I'm trying a brand new review format today kids - below, find pictures, a written review, and a video for the new Star Wars Saga Legends R4-P17 Action Figure which literally showed up at my house about 9 hours ago.

...and yes, we do have comparisons of all 4 models of this figure so far, you lucky so-and-sos!

We hope you enjoy this experiment - we might not be able to do them all this way, but it covers a lot of bases!

Verdict: Totally worth it for anyone who doesn't own R4-P17 in another format, this figure is slightly smaller than previous releases and offers nothing particularly new in the way of features. It's still adorable and any droid fan will probably want to own at least one, plus all subsequent repaints. At $4 or $5 this would be the best droid of the year, but at $6 it's worth getting if you see it.

Where to buy: This review is sponsored by Entertainment Earth! Please click here to order yours now.

Bio: R4-P17 is Obi-Wan Kenobi's Astromech Droid. The faithful little Droid provides navigational and technical assistance aboard the Jedi's starfighter. Rebuilt by Anakin Skywalker, the Droid's original dome was replaced with an R2-series dome. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Sculpt
This is a new sculpt - it's much simpler than previous astromech droid figures as it lacks a third leg and like the 1978 R2-D2, only moves at the dome and legs. He's basically the same size and dimensions as the 2010 The Vintage Collection R2-D2, which was smaller than other previously released droids. The detailing is also similar, but slightly bolder in terms of how deep the panels appear to be. The wires on the feet are sculpted in a slightly more chaotic fashion, and are no longer separately molded pieces. There are no foot holes.

Deco
The deco gets the job done. I bought two of these, one of which had some weird paint issues at the top of the dome. Keep an eye out for that. The back side of the figure is completely unpainted and white, which is sort of a drag unless you're a customizer. The dark red color is cleanly applied on the front of the robot, and the silver is particularly bright and shiny. There's minimal paint bleed, with lots of fine detail - Hasbro really managed to do a great job getting the details better than usual, particularly for the price point. The silver on the dome has a little bit of slop here and there, but unless you get within 1-2 inches of my sample you probably won't notice.

Accessories
None.

Context
There have been 3 previous R4-P17 figures - this is the first one to get a completely original mold. The first was in 2005, and it was based on the R4-G9 mold. The second one was in 2009 and used the same mold, but lacked the dirt and grime. A third one in 2010 was based on the animated The Clone Wars line, and was based on that model of astromech.

Play Value
This mold stands unassisted and easily fits into droid sockets on vehicles. I tested him in the Starspeeder 1000, ARC-170 fighters, the recent Vintage Y-Wing from Toys R Us, and a few of the larger-scale X-Wing Fighters. One size droid fits most vehicles! While the lack of the third leg is regrettable, it's not like it's necessary for this figure to stand up or occupy a vehicle socket. It's a decent enough release for the asking price.

Packaging
A new, smaller cardback in line with Hasbro's "cheaper figure" initiative of 2013. It's sized similarly to simpler figures from Ultimate Spider-Man, The Wolverine, and Iron Man 3. A much-smaller, easily overlooked Star Wars logo appears on the bottom of the package which features Mustafar-style lava and Darth Vader. At first glance, it looks like a simpler version of the 2005 packaging except it has a rocky bubble rather than an egg-shaped one. It feels there is significantly less wasted material here and the figures come out with no twist ties or rubber bands, only a piece of tape holds any accessories in place. (Obviously, this figure has no accessories.)

--Adam Pawlus