Sculpt--4.5/5
I held the Revenge of the Sith C-3PO figure in high esteem, but this C-3PO totally beats it. One of my few complaints about the ROTS C-3PO was its rough surfaces. Well, we have none of that here; this 3PO is nice, smooth and very refined. The neck has been shortened to a more accurate length, and the headsculpt looks quite accurate to my eyes. The wires at the abdomen have a different look than the ROTS version--on this version the wires are pretty much straight and vertical while the ROTS version's are more tangled-looking. The straight wires are totally accurate for a Return of the Jedi C-3PO though.

The arms seem to be based on the ROTS arms, as they have pretty much the exact same pose, but the details have been refined a bit to give it a cleaner appearance. C-3PO's right shoulder plating has been changed dramatically, and unfortunately it's for the worst. The shape isn't quite accurate and it transitions to the bicep plating in an unrealistic manner. This is the biggest flaw in an otherwise near-perfect sculpt. There are some other inaccuracies, like the shape of the thigh plating and the large gap between the thighs and crotch. However, these inaccuracies are necessary for the articulation to work so I can easily overlook them.

Articulation--4.5/5
C-3PO has ten points of articulation: ball-jointed neck, shoulders, ball-jointed mid-section, hips, rotating thighs, and hinged knees. YES! Finally, a C-3PO figure that can sit! Collectors have been asking for this for years and it has finally happened with this figure. The legs have a great range of motion and sitting poses are easy. However, my figure's left leg can't bend at the hip as far as the right leg, and I can't figure out why. I'm hoping it's just my figure and that they aren't all like this. Still, I can create all the sitting poses I wanted so I'm not complaining too much. In addition to the leg articulation, Hasbro went all out by improving the waist articulation. This figure has a wider range of motion over the ROTS version and can also tilt to the sides (the ROTS version only tilted forward and back). This gives this figure true ball-jointed motion in the waist. Excellent stuff! We're not done yet though! Hasbro even included a ball-jointed neck similar to the one found on VOTC Obi-Wan where the ball joint is in the body and not the head. The range of motion is a bit limited, but you can tilt C-3PO's head slightly in any direction. I didn't think Hasbro would try this so soon but I'm glad they did because I think it's great. So how can C-3PO be even better? I'd like to see some arm articulation. No, not elbow joints (although that would be cool), but I think bicep cuts are possible and would help greatly in recreating various C-3PO poses. In any case, this is the best articulated C-3PO made yet.

Features--3.5/5
C-3PO features removable arms and head. The legs aren't removable because of the more complex leg articulation I'm guessing. Just having a removable head and arms isn't very useful without the removable legs but it's still appreciated. I'd like to see a C-3PO where you can remove his lower left leg just below the knee like at the end of The Empire Strikes Back.

Accessories--5/5
You get the Ewok throne, the carrying poles for the throne, figure stand and mini hologram figure. The Ewok throne is another thing we've all been waiting for and it's perhaps the most perfect accessory for a C-3PO figure. The throne comes partially unassembled, but constructing it is easy and the pieces fit together nice and tight. It's not completely accurate in its construction but it's close enough that I don't mind. There's some nice detail in the throne with all the wood and straps and leather-like surfaces, and C-3PO sits in it rather well thanks to his articulation. The poles can slide into the throne so your Ewok figures can carry C-3PO around. They're not super flimsy, but they aren't completely stiff either. The Ewok throne turned out to be a nice, large accessory with some great detailing.

The included stand is the standard one we've been getting with the name of the movie embossed on the surface. You also get a random "hero" mini hologram figure with C-3PO, and I got Queen Amidala.

Paint--4/5 (unpainted joints), 4.5/5 (painted joints)
The paint on C-3PO is pretty good but there's definitely room for improvement. First let's talk about his color. This C-3PO has a nice gold color much like the Millennium Minted Coin C-3PO. It also sports the silver lower right leg. I like this fuller gold color over the more washed-out gold like that of the ROTS C-3PO. The paint at the abdomen is not bad and have wires that look nice and defined with clean lines. The paint ends a bit too soon though, and doesn't go to the edge of the crotch plating as it should. The black paint at C-3PO's palms aren't painted very well this time around and it just looks like they quickly dabbed a blotch of black paint. However, the eyes and mouth look pretty good. What's left? Oh yeah, there's the unpainted plastic at the hips and knees. This has been a major negative point and rightly so. Hasbro claims that had these parts been metalized, the metal would flake off because of the friction caused by the articulation. Thus, they chose a gold-colored plastic and hoped it wouldn't look so bad. Unfortunately, it does look kind of bad, and I wish they had just metalized these parts and let us deal with the flaking. In the end, these parts are incredibly obvious and are a bit of an eyesore on what is perhaps the best C-3PO figure made yet.
Update: Apparently there has been a running change, and Hasbro is now painting these joints in their appropriate color. It's still not as good as metalizing them, but at least it's an improvement. If you can, check the knee and hip joints before you purchase your C-3PO to get the improved, painted version.

Packaging--4.5/5
The Saga Collection goes back to a more rectangular cardback and retains the edge-to-edge blister that Hasbro has been using since the ROTS and animated Clone Wars figures. Thankfully, the tape holding the edges of the blister has been reduced, so it is now possible to get the figure out without even dealing with the tape. The blister itself is more rectangular this time, but is still rounded on it's surface. This makes it a bit harder to stack the packages on top of each other, but if you store your MIB figures in boxes then this won't trouble you too much.

As for the actual card, it tapers off a little at the bottom so that it is not truly rectangular. The front of the card continues the retro feel of the Original Trilogy Collection, but this time the silver lettered "Star Wars" goes straight off to the sides instead of creating a frame around the figure. This packaging also continues the use of a background image that compliments the scene or movie the figure is from. I've always liked this as you can potentially cut them out and use them as a background for displaying your figures. Plus, it just helps make the packaging feel all that more special and individualized. Another nice touch is the color-coded upper left corner of the card front which tells you which episode the figure is from. This helps make it easier to find new figures at the store and it has come in very handy.

The back of the card has a bevy of information. An image of the character from the movie is in the upper right corner while below it is a full body shot of the action figure. To the left is information about the character, plus little bits of data relating to the character such as "Mission: Rescue Han Solo". It's a nice addition and they're kind of fun to read. Below that are cross-sell images of other figures in the line. In the bottom right corner is a window displaying the included hologram figure, which adds to the cool factor of the overall look of the card. What can I say? I like this packaging, and I think it's some of the best I've seen since the Freeze Frame series.

Overall--4.5/5
I really like this C-3PO figure. Sure, there are a couple things wrong like the strangely-shaped right shoulder plate, or the non-metalized plastic at the hips and knees, but this figure does so many things that simply have not been done before on a C-3PO figure that it's easy to overlook the negatives. The first ball-jointed neck on a 3PO figure. The first horizontal and lateral tilting waist joint on a C-3PO figure. The first knee joints on a C-3PO figure. Those are three great points and should be reason enough for anyone to want to pick up this figure. Add in the great Ewok throne that he comes with, and this is an unbeatable package. I hope Hasbro improves upon C-3PO even more, but for now this is the closest Hasbro has come to a perfect C-3PO figure. Highly recommended!

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

Where to Buy:
This figure should be showing up at stores right about now if they haven't already, so check your local Target's, Toys R Us', or Wal-Marts.
Toys R Us also has this figure available through their website for $8.99.
Then there's always ebay for which you can check out some auctions below.