Tamashii Soul of Chogokin C-3PO & R2-D2

[swsqueakquels]

3PO really is a work of art, with a lot of impressive bells and whistles - I think the most impressive being the working cylinders that allow for elbow articulation and the wires at the abdomen. Magnetic restraining bolt is a nice touch also. That price is right off the charts, though. The Medi droids work just fine for me!

What is the articulation on the Medi Threepio? Do the elbows and knees bend? Is the head ball jointed or just swivel? Are the ankles articulated?

This one does seem to have real wires on the stomach area, which is pretty cool. Does the Medi have molded wires like Hasbro's?

 

[Invictus Sol]

Not sure about Medi's articulation at the thighs and knees, though I'm supposing they do articulate as Sideshow's product page lists it as having 18 points of articulation (really is annoying how these companies don't specifically show their figures in more complex poses to illustrate their range of motion, though... think that would be Marketing 101).

It's a nice stand-alone 3PO but the scale would bug me if I placed him with SSC stuff (he's 11.02" high as opposed to Tamashii's 12").

Only other thing I don't like is the painted-on wiring on his abs. If you use the zoom gallery, it's looks more like intestines and the paint aps are pretty sloppy for a $250.00 figure. Someone mentioned before that the Tamashii didn't appear to have enough ab wiring, but if you look at pics of the ANH costume, there is all kinds of black space and the wiring is not all over the place as painted on the Medi. The Tamashii is definitely more accurate to my eye and the use of real wires goes a long way with me in making this 3PO really stand out.

Lastly, kind of a personal nitpick, but I don't like the voice chip. Really if I was interested in the Medi, I'd rather they put the money into the sculpt/paint aps and not waste a penny on it repeating phrases from the movies.

 

[VintijDroidGutzz]

Agreed on the voice chip Sol - & regarding 3PO's torso circuitry, it was different in each of the three OT films.

As far as his ANH look goes though, this figure seems to have it right so far, as you say.

It is a very nice looking piece.. still thinking about it.

 

[Invictus Sol]

Yeah, it's a tough call, for sure, at that price. A lot will depend on them getting 3PO and R2 in scale with one another and fixing R2's dome. I'm not sure that the dome itself would be a deal breaker if everything else aligns but really there's no excuse in not getting it right. It's such an obvious thing that I'm hoping they've been hectored about it already and plan on fixing it.

I've always been a quality over quantity guy, though, so my current plan of ditching stuff I was planning on getting in order to finance these two is sitting pretty well with me. Although the price is steep, it is around the prices PF collectors are used to paying and the Tamashii's may be more accurate and in my preferred scale (also, not weathered, if we can go by the prototypes -- dislike the weathering on the regular PF release). Regardless of money or space, 1:4 scale just doesn't appeal to me so super-detailed 1:6 is ideal.

 

[VintijDroidGutzz]

^ Again - agreed man, I'm definitely about quality over quantity EVERY time.

I also agree with your earlier comment about R2 & 3PO personifying SW (among literally a handful of others), & that they would be perfect poster display pieces for the saga. In actuality, there's roughly 15 SW characters I want in 1/6 scale - tops.. hopefully they get their due props over time.

I still think this new R2's large eye should be black though, not clear. Granted - that could certainly change from now till release.

 

[swsqueakquels]

The gold finish on this Threepio is a problem. Up close, it doesn't look chromed. Maybe it's just the proto, but for this price, it better not look like "gold" spray from Home Depot.

 

[agen_kolar]

C-3PO looks nice, but R2-D2 has issues (the dome and eyes, namely.) I sincerely hope these aren't going to be SSF's droids. They need to make their own! That said, I won't be buying this set.

 

[Shropt]

Someone at a panel asked the Lucasfilm licensor about this figure at C6. He made it pretty clear that these figures are officially Sideshow's 1/6th droids. Now he may have been mistaken but that is what he said loud and clear.

 

[barryo]

Someone at a panel asked the Lucasfilm licensor about this figure at C6. He made it pretty clear that these figures are officially Sideshow's 1/6th droids. Now he may have been mistaken but that is what he said loud and clear.

hmm.............sounds like a good time for an "ask sideshow" question...........

 

[Wor-Gar]

Someone at a panel asked the Lucasfilm licensor about this figure at C6. He made it pretty clear that these figures are officially Sideshow's 1/6th droids. Now he may have been mistaken but that is what he said loud and clear.

That's a very interesting statement.

But I wonder if Sideshow still has plans to do its own version of the droids at some point? Like, I wonder if these are as official as the HT Luke; just a sublicense.

 

[VintijDroidGutzz]

Yeah.. I doubt they're the official SSC versions. Of course - I could well be wrong.

If they fix R2's dome & light eye.. I'll be planning for these down the track quite possibly.. I just don't see SSC doing great versions of these two on their own.

 

[Darth Vader]

I sure hope they fix R2's eye it looks translucent and white not like it's supposed to, hopefully they fix it before it ships

 

[King Darkness]

Someone at a panel asked the Lucasfilm licensor about this figure at C6. He made it pretty clear that these figures are officially Sideshow's 1/6th droids. Now he may have been mistaken but that is what he said loud and clear.

 

[VintijDroidGutzz]

I sure hope they fix R2's eye it looks translucent and white not like it's supposed to, hopefully they fix it before it ships

Yep - that point's been covered pretty well now..

 

[Kuzeh]

Well since we've seen the Heroes of the Rebellion logo on the display since SDCC, it's obvious Sideshow is involved to some extent. And I'm sure they won't release their own 1/6 plastic droids to compete with these anytime soon... maybe in a couple of years...

 

[Darth Vader]

I'm really loving the way C3-PO looks im debating on if i should buy these 12" or the Sideshow PF

 

[swsqueakquels]

Someone at a panel asked the Lucasfilm licensor about this figure at C6. He made it pretty clear that these figures are officially Sideshow's 1/6th droids. Now he may have been mistaken but that is what he said loud and clear.

That's a very interesting statement.

But I wonder if Sideshow still has plans to do its own version of the droids at some point? Like, I wonder if these are as official as the HT Luke; just a sublicense.

Yeah, but SSC isn't going to do another Luke Bespin after the HT version... so if these are "officially" SSC's droids - and are high-end to the extreme, i.e. SSC would realistically never be able to do better - then this is it.

I'm really loving the way C3-PO looks im debating on if i should buy these 12" or the Sideshow PF

Your choice - they are pretty much the SAME PRICE!

 

[CaptnRex]

If these turn out as good as they look so far then it won't matter if/when SSC do their versions, these could be unbeatable.

Then again, SSC have the PF versions coming out and they look great so why no 1/6th versions?

We need answers.

 

[sithlord13]

Surely the 1/6 astromech could be the new clone when it comes to reissues?

 

[devilof76]

Not if they're $400 a piece.