasbro already had a near perfect C-3PO mold which it used in the 2010 Geonosis Arena Showdown 2-pack.  I don’t believe they ever re-used that mold, but could have repainted the heck out of it for every C-3PO other than for Episode I. Yet they decided to make an all new sculpt concurrently for TVC in 2010, and it’s this.  It’s hard to really determine what the thought process was, beyond an attempt to provide some sort of play value.  The removable panels were odd, and frankly, the sculpt was a little off.  In particular, the faceplate was loose and easily fell off the figure.  And of course, there’s the disappearance of the shiny gold vac metal.  Overall the effect was initially a bit off putting.

But over the years, I have very much warmed up to this figure, and at this point I like it. I think I’d still like to see Hasbro repaint that Arena Showdown figure in gold (vac metal, preferably), but that seems unlikely with this having been re-released.  I’m going to up the score from a 4 to a much more respectable 6, but I’ll leave our recommendation that Hasbro revisit C-3PO in the near-future.

The updated paint apps are fairly significant. The entire figure is now a more bronzey color.  Additionally, all the wires and internal parts that are exposed by the removable panels - including the face - are much brighter and more vivid.  The eyes, in particular, are much more brightly painted and appear larger, even when the faceplate is on.  And that faceplate now clicks much more solidly in place.

The new gold coloring is probably debatable as to whether it’s better or not, but the eyes and inner workings are definitely an upgrade, if minor.  Overall, it’s probably a slight improvement, especially if you prefer the bronze finish.  But it’s not enough to change our score from the already updated 6.

*This figure was meant to be a “fan channel” (online) exclusive, but a shipping error sent some cases to brick and mortar (especially Target).