C-3PO - 1:6 Scale Figures

“I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations.”

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, two unforgettable droids captured the imagination of moviegoers around the world... Now, joining his feisty astromech companion R2-D2, Sideshow Collectibles is proud to present the C-3PO Sixth Scale Figure from Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.

Weathered from time spent stranded on the desert planet of Tatooine, C-3PO is ready for adventure with the Rebel Alliance alongside Luke, Han, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Built with screen-accurate mechanical detailing and light up features, Threepio’s advanced articulation and poseability allow collectors to perfectly capture the nuances of his quirky personality. Equipped with a comlink to receive instructions on his next mission, take command of the protocol droid with an attachable magnetic restraining bolt. An essential addition to any Star Wars collection, this is the droid you’ve been looking for.

Well, we have good news and bad news. There is not a single doubt in our minds that Sideshow Collectibles’ C-3PO is stunning and borders on masterpiece status. We love it. But we bet that many stringent 1:6 Scale Figure collectors are going to have great difficulty moving past the way Sideshow Collectibles approached the figure’s finish. But before we go into detail, it makes us question the following: what in the world is going on with vac-metallization. Has it become so expensive that it’s no longer a viable option? Have the environmentalists deemed it as harmful to the world in which we live? Or has it just become too passe of an option and licensees feel better options exist? We’re not sure, but Hasbro has abandoned it and now Sideshow Collectibles has seemed to abandoned it, at least on C-3PO. Please understand something important here. C-3PO is done so wonderfully that we didn’t even notice that he wasn’t vac-metallized initially. It was only upon closer inspection did the reality hit. And even when that detail came to light fully, it didn’t change our affection fro the figure all that much. Again, C-3PO is wonderfully made and we’re extremely taken with the way he has been produced, assembled and decorated. This is one fine 1:6 Scale Figure.

It’s borderline frightening to think that Sideshow Collectibles made fans wait an excruciating ten years before announcing the most popular worrisome droid from the Star Wars saga. Sure, Medicom Toy released a couple different excellent versions of him in their Real Action Heroes line (one talking and one non-talking) and those figures were done incredibly well too. You should definitely check out the RAH Medicom C-3PO figure because it is a gorgeous figure (and he is vac-metallized as well). But they produce these RAH figures in an ever so slightly smaller scale which makes them out of scale for Sideshow Collectibles and Hot Toys lines. Anyway. This was Sideshow Collectible’s moment to blow everyone else out of the water with a definitive C-3PO 1:6 Scale Figure. And maybe they did. But we doubt everyone else will feel that way. The figure is tremendously enhanced with an astounding amount of articulation. Most of this extra articulation is found in the hands. Each hand has 14 points of articulation. And the functionality of the articulation in his hand is useful in that he can hold accessories like the Death Star comlink or rest his hand on R2-D2’s dome with relative ease. The rest of the figure has excellent movement as well. You’re definitely going to be impressed with what Sideshow included here.

So C-3PO doesn’t come with a mirror like finish. Dare we say it’s not the wend of the world? This C-3PO figure looks amazing. And we’re especially taken with the paint operations that make him look worn and dirty. There are plenty of grease drippings coming down his head plating. And the same can be seen on his torso and legs. Sideshow Collectibles adding collections of darkness in all of the crevices on the body plating. It really looks like C-3PO has been wandering Tatooine’s deserts for days. A tap/touch feature has been added to the back of C-3PO’s head. This allow his photoreceptors to light up or go dark with each alternating touch (no pressing, just a light touch). And the arms and legs have appropriate articulation and seem movie accurate to us. For Sideshow Exclusive collectors, they added an amazing feature here. The left arm is easily removable, and in its place they provided a damage upper arm (from the attack by the Tusken Raiders that happened off screen). The detail in the torn wires is brilliant. We couldn’t be happier. The only bummer ids that we don’t get the rest of the battle-damaged arm to complete a diorama scene. We think that was a misstep on Sideshow’s part. The joints on C-3PO are very tight and allow the droid to hold his poses perfectly. We just think there is too much positive going for this figure to criticize it as “worthless” just because it doesn’t have the finish all of us want. Give this release a chance. We bet you’ll be thrilled with it too.