Review – Star Wars Action Collection R5-D4

R5-D4. Poor guy, his entire purpose in Star Wars was to make us think that R2-D2 and C-3PO were going to be separated. With just a few seconds of screen time, this is one droid that has had more than his fair share of toys. I remember when I was very young and had my own R5-D4; it was probably that toy that led me to love astromech droids.

Packaging

R5-D4 comes in a pretty plain box, along with a bunch of wire that holds him securely inside his plastic shell. The back shows three 12-inch scale short figures — Wicket, R5-D4, and R2-D2 — but otherwise there’s really nothing of interest. Basically, the box is functional, not too large, and fairly boring in design. To the trash with you, cheap box!

R5-D4, Seven-Inches of Plastic Ready for Adventure

This is certainly no Sideshow Collectibles 12-inch scale action figure, but I’ve gotta say that R5-D4 is a pretty well-designed toy, with a sculpt and paint job that perfectly captures the look of the droid as he appeared in the movie. Glancing him over I didn’t spot any sloppy paint — except for the splatters which are supposed to represent dirt and grime that’s built up on him — with everything from the smallest detail well-painted and within the appropriate lines. An excellent paint job for 1998 and one that would be better than what I’ve seen on many mass-market toys from the last few years.

As a droid, R5-D4 doesn’t have much in the way of articulation. His dome rotates 360-degrees, his legs swing back just a little (but not forward), his feet move a little, and he has a retractable third leg. And that’s it. It’s okay, but if he were built today I’d expect to see secret compartments, retractable arms, and other devices that swing out from his body.

Actually, that makes me think Sideshow should create a series of astromech droids. Just think of what they would be able to do with droids in this scale. I bet those would be just as addictive and cool as their 12-inch stormtroopers.

He’s What He Is

Is there really a lot that you can ever say about an astromech droid toy? They’re all pretty much the same — regardless of size — and mostly just sit there without doing anything. R5-D4 does have wheels on his feet, and he rolls nicely across our living room floor, but otherwise he’s exactly what you would expect from a 12-inch scale version of the design. He’s not great, but he’s kinda nice and I’m glad I found one at a low price.

What’s He Good For?

Actually, he’s not even all that much fun to play with. Sure, he’s big, but his plastic feels a little cheap and he’s lighter than I expected him to be. He’s most certainly hollow, but a toy of this size should just have a bit more weight to it than R5-D4 happens to be carrying. If Kenner had given him some retractable devices he would no doubt be a little heavier, but even then I’m not sure if he would have reached the weight that I expected before I held him in my hands.

Closing Thoughts

As much as I love droids, and as neat as the 12-inch scale can be, I can’t recommend racing out and finding your own R5-D4 figure. His lack of features, cheap plastic, and general dull play value makes him a toy that’s more a statue with moving parts than a toy. I’m not sure if he would break when played with hard, but I’d worry a lot more about dropping this toy than I do some of my other pieces . . . including my Sideshow Collectibles stormtroopers, since they feel more durable and solid than this guy does.

Philip Reed will place R5-D4 on one of the toy shelves and then probably only pull him out when photographing other 12-inch action figures. R5-D4 doesn’t have the weight to feel durable, or the gadgets to make him a lot of fun, so he’s basically a display piece and not a very exciting toy.