R5-D4 - Real Action Heroes

The red-trimmed cultivator astromech droid was almost purchased from Jawa traders by Owen Lars. When the battered little droid rolled away from the sales line, his motivator shorted out and he blew his stack.

You that as soon as a licensee develops the perfect template of a certain type of character that can be easily replicated to create others that it’s inevitable it will happen. So when Medicom Toys developed the brilliant R2-D2 Real Action Heroes figure, more astromech droids were right behind him. As anyone expected, Medicom Toy quickly retooled and repainted the R2-D2 base sculpt to generate R5-D4, who is probably the second most popular astromech droid from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and created another exciting high end collectible which should eagerly excite collectors and lovers of one-sixth scale. There is something striking about R5-D4. Perhaps it’s the drastically different “facial” features the droid possesses or the bright red color flashes, but whatever it is this character has left an indelible mark on our collecting psyche thanks to the original 1979 vintage Kenner figure produced a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. And the Medicom Toy version presents a pretty darn screen exact interpretation of this character, a feat Hasbro miserably fails at try after try. We’re talking about the three vertical red panels on R5-D4’s back. Medicom Toy ensured they captured this very important detail.

Unlike R2-D2, R5-D4 comes without any electronics. That is more than fine by us. After all, the more time that goes by, the higher the risk becomes that the electronics will go out on you and never work again. While they’re beautiful and add incredible enhancements to any sixth-scale figure, they can really disappoint when they no longer function. Anyway, R5-D4 will never present that problem and Medicom Toy added other details to make up for the “missing” electronics. The new head sculpt is remarkable. R5-D4 is an R5 unit that has three button-like photoreceptors on its dome. The distinct trapezoidal shaped dome is mostly simple, but does possess some intricate details here and there including some visible gears and pistons and other functional buttons. All of these details are perfectly captured. The “neck” portion of R5-D4 is totally cool. Do you remember those reflective stickers from the 80s (sometimes referred to as “space tape”)? Well, just like the film, Medicom Toy has added this type of detail along R5-D4’s “neck” all the way around to recreate that pearly look the droid had in the film. They did it effortlessly and neatly that it looks exactly like the prop.

R5-D4 comes with the same articulation as R2-D2, so you should know what to expect there. But where we think R5-D4 bypasses R2-D2 is in the paint job. They each received similar paint operations, but there is just something striking about R5-D4’s deco and patterns and the color combination is just too cool for words. We do have one tuny bone to pick with R5-D4 and that is with the paint job on the top of the dome. It doesn’t seem as if Medicom Toy perfectly replicated the shape of the red trapezoids encircling the circumference of the top of the dome. They’re not terribly incorrect, but there is definitely something off about them. (This little misstep is certainly not a deal breaker, so don’t worry about it.) As a nice touch, R5-D4 comes with a removable antenna, but sadly no "bad motivator". It has some pliability to it, so we don’t think it will easily break, but it’s so delicate that you should consider handling it with care. We are thoroughly impressed with Medicom Toy’s presentation of astromech droids so far. We hope they keep making others from the Original Trilogy because they’ve been made and finished so beautifully. These collectibles are definitely a for a niche group of collectors, but those who find them have very few regrets.