R4-P44 - LC - Build A Droid

The Build A Droid figures keep coming to us with consistent strength. The astromechs don't really change that much but they appear to get better and better with each release, perhaps a little bit due to the newness of the release and a little bit due to new colors of droids being introduced into the line. R4-P44, from Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, is a pretty much standard for what you would expect from an astromech, but its unique green color is one we have not yet seen on and R2/R4 unit and looks great against a white bodied backdrop. The details are faithful to the production stills, because it is certainly a difficult droid to find in the film. We actually didn't recall seeing the droid in the film (and had to subsequently do our own research to locate it). Besides looking very clean, R4-P44 is already one of our favorite astromechs in the Build A Droid series and its wave mate R3-A2 ranks just as high for us also. While there is nothing too special about this Build A Droid, it has such a distinct green color with the slightest metallic touch to it and it looks quite spectacular. Sometimes astromech droids that aren't over-colored or elaborately decorated can come across as more impressive than the ones that are.

A relatively simple astromech, R4-P44 was aboard an ARC-170 starfighter that was used by the Fifth Fleet during the Clone Wars (up to the Battle of Coruscant) as seen in the opening of Episode III (and rumor has it at the Battle of Utapau too). While it looks nearly identical to an R2 unit, R4 units (actually R4-P units) actually differ from them. They are a variant astromech specifically designed for the Delta-7 Jedi starfighter. The earliest models had a slimmer body (to fit in the narrower fuselage of these vehicles) but when the Delta-7B starfighter came out, the R4-P units returned to the standard-sized astromech bodies. In short, it looks just like and R2 series astromech. How is that for a big ball of confusion? Not that you would be able to see any of these finer details in an action figure, R4-P44 nonetheless looks fantastic and we are sure it is a figure whose parts will be highly sought after in the line. Looking a great deal like a "green" version of R4-P17, it has the same "half-outlined" vertical panels on the front of its body. It adds a lot of character to a rather bland droid. The only parts on this droid that stand out are the leg cables. They are colored in bronze and complement the green on the droid very nicely. R4-P44's parts can be found among Hrchek Kal Fas, Leesub Sirln, Jawa & Security Droid, and Concept Art Ki-Adi-Mundi.

And it is the rarer of the two Build A Droid figures because the "filler" figures including Boba Fett, Padmé Amidala, and Clone Commander Deviss all have R3-A2 droid parts. Likely not to be as popular as R3-A2 since it wasn't as readily seen in the film, it makes sense that R4-P44 would be the droid in slightly shorter supply. Also, R4-P44 is not an Original/Classic Trilogy droid, we believe that this may alter how much collectors may want this droid in their collections as well. We however think it will be worth your while to make an effort to get all of the necessary figures to build this droid because it is definitely one you want to add into your collection. But that is simply our two cents. While we have gotten some great protocol droids in the Build A Droid series including HK-47 and L8-L9, we are of the opinion that some of the best droids are the astromechs. We encourage you to be the judge here as well. Check out our reviews on all of the Build A Droid figures and see what you think. It appears as if we are approaching an end of an era and Hasbro has alluded that this pack-in cannot continue on forever. (We consider this a shame. What possible better pack-in premium can they include besides the opportunity to get another action figure for free? We don't know and right now the answer is "none.") While we wait and see, we hope that all of you will enjoy R4-P44 in the meantime. It is an excellent little droid!