Hot Toys C-3PO (ROTJ)

[ZE_501]

Did you guys all pre-order him when he went up for pre-order or more recently?

Think it was October 2nd of 2023 based on my PayPal activity.

Arrived today, I worked late so only gave it a cursory inspection so far; it's a good figure. Haven't tried the lights yet. One arm piston was detached from a missing pin; I suspected it was in the box so searched very carefully and found the half millimeter or whatever wire, got it back in. Looks good with R2. While the weathering up close is noticeable, can't really see it from a three or four feet away. May not be as heavy as some I've seen but definitely very present.

 

[Mike86]

Looks like this is about to hit waitlist for anyone on the fence. I pre-ordered just now.

 

[DarthAlias]

I pre-ordered when it released in HK. Received mine already.

 

[jedijim3002]

Should receive mine Wednesday.

 

[Chamberlian]

Looks like this is about to hit waitlist for anyone on the fence. I pre-ordered just now.

I was thinking about it last night and going to make a decision today… waitlisted lol.

 

[Brokenhandpuppet]

I have a Double Protocol Droid Monday coming my way haha C-3PO and 0-0-0

 

[Mike86]

I was thinking about it last night and going to make a decision today… waitlisted lol.

I debated if I really need it or not but ultimately I knew I’d regret not getting it after it hit waitlist. Just got the AOTC one not long ago and have the Sideshow version. Might try and unload the Sideshow figure.

 

[rory]

I got you man. I’ll try a handful of tricks and let you know what works. Logically, the brown speckling was applied separately from the gold, so it is likely a different type of paint. It’s either acrylic, enamel, or lacquer. If it’s acrylic or enamel, it should be easy to remove without damaging the gold underneath which I strongly suspect is a lacquer or solvent based paint.

Just because several people asked and I didn't see a response... I tried the Cape Cod cloths to remove some of the weathering. I used it on the bottom of the plastic feet and on the die-cast back. There was nothing that came off. The cloth was completely clean, no orange no gold.

No way I'm trying anything stronger than that so looks like I'm stuck with the speckles. It's not horrible but I would have still preferred a more gold finish.

 

[The Glorious League Freak]

I got you man. I’ll try a handful of tricks and let you know what works. Logically, the brown speckling was applied separately from the gold, so it is likely a different type of paint. It’s either acrylic, enamel, or lacquer. If it’s acrylic or enamel, it should be easy to remove without damaging the gold underneath which I strongly suspect is a lacquer or solvent based paint.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Im another that wants a completely shiny C3PO and I dont want to buy this guy with the worry they'll release one in 6 months that is what Im after!

 

[DarthAlias]

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Im another that wants a completely shiny C3PO and I dont want to buy this guy with the worry they'll release one in 6 months that is what Im after!

They will release a shiny one, just a matter of when. If you're ok with this one, for years to come, it's a nice alternative. I have it and like it a lot, but I do plan on getting the shiny ROTS version too.

 

[rory]

They will release a shiny one, just a matter of when. If you're ok with this one, for years to come, it's a nice alternative. I have it and like it a lot, but I do plan on getting the shiny ROTS version too.

Yeah, they'll certainly rerelease this for different episodes, like they did with the R2D2 (Original Trilogy version, Attack of the Clones, and Force Awakens) all using the same body and electronics with different paint schemes. BUT it could be years before one is actually ready to ship, so this could be a good placeholder until then.

 

[HyperDrive]

Not sure why people are trying to remove the weathering when it is pretty accurate to ROTJ (3PO has a weird and dull ornage-ish "bad weathering" look through much of ROTJ, especially Endor) and the belly wires pattern is super-specific to ROTJ, not even close to ANH and ESB.

It seems a bit crazy to pay $350 or so for this then attack it with various chemicals - and even if it works, you end up with a 3PO with a wires pattern that is really visible and not accurate to ANH or ESB.

There is a pretty much 100% certainty that HT will release another OT 3PO in the next year or so, maybe a pull-apart version for 45th anniversary for ESB next year. They've already dropped a random comic book 3PO that shipped instantly.

Thank you.

People are entitled to customize whatever but like you said, the weathering is basically ROTJ movie specific and with the speckling removed and just shiny, it will be even more inaccurate as the belly wires are straight up based on ROTJ and not ANH/ESB.

 

[rory]

Not sure why people are trying to remove the weathering when it is pretty accurate to ROTJ (3PO has a weird and dull ornage-ish "bad weathering" look through much of ROTJ, especially Endor) and the belly wires pattern is super-specific to ROTJ, not even close to ANH and ESB.

It seems a bit crazy to pay $350 or so for this then attack it with various chemicals - and even if it works, you end up with a 3PO with a wires pattern that is really visible and not accurate to ANH or ESB.

There is a pretty much 100% certainty that HT will release another OT 3PO in the next year or so, maybe a pull-apart version for 45th anniversary for ESB next year. They've already dropped a random comic book 3PO that shipped instantly.

Meh, I still don't like the weathering. I'd rather weather it myself the way I like. I don't care which weathering is more accurate. As for "bit crazy to pay $350 for this then attack it with various chemicals", that's just a nonsense insult. I happily "attack" figures all the time. It's called modding or customizing. It's not a new thing. Heck I "attacked" this $650 1/4 scale HT Mandalorian with "chemicals" and am so happy I did! All that matters is whether I like the way it looks on the shelf in the end. Whether or not another collector is confused by the choice (and I'm not directing that at you, just the other collectors in general), isn't really a consideration. I think you'll find this is true of most customizers. Some of us don't find much fun in displaying a stock figure out of the box, and (shockingly) just want to customize it to taste for the joy of it.

 

[rory]

I think my point was that even if the removal works perfectly, you still end up with a neither-fish-nor-fowl 3PO, accurate to neither ROTJ nor ESB/ANH, and fairly obviously so (at least to those who know the differences and care.) ROTJ is a somewhat unique look for OT 3PO, and it's pretty amazing HT actually delivered that.

But also that it's pretty much 100% certain a clean/shiny OT 3PO is coming soon (though of course nothing is guaranteed with HT - just the comic 3PO is a pretty good hint.)

But yes, I do reiterate that collectors may do whatever they choose to their figures, regardless of cost and others' views on such actions. Didn't mean to upset or demean anyone, and apoilogies if it was taken as such.

No offense taken. But you're subjectively judging the "accuracy" of work I haven't even done yet. I disagree that there is a singular weathered look for C3P0 in the film. His appearance onscreen changes pretty significantly from scene to scene throughout the film depending on the particular suit used, location, and the lighting and film grading etc.

The disconnect seems to be that you see the orange paint spatters as equalling accuracy, and that it will be "neither fish nor fowl" if they're removed. But I, subjectively, disagree. What I see on screen is neither that heavy handed, nor that red/orange, regardless of it's accuracy to the real life prop.

I personally like the look of him at Jabba's or on Endor. And that's the look I'll be going for. Dulled and dirty, but not red paint spattered.

To me the stock weathering just doesn't cut it.

 

[rory]

And that, to me, is the fun of modding. If I don't like a choice Hot Toys or Inart made, I like to f**k around and see if I can get it closer to my own preference. "Screen Used" accuracy and "On Screen" accuracy are two different things. I lean towards "on screen" myself.

 

[wormlander]

No offense taken. But you're subjectively judging the "accuracy" of work I haven't even done yet. I disagree that there is a singular weathered look for C3P0 in the film. His appearance onscreen changes pretty significantly from scene to scene throughout the film depending on the particular suit used, location, and the lighting and film grading etc.

The disconnect seems to be that you see the orange paint spatters as equalling accuracy, and that it will be "neither fish nor fowl" if they're removed. But I, subjectively, disagree. What I see on screen is neither that heavy handed, nor that red/orange, regardless of it's accuracy to the real life prop.

I personally like the look of him at Jabba's or on Endor. And that's the look I'll be going for. Dulled and dirty, but not red paint spattered.

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To me the stock weathering just doesn't cut it.

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I'm actually more surprised they failed to nail the size and spacing between the eyes...

 

[ZE_501]

Not that it's a deal breaker, but one thing I haven't seen mentioned (or maybe it got by me) is that the figure has a rich, warm gold tone. I re-watched ROTJ scenes the other day and it's a cooler metallic hue, or at least appears that way to my eyes.

 

[Futurion]

Paintjob and weathering seem wrong to me. I shall wait for another one. Fingers crossed for ANH in the upcoming years.

 

[The Glorious League Freak]

I have a feeling the weathering probably looks way better in hand. Maybe someone that has him can confirm that or not.

I just would like a shiny version. I know there is one out there by another company that is EXPENSIVE, so it would be cool to be able to get this one and make him shine but if not I can wait.

 

[rory]

Not that it's a deal breaker, but one thing I haven't seen mentioned (or maybe it got by me) is that the figure has a rich, warm gold tone. I re-watched ROTJ scenes the other day and it's a cooler metallic hue, or at least appears that way to my eyes.

Agreed. Though I think that may be the result of film grading and filtering, where warmer reds and yellows are cooled to not look harsh onscreen. But I agree. And would prefer a less saturated gold.