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This astromech droid is the replacement for R2-D2, who is lost during a space battle. Anakin considers this new droid, whom he nicknames “Goldie” because of its metallic coloring, to be unreliable and mistake-prone. What Anakin doesn’t know at first is that the droid is also a spy.
R2-D2 just
had to have a nemesis on a level playing
field, didn’t he? After battling lots
of various creatures and droids throughout
his illustrious career, R2-D2 duels with
an R3 unit who looks a lot like him but in
different colors. After R2-D2 gets temporarily
lost in space, R3-S6 (Goldie) takes his place. Unable
to equal R2’s skills and talents, R3-S6 (Goldie)
is very accident prone and ends up being
a spy. And then R3-S6 battles R2-D2 in an
unprecedented fight. Dave Filoni took a great
deal of artistic license in his The
Clone Wars franchise. Much of
it is very cool while some of it is, well,
meh. R3-S6 actually falls somewhere in the
middle of this scale because we like the
droid but coloring it after the Pittsburgh
Steelers football team is pretty corny in
our books. Well, unless you’re a Pittsburgh
Steelers fans we guess. All digs aside, R3-S6
was an inevitable action figure. We know
Hasbro is [cheap] trying to conserve its
pennies when it comes to tooling costs and
we are surprised that we haven’t seen
more R2 units that we have to date. Due to
the coloring choices, R3-S6 is nearly a complete
opposite next to R2-D2. This was clearly
done for plot and programming traits reasons.
And it works. Wherever R2 is light, R3 is
dark and vice versa. There are cool contrasts
to each other, almost like the light and
dark side of the Force. Simply put, it works
incredibly well.
R3-S6
is a retool (and subsequent repaint) of the
2008 TCW [B] R2-D2
(No. 8) figure. The legs have been retooled
and the jet booster rockets have been removed.
We kind of wish R2-D2 would have been designed
in a similar fashion as well, but who knows,
maybe Hasbro will repaint R3-S6 and make a
new R2-D2 without the rocket accessories. The
three “hidden” front panels holding
R3’s special tools are back again and
we have to admit that this is one of the most
impressive features Hasbro has ever given us
on and R2 unit action figure. Everything is
to scale and the panels stay closed. And these
are features we really want to see in the realistic
line too. While we know one of R3’s nicknames
was “Goldie,” you may recall that
he was also referred to by “Stubby” and “Arthree” in
the television episodes Downfall
Of A Droid and Duel
Of The Droids, the only two appearances
that this R3 unit will ever see. But clearly
R3-S6 was not created with longevity in mind.
The droid served a purpose and was quickly
written out of the show. We would have liked
to see more development of this character because
we love the back story of how the astromech
was stolen and reprogrammed by General Grievous
to serve as a spy. So many droids have turned
out to be spies, it is almost humorous how
the Republic puts so much faith in them.
But
as with many Star Wars tales, it comes back
full circle and R3-S6 (Goldie) gets his just repayment.
He is conquered by the droid he tried to replace
and blow into pieces by debris in space. While
R3-S6 (Goldie) tried to play an innocent role and act
sweet around those he was serving, he actually
tried to plot the death of Anakin
Skywalker and Ahsoka
Tano, but Star Wars fans know this would
be impossible. Only the one-off characters
see this untimely fate. Likewise is true for
the action figure of R3-S6 (Goldie). We don’t
expect to see him repackaged and reshipped
in the future. The droid served a purpose in The
Clone Wars story arc and that has
come and gone. While anything is possible with
Hasbro, we honestly do not expect to see “Goldie” in
the line again. But we can tell you that you
should have this droid in your collections
because it is well crafted and beautifully
painted. The various lights on the head give
this droid its noncommittal personality and
the dark shade of its barreled body makes you
question where its loyalties truly lie. R3-S6
(Goldie) is an enigma and we love characters
that make us think about them on a greater
level. It’s a shame that we won’t
be seeing further character development in The
Clone Wars series. But who knows,
anything has the potential to be resurrected
in Star Wars, no?
Collector Notes
R3-S6
(Goldie)
Status: R3-S6 (Goldie) is a retool and subsequent repaint of 2008's TCW [B] R2-D2 (No. 8) figure. This time the legs have been modified.
Articulation Count: 15 points (15 points of articulation)
Articulation Details: swivel dome (1), sliding sensorscope (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 leg rolling wheel (1), hinge-jointed front left panel door (1), hinge-jointed front right panel door (1), hinge-jointed back panel door (1), hinge-jointed data link utility tool (1), hinge-jointed extension arm utility tool (1), extendable cord (1)
Accessory Count: None
Accessory Details: None (third leg is removable)
Date Stamp: 2008
Assortment Number: 87943/87638
UPC: 653569350491
Retail: $7.99 USD
Market Value: Click here to check the latest prices based on
listings.