Review – Star Wars: The Force Awakens PZ-4CO Action Figure

So far I’ve reviewed Sarco Plank (review here) and Goss Toowers (review here) from Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens series, and to date I’ve been loving the classic Kenner-like greatness of these action figures. Happily, I can report that PZ-4CO* continues the fabulous fun and vintage-styling of those earlier reviewed action figures.

PZ-4CO

A new — and pretty sweet — new protocol droid, we’ve already had a glimpse of PZ-4CO* in the Moving Target* YA novel that was released a few months ago. The novel’s a fun read if you’re a fan of Star Wars fiction, even if the new droid doesn’t do all that much in the story. Still, I like how Disney is crafting these stories and adding Force Awakens characters into stories set during the original trilogy; it feels like their world building efforts are a lot better coordinated than we’ve ever seen in the Star Wars universe.

Balance Issues

I’ll get the one negative out of the way: Just like the Goss Toowers action figure (review here), Hasbro’s 3.75-inch scale PZ-4CO* is a little heavy on the front end and doesn’t balance as well as I would like. A lot of that’s the design — they made this droid top heavy with a neck that extends out and forward — and for what they had to work with I can admit Hasbro did a decent job.

Fantastic Sculpt!

If you’ve been reading my other reviews of this line then you know these toys feature classic Kenner articulation (with ball-jointed necks in place of the swivel), and you likely have already guessed (based on my previous reviews and the photos here) that I love the look of PZ-4CO*. Those sculpted details are remarkable, especially all of the little wires and details at the mid-section. I’ve no idea how much time the droid will get in the new film, but regardless of play time there this feels to me like a toy that a lot of kids are going to give extensive playtime. The design and colors are simply too great for the toy to be passed over.

Closing Thoughts

At the risk of being told I leave too many positive reviews, let me just say that PZ-4CO* is my second favorite of the three The Force Awakens action figures I’ve shared with you to date. The coloring is gorgeous, and the new droid design fits perfectly into the Star Wars universe. I’m quite happy with Hasbro’s efforts with the series, and after posing the toy for a while — and checking out how it fits in classic vehicles — I’m ready to give more of the line a shot. Incredible work, Hasbro. Keep it up!