R3-M3 - LC - Build A Droid

Added: October 19th 2009
Category: Legacy Collection
Reviewer: Paul Harrison
Score:

Name: R3-M3
Collection: Legacy Collection
Number: N/A
Source: A New Hope
Availability: October 2009
License: Hasbro

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R3-M3, who was first referred to as R3-O1 in early Hasbro announcements, is one of two Build A Droid figures (the other being R5-C7) in the Return Of The Jedi wave in the Legacy Collection. Hasbro decided to tap into the R3 unit design this time and the final results are very pleasing. Unfortunately coming with a cloudy instead of a crystal clear dome, it is still transparent enough to see the slightly retooled inner section of the body. Our first droid (in the Droid Factory series) with a clear dome, it is quite amazing that Hasbro successfully created a plastic with minimal opacity that still has the ability to showcase the details underneath. R3-M3 is colored blue and has white panels coupled with silver details throughout. While not looking that much different from any of the other R2 units we have received under the Droid Factory banner (except for the obvious clear dome), we must admit that R3-M3 is a very refreshingly 'new enough' figure that has quickly impressed us. Of course, we just get very thrilled with each and every new Build A Droid figure, so this could cause some tainting our opinions here. But R3-M3 is a pretty neat Imperial droid (that just so happens to also not be black) and we are very excited to fit it into our Death Star dioramas as needed. And at this point in our Star Wars collecting, a big part of adding breadth and depth is including the more obscure characters, especially droids. R3-M3 more than fits this billing. In facts, it is a quite refreshing droid to add to your Imperials ranks. Not too much seems to be known about this particular droid and in fact we had some trouble locating it in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

But it is indeed in the film looking exactly like the action figure (pretty much). It can be found traveling down one of the many Death Star wings. Only in the action figure basic line can you inspect R3-M3 from dome to third foot and Hasbro did a fine job at catching its many details. If we were to start getting picky with this Build A Droid, we would say that the shade of blue is off in the slightest. And he looks a little too clean, even for being inside the Death Star. The droid has spectacular dark and metallic blue details on the front and Hasbro even added multi-colors on the clear dome. (But we think a few more would have really enhanced the figure by a long shot.) And interestingly, the tubing on its "feet" has been cast in a color that we have not seen before yet on a Build A Droid figure. To be honest, all the colors work together perfectly and we are thoroughly impressed with the final product. Don’t interpret what we noticed as criticism because they are certainly plenty of other well-executed details that more than make up for any shortcomings the figure may have. And since we are huge fans of anything Episode IV, we really don't have any real concerns over this figure that would prevent a purchase of it. We love the attention the background droids from this film are getting. It is nice to get a “bad” astromech droid here and there and R3-M3 satiates this need for the time being. One small issue we found disappointing about this figure is the way the parts have been bent and warped thanks to how they came packaged. The 2009 packaging may have a lot to do with this, but the leg parts (on our sample) came out warped and bent.

We are hoping that time outside of the package will allow the parts to return to a straight shape. This is frustrating and a problem that we have been experiencing every now and again with the Build A Droid figures and it has a lot to do with the elastics keeping them in place. We despise those elastic bands. They cause more trouble then help. While this bugs us, it certainly doesn't diminish the awesomeness of this incredible pack-in premium. We have been hinted to by Hasbro that the Build A Droid pack-in cannot go on forever. To be honest, this is quite upsetting to us. We think it can and we don’t think that Hasbro will be able to come up with a better premium. We will nonetheless remain hopeful however. They have found "the" pack-in that ensures the sale of all figures in a wave (or at the very least an army-building repeat figure) and the variety and diversity in the droids chosen for release have been quite impressive. Toy Fair 2010 will likely be the tell-all for the future of the Droid Factory future. (Editor's Note: Starting in August 2010, the line moves away from the Droid Factory concept as it focuses on The Vintage Collection.) And we hope that if Hasbro is smart that they will continue it for another year at the very bare minimum. But with Hasbro stopping nearly everything cool because of costing issues, we fear that an extremely long and healthy sub-line of Build A Droid figures is not very certain and may not grow to see the amount of droids we were hoping. But instead of counting our chickens before they hatch, we should all embrace and adore the droids we HAVE received. They are amazing figures and are nothing like we have never received before.

Collector Notes

R3-M3

Status: R3-M3 is an all-new figure that utilizes the R3-series astromech Build A Droid sculpt. It can be built by collecting the following figures:

Obi-Wan Kenobi (BD13) – R3-M3 left leg

Anakin Skywalker (BD14) – R3-M3 dome/third leg

Jango Fett (BD15) – R3-M3 body

Luke Skywalker (BD16) – R3-M3 dome/third leg

Princess Leia (BD17) – R3-M3 body

Ewoks (BD18) – R3-M3 left leg

Nien Nunb (B-wing Pilot) (BD19) – R3-M3 right leg

Saleucami Trooper (BD25) – R3-M3 dome/third leg

ARC Trooper (BD26) – R3-M3 left leg

Clone SCUBA Trooper (BD27) – R3-M3 right leg

Ugnaught (BD28) – R3-M3 body

Articulation Count: 8 points (8 areas of articulation)

Articulation Details: swivel dome (1), swivel left leg (1), swivel right leg (1), hinge-jointed left foot (1), hinge-jointed right foot (1), left leg rolling wheel (1), right leg rolling wheel (1), third leeg rolling wheel (1)

Accessory Count: None

Accessory Details: None

Date Stamp: 2008

Assortment Number: None

UPC: None

Retail: $0.00 USD

Market Value: Click here to check the latest prices based on Click here to check the market value on eBay! listings.

R3-M3

Legacy Collection Wave 2 (Wave 9)

Obi-Wan Kenobi (BD13)

Anakin Skywalker (BD14)

Jango Fett (BD15)

Luke Skywalker (BD16)

Princess Leia (BD17)

Ewoks (BD18)

Nien Nunb (B-wing Pilot) (BD19)

Major Panno (BD20)

Giran (BD21)

Malakili (BD22)

Nikto Gunner (BD23)

R3-M3 (Build A Droid)

R5-C7 (Build A Droid)

Legacy Collection Wave 2.5 (Wave 9.5)

General Grievous (BD24) – CANCELED

Saleucami Trooper (BD25)

ARC Trooper (BD26)

Clone SCUBA Trooper (BD27)

Ugnaught (BD28)



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