Vader’s Medical Droid - ROTS - Basic (III 37)

Galactic Chopper droids specialize in prosthetic engineering and biomechanics. The tripedal design increases mobility, and modular appendages allow for different limbs to be attached depending on the need.

There is an expression “like father like son”. We suppose that could apply here (but in a reversed sort of way). One of the many highlights in the The Empire Strikes Back was Luke Skywalker getting “back to health” in the bacta tank courtesy of medical droids 2-1B and FX-7. And 2-1B was utilized once again give Luke his much needed cybernetic hand at the film. These scenes left quite a mark in our minds as young people and as a result we probably wished our childhood visits to the doctor’s office would be greeted with a robot instead of a doctor. George Lucas knew how just important human reliance on technology is and he used it in his films because he was years ahead of his time. Knowing that droids would need to once again be utilized as new medical staff in Revenge Of The Sith, he not only brought back some familiar faces but also gave us an all-new model, the Chopper Droid. The other models like the slightly different 2-1B and the new FX-6 (which is an older model of the updated FX-7) in Episode III functioned more like “familiar faces” than like all-new characters. But having things so relatable has always been Lucas’ strongpoint. These three medical droids worked together to bring us the physical incarnation of the Darth Vader we know from the opening sequence of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. So these droids will go down in new memory the very same way that the droids who aided Luke Skywalker did. Like father like son!

The Revenge Of The Sith line may go down in history as one of the most diverse Star Wars basic figure lines of all time based on a single film. Humans, creatures, droids and the like are all evenly dispersed throughout the line. And the Collection 1 and Collection 2 dividers separate them into kid-focused figures or collector-focused figures. Vader’s Medical Droid is one of the most unique figures in the line and it appears to be a figure that took some time to work out what would be the best approach to make it. Although the technical name of this droid is Chopper Droid (a most perfect name for this droid), Hasbro has decided to call it Vader’s Medical Droid on the packaging. They probably did this for the same reason they renamed the vintage Star Destroyer from its original name The Executor. But you may be interested to know that neither Chopper Droid or Vader's Medical Droid are the official names of this medical droid anyway. This is actually a DD-13 Medical Assistant Droid. Besides, the Chopper Droid name is quite graphic. The first Star Wars film to attain a PG-13 rating, let’s not forget that Darth Vader was a horrific burn victim, one of the most painful traumas imaginable. And the Chopper Droid was responsible for removing the burnt flesh from his body. If you recall, Anakin was screaming in terrible pain when this was happening. Hasbro made this droid midway through the Revenge Of The Sith line. A Collection 2 figure, Vader’s Medical Droid also comes packaged with a display stand.

We’re quite surprised that Hasbro decided to go with the Chopper Droid first out of the three that appeared in this scene. This droid was responsible for what could be considered the most gruesome procedure on Darth Vader. And the action figure reminds you that this is a droid you won’t be looking for should you need some medical attention. The action figure is a very fair representation of the character from the conclusion of Episode III. Clearly, a lot of thought went into its sculpt. The designers added a lot of articulation to this figure and there are more points of articulation here than meets the eye because some appear hidden in ways. Hasbro squeezed in ball-jointed shoulders and a ball-socket torso. And there are double hinge-joints in each of its three legs. The two arms could have stood a bit more articulation, but perhaps it wasn’t in the tooling budget and it was ignored. The figure is nicely decorated too. Hasbro was careful to match its paint job to the onscreen character quite well. And overall this is a very well made action figure. But not everything can be flawless, right? While there is so much positivity here, we cannot believe that we have to point out its flaw. Hasbro needed to utilize stronger plastics to cast it. The legs bow over time simply due to gravity. Despite this, you’ll definitely want to get Vader’s Medical Droid for your collection. It’s a beautiful design and an essential addition to your medical droid collection.