R4-M6 (Mace Windu’s Astromech Droid) - TSC - Basic (SAGA 074)

What do you give the Jedi who has his own signature lightsaber, starfighter, and clone battalion? A color-coordinated astromech of course! It’s borderline surprising that Hasbro gave us his astromech last, something that was actually seen in a multimedia event, unlike the cool clone trooper battalion we received in the Battle Packs collection. Today we take a look at one of those EU/off-screen creations that Hasbro likes to throw our way every so often: R4-M6 (a.k.a. Mace Windu's Astromech). R4-M6 is essentially your run-of-the-mill astrodroid. No frills, no tweets and beeps and no accessories (other than the display stand – more on that in a bit). It utilizes the often praised 2005 ROTS R4-G9 (Sneak Preview) (4 of 4) sculpt as its base which features rolling wheels, articulated legs and "ankles" and a retractable/deployable center leg when the dome is rotated. And like R4-G9, R4-M6 also uses the R2-series dome rather than the typical conical R4 dome configuration. Sadly, Hasbro felt the need to omit the "light-pipe" feature the sneak preview figure had and instead painted over these transparent sections. Maybe they didn't want to recast that section of the mold in purple-tinted plastic to make it functional. Too bad – but it’s not a deal breaker.

The rest of R4 is painted in a vibrant purple with sparse silver accents, and on various panel recesses, a darker wash that gives the mold some added depth and detail. As it stands, it looks very good; but if there's any one issue with the paint, it's the panel surrounding the "eye." In most cases, that panel would be the same accent color as the rest of the figure – purple in this example. This is odd, as Hasbro did paint this area on the R4-M6 plug* that came with the Mace Windu Jedi Starfighter. Again, not a deal breaker. (*Note: despite the best of efforts, R4-M6 will not replace the plug included with the Mace Windu starfighter as this figure's particular sculpt will not fit in the droid socket – at least not convincingly.) Until Hasbro develops a larger scale starfighter at this point (unlikely), or offers up a new mold for R4, it looks like our astromechs won’t be fitting like glove in their corresponding droid sockets. Then again, there are plenty of valid arguments that the astromech droids seen in the starfighters break the laws of physics (because they really cannot fit inside those small spaces anyway). Even so, there isn't any denying that the vehicles look awesome with this droid support they provide.

As mentioned before, R4-M6 includes a display stand (like all figures from the TSC line), and although it bears the "Revenge of the Sith" name plate, that isn't really accurate has its appearance can probably be attributed to the Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars animated series, (Volume Two, Episode 23 specifically), where he met an untimely end. No matter, as the Jedi probably have an endless supply of astromechs at their disposal and a replacement could have been obtained with simple work order. R4-M6 was released as part of an exclusive wave of figures to Walmart, it also has the distinction of being the last basic carded figure (SAGA 074) in The Saga Collection line. This figure suffered from "last wave syndrome" and was difficult to find for collectors in some locations, as a result, it has appreciated in value and sells for 2 to 3 times its MSRP on the secondary market, depending on if it's loose or carded. R4-M6 is a must have figure not only because it's a nice droid, but it also serves as a companion to Mace Windu and a fashionable complement to his fighter and clone unit. Your astromech shelf would be incomplete without it. Besides, the Clone Wars connects the dots to Revenge Of The Sith anyway so are you really going to make a big deal out of nothing? This is a great figure and you should focus on that.

About Jayson Krebsbach: Jayson Krebsbach is the owner and administrator of the world famous Yakface.com Star Wars collecting fan site. We are honored to have him as guest reviewer here.