Review: 5002948 C-3PO

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Protocol droids are a popular subject for Star Wars polybags and the latest such minifigure, 5002948 C-3PO, is the most detailed yet. Printing on the sides of the legs and arms has become gradually more commonplace in recent years, but this is the first time that Threepio has received the treatment and it looks very impressive.

C-3PO has undergone some aesthetic changes since his heroics at the Battle of Endor, the most apparent of which is his new left arm. This updated design is reflected in the new minifigure, so I am certain that this polybag will be a popular accompaniment for the rest of the range based on Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Minifigure

The packaging suggests that the minifigure is metallic or chrome gold in colour but it is in fact merely pearl gold. This is disappointing and I think the level of embellishment applied to the minifigure on the polybag is rather misleading. However, the level of detail makes up for it in my opinion, at least to some extent.

5002948 C-3PO

The head is the only element which remains unchanged since the character last appeared in 75059 Sandcrawler. The shape is as accurate as ever and it also features a pair of printed yellow eyes, although these have not been very well centred on Huw's minifigure as you can see in the image above.

5002948 C-3PO

While the head is fine, it is the arms and legs that really stand out here! The printing looks absolutely brilliant from all sides, but particularly on the arms and legs where such designs are not typically found. It appears that the left arm is not the only limb to have been replaced as Threepio now has a golden lower right leg, in contrast with the silver one seen throughout the Original Trilogy.

5002948 C-3PO

Printed details are also found on the back where you can see the cables running through the gap between the coverings. This exact design has not appeared in a standard retail set for a couple of years as the minifigure in last year's 75059 Sandcrawler included a restraining bolt and some weathering on the front, so it is nice to see it make a return.

Overall

Few minifigures match this one for printed detail and I therefore have no hesitation in recommending it. Of course it would have been even better had the figure been chrome gold in colour, but it is still a worthy addition to any Star Wars: The Force Awakens collection and C-3PO is unlikely to appear in any other sets based on the film, so hopefully this polybag will soon be available worldwide.

5002948 C-3PO

If you are in the UK you can find 5002948 C-3PO at your local Toys R Us store now, available free with a LEGO Star Wars purchase of over £15.00 or individually for £4.99. It is also available with qualifying purchases at Toyworld stores in New Zealand, but it appears the rest of the world will have to wait for the time being.

Thanks to Huw for providing the photos for this review.

43 comments on this article

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By in United Kingdom,

Anyone notice how head colour differs from torso/legs?

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By in United States,

^ I noticed that color difference too. I wonder if they were manufactured in different plants.

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By in United States,

Is Threepio part of the First Order now?

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By in United States,

INCREDIBLY misleading on the front of the polybag! Still an amazing looking figure though. I do like that new dark red arm.

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By in United Kingdom,

Off centre eyes? I assumed he was supposed to be looking upwards!

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By in United Kingdom,

^ Mine isn't :)

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By in United States,

Silver Leg? But when did the minifig ever have that in the first place? Who's to say it got replaced just based on the 'fig--or were you saying that based on images from the trailers or something?

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By in United Kingdom,

Managed to get mine today. Manager in TRU Exeter told me they had a box of 100 delivered today. They weren't out on shelves for purchase, but were whipped out from under the counter with Lego Star Wars purchase of £15. I got one with Star Wars advent calendar and one with the Vader constraction figure. I also got my final 2 stickers for a £20 off voucher!

One of mine has the 'shifty' eyes, whilst the other is perfectly printed.

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By in United Kingdom,

@JaseTJ - It is rarely noted but C-3PO's lower right leg has silver coverings in the Original Trilogy. This detail in included on the minifigure in 75059 Sandcrawler but not here, suggesting that he has since had that leg replaced.

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By in United States,

I don't know that I'd call the image on the packaging an embellishment, as that implies there is some amount of the actual product portrayed. The entire image is a fabrication (i.e. rendering).

I have no problem with LEGO using renders for product packaging, but they need to get their materials sorted so they better match reality. This has been a problem with Warm Gold pieces for some time (e.g. Mixels, going back to its first wave).

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By in United States,

I was really hoping that this minifigs is going to be chrome gold. While the printing is nice, and I love the dark-red arm, pearl-gold is just not the right color for C-3PO. :(

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By in United Kingdom,

Gutted he wasn't chrome gold :(

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By in United States,

Those legs would be a good addition to the C-3PO from the Droid Escape and Ewok Village sets to make a Revenge of the Sith 3PO where both of his legs were golden. :)

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By in United States,

Yeah, take note: in ROTS, C3P0 was all-gold. In the entire OT, he was all-gold except for a silver right leg. (With two-tone legs possible now, we may see this someday.) I've looked for images of 3P0 in TFA, and it looks like he's back to being all-gold again EXCEPT for the red arm. There's a Marvel comic coming in November that will explain where the arm came from.

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By in United Kingdom,

I have to agree his head and right hand are a different gold to the right arm, torso and legs. I don't mind him not being chrome gold. However, I would like to see a bit more variety with the polybags though. This is the third protocol droid in 13 Star Wars polybags (I'm excluding chrome gold Threepio and NYC Yoda). C'mon LEGO, give us some more characters!

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By in United Kingdom,

I've already had a go at putting an all-gold c-3po together using the droid escape version. As stated above, the new legs/torso are actually a more orangey gold and don't match the old torso colour, although it's not too obvious if you're not really looking.

Also, the torso printing is all new, which is most obvious when looking at the connecting wires. Here's a side by side image of the new version and the droid escape version. https://www.flickr.com/gp/richpepperell101/g693UV

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By in Spain,

The package is misleading. I thought it was a chrome C-3PO.

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By in United States,

So... I like the figure and all, but couldn't they replace the arm with an identical gold one? They managed to replace his silver leg...

It seems J.J.'s love of doing things for coolness over logic strikes again. *cough*Khan

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By in United States,

Interesting... 3PO & the FO TIE fighter have red elements on the(ir) left side.

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By in United States,

I like this figure! I do hope the US gets in on the action... Now I want an Episode 1, barely completed 3PO...

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By in United Kingdom,

Got to TRU, apparently they sold out to 'collectors' last week. Last week!! Scalpers then in other words and I didnt even know about the promo til yesterday. Apparently they started selling the C3POs in my store at £4.99 and probably by the time they were pretty much all gone they introduced a promotional purchase condition. It's TC4 all over again! But the review and shots are good to take a look.

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By in United Kingdom,

Managed to get one tonight from Toys R Us in Reading. However, i purchased the advent calendar (£24.99) and then stated that the advent calendar was excluded from the promotion!!! Ended up paying the £4.99 for the minifig, but have written a nasty letter to Toys R Us headoffice. The staff argued that the advent calendar was not a toy, but a home product, and hence not a qualifying purchase. FFS! I argued until blue in the face but they would not honour the terms of their promotion. Have also written to Trading Standards and urge everyone to boycott Toys R Us, especially the Reading branch.

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By in United States,

Echoing what others have said--that packaging makes him look like gorgeous chrome gold. The pearl gold is blech.

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By in United States,

Now I would have been all in for this item had it been more "chrome" like on the package, but not for what we actually get when we open the thing.

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By in United Kingdom,

Went to TRU today and got a big NO we don't have any!

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By in United Kingdom,

Got mine today from Manchester TRU. To be fair to them the blurb on the shelves does state that it is with any Star Wars Lego purchase over £15, so I got The Phantom for the minifigure. No mention of it being on sale separately.

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By in Canada,

I guess I'm out of the ordinary in preferring pearl colors to chrome colors... to me the slightly plasticky look of the color makes it look more like LEGO, whereas chrome parts often tend to stick out like a sore thumb, as if they're made of actual metal. I prefer a greater sense of consistency. Perhaps that's in part from growing up as a Bionicle fan, since that theme has used pearl colors extensively for over a decade.

The poor color matching between the head and the torso is a bit disappointing, though. I can only imagine that matching the color of pearl colors like Warm Gold between different factories is difficult, but it's usually not so noticeable when you don't have pearl-colored parts directly against other parts of the same color.

In any case, 297 Warm Gold is definitely a much nicer color than the washed-out looking 127 Gold (Pearl Light Gold) that was used for the original C-3PO minifigure!

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By in United States,

I love a good chrome myself, but I have memories of being really upset that the chrome chipped off of my pirate treasure, calvary horns, swords and royal crowns as a kid...

Very few chrome parts survived my childhood with their shine intact due to intense play.

I think that the pearl gold (and pearl silver/dark metal) is much better in terms of playability for kids, and I love the new pearl colors for that reason. I think that, for this figure, pearl is probably the way to go, since it is at a Toys R Us store and will likely be bought by a lot of kids (if there are an left after the resellers get at them that is).

That being said, I think Lego should make a chrome version too!
Actually, I want a chrome Captain Phasma first...

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By in United Kingdom,

my wife has just visited TRU Exeter , she bought the star wars advent calendar, went to the till and had to ask for her polybag, it was not on display for separate sale, she did get one free in the end and insisted on buying one for £4.99 as per promotion, grumpy staff member finally relented and sold it , TRU need to get their act together on this !

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By in United Kingdom,

Slightly OT, but did LEGO ever release a 3PO figure that matched the "original" version that Anakin built in Phantom Menace? I'm surprised that they didn't, but then again it took them years before they finally had a Queen Amidala, and in just one set ever. (Despite she being a perfect opportunity for re-releases, with all those headdresses and outfits.) yet they've released So many figures for characters who've had blink-and-you'll miss it appearances. Anyway!

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By in United Kingdom,

How deceiving that the picture on the front of the polybag is chrome gold and actual figure is pearl gold. They are all sold out online (or are awaiting more stock) and i just cant be bothered messing about!

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By in United States,

@CapnRex101...why did you change the review pictures? I think it was an important element of the review to show what is in the package vs what LEGO markets to be in the package.

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By in United Kingdom,

I changed it. We find that reviews get more views if the article shows an image we've taken rather than a stock one.

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By in Canada,

@LukeSkywalker: No, they didn't, and I wish they would! Star Wars Episode I came out during my childhood and while it's hated by a lot Star Wars fans, I have a lot of nostalgia for it. There are so many major Episode I characters, vehicles, and settings that still haven't been released in sets!

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By in United Kingdom,

^ Shmi Skywalker. One of the most important characters in the entire saga.

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By in United States,

@Huw Was there an image of the packaging? I feel like there should be one (stock or not) since it's mentioned in the review just for convenience's sake.

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By in United States,

Just for note, photographs have shown the silver leg is indeed gone - a shame, because it was my favorite thing about C-3PO and it felt fairly subtle. The red arm's too blatant. I'm not a huge fan of the TFA design.

If I get a new classic Threepio - hopefully with as much printing as this one - though I'd happily toss a red arm on an older one.

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By in United Kingdom,

Went to pick one up from MK, the eyes were all over the place on the few they had so I picked the best, maybe something to look out for.

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By in Ireland,

Available for euro6.99 behind the counter at one of the only two Toys-rUs in Republic of Ireland - the Blanchardstown Dublin store today.

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By in United States,

TRU insisted a LEGO Advent Calendar wasn't a toy?! *bangs forehead against wall*

Personally, I wouldn't mind more Episode I stuff. Shmi Skywalker, more podracers, C3PO's skeleton, Padme, the Theed Generator Duel, heck half the things from the PT have got absolutely jack squat in the form of LEGO representation. Especially 2, we only got one set that wasn't set on the Battle of Geonosis!

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By in United States,

Looks okay, I personally prefer the classic gold color used way back when. I also feel there is a certain line where we go from fun minifigure to overly detailed. Lastly, everyone is talking about more unique minifigs from SW and I'm still waiting for a Crab Droid....

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By in United States,

Looks like 3PO spent too much time on Tatooine!

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By in Puerto Rico,

^I agree, Lego Designers should do a lot of cool Droids justice (like the Crab Droid) and release them in sets. As for this 3PO, I think he saw the Trailer for MGSV Phantom Pain video game and decided to replace his arm as the main character of the game.

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