GNK Power Droid - Elite Series

GNK power droids understand rudimentary commands and generate power for mobile operations. They are often called "Gonk" droids in imitation of their simple vocalizations.

The Disney Elite Series line is hit or miss. And it appears that the figures they produce for this line turn out best when they are droids. If you think about it, it makes sense. Droids are comprised of metal parts mostly. And because the Disney Elite Series line are 6” scale figures made of diecast metal, characters made of this material turn out the best. The latest wave of Elite Series figures focuses on droids. Some are new. Some are revisits of previous figures. One completely new release is the GNK Power Droid. And just like all other licensees, Disney joins the throng to ignore the blue “Lars’ homestead” power droid that Kenner made for us almost 40 years ago. In fact, the Disney Elite Series GNK Power Droid is a droid that we haven’t seen produced by any licensee to date (to the best of our memory), so despite not being the most popular, it’s a welcomed addition to the line. Also, 6” collectors now have a GNK Power Droid to add to their displays now. It was a smart move by Disney to produce this figure, and we estimate it will be the best selling of the bunch.

One thing that sets the Disney Elite Series line in the reverse direction is the figures’ lack of articulation. In the case of the GNK Power Droid, it only comes with two points (two movable legs). Thanks to this simple articulation, it also creates the illusion that the droid has a moving body too, but it’s the leg articulation doing all of the work. The GNK Power Droid is clunky and chunky, exactly how the figure should be of course. And it has an incredible amount of weight to it. Be careful; you might hurt someone if you toss it at them. We’re not crazy about the drab tan color of this figure. Don’t misunderstand our point. Disney did a beautiful job with this figure’s paint job. Our preference, however, is to have a little more color added to our figures, especially the droids. There are so many choices of color Disney could have given the GNK Power Droid, but they went with the one featured in much of Lucasfilm’s source material. From the buttons on the character’s “face” to the extraneous detail creating the texture of the figure’s body, Disney has replicated the look and feel of this character beautifully.

There are a great many things to appreciate with the GNK Power Droid. Disney doesn’t hold back on their sculpting to ensure that their figures look as faithful as possible to the onscreen characters. If you scrutinize the GNK Power Droid, you’ll see an inordinate amount of detail added all over the figure. Areas like the ribbed legs and the buttons along the perimeter of the figure’s “waist” show that Disney made every effort possible to create a realistic power droid for collectors. Still, with all that said, we wish that Disney would have opted for the more commonly recognized blue power droid seen on the lars’ homestead. We’re not sure why licensees overlook that iconic representation of this classic Star Wars figure. But it’s becoming a little bit painful now. Hasbro has NEVER updated the vintage Kenner Power Droid in their mainline, and now Disney is following suit by going with the least likely choice too. It’s bittersweet. We’re happy to see them going for characters like this, but we also want to see familiarity brought in with them as well.