5D6-RA7 - TLC - Build A Droid

Hasbro has a method to their madness when it comes to the Build A Droid figures. If you've paid close attention, there is a pattern. They seem have a process in place that utilizes each mold twice, so each Build A Droid figure (with very few exceptions) has a repaint of 'itself' somewhere else in another wave in the basic figure line. 5D6-RA7 is actually the "first" version of the Death Star Droid Build A Droid figure we received, with MB-RA-7 being the second (in wave 4 of The Legacy Collection). The sculpt was surprisingly excellent and exceeded our expectations and we hope it becomes the template for all future protocol Death Star droids. And while it isn't the first Death Star Droid action figure we have ever received by any means, it is however the first one that has had an acceptable amount of movable joints. If you recall back to the Power Of The Jedi line, Hasbro even brought us a 12" version that was quite good too. It came with a mouse droid and was a very faithful reproduction to the movie costume. But back to this figure, 5D6-RA7 is a "right on time" update for a very popular droid that has a quite unintentional confusing and convoluted history. These droids are definitely the enemy and have been used in all forms of espionage in addition to direct combat. A very adversarial protocol droid, its antagonistic behavior has leaked into its action figure form quite well. He screams warning signals just when you hold him in your hands. He is very faithful to his character in the film, he was very well done!

5D6-RA7 is the second incarnation of this character we have received in the basic figure line. We first received this exact droid as 1999's POTF2 [FF/TKC] Death Star Droid basic figure. Originally starting out as an exclusive figure, it was finally made a clearance item at Toys R Us when they were blowing out The Power Of The Force merchandise like there was no tomorrow. The 1998 was a pretty awesome figure for the time, but this new Build A Droid figure (released 10 years after the first version) renders it completely outdated and unnecessary now. A decade of technology has made improvements we probably only dreamed of years ago. What an amazing thing technology is for sure! 5D6-RA7 has a decent 10 points of articulation, but disappointly doesn't come with any movement in the wrists, something we personally were hoping to see here. And although this is a fair amount of articulation, this droid's center of gravity is a bit off and falls backwards very easily, on our sample at least. But if you devote more than a little time to futz around with him, you can make it stand without issue. (You may have to pose this droid in a bizarre position.) The body is colored beautifully and nearly identical to what was seen in the film. If we were to pick apart anything, it would be the photoreceptors. Although exactly sculpted to the costume, the action figure's eyes were painted in a bronze that looks a little too dark. If you look at the film still, you can see it was actually a more silvery gold than anything else. This issue is not big deal, but rather just something we would like to make Hasbro aware of in case they were to update him down the road.

It is unknown at this point if Hasbro will reuse this Build A Droid sculpt to revisit other Death Star Droids, especially 3B6-RA-7 (the infamous Sandcrawler droid) from which the original vintage Death Star Droid was inspired. [Interestingly, Hasbro decided to pay homage to the actual vintage figure and release it a MB-RA-7 in wave 4 of The Legacy Collection.] Besides these, there are many other Death Star Droids Hasbro could produce as well, but it would be especially great to get the gold 3B6 next. The Build A Droid pack-in premium has been very well received by both kids and collectors. Hasbro has alluded that they can't keep this up forever, but oh boy, we would hope and pray they will for as long as possible. We really can't imagine a better pack-in premium or gimmick at all! The possibilities for choices seem endless and they are even attacking long wished for droids like such as U-3PO and BG-J38. How awesome to finally get background droids we have been dying to get for years now. Well, we hope they don't stop coming. Wave 3 of The Legacy Collection has come and gone, so if you're looking to build 5D6-RA7, you may be out of luck. Or you'll have to check out eBay for other options. This has been one of the more popular Droid Factory pack-ins. Your opinions may vary, but sometimes the protocol droids can be more exciting to build than the astromechs because of their humanoid form. But 5D6-RA7 is a brilliant addition to your Build A Droid collection. And if you're into Death Star dioramas, this one is absolutely required!