C-3PX - TAC - Build A Droid (Exclusive)

C-3PX is our first Build A Droid! And this droid knocks it out of the park and misses the mark at disproportionate levels, but the figure is more positive than negative so don't be concerned. A little off color due to his flat paint job, C-3PX doesn't look as imposing as his character in the comics, but he certainly allows fans of the series to celebrate joyously as a figure that may not have ever been considered otherwise. But before we go on about his flaws, we should definitely address what makes him great first! To be honest, we believe most would agree that the most exciting feature about this action figure was its landmark status as the first Build A Droid figure with a fairly good likeness and great articulation. The first Droid Factory exclusive sets at Walmart were a droid lover's dream come true. Each two-pack came with an updated or never-before-available astromech or protocol droid with another related character from the same Star Wars source. The six two-packs were culled from the entire Star Wars saga, from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, to the Tartakovsky interpretation of the Clone Wars. Each two pack was well done and the droids all droids had beautiful final washes that made them look brilliant and very authentic. C-3PX is unbelievably articulated for a figure that is assembled by the collector and while some of his appendages sticking out from his body are a little bit awkward and clumsy, he scores high marks as far as the sculpt is concerned.

C-3PX lacks the heavy artillery that was seen in the comics and to be quite frank, he looks a little naked without them. In fact, he looks a little too much like C-3PO and if he had a bandolier with heavy artillery or a gun in his hand, it would do a lot to make him a more impending threat or imposing foe. Non-vac-metallized C-3PO-esque characters are virtually unheard of in the toy line (the last exception being the 2004 C-3PO Ultra figure) so we suppose this will be a treat for many fans. We are somewhere in the middle with this controversial topic. While we think vac-metallization is definitely not ideal, unless the gold color is metallic and shiny enough, it tends to negatively affect the overall aesthetic of the droid. That being said, the colorization used on C-3PX passes with high marks in our opinion. Where C-3PX lacks is his head. The head joint peg is too fat and allows for minimum movement of his head part leaving him almost without a neck. It is definitely a weak area of the figure and we wish finer tuning was applied to make this joint a little more palatable for collectors. While C-3PX has some issues, he really isn't that bad overall and we believe that he we be welcomed with open arms into many collections. It is a good thing that C-3PX looks cool as an action figure, because his storyline has been extrapolated too many times to laughable degrees in the Expanded Universe which has worked to cheapen the mysteriousness of his character. He has been linked to even the most popular Star Wars characters like Darth Maul so you can imagine how terribly his history has been infected with poor tales and bad writing.

C-3PX starts off the very cool Droid Factory pack-in premium in The Legacy Collection. All of the Build A Droid figures are droids that were never before made or available (except for rare exceptions in which these will be upgrades). We are personally ecstatic about this promotion and think it is the best pack-in Hasbro has ever given us. C-3PX may not be the most recognizable character in the Star Wars universe, but he is new and exciting and the beginning of a whole new era of figures. And perhaps the neatest thing about C-3PX is that he is the antithesis of C-3PO. While we expect the protocol droids to be a bit snooty, we never expect them to be assassins. Built by Cybot Galactica about five and a half years before the Battle of Yavin, it is true to say he was a contemporary of C-3PO. In fact, he even battled R2-D2 at one point. You can see the potential of where the craziness can begin now, don't you? Despite all of this, C-3PX is a clever first delivery of the Build A Droid figures and the selection will be vast and numerous until The Legacy Collection ends. And we will hold steadfast until every droid is delivered to us. They are incredible and unique action figures as evidenced by C-3PX.