Jawa & Security Droid - LC - Basic (BD39)

KPR security droids are used to monitor perimeters and maintain security devices. During their scavenging for lost and abandoned equipment, the Jawas find one of these droids and offer it for sale at moisture farms on Tatooine.

The 2009 Legacy Collection continues to provide us with a diverse array of characters from across the entire Star Wars saga. For those collectors that favor a certain film, it absolutely makes us all wait in anticipation until another of the same themed wave re-enters the line in succession. But the theme-specific waves effectively gives all “non-one-of-everything” collectors a fair chance until their favorite film or EU source is revisited and gets more love. And then it is just pure gravy when the wave contains a figure (or two) and checks off another “wished-for” character from a list and aids in completing a fan-favorite scene in the film. And lastly it is just a pure bonus when that wave is based off of a film in the Original Trilogy (especially A New Hope). Of course this is our own opinion here, but we tend to feel extra special when waves are based on the classic movies, especially the original film. Hasbro delivers some sweet affection with the manifestation of the A New Hope wave of the red phase Legacy Collection (wave 3). We are of the belief that you are (or will be) equally excited about these figures too. The wave is a great hybrid of characters from all over the film and they have been all done very well. Slowly but surely helping us to complete the beloved “purchase of the droids” scene, Hasbro delivers another new droid and a “half” new Jawa to us while continuing to revitalize the basic figure line. Well, consider the line revitalized. The Jawa & Security Droid are a lovely addition to your collections and while we have a mild case of 'contempt' for the Jawa (don't worry, we are half kidding here), the Security Droid, 2X-KPR (also known as "Tooex") to be exact, is quite an amazing little “accessory” (though we consider it the second figure in the two-pack). Packed with incredible detail and very good paint operations, this set is certainly going to be popular among collectors and we suspect quite a few kids too. But we still feel that some of the parts of the set may leave you wanting more.

As has been the pattern for a few years now, another A New Hope wave typically means another new Jawa. By default, another new Jawa means a two-pack (which may include a new second Jawa or a completely new droid). We get the later and it is overall a very good set. While two-packs are becoming less and less prevalent in the basic figure line, we personally feel very fortunate for any instance where Hasbro decides NOT to nix the second figure (and instead include it). This round gives us the Jawa & Security Droid, a wonderful duo for the most part, although we think the Security Droid has a funny name so being such a tiny little droid probably no bigger than a mouse droid. How will this little droid protect [anything] since almost everything is bigger than it? We assume that maybe this droid serves as a fancy alarm rather than a bad news battle droid (obviously). But we do know that despite its small and petite size, the Security Droid is actually a fantastic addition to this two-pack and to the action figure line. The droid has a green “dome” similar to an R2 unit (but on a much smaller scale) and a black center “body” with silver details and these parts sit atop an orangey bronze “plate”. While unable to be separated, these 'parts' fit via a plug into a gray square piece on wheels that looks a lot like what you would see on a standard Treadwell droid. The droid looks to be in perfect scale with the Jawa and we even dug out our R1-G4 action figure (from 2004’s SW line) and the two look perfect next to each other. We commend Hasbro on a job very well done! All of our previous droids are aging gracefully over the years (there are a few exceptions) and it is comforting to know that they are rarely becoming outdated. The Security Droid delivers extremely simple articulation (the twisting of its body) and comes with wheels that work quite effectively on multiple surfaces and adds simple but powerful mobility to the droid. The Security Droid is clearly the gem in this set and the main reason to purchase another Jawa that you may not want (even if you are a Jawa fan).

We may be a bit critical here, but while the Jawa does indeed have improved articulation from the 2008 TLC Jawa [& WED Treadwell Droid] (BD 33), it still lacks in so many other aspects. It is a retool of the 2008 figure with a lot of new parts. We will not let the disappointment of the Jawa taint our excitement for the Security Droid however, because trust us when we say it is without doubt the reason to purchase this set (not the Jawa). Hasbro is definitely heading in the right direction for the Jawa action figure however, but we are still waiting for the definitive version. And we will be very up front on what we think should be the approach or direction that the figure should take when there is another opportunity to revisit it. We want a Jawa that mimics the vintage one but of course with more enhancements. That means a Jawa that is wearing simple pants and shirt that are lean so that a soft-goods cloak when tied together with a removable bandolier will not look bulky but instead look very natural with a nice drape. And we would also want a Jawa blaster to go with it. This, we feel, is the only way to go for a Jawa action figure. No more molded robes, no more molded bandolier, no more molded lower bodies without hip joints and certainly no more half-bodied soft-goods; our complaints could almost go on for hours, so please Hasbro, make the Jawa right once and for all. To give it some credit, the Jawa has finally received two separate moveable legs but there is no more articulation than that. The new hip joints unfortunately do not benefit the Jawa as much as we had hoped for as they are not the same height and at different angles. It made for standing the Jawa upright a little bit difficult for us. After some aggravation, we finally got the Jawa to stand rather erect in our photo shoot, but it was quite a chore to say the least. And the bulky (and bizarrely shaped) soft-goods skirt doesn’t serve the Jawa in any positive capacity. It looks a bit silly and doesn’t match the rest of the costume since it is a different color. The stark contrast between the upper body and the lower soft-goods is very distracting to the viewer’s eye and we hope that if Hasbro does intend to go with soft-goods for a Jawa, that the entire Jawa is covered in them and not just the lower half. Despite our grievances, the set is good and we believe that many of your will be looking to populate your Sandcrawler with both a unique droid and unique Jawa.