Sculpt--4.5/5
Like R4-G9, this astromech has the best proportions for an astromech figure in this scale--R4-P17 is nice and stubby-looking. This sculpt also sports some of the best detailing Hasbro has done for an astromech figure, with nicely done panels, vents, and those great hoses on R4's feet. Can this sculpt be improved? Yes. However, it's so close to perfect that I really don't mind the very minor inaccuracies that aren't even worth mentioning.

Articulation--5/5
R4-P17 has practically flawless articulation: rotating head, legs, ankles on all three feet, and a retractable third leg. My only gripe is that the foot on the third leg doesn't have as much motion as I would have liked; being able to angle it a bit more would have been useful in three-legged mode.

Features--5/5
R4-G9 revolutionized astromech figures with it's ingenious way of retracting the third leg. Turn the head counter-clockwise and the leg moves up into the body until it can scarcely be seen. In contrast, older astromechs kept part of the third leg sticking out so you can manually grab it and pull it out. This new method is the perfect solution and it doesn't get in the way of the articulation! The feature listed on the packaging is "rolling action" and indeed, this figure can roll. Wheels can be found on the bottom of all three feet.

Accessories--2/5
Meh. You just get the Coruscant-style base. That's it. It would have been cool if it came with an extra head that was all torn up from the buzz droids.

Paint--3/5
Paint is a bit hit and miss. The burgandy sections seem a bit messy with lots of fuzzy edges here and there. The tan-ish wash they've given R4-P17 seems inconsistant as well, with some parts wiped away properly while others parts seem to have been barely touched. Take a good look at your figures before you buy them, and get the one with a paint job that looks best to you.

Packaging--4/5
We interupt the usual cut and paste description of the packaging to bring you this special announcement! There are at least three packaging variations for this figure if you are into that sort of thing. The first has an incorrect figure number of #68. The second variation has a stickered #64 covering the erroneous #68. The third variation has the correct #64 printed proper. Another interesting thing about the packaging is that Hasbro used an image of R4-G9 and tried to recolor him to resemble R4-P17. We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming...

I'm really digging the ROTS packaging. I love the color palettes that Lucasfilm's marketing department chose, and I think that the orange Star Wars logo is a nice change of pace from the silver and gold iterations of the past. The shape of the cards also takes a dramatic step away from the rectangular cards we've gotten in the past. A large Vader helmet looms at the top of the card, looking down at the raging lava below. In the dome of Vader's helmet you can see an image of Obi-Wan and Anakin dueling it out and crossing lightsabers. The bubble covers most of the card and goes right up to the bottom edges of the card. The sides of the bubble are taped to the back of the card which makes it slightly hard to get the figure out of the package in a hurry, but MOC'ers will have nothing to worry about. After opening a couple of figures, I was beginning to miss the old packages that I could just tear into without having to worry about sticky tape. There's also a nice layered effect with the use of two cardboard inserts within the bubble featuring the Star Wars logo and a photo of the character. The cardbacks are likewise well designed with perhaps the best cardback layout design I've seen in years. There a nice photo of the character from the movie, a short description of the character, a photo of the actual toy, and nice cross-sell imagery to get you excited for the other toys in the line. Considering how much less space there is on these cards makes the design all the more successful.

Overall--4.5/5
Astromechs always seem to score well with me. Maybe I'm biased or maybe this really is a great astromech figure. I happen to think it's the latter. Great articulation, best astromech sculpt yet, and a great third leg make this a great astromech figure. Sure, we never saw R4-P17 out of the Jedi starfighter, but that shouldn't stop your imagination from filling in those parts of the story. Recommended!

--Photos and review by Garett Yoshimura
garett@carrotnetwork.com